The butchered bodies of both the animals and the humans were too much for Yue-liang. His heart raced, his whole body freezing at the gruesome sight. Yura, startled by the view, quickly averted her gaze, focusing instead on the massive armored man in red.
Shivering from fear, her breath coming in heavy gasps, she managed to squeeze a few words out of her constricted throat.
”W-who... who are you?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter right now," he replied, keeping his pace as he headed straight toward the forest. "What matters is that we all need to get the hell out of here."
"We're not going!" Yura yelled, suddenly filled with a burst of courage.
The warrior in red stopped, slowly turning around to face her.
"You are going with me," he informed her. "Not because I said so or because I just saved you. You are going with me because you have no other choice."
"My mother!" Yue-Liang woke from his stupor. "I need to go to my mother!"
"No. You no longer have a mother. She's dead," the mysterious man revealed. "There's nothing left for you to return to. Even your own neighbors will chase you down. The whole empire will. I'm your only choice."
The boy collapsed to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes and streaming down his dirty cheeks, carving a path as they fell.
"Why did you help us?" Yura questioned. "What do you want from us?"
She reached out and grabbed her friend's hand, attempting to lift him. But he was too heavy, and she was weakened from the days spent in the dungeon.
"Name's Whurel. I don't want anything from you. I'm just doing my job... But there is somebody who wants something from you. Well... You no longer have the stone, so now he doesn't want something from you. He wants you. Still, considering your other options, this is the best one, because at least you won't die."
"W-what?" Yura halted her struggle to lift Yue-Liang and froze, her eyes fixed on the man in the red and black armor.
"Come with me, and I'll tell you what I know. Refuse, and I'll drag you. If you think you can run away from me, you're wrong. Be smart," the man warned.
The girl began to mumble, clearly overwhelmed by information and emotions. Her gaze wandered, before, once again, she caught a glimpse of the horrifying carnage. It was too much. A wave of nausea washed over her, forcing her to vomit. Her legs buckled under the weight of her body.
Meanwhile, the boy remained on his knees, his tear-filled eyes empty and fixed on the ground.
"Fuck this," Whurel cursed, then strode toward Yue-liang.
He effortlessly lifted the boy and threw him over his shoulder, paying no attention to the girl. Turning on his heels, he resumed his walk toward the forest.
Yura needed a moment. She tried to speak, but it only triggered another bout of vomiting. After a while, she managed to steady herself and force her weakened legs to support her weight. By that point, the enigmatic man was already a significant distance away. She chased after him, stumbling on her unsteady feet. Each step felt like a battle, yet the farther she ventured from the blood-soaked scene, the more strength returned to her legs, enabling her to increase her pace.
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Whurel came to a stop amidst the dense trees, having walked for hours. With a forceful motion, he tossed the boy from his shoulder, causing him to land on the mossy ground with a pained groan. Reaching for a large pouch at his belt, he extracted a waterskin—a seemingly impossible fit due to the sizes of both items—and took a swig from it. He then splashed some water onto Yue-liang's face, eliciting a defensive reaction as the boy shielded his head before attempting to roll away. Pausing for a moment, Whurel hurled the waterskin at the girl, who had caught up and was a few steps away, leaning against a tree to catch her breath.
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She grasped the waterskin, although barely, as it nearly slipped away. It only showcased her tired state.
"Drink," he instructed, "then make him walk on his own legs. At his age, it's a fucking shame to be carried by anybody."
Yura was already drinking, rendering her unable to respond. Whurel delved into the same pouch once more, this time withdrawing a handful of beef jerky, sliced into strips. He tossed them toward the boy. "Eat. We need to keep going," he urged.
"W-where?" Yura questioned, her drinking halted.
She didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she moved to kneel by Yue-liang's side, gently raising his head and pouring water into his parched mouth. He appeared catatonic, his reddened eyes and tear-streaked face displaying the remnants of his previous crying outburst, during their arduous journey.
"You need to stand up. You need to be strong," she whispered to him.
"We need to reach the other side of this mountain," Whurel pointed ahead. "It's called Gu-shan, I believe. There lies a vast forest, situated between the Kingdom of Touviel, the Kingdom of Morvalln, and the Eastern Empire. It's unclaimed land, as the forest has a will of its own and is nearly impossible to cross. We should find safety there, at least for a while. Then we can decide whether to venture into Touviel or Idra. Since Morvalln is allied with the empire we can’t go there. I prefer Idra because it's along the way, not to mention I have a meet-up spot there."
Removing his helmet, Whurel revealed his face, which was adorned with salt-and-pepper stubble and an unruly, unkempt beard. His long hair fell in disarray, mirroring the untamed wilderness they now traversed.
"You said it's impossible to cross," Yura pointed out. "I heard monsters are living in that forest, and in the mountain too."
"Almost impossible," he corrected her. "I know a guy... Well, I know a guy who knows a guy. With the trolls... I can deal with them by myself. Don't worry, we will make it. I've dealt with worse things."
"Why should we even go with you?" she questioned, pulling the waterskin away from Yue-Liang and presenting it to Whurel while using her other hand to grab the remaining jerky.
The man accepted the waterskin and returned it to his pouch. "You're already going with me," he pointed out.
Yura remained silent in response to his words. Instead, she focused on assisting her friend in getting up. Guiding him to a nearby tree, she helped him sit against it, then fed him some jerky while taking plenty of bites herself. Her hunger drove her to devour the food quickly, while the boy ate at a much slower pace, chewing on the tough piece as he stared ahead with vacant eyes.
"You kidnapped us," she eventually spoke.
"I saved you. You have no idea what mess you got yourselves into. Ever heard about Velroth Tyron?" he asked.
"No," she answered curtly.
"He's the god of war, worshipped all across the continent. Used to be worshipped here on the island too, but since the last major conflict ended here, about two hundred years ago, people grew accustomed to peace, and the need for worship diminished. Maybe that's why his cult died here. But on the continent, the kingdoms still wage wars regularly. The religion remains strong," he explained.
"What does that have to do with anything? We don't even know this god. We worship the spirits of nature!" she nearly yelled.
"There's a legend that Velroth Tyron chooses certain individuals to bring the war to the lands. A legend about the children of war. I don't know how much of it is true and how much is just a bunch of bullshit, but the part about the choice is correct. Few people know about this, but there are stones that fall from the realm of gods above. Your friend found one of them, and he touched it," Whurel pointed at Yue-liang. "Now many people want him because of that stone. They want to use him to win the war that's coming."
"Just like you do," he stated.
"No. I told you, I don't care. But there is a man... A powerful mage I work with. He wants to study the stone, or whoever touched it. He also wants to uncover the secrets of those old, weird men," he shrugged his shoulders. „So no war for you, if you cooperate.”
"Old men?" Yura asked.
Whurel waved his hand dismissively. "Pick him up, and let's go. Eventually, you'll learn everything from a man smarter than me," he said, starting to walk.
The girl observed the warrior for a moment. Then she helped her friend to stand up, but instead of following Whurel's path, she led the boy in a completely different direction.
After taking a few steps, a resonating sound reached Yura's ears. She tried to locate the source of the sound but before she could react, a silverish shape whizzed by. An axe, which smashed into a nearby tree with enough force to pass right through it, carved a large hole in the wood and embedded itself in the next one. The pieces of timber sprayed everywhere making her gasp as she covered her face. Then the trunk cracked and splintered, only halting when it collided with another tree.
"This way," Whurel said, pointing in the direction he was heading.
With wide eyes and a knot of fear in her stomach, Yura changed course according to the mysterious man's direction with her eyes focused on the weapon, before she finally peeled them off to look at Whurel. He passed by her on his way to retrieve the axe, which somehow had already cut through the other tree, causing it to splinter. The wood cracked loudly, as the tree began collapsing, soon smashing into the ground and sending tremors.
Passing by her for the second time, on his way to lead them, the warrior whispered, „Don’t make it harder than it already is.”