When they finally reached their destination all that could be heard was the sound of their steps echoing in endless corridors of sanctuary.

But as Icarus stopped corridors no longer looked endless as the wall before them showed them even the longest river had its end.

"Are we going in?"

The wall was giant but what Hildebrant pointed out were only a pair of wooden doors that were stuck to the wall as if they always belonged there. Their handle was made from pure marble engraved by numerous pictures of flying dragons and doors on their own were masterpieces of art for people to look at.

Nevertheless, they looked old and raged, showing they were far behind their glorious days.

"Yes, that is your new home."

Icarus grinned and then kicked the door open revealing a small room filled with paper, steel, and numerous other things that looked like rubbish.

There were a bunch of them and in the center of this room was a lonely sofa and table surrounded by an unknown amount of flash that littered on the floor and rolled around while leaking weird crimson liquid on the floor.

"I forgot to clean."

Icarus muttered and then slowly began to put Hildebrant on the floor.

Flames around him also stopped flickering and returned to his body but as they disappeared new source of light coming from the room ceiling replaced it and cowered him and hid him from the darkness that looked prepared to pounce on him if he let his guard down.

The first thing he noticed as his legs touched the floor was the wetness of it and the second was the smell that hammered his nose and twisted expression on his face.

Icarus who noticed it chuckled.

"I know I will clean it tomorrow today is already too late."

He then turned behind himself and his smile widened as he gazed at the girl who stood frozen behind him with trembling gaze.

"What aren’t you going inside?"

Hildebrant also noticed state girl was. Her hand which before held the hem of Icarus's clothes was now close to her body and her eyes kept staring into the room with fear and shock until her gaze shifted to him with a pleading expression.

"Does something matter?"

He asked but hearing his voice her body trembled more, before taking a deep breath and entering the room after Icarus.

"Good girl."

Said Icarus and then shut the door close.

Finding himself in a labyrinth of things Hildebrant didn’t know where to begin but Icarus without care pushed something aside, crumbling paper under his feet, and then sat on the sofa and relaxed while taking a flask from the floor and drowning liquid in it.

"Great!"

Putting the flask on the table he used his other hand to push all other flask on the floor and then he signalled for Hildebrant to come closer.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Come sit."

He said and Hildebrant slowly took his place next to the Icarus who back burrowed into the soft skin of the sofa.

"I…..."

Hildebrant then observed as Icarus's eyes slowly became weary until the man in question slowly drifted to sleep while continuing to hold the flask in his hand.

Not believing what just happened Hildebrant touched Icarus's body and waved before his eyes, but Icarus continued to sleep until Hildebrant chose to stand up and made his way to the small mountain made from rubbish.

Squatting down he began to rummage through the pail of things, throwing letters and notes on the side but also looking at some.

None of them made any sense to him as they were written like a mesh of lines and twists, a language he did not recognize, and some had pictures of giant orbs, embryos, or small children with wide-open eyes.

One even showed the entire cycle of human life from birth to death and around it were numerous question marks but on this same paper was the first text written in Goldian.

Why me?

Words radiated with despair and after putting it down his mind still swirled around the words until his hand grasped something cold and solid and looking down, he noticed a silver star with grey crystal in its center.

"What are you doing?"

The voice that crushed into his back was unusually unfocused, but it still made him shiver and accidentally touch the grey crystal in the center of the star.

As his finger touched its rough surface it immediately turned into dust.

There was a moment of shock before Hildebrant calmly opened his mouth.

"I think I destroyed something of yours."

Soft sand seeped through his hand and before he showed Icarus the star, the stone was already scattered on the floor.

The most precious part of the medal was gone, and it was his fault.

But Icarus did not look angry after he saw the star and he even chuckled.

"Don’t apologize it already outlived its usefulness now it is just another piece of rubbish in this room."

Taking another sip from the bottle Icarus finally looked more alive than when he entered the room.

"What was the use of it?"

Flask dripped the last drops of liquid into Icarus's mouth and after watering his lips Icarus began to ponder as if remembering something pleasing.

"There was a man who lost all and needed to be cut away from his family. He did not want to leave them, but he had no choice because he was sick and dangerous. If he stayed, he would hurt his family which he did not want. So, he escaped and found a new place to live where he could slowly find a cure for his illness. But as the year passed, he still could not find a cure even with the help he gained from a place he was in, and in the end, he almost gave up but then he remembered the gift he gained from one of his friends."

Icarus pointed at the star in Hildebrant hands.

"It was an artifact that could grant any wish if the desire was strong enough and the man wished to be cured but even after the light in stone became dim man did not feel any change. For days he cursed and broke all sorts of things until his anger was sooted but, in the end, he gave up and began to work anew."

Hildebrant looked down on the star in his hand.

"Is this the same artifact?"

Icarus smiled.

"Do I look sick?"

Hildebrant titled his head.

"No?"

"Then here you have your answer."

Throwing the flask into the rubbish on the side Icarus pushed his hand under the table and after retrieving something he threw it on Hildebrant.

Catching it and spreading it wide, a red cape unfolded before him. With confusion, he gazed at Icarus, who just raised his eyebrows.

"I know walking naked for you is as natural as breathing because flames in your body don’t let you feel cold but think about what other people say when they see the young boy walking around naked. It surely does not do justice to the people who raised you."

Looking down Hildebrant finally noticed that he could not feel anything cowering his lower parts and calmly covered it with a red cape.

"You should also go clean yourself. Behind me are doors leading to the bedroom and a small shower. You two can go together. Also, stop grasping my head, girl. The only reason I took you is because of Hill."

Like a pale ghost, the girl grasped Icarus's head and gazed emotionally at his head until she gave up and ran to hide behind Hildebrant.

All Icarus could do was chuckle with hatred written in his eyes before sending them away.

"Go clean yourself."

He said and took another bottle from the floor and began to drown it in liquid.

Red water flowed into his mouth while Hildebrant and the girl opened doors that were hidden behind the rubbish and before he could close them, he heard a weird growl escape from Icarus's mouth.