Underground town - guest lounge - afternoon

Fire burns away at my legs, devouring them in its merciless rampage. The flames keep growing in magnitude until it consumes my whole body. My skin melts, pouring off of me like sludge. Little by little, the flame consumes everything until there is nothing left.

I open my eyes as cold sweat runs down my neck. My vision is pointing up to the ceiling. It has a vanilla color that is warming to the eyes.

My head is up against a pillow, no doubt about that, but why…? Well, I fought Walter, beat him, my whole body went limp, then that old man carried me and Walter, and I fell asleep. Yep, sounds right.

“Look who woke up.”

I instinctually try to jump out of bed. A burning pain that eats at my legs stops me, locking my leg in place. Every end of my leg screams out in pain as I try to get up. All the nerves, muscles, and skin tissue is burning, and I can’t do anything about it.

“Easy there, your legs aren’t lookin’ so hot. Here…”

Clear blue water, gentle and smooth in motion, wrap around my legs. It flows around my legs, relieving me of all my pain. So much so that it feels as if my legs are suspended in a different space, separate from my body.

“How’re you feelin’ now?”

“Great, I guess. But…why are you helping me?”

“Well, I...”

“Is your memory that bad, gramps?”

He clocks me over the head, shaking up my brain somewhat.

“Ow! I was only kidding! Old people like you are the worst!”

“And little bastards like you are annoying!” He plops back on his seat, letting a groan leave his mouth. “...Anyway, your legs are pretty banged up, but don’t worry, it ain’t enough to leave you crippled.”

Thank god! The thought of being crippled sends a sick feeling through my throat, enough to make me wanna vomit. I choke down the bile that wanted out of me.

“Thanks, old man.”

“It ain’t old man, damnit! I’m the swordmaster of the Water rider style. Grey Ocean!”

“Am I…supposed to be impressed? And Gray Ocean?”

Looking at his hair, I can see why he has “gray” in it, but it sounds so lame.

“Look, that’s just my swordsman name, kay?”

“So a fake name?”

“Nope! It’s as real as you or me, but yeah, it ain’t my real name.”

“Okay…weird.”

“Says the kid named Proxy.”

Er, well, I guess he has a point… Wait, did he just say my name? I never told him my name!

“Old man, how do you know my name?”

He rubs the back of his head, hiding his face from me. “Whoopsies. Should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“Answer me!”

“Okay, okay, I get you. I’m only gonna say this: someone told me your name, gave a sample of your blood on this paper here, acting as a sort of tracker.”

“Who told you about me!? Actually, how do they know me?”

“No idea. All I know is that my employer told me to go after some kid, collect the book, and that's it."

"Did they tell you why?"

"Duh, course not."

Figures, why would they tell hired-hand anything beyond a need-to know-bases sort of deal?

"Okay, then, do you know his name or his face? Where did you meet him?"

"Easy, easy. 20 questions ain't my thing. I didn't meet him personally, he had a minion meet me. That goon told me to come to this land and hunt for someone holding a book. And sorry, kid, I can't give names." Then I'm no closer to figuring out who got me and Richard mixed into all this. "...Though, the guy he had speakin' on his behalf was odd. His breathin' was nonexistent, the way he moved was odd, and his skin was so dry and pale. Almost like I wasn't talking to a human."

Dry pale skin… Those monsters we fought when we first came to this world had those features. So that means his employer is the dude who sicked those monsters on us. Okay, now we’re getting somewhere… Not! How the hell does that help me!? On top of that, it doesn’t help us with finding out who’s been stalking me and Richard. All this does is prove that someone has been watching us. But I guess this is better than nothing, so I should be bitching.

“Thanks, old man.”

“I shouldn’t be tellin' you any of this, I should also be takin' the book from you…but I ain’t.”

“Why not?”

“Cause I wanna… Hm, how do I put this…? Oh, I got it.” He bumps his chest, standing up straight. “Now is not the right moment. A proper swordsman must be able to find his moment then strike. That’s it, I swear.

Man, I gave better excuses for being late to classes. Are all swordsmen weird like this guy?

Sitting back in his seat, he leans forward, giving me a grim look. “Anyway, I’ll let you go, for now. But know this, I’ll still be gunning for the book, and if you get in my way, then…” Shivers spike up throughout my body. The inside of my throat tightens as he stares holes into my eyes. The worst part is his eyes, those eyes hold no rage, no anger, or bloodlust, but a calm sense of killing intent. “...I’ll kill you.”

My shoulders suddenly become heavy, tensing up from his ruthless threat. This isn’t the first time someone threatened me, so what the hell is going on? Cycling air into my lungs grows harder, becoming too thin to take in.

As long as this swordsman has his eyes on me, I can’t escape this oppressive atmosphere. Moving even an inch is a sin, punishable by death.

I can see what would happen if I tried; his blade would hack off my head, a clean cut severing the base of my neck from my shoulders before I could react.

“So you get it, right?”

A casual question breaks the tension. He’s easily able to switch from one mood to another in the drop of a hat. Sweating, my heart races a mile a minute even after he broke the tension.

“Ye-yeah...”

He stands from his seat, picking up his sword that rested beside his seat, attaching it to his back. "Sweet, then I guess we’re all good. Anyhoo, I’ll be seein' you around. And about that guy you beat: I left him with a blond-haired guy. He said you knew him.” Sounds like Alex. “Oh, there’s somethin’ else I need to ask you… Can you tell me how your speed increased? When we were fightin', you were barely able to evade any of my attacks. Suddenly, you’re movin' faster than a normal person can follow. Course, I could see you perfectly, but it was too out of the blue, kinda caught me off guard.”

“Yeah…I have no idea either. There was this feeling, it made everything clearer to me. My body became lighter and it was like everything was moving slower than usual. I have no idea how it happened, but it was overpowering. Though, I can't remember half of what happened when this feeling kicked in."

My head went clear, all my emotions were subdued until the final hit settled in. At that moment, it felt like my thoughts returned to me after being held back. No, that's not right. I think it's more like they were erased.

“Your body got lighter…? I see.”

“Got an idea what happened to me?”

“Somewhat. You didn’t just fall asleep in the middle of battle, right?”

“You think I’m a moron or something!?”

“Kinda.”

“Kiss my ass, you old bastard!”

“Hey, I ain’t… Ah, forget it! Either way, I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“Come on. Look, I’m sorry for calling you old, I swear.”

“It’s not that. I don’t know if it’ll be alright if I told you. It might come back to bite you in the ass.”

“Why not? Scared I might get stronger than you?"

He points at my legs. “That right there is why I won’t tell you. It’s because you can’t see what it did to your body.”

“What it did?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

My eyes drift to my legs, submerged in water, the surface changes the shape of my leg, making it impossible to see what it really looks like… My legs, it did something to my legs!

“My legs! It messed up my legs!"

“Got it in one. When you slipped into that state, you must’ve released the limits on the human body.”

“Limits?”

“Yep, every human has a limit, exceptions may vary, but we have them. Our brain limits the amount of strength we have access to, keepin' us from harmin' ourselves with the strength of our own bodies. There are methods of gettin' over that, but you don’t have the means to do so. At least, that’s what I thought. Somehow, even without Source, you were able to get over that limit, even if you didn’t fully get over it.”

“I was able to get over that?”

“Yeah, but it comes with its drawbacks. For insane power in your legs, you put unnecessary stress on them.” So that’s why they're burning. “...So if you wanna keep your legs, then I suggest you never slip into that state again. Next time, you might lose more than just your legs.”

I swallow hard, the center of my throat numbs over. Everything he said is the truth, the only truth of the matter. I’ll lose more than just my legs if I go overboard. Pain didn’t exist in that state, if it did, then wouldn't I have snapped out of it?

“Well, that’s about it. I’m gonna be headin' out. The water around you is going to disperse in about an hour, that’s how long I’ll be able to manage it since I’m going to be putting distance from you. After that, you better take it easy, or else you’ll make your injuries worse, got me?”

“Loud and clear.”

“Good to hear it. Well, I'll be seein' you.”

He makes his way to the door, stopping in front of it before placing his hand on the doorknob.

“One more thing: don’t ever fight a Source-user alone. If you gotta, have someone watch your back. You might’ve beaten that guy, but he was a complete amateur who relied on two tricks, and one that was out of desperation. The first one is that air pushback, it’s good for defense, but it wasn't a 360-degree push, only pushing where he needs it to."

Never had the opportunity to notice that. I guess it doesn't matter since I wasn't able to get in his blind spot.

"...The second were those air bullets that came from that flute. The instrument was actually a Mystica, so that’s why it was able to handle his Source and how he was able to shoot it off rapidly, but it relies on his opponent being slow and away from him."

I kinda remember that, still kinda hazy, but it was able to rip apart a metal door, so that automatically made it dangerous.

"...Finally, those air spears, which he used only when you were about to deliver the finishing blow. I’m guessin' he did that as a desperate attempt to kill you." Sounds like he watched the whole fight. “...Overall: you were lucky he wasn’t more than an amateur Source-user, so don’t go thinkin’ you’re invincible just cause you kicked that guy’s ass, kay? Also, your swordsmanship is crap, how about mastering using one sword before using two?”

He opens the door exiting out of the room.

Inside this silent room, I lie on my back, staring at the ceiling. The old man's water is soothing to the ears, making it easy to relax. Stuck in my own thoughts, I recount everything I can remember about the fight… Nothing, I can’t remember anything important after he punched me. Maybe it’s better that I don’t. After all, if I manage to slip into that state again, then I’ll be screwed.

A series of light knocks hit my door. It isn’t the old man, he doesn’t come off as the type to knock on a door.

“Come in,” I give permission. The door is opened with a gentle push, showing a girl from the other end. It's Vella, whose shoulder is covered with clean white bandages. “Vella!”

She doesn’t return my greeting, she just scurries next to my bedside, facing away from me. Her smile is nowhere to be found, only a face vacant of emotion.

“Hello,” she whispers, depressing in tone.

Nothing looks wrong with her physically, so that's good.

“So, are you okay?” I ask her.

“My wound was taken care of, but a scar will remain on my shoulder once it heals."

“Damn, that sucks.”

“Yes, but other than that, it didn’t do any lasting damage.”

“That’s good, you had me worried there for a moment.”

“I truly am sorry.”

The atmosphere takes a nosedive into depressing territory.

“Vella, what happened to Walter?”

“He’s being kept by your friends. They’ve tied him up in the banquet hall.”

“Where’s the elder?”

“She’s gone. Everyone searched for her, but she has disappeared.”

“There goes my plans to make her pay. But hey, now that she’s gone and Walter is out of the picture, you girls are finally free.”

“But we aren’t.”

“Hmm? What are you talking about?”

“Do you still not understand? We're down here because we deserve to be. Each one of us is guilty of a crime we can’t atone for. It doesn’t matter if you have beaten Walter, or if the elder is gone, we’ll all remain here.” So nothing changes? She’ll just stay down here for the rest of her life. That’s just… “But I don’t know if that’s good enough anymore.”

“What?”

“I don’t know if staying down here is enough. I want to be forgiven, I want to lift this sin off my shoulders. But now…without mr. Walter, I can’t do that.” This is… Is this idiot trying to say what I think she's trying to say? “I think I should give up my–”

“Shut up!” Vella flinches, cradling her head. “...Let me guess, you’re gonna take your own life or some shit like that, right!?”

“How did you know?”

“Dumbass, of course I would know! Idiots like you always resort to that!”

“But what else can I do?”

“I don’t know! But you sure as shit aren’t using your life!”

“Why can’t I!?"

“Because I’d be sad…! I want to understand, so just tell me, tell me who you killed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I’m being nosy, I know that, but I have no choice. I need to get to the heart of the matter. Although, what am I going to do after she’s done telling me? If she really did murder someone, what can I say to alleviate the guilt? Maybe there is nothing to say, I never killed anyone before, and I don't know how to deal with that. However, I can’t chicken out.

Like with Marie, all I can do is judge the person she is now since I don’t know anything about the past.

“My mother… She was a beautiful woman. Her figure was perfect, her face as charming as floral in bloom, and her smile was enough to outshine the sun. But the thing that stood out the most was her dancing."

“She was a dancer?”

Brief, she nods her head. “In our village, we dance to show thanks to the ones that had sacrificed themselves for us during the war with the Kingdom. However, my mother would be seen dancing in the center of town all the time.”

That war again? I know it was a war, but just how much did it affect this world? Last time I checked, it was because of Relius' dad, Godfred, at least that's what I know. Maybe I should ask Quincy to fill me in some time.

“...My mother’s dance was breathtaking. If you saw it even once, it would become ingrained in your soul for the rest of your life. Her movements were light, but with grace, quicker than the blink of an eye, and she flowed like the wind.”

“Now you’re making me wish I could watch her dance.”

“...But then, I was born. Even after birthing me, she had to take a break from dancing to take care of me… I never once seen her smile at me when we were alone. That beautiful smile was meant only for dancing and not me. However, our village got attacked. Most of our people were killed, but the ones who didn’t die wanted to dance for them… My mother was injured, her legs were inoperable, broken beyond repair. The despair on her face was awful…"

I can only imagine what that feels like, hell, I almost lost mine just trying to fight Walter.

"She wanted to dance, I knew that, so I thought if I did it, she would be happy, that she would smile at me, and that she would feel better. Everyone saw my dance, they were happy. It felt amazing to spin around, wrapping myself in the wind…I wanted to spin forever and ever, and I wanted to do it with my mother... But when I told my mom about it, she was horrified.”

“Horrified?”

“All the color was drained from her face… After that…” Her body begins to quake, sniffles accompanied by tears falling onto her lap as she hunches over into her lap. "The-th-then, the next morning…I woke up… The smell of smoke wood was replaced by a foul odor, a strong smell that made me want to tear off my nose… Then, I went inside my mom's room… My mom was dead! Her stomach sliced open with a knife next to her, caked in blood!”

She killed herself? This doesn’t make any sense now.

“But you said you killed her? Wouldn't that you had nothing to--”

“You're wrong! It's my fault she did it! She died because of my dancing! I was a bad girl! Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad! Filthy, horrible, disgusting, putrid, repulsive, nasty! I shouldn’t even be alive, I don’t deserve to be!”

I… I never… How long has she been like this? Shouldering this guilt. It's downright awful.

“She died because of my dancing! My dancing is bad, really bad! If I do it, then I’ll hurt more people… If I didn’t exist, then my mommy would be–”

"...I get it," I interrupt, soft in tone. With tears running down her small face, she gives me a puzzled stare. "The guilt of getting someone hurt, I feel that."

"Have you…?"

"I got Richard hurt. We were exploring until we hit a weird forest with all this mist. It was a trap by some bandits. He got hurt because I couldn't protect myself, I was powerless… It made me realize how weak I was. Every day, I think about it, wondering what I could've done differently, but there was nothing I could do, I was just weak."

"It's not the same! He's still alive!"

"You're right. Richard's still alive, but at the very least, I just want you to know that I understand how it feels to let someone down. But that's the thing, you didn't do anything wrong."

"How can you say that!? I did! My mommy--"

"No! Your mom...your mom took her own life because she was jealous of her own kid. I'm sorry, I don't wanna say it, but I'm sorry... I don't have parents, so I don't know what it's like to have a mom, but shouldn't parents love their kids instead of being jealous of them?"

"You don't...you!"

"I know, I'm terrible, but I think it's the truth! You didn't do anything, your mother did, and that's it!"

"No, she didn't! Shut up!"

"You didn't do anything!"

"I did! I had to!"

"You didn't!"

"I did! I had to! I…I… Then why... Why would mommy leave me? She loved me...she...she…"

There's no way I can answer her. All I can do now is be here for her, letting her know she ain't alone.

Tears akin to raindrops drip from her eyes, her eyes puffy. "...She...never loved me! She never hugged me, tucked me, comforted me when I got hurt, she didn't even say I love you! She just danced for others! My mommy never loved me…!"

Aren't parents supposed to love their kids? If that's not the case, then why the hell did she end up as a parent!? It's wrong...just wrong.

"I have no one, I never had anyone!"

"You have me. I'll always be your friend, and I always see my friends as family. So don't think no one is with you, because I am!"

Her delicate body lunges at me, wrapping her arms around me. She pushes against my chest, almost forcing me to my back. No longer holding back, she wales out in pain, bawling her eyes out against my shirt, tightening her grip around me.

Anything I want to say out of kindness to lift the burden probably won't do any good, only the opposite. The only thing I can do now is lend her a shoulder.

…

Leanin' up on the door to the kid's room, the sound of a young girl's pain echoes inside the small room, travelin' past this wooden door. The sound of it is enough to eat away at my heart. I can't stand it when people or things cry, it just doesn't mesh well with me. However, between the pain, sorrow, anguish, and regret, there must be a sliver of happiness. Hopefully, it'll shine through the darkness that wrapped her heart.

"Right, I should get going."

Pushing myself off the door, I walk down the busted-up hallway.

"All kids should be loved by their parents, no if, and's, or but's."

Yet, the world is unfair to some, showerin' some in love, while givin' those who are misfortunate none with no rhyme or reason behind it. However, it's up to the person to make the best out of their lives, that's how you grow stronger as a human.

Geez, there I go actin' like some know-it-all philosopher. Then again, I guess actin' like a know-it-all is fine every once in a while.

Though, that's the least of my worries. Bossman ain't gonna be happy about this, but that kid makes it worth it, so I ain't gonna complain. Hopefully, this goes in a way I’d like it to.