One day Carter could brag about taking a cup of tea with the sun if he could see his friends again.
“What sort of tea do you like?” It asked without much thought and, still, with the voice of his father.
“Every kind.” Carter responded vaguely, still feeling a bit out of place.
“Sure. Then…”
It was as if Carter had met an acquaintance but still felt uncomfortable in front of them.
It was a bit unusual but still felt natural, as if it were a human, not a flaming humanoid ‘thing’ in front of him.
Carter sighed, for the second time since waking up here.
Well, I can get used to this, give me a few years and I’ll make this place a home for my fellow hobbo people.
Not understanding his own joke, Carter thought about the furniture he was sitting on which appeared from thin air.
He knew the mimic had created them, but had no idea of how.
There were the cozy chair, the round table and then the cups, they were, by human standards, normal tea cups, but as the only thing Carter saw being fabricated, he was in no way going to label them as so.
When Carter sat himself on the chair, still a bit amazed with what was happening, he saw something being created in front of him, from the handle of the cup to its entirety, he could see it like it was manufactured by machines arranging every single one of its molecules.
For the first time in his life, Carter was curious, but didn’t dare nor even think about how the cup was made. if forced to, his mind would blow into pieces.
Was that witchcraft? Is this sun some sort of god?
Carter knew the mimic was no god, but he still kept the thought in his mind.
He hesitated but, with a bit of resistance, took the cup of tea with one of his hand.
To many this would just be a simple action, but to him, it was like taking a step on the moon, a giant leap for mankind if he discovered how it worked.
He was definitely scared it would explode or just dissapear in his fingers, but none of that happened.
It was cold to the touch, a bit like the texture of a porcelain cup, the handle was curved and… nothing else really, it was like any porcelain cup of tea, no difference, no unique sense, much like the chair he was sitting on right now.
It was real, seemingly formed from thin air but real.
He tilted his head a bit.
Impressive… Carter knew he should’ve sounded more shocked but he had already obsessed on it for a while.
Though, now he wondered if he was formed from thin air.
Is anything even real…?
Still lost a bit in his thoughts, Carter heard the not so bright sun say something, with its gentle, playful but annoying voice.
“… Is black tea all right with you?”
With the entity conveniently getting Carter out of his existential crisis, he breathed and redirected his attention to the conversation.
“Yeah.”
Then some sort of black tea started filling itself in the cup from bottom to top.
He stared at it for a second, twitched his eyes, put the cup on the white table, and leaned back in his chair trying to relax.
“How should I address ‘you’?” Carter asked thinking of a way to begin.
The entity sipped quietly his tea, with no mouth to drink, disturbingly, and stared, if facing Carter could have been called a stare, then put its right elbow on the armrest of the chair and leaned its head on its right hand while crossing its legs.
It spoke calmly but still with a bit of that playfulness Carter’s father had.
“Sorry for the late introduction, my name is Noir, an ancient lord of a long lost epoch, I am, as you can see, something that cannot be called a human, but I was once a human a long time ago, trust me.”
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“Permit me to doubt that.”
It smiled but didn’t continue.
Carter thought and asked something else.
“Is there anyone else here?”
“Until you came, there has only been two other people. I summoned them all after their deaths. The first was a test, and the other was a failed attempt. Apart from myself there isn’t anyone else in this quiet residence.” It paused and added. “You shouldn’t ask about the two people that came here, they did not end well.”
From what little Carter knew since he got here, he could guess something.
If it were true then being special seemed more lucky than he would've ever thought.
“They went mad?”
The sun’s head nodded.
Carter didn’t see any ounce of emotion coming from it, less any sadness, its posture was so laid back, one would’ve thought he was bored.
Though, through its tone, Carter sensed a bit of curiosity, like a tourist in a zoo. And all of it was directed onto him.
The young man was a bit weirded-out by the fact he was looked upon like a jester to amuse its king, but realized that some people were just like that, prideful as sin.
Well, he couldn’t say he couldn’t understand, as he himself had to strenghen his pride to the point of getting drunk by it to be the best in his work.
Just to say that the both of them had something in common though didn’t mean they were alike.
Then he moved on to his predecessors.
Bits of empathy and nostalgia entered Carter as he thought about his fellow earthling and the opaque touch of the earth or the warmness of the sun.
Unfortunately, this was no place to mourn deaths or get nostalgic, even to his death he didn’t feel as much.
Though, he still didn’t know how he died.
Crap, I was lost in my mind. Fortunately, not much time had passed.
Shaking his head, he recalled what was said.
There was a bit of information to pick from.
“I’m curious, you summoned them?”
“Indeed, I pulled their souls from their body after their demise.”
Carter blinked at that.
“What do you mean by pulling their souls?”
It responded with a dumbfounded voice, much to the young man's surprise, as if that question was the most peculiar thing it had heard.
“That is a dumb question, Carter.” It gestured its hands in front in a pose while still sitting, as if it had something in them, like an oversized battle long sword. Swinging the imaginary object, it spoke in the same dumbfounded voice. “I pulled them... like a fish.”
It repeated the swinging gesture with the imaginary, as it turned out, fishing rod.
Carter narrowed his eyes.
This genuinely feels like a fever dream. He thought, the stupidity of the situation catching him off-guard.
It took a moment of silence to get his thoughts back from the answer.
The entity had ended its bizarre hand movements, resting its arms on the armrests of its chair to continue staring Carter with a curious look.
Most of the times Carter talked to the mimic, he had closed his eyes, but every time he had opened them he saw the same look, apart from just moments before where it was, unbelievably, dumbfounded.
When closed he could only communicate with words.
I’ll be damned, to-
It talked again before he could think further, making Carter, for the second time, look dumb in front of it as he flinched.
“Faking what you felt just to blend in with other people is rather hypocrite, don’t you think so, Carter?”
The young man frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Hearing, the question the mimic’s smile got wider.
“We have something in common remember? You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Hearing that, the relaxed expression on Carter’s face dissipated and instead of it was a stoic one.
He exhaled.
“How do you know so much about me?”
“No need for me to know anything to understand what you think. We’re one but just not the same Carter, your whole being is a mirror of mine.”
After what Noir said, the whole place was voided of any sound, the scene still and cold devoid of any warmth.
After a bit more time, the young man put his right hand on his forehead before saying with a slightly irritated voice.
“Let’s cut directly to the chase, can we?” Returning his hand on the armrest of the chair, Carter continued. “You’re right, I am a hypocrite and hold no empathy to those who has no affiliation with me and no person can confidently proclaim themselves as saints who feel for every living human in the world. But you’re wrong on something.”
He sighed.
“Your esteem of yourself has gone way beyond that of a human while I’m just a guy, with that clear, we’re definitely not one nor the same." He paused, taking a deep breath befor continuing.
"There's a lot I still need to ask you, so can we talk about something as annoying as getting to know each other later?"
After he finished his sentence, surroundings got silent again, as the entity had surprisingly nothing else to say, only a still slight fiery curve showing the smile on his face.
Feeling like he had lost his tamper, Carter said a single word, he leaned back, his back sweating from his tense nerves.
Ugh, just talking to this entity drains me of my strength, I shouldn’t have gone off talking like that. The young man thought, annoyed by what the entity said.
He wasn’t sure what it insinuated, but still felt great as he wasn't dead or anything.
Carter thought he was a bit defensive, but thinking further, he wondered why he would even try to care for people he didn’t know.
Then he thought about those in power and how they drowned themselves in pride, utterly unable to feel for any, truly and utterly blinded by it.
So he smiled and thought about what he had himself done with said power and a bit of humility.
It was soothing.
Then, he opened his eyes to see the entity in front, and thought about what it said again.
What does he mean by me being one with him but not the same, shouldn’t it be same but not one?
Carter couldn’t hold his question in anymore as he asked.
“Have you been in here so long that you’ve gone mad?”
Smiling widely, Carter knew that the fiery sun would spout something out of the ordinary again and braced himself for it.
“You’re right Carter, I am slightly insane, but you shouldn’t gauge me with human standards. As I said, I was once a human, though now I am a lord.” It stopped, seeming to think about something and then continued. “As of right now, I’ve been imprisoned here for around a thousand years.”
Even prepared, the numbers caught Carter so off guard, it left him speechless.