The direction passed by Kant like a cloud, and he kept single-mindedly murmuring prayers.
Gabriel tapped the chair he was sitting on, growing concerned. "Hunter's talking to you. Are you ignoring him on purpose or...?"
Hunter's voice lowered, tense. "Are you high?"
"What are you talking about?" Kant whispered back.
"You've been acting weird since dinner. Getting friendly with that kid, drinking my juice, and now laughing for no reason." Hunter paused, his eyes narrowing. "And you're sweating like crazy."
Kant heard the words, but they felt nonsensical, as if coming from the other side of a thick wall. He raised an eyebrow, or at least he thought he did. His mind was stuck in a thick, muddy swamp where every thought sank before it could take shape.
The world around him shimmered and blurred at the edges. And a dumb grin tugged at his lips. "Yeah?"
Hunter groaned, looking more exasperated.
Gabriel gasped, anxiously tapping Kant's chair. His voice sounded faint, like it was echoing through a tunnel. "The barman!" he blurted out, pointing somewhere. "The jerk who drugged me at the Red Tail bar! He's here!"
The ghost rubbed his chin, speaking faster now, "Hunter's the only one sober—he didn't drink the juice. It must have..."
Kant didn't catch all of it, but the urgency in Gabriel's tone made something click. His eyes went wide, and he gasped. "It must have been the ju—"
Hunter slapped his hand over Kant's mouth. "Shut up! Don't shout," he hissed. "We need to get out of here. Follow me, quietly."
Compliant, Kant stood to follow, but the world tilted sideways. He stumbled, barely managing to catch himself on the back of the chair.
As the room warped around him, his gaze was drawn back to the stage, which was bathed in a strange, holy light.
It was so pure, so beautiful. If he could just stay here, everything would be fine. He could almost feel his body swimming towards the stage.
"Kant! This is bad—really bad! Stop looking there!" Gabriel was panicking. "You drank three cups! You could die from overdose!"
The warning barely registered. Kant's heart hammered unevenly in his chest, and his legs wobbled under him. The room tilted once more, and he crumpled to the floor, the cold tiles meeting him in a blur.
. . .
The next time Kant opened his eyes, he was in the shared bedroom with Hunter.
Everything was bright and fuzzy, almost dreamlike. The lights twinkled like stars, doubling in count.
"Hey, hey. Are you awake?" Gabriel's voice pulled him back, an edge of concern in his tone.
Kant blinked slowly, his mind barely making contact with gravity, and then... there was the beautiful angel, standing right in front of him, with a warm light cascading over him.
A breathy laugh slipped from his lips.
Pure white wings had spread out behind Gabriel's back, unscathed and pristine, like he had just descended from heaven.
"Oh my God," Gabriel breathed, leaning closer. "Your pupils are huge."
Kant's fingers twitched before lifting into the air, reaching out slowly, not daring to blink. The ghost glanced over his shoulder, trying to understand what he was staring at.
"What are you doing?"
"Your wings..." Kant whispered, grasping something invisible above Gabriel's shoulders. His fingertips brushed through nothing, and he tried again.
Gabriel's smirk faltered, caught between amusement and concern. His voice was softer, unsure, "Wings?" He spun around twice, like a dog chasing his tail, just to make sure no feathers had sprouted on his back.
But when he turned back, Kant was still gazing at him with an awe-struck expression, higher than the moon.
"This is driving me insane," the ghost mumbled. "How long will it take for you to come back to your senses?"
Senses... That's right—Kant had one of those. A sense of something like bliss and ease. Everything felt possible, even flying.
"Did it... hurt?" Kant slurred, his tone turning serious.
Gabriel's eyebrows shot up. "Did what hurt?" he asked tentatively.
"Falling from heaven..."
Gabriel was speechless for a moment, but the earnest look on Kant's face made him crack up. Seeing the cold man spout nonsense with sincerity wasn't something he ever expected to witness.
"Are you kidding me?"
"...Why would I be kidding?" Kant watched him blankly.
Gabriel chuckled, shaking his head. "Never mind, forget it."
With the slow look on his face, Kant looked like he would have answered anything Gabriel asked.
This was his chance to ask Kant the questions he refused to answer while sane, but...
The ghost fiddled with his fingers, observing the man who looked at him with an absolutely foolish look of adoration in his eyes.
Gabriel sighed, abandoning this opportunity. He wasn't that much of an opportunist. Either way, there was no guarantee Kant would remember anything serious in this state.
He sat on the corner of the bed, resting his chin in his hand. "You're completely gone, aren't you?"
Kant shrugged sluggishly, his grin widening. "I dunno."
"You dunno?" Gabriel leaned closer, a teasing grin crossing his face. "Since when has there been something you didn't know?"
Kant let out a huff, his eyes drifting over Gabriel's face, memorizing every detail. "Since you showed up..."
The door creaked, and Hunter returned to the room. When he saw Kant was conscious, a flicker of relief crossed his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
"You got your stomach pumped and hooked up to an IV," Hunter told him flatly. "Said to watch out for any side effects. Do you feel any?"
Gabriel snapped out of his flustered state to remark, "You know, with how casually the nurses did all that, this was probably not the first time it happened."
Kant's gaze fell to his arm, noticing the IV for the first time. He stared at it with such intense concentration, as if it were a magic wand that could turn into a flower any moment.
"Side effects..." he echoed slowly, his mind foggier than ever.
Hunter sighed. "Yeah, side effects," he said firmly, enunciating each syllable. "Nausea, hallucinations, dizziness, weakness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath..."