Suta POV

The unabated light fell into a thick darkness, shattering his entire world. By now, Suta had somewhat gotten used to being surrounded by darkness. After the third or so relapse into this state, the cloud of shadows made him feel at peace. A birth of sunlight fractured through the dense shades of the night. Suta captured the unique sounds of life around him, unique in its clear distinction against the ethereal state he was existing in moments ago.

‘Wait…am I…back?’

His heavy eyelids softly parted. He wore the distorted lens from the view of the world from the ground. The haze would slowly refocus, revealing that same placid red sky and the despotic giant eye glued to its hellish heavens.

‘Shit! I’m back here again. Back here again…’

“Wait…How did I end up-“

Suta attempted to lift his torso away from the ground but swiftly found his body failing any command he gave it. Worst of all, his entire body was suddenly wracked with this unbearable amount of pain that he barely managed to remain conscious. A smouldering haze of intense heat covered his skin. Apart from the muscles against his face, most of his body was rendered trapped within this intense cocoon of pain.

Curses danced on the end of his tongue, but the pain was so great he could only mumble inaudible sounds painfully.

“Hehehe- wakey-wakey.” He was startled by the foreign voice but succeeded in briefly drawing his attention away from the surmounted pain,

“You woke up quicker than I imagined. Sheesh, talk about exceeding my expectations kekeke- I guess some of us are born lucky ey.”

After tracing the source of the unexpected voice, Suta was surprised to find the crazy-eyed boy he met in that fleshy walled cave perched on what looked like half a broken tree. Almost flayed forcefully in half as though a beast had torn right through it.

But what was more of a concern was the state of Polkadot’s dishevelled outward appearance.

“Kekeke, why do you look so glum? Look, at least you ain’t carrying around this kinda problem now, are ya?”

‘Is that…his arm?’ Suta needed to ask himself that to ensure he was seeing things. The horrific-looking injury was far beyond anything he had ever seen up close. What was left of Polkadots arm was a charred black bone, covered in strange azure veins cracked between the layers of flaky blackened flesh.

Despite this, the boy continued smirking with a wide grin. Suta could see that the strange boy’s appearance was pitiful at this point, but his demeanour was far from anything short of exciting.

Unfortunately, Suta couldn’t gather enough energy to sit upright, so he was forced to shuffle onto his side to get a clearer picture. He raised his sunken helm and finally took in his surroundings. A short gasp broke free his lips. Panic, fear and sheer bewilderment flashed across his sullen mask. As far wide as he could see, nothing but desolation wrought, and a land uprooted from its once splendorous scene stood in his clear view. Small wisps of smoke still rose away like ghostly maidens from potholes glaring against the once luscious, matted earth.

“Wh-what-what happened…where am I?” he mouthed in pain. Suta’s thoughts drifted towards what he could vaguely recall happening before he lost consciousness again. He steadily pieced together the fragments of a distorted memory.

Just when he was on the fringes of resting his battered frame, Suta remembered the twinkling dance of a particular little sprite. His senses immediately became alert, and he searched with growing panic around the desolate, smoky air for his trusted fairy companion. Not seeing nor hearing a whiff of the little guy began to encroach cold shivers against his already painful body. His throat was painfully raspy, and it took him a few minutes to breathe out a few words.

“Wh-er-where…V-e-v-di.”

The boy named Polkadot stared at him with bright, innocent eyes, blinking almost aimlessly in wonder whilst he merely observed him writhing in sustained pain.

As though a bolt of lightning stroked his thoughts, his boyish round face filled with a gentle sparkle. “Oh, are you looking for your little birdy friend? Kekeke, he’s right there, look.” His finger gestured towards Suta’s chin. Or could it be his chest?

Suta lowered his head slightly, only now just seeing the strange golden medallion chain hanging around his neck.

“What is…th-this?” He groaned in pain, moving his body too quickly.

“Kekekeke-well-“

Polkadot jumped away from the short log and made his way towards him. Measured footsteps slowly caressed the dirt-riddled earth. “You got hurt, both of you. And the special little bird almost didn’t make it kekeke; luckily, I had a few measures to stop him from losing his precious life.”

Polkadot made a gesture, pointing towards Suta’s chest. He followed the outstretched finger and looked deeper at the golden chain hung loosely around his neck, with a circular medallion attached. It was a weighty golden piece of metal with two half-moon-shaped Emerald stones cut into it.

Stolen story; please report.

“I…I don’t understand. Verdi is…inside this thing?”

Polkadot nodded his head. His wild-looking eyes remained closely poised against Suta.

“It’s a talisman.” He said casually, tapping his finger against his chin.

“The little birdie is alright, I’d imagine, so anyway, kekeke . There was a huge fight, and he almost didn’t make it.” A cold wind swept through Suta’s mind. And his voice crept away from his mouth in a stiffened tone.

“What happened to Verdi?” He demanded

Polkadot flinched a little before creasing a wry smile in response.

“You don’t remember a single thing, do you? Hmm... Interesting.”

Suta noticed something odd in the way the crazed-eyed youth walked towards him. He was sure it wasn’t him imagining things but rather,

‘He looks…weary of me? That can’t be right. W-why would he be cautious? But more importantly.’ He strained his body again and took in the destruction. With the smokey fog slowly clearing, Suta could finally see the blue grass-covered hills. The distant forests clad in silver trees and languishing not so far away. The familiar drawbridge latched over the deep moult surrounding the place, which he had fought tirelessly to return to. Countless months had flown by, yet its immaculate exterior was just as spectacular and captivating as when he first met it.

“The blue castle…I ma…made it.”

*Bang!*

Suta's heart raced, as he shifted his gaze quickly towards the sounds of the disturbance. Polkadot held two fingers out with his thumb held up, just like a makeshift gun. But makeshift might’ve been far from the truth. After all, when had Suta ever laid eyes upon blue smoke rising away from the ends of someone's fingers?

“Ay-that was close, kekeke I almost missed.”

“M-missed? Missed wha-“

Suta followed the trail of smoke. His eyes lifted, beholding the carcass of a strange humanoid creature keeling over to its side. It was a giant insect encased in a black shell covered in white spots. Its six legs twitched a few more times before the creature stopped moving. Suta noticed the burning hole glaring against the space between its eyes.

“H-how did you do that?” Suta asked.

“Shit! These guys are finally moving again, hey drink this.”

Polkadot tossed a small glassed vial filled with an orange liquid. Suta watched the vial rolling towards him.

Kekeke, we should get a move on. We can’t say we'll make it out if they start fighting again. Also, Kekeke, you don’t wanna miss all the fun inside. Also, can you walk? Probably not, I imagine, right?”

Suta removed his uncertain gaze away from Polkadot for a second and observed his body sprawled against the ground. Now that clarity was beginning to set, he asked himself the obvious question about this.

“What happened to me?” The fragments were slowly piecing together. He remembered Ser Ector. No, that wasn’t the little knight with long furry feet. It was a different creature—a ferocious creature, he almost… “Did I lose?”

"Hm? Did you lose what?" asked Polkadot

"I...I..."Suta was forced to caress the side his head. " S-s-ser Ector...where is"

The soft growls of many creatures approaching filled his ears. He snapped out of his reverie and saw a herd of slender creatures marching up the hill. Dangerous smoke rose from the scorched earth and blurred their ghoulish faces, but their glowing red eyes menacingly bore through the grey smoke.

Suta tried to steady himself upright, but his entire body failed him. He felt a cold hand falling over his shoulder shortly afterwards. “It’s a miracle you’re even awake. Gotta say, what a way to stop two armies bashing their skulls in gekekeke."

'Stop two armies do what? Wh-what the hell is he on about.’

Suta aimlessly turned towards the west way; his eyes flashed open in horror again at what he saw. “W-wait? Are those…”

He heard the playful snigger beside his ears.

“An army has indeed arrived to overthrow the empty throne. I suspect the warden sent them. And over there, we have the loyalists and rebels. It's so silly when you consider they both want the same thing. Gekekeke, so many idiots."

'A war? What in the world happened to me whilst I was...'

Suta's inner voice froze in place. Those memories he saw, or was it a vision, cycled through his thoughts. He saw Granny Baba, that masked fellow dressed in a top hat and a long beige coat. The devastation of the farm. And finally, his past self dragged Demoria into that portal. Suta swallowed heavily, and within that moment, he finally realised he was the one to blame for all of this. His gaze trailed up the stoned steps leading into the courtyard of the castle. He had no time to ponder, to feel weak, or to fret over these countless monsters. Demoria was inside, and it was time for them to go home.

Fumes of thick black smog filled the air. Suta tilted his helm above and grimaced. He marshalled up the stone steps slowly. Polkadot had slung one of his arms over his shoulder and practically carried Suta along. The outdoor sounds of war raged on behind him. Contrary to his inner hope, they started fighting again once he was out of both armies' reach.

Suta felt entirely drained, but he couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Demoria. He pressed harder against his heels and moved as quickly as his battered frame allowed. He still hadn't found the answers to what happened between him and Ser Ector. Polkadot ignored his questions and merely sneered and turned away.

They both eventually arrived at the arch-shaped entrance. They hobbled inside and crossed the hall. Armoured bodies littered the checkered marble ground. His heart was beating so fast he could barely think straight. Just ahead of him, down this third hall, he could see sparks of lights accompanied by various voices.

“D-Demoria!” His voice carried weakly down the empty hall. With laboriously tired breaths, suta reached the end of the hall and twisted around the bend, announcing his arrival into the fray with a flurry of heavy breaths and heavier legs, forcing him to keel over his slightly bent knees while he caught his breath.

“D…e..mo…ria…I’m b-back…” Suta slowly raised his sunken helm but witnessed a horrendous sight that shook his core. Anak stood behind Demoria with his entire arm impaled through her chest. Blood, lots and lots of blood, flowed like precious red liquid onto the ground beneath her feet.

Suta couldn’t breathe, nor did he have a single ounce of control over his body. At that moment, the only thought registering to him was the scene he remembered when they first met. On the hill. That soft smile that bloomed to him like a new summer's day. Demoria twisted her head towards him, her mouth creasing a warm smile while blood trickled down from the corners of her lips.

“S…u…ta?” She said, before falling towards the cold ground.