The silence in the bar had become heavy, palpable. Kurok stared at his beer, the foam had collapsed into a gray, inert mass. "Something is dying," he murmured, his fingers brushing the glass which fogged up.
Nana slowly turned her head toward the window. "Look."
Outside, Grimecity was losing its vitality. The neon lights continued to blink, but their colors were faded, as if bleached. The electric pink was now a pale pink, the fluorescent green a dull green. Even the shadows seemed less deep.
Kael stood up, her kebab forgotten. "This isn't a direct attack. It's... an infection."
Dr. Gloubi pressed his nose to the windowpane. "Fascinating! A progressive chromatic reduction! The magical energy is dissolving!"
Kurok felt the difference in his blood. The virus inside him moved sluggishly, as if sedated. "It's like trying to poison me with lukewarm water."
That's when they saw the source of the phenomenon. A woman dressed in gray walked slowly down the middle of the street. She wasn't doing anything particular - just moving forward - but around her, reality was losing its brilliance. Her steps left colorless traces on the asphalt.
"The Faders," said Kael, her voice tense. "A cult that believes magic is a disease. They want to heal the world by making it... normal."
Nana made her blades spring forth. "Let's stop her."
"No," said Kurok, placing a hand on her arm. "Look."
He pointed to a group of neighborhood residents approaching the woman. Their loud clothes were fading as they advanced. One of them, a man with a coat covered in blinking lights, looked at his sleeves turning brown and dull. An expression of confusion, then of relief, crossed his face.
"They like it," murmured Nana, horrified.
Kurok stepped out of the bar. The air tasted bland, like flat water. "This isn't a battle we can win with blades."
The woman in gray saw him approach and stopped. Her eyes were the color of cement. "You carry the sickness within you," she said in a monotone voice. "Let me heal you."
She reached out her hand. Kurok felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. His own fingers seemed less luminous.
"You see?" said the woman. "Peace comes with calm. Happiness with simplicity."
Kurok closed his eyes. He searched within himself for the sensation he knew best - not hunger this time, but the memory of hunger. The taste of the first mutant slime, the explosion of flavor when he bit into the magical dough arm, the texture of cheese on an enchanted rat...
He reopened his eyes. "You're right. Simplicity has its merits."
He took the woman's hand.
And he bit.
Not into her flesh, but into her concept. Into her grayness.
The woman let out a muffled scream as colors began to gush from her chest - first a trickle of red, then a flow of electric blue, finally a torrent of acid green. Her gray clothes tore apart, revealing a whirlwind of bright hues dancing on her skin.
"No!" she screamed. "It's too much! It's too alive!"
Around them, the colors returned, more intense than ever. The neon lights blinked frantically, the shadows danced, even the air seemed thicker, richer.
Kurok spat out a piece of gray that dissolved into colored dust. "Sorry. I have a balanced diet to maintain."
The woman ran away, leaving behind a trail of colors that spread through the streets, bringing back life to everything they touched.
When Kurok returned to the bar, Nana looked at him intently. "You ate her... gray?"
"Everything is edible," he said, sitting down. "Even boredom."
Outside, Grimecity was regaining its colors, more vibrant than ever. But somewhere in the distance, one could still sense the bland presence of other Faders, waiting for their turn.
Kael finished her kebab. "They'll be back."
"Of course," said Kurok, ordering another beer. "Appetite comes with eating."