Although it was noticeable two people were in the room before he came, Agan didn’t mind. Moving a soft throne-like chair, he took a rest on the couch inside her room. As he sat, the old man then wondered if he was allowed to in the first place, and worriedly got up with haste.
“You may sit anywhere you want, Agan. Of course however, if you’re just choosing a different seat, go right ahead.”
With slight awkwardness, the man sat back down, thanking the doctor in the process. The doctor herself moved a chair with ease and sat directly opposite to Agan, a tissue box near her right just in case.
With a slightly deep breath, Agan began talking, and the session officially started.
“So…as of now, I’ve been doing quite well, doctor. However, like I said before, there are a few things I’d like to speak about in my mind. They’ve been bugging me for a while…”
“Please do. If there’s anything you’d like to talk about, I’m here to listen. You can start by either telling me about the things bothering you, or if you’d prefer, anything else.” Like usual, the doctor’s tone was caring. The man moved his legs as she spoke.
“What would you like to start with?”
Agan sighed, but he still talked to the doctor. “...For now, let me talk about my village. I would like to start off with something nice, but I need to get this off of my chest…”
Doctor Jones nodded, and she replied back, saying, “Okay, that makes sense to me. It can be a massive burden to have all these thoughts and feelings bottled up inside of you, so I can see why you’d want a chance to get this off of yourself.”
With a tap on the chair’s armrest, the doctor sat up straighter.
“I’m here to listen carefully and empathically, so let’s get this off your chest, Agan. What would you like to start with?”
Once again, Agan sighed, only this time with more depth.
“Well, let’s start with…my brother, yes. Him and his family.”
With a tender expression, the doctor asked a question. Her near unnoticeable aura in Agan’s eyes indicated she did not want to ask this question, but did so either way–with the intention of helping, of course. He wasn’t that much of an idiot.
“Please, if you may elaborate for me, tell me more specifically about what you mean. The more specific you are, the easier it will be for me to understand what happened to you and help you.”
She shuffled her hands around, and the doctor laid back slowly against her chair.
“Would you prefer if we start by talking about your brother?”
With a nod, Agan tapped his chair’s armrest.
“Sure thing. You see, my family, like many others, was a happy one. My parents were both alive, and they taught my siblings and I our village customs. We grew up well alongside our neighbors, but it wasn’t like we didn’t know anybody else in the village.”
He grinned at the nostalgia, and Doctor Jones was infected with the contagious happiness. She smiled at him, and then responded in kind.
“I see. It sounds like you're describing a close-knit community that was really important to you growing up. It seems to have helped you feel protected and supported, and like you could trust the people around you.”
The doctor raised her glasses, and the man laid back a bit further in his chair, feeling a relaxing comfort in her words..
“Is that accurate?”
“Rightfully so. That’s why it was a joyous day when my brother and his wife got together–the whole village celebrated their wedding…well, there was that odd one who didn’t care too much, but they all mainly sent our family happy words. It was a perfect match…” He laughed, but the doctor could see his stress. “A great warrior and a great bride…”
-O-O-O-
In a certain person’s distant memories, there was a village celebrating a couple’s wedding. The sun shone brightly that day, and the harsh winter was long over. The great trees of the forest were dancing. The husband was greeted by his brother, and the village was in a happy mood, the children running around with glee.
“You must be pretty happy, ey brother?!”
Agan wrapped his arm around his brother’s shoulder with a cheeky grin not fit for an adult. The said brother sheepishly smiled, but responded with equal fervor.
“Isn’t that obvious Agan?! I finally get to stay together with my wife!”
The village chiefs of the previous generations had stated that one may only live together with a different family if they truly love each other, hence the reason for his words. The proof of true love was a happy marriage–one that was going on right now.
“Hahaha! Just make sure you don’t get too excited later, Jutan.” Agan suddenly whispered into his ear. “Especially at night…AHAHAHAHA–ow.”
Agan rubbed his right cheek, with a happy grimace. With a vein visibly showing on his forehead, Jutan had a smoking fist and an annoyed smile.
“Don’t joke around about things like that…you know I’d be gentle with Khlon, Agan. Oh–sorry about that, by the way.” His tone fluctuated multiple times in the way he talked, and Agan laughed even harder. He calmed himself down.
“Oh, yeah…this is a pretty good time though. Basically everyone’s celebrating with you! Well, maybe except that one guy…what was his name again?”
“...Are you talking about Nolua?”
Something clicked inside Agan’s head, and he nodded.
“Yeah! That guy…” Agan squinted his eyes in annoyance. “He should be celebrating your wedding! Not doing…whatever he’s doing right now. Gotta have everyone for your grand event, y’know!?”
“Well, last I saw him, he said he was going to…” Jutan blinked. “Yeah. I saw him with his little brother, and Nolua said he had to do something with him before he joined in the celebration. No idea what it is, though…”
The man then thought back to the slightly fearful expression on the kid’s face.
“Well, I’m a bit worried about what they could be doing together. The kid looked a bit scared, so they might be doing something dangerous…”
With a cheerful smile, Agan wanted him to get out of that worried stupor, so he spun him around using some of his strength. Jutan was a bit dizzy afterwards, but his mind was completely clear of what he was thinking about prior.
“Come on now, Jutan. It’s a happy day and night! Go eat some aura meat! You deserve it, brother.” With a harmless shove, Agan urged him to go on. “Go meet up with your lover or somethin’. I’ll be feasting. See you!”
As the man ran away, Jutah sighed to himself, but he took his brother’s advice…
-O-O-O-
He zoned back in with his eyes closed, and Agan shook his head with a grin. Doctor Jones noticed this happy behavior, and commented on it.
“It must’ve been a great memory for you to be acting like this.”
Unconsciously, the man nodded fervently, but he stopped once he noticed what he was doing. The action made the doctor chuckle.
“You’re making it sound really wonderful. What happened then?” Doctor Jones queried, a sad curiosity being shown on her face. “How did things change from happy?”
He laughed. “Well, it was wonderful, that’s certain. They got married without any problems, and then, my brother’s wife became pregnant. This was a happy occasion, of course.”
“I see. A pregnancy is always an exciting time for new parents–there's so much to look forward to, and of course, a lot of worry about the future and how you'll adjust to the responsibilities too.”
She nodded, and in Agan’s eyes, her aura turned even more unnoticeable. The doctor was an unbelievable phenomenon to him, and he grew slightly distracted. However, he was still able to pay attention to her.
“Are you comfortable explaining what happened next, Agan?”
With that question, he breathed deeply and exhaled a sigh.
“...Of course. You see, it’s just a bit…” Agan grunted and covered his eyes with his left hand, but then took it off with weariness. “It’s a bit unbelievable to me.”
Doctor Jones connected her hands together thoughtfully.
“How so, Agan?”
“Jutan’s wife…that is, my brother’s wife–we thought she would be a good parent. Not that she wasn’t a good person. The only soul kinder than my brother’s was her’s, and that says a lot.”
With annoyance, Agan scratched his head, and he glowed in disappointment and sadness. He seemed to reminisce at the memory, but a dark shadow overlaid his action.
“...Well. In the end, our thoughts would never be confirmed.” Suddenly, the man himself was reminded of his own wife, but he shook his head to escape the memory.
“His wife, Khloak–” Agan blinked several times, and his functional eye widened. As they shrunk, he arched his back onto his left standing hand. “No…her name was…Khlon. Yes, Khlon.” He took in a deep breath before continuing. “She…died with the birth of Jutan’s first child. My brother…he was–” Another deep breath, only faster. “He was very…affected by the event.”
His own aura seemed to be leaking, and the doctor did her best to sympathize. With a softhearted voice and an expression able to convey a feeling of understanding in another, she said, “I can't imagine what you went through when that happened. It must have been such a difficult experience for you and for your family.”
Doctor Jones stated the truth, and with a relatively calm nod from Agan, she resumed her part.
“Are there any particular thoughts or feelings that you have about that? Anything you want to share, or anything that has been sitting heavy inside of you?”
Agan sighed, denying the claim for that particular moment.
“...If anyone had something heavy on them, it would be my brother. I admit–I barely cared at all for his wife. However, seeing Jutan in that miserable state…”
The old man laid back on the couch, and relaxed his body before continuing further. He dimmed his eyes as he recalled the emotions of the past.
“He did his best to cope, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was still hurting inside. Then, afterwards…ha. Close-knit community my ass.” Agan grunted, gritting his teeth. The doctor wasn’t affected by the profanity, but she paid close attention to what he’d say next.
“I should have never trusted them.” Agan said, frowning. “These good people–at least, I thought they were good people–suddenly had a teeny tiny little suspicion about his child. They connected the boy to his mother’s death. If we were closely-knit before, we would surely be a damn loose rope now.”
Agan’s face darkened further.
“That’s when the rumors started…”
-O-O-O-
Inside the village, a man sounded out knocked on Jutan’s door, and the lone person inside asked, “Who is it?”
As the light in Agan’s torch flared slightly with a touch of his aura, he answered in kind with a quiet voice, so as to not wake up the others in the village. It was getting especially dark, and he brought it with him just in case.
“Jutan, it’s me, Agan. You’re still up, I see.” He backed away from the house’s door as he heard Jutan come closer to it. With a firm push, the door was opened, and an exhausted Jutan could be seen.
It was as clear as day that he wasn’t tired due to the night, however.
“...Yeah. Why are you here, Agan? Shouldn’t you be resting at this time? Or–at least, that’s what you’d usually do, right?” With a suppressed yawn, Jutan stretched his muscles and went back to the room he was in before. With his two hands, he picked up his son, who smiled brightly back at him.
“Just here to see how you and the child are doing. From the looks of it however…” Agan grimaced. “You don’t look well.”
With his back turned away from his brother, Jutan’s shoulders slumped.
“...Is it really that obvious?”
Agan’s expression stiffened. “So you really aren’t well, then.”
“Damn it, man.” The man sighed, and as if it sensed his emotions, the baby stopped smiling. “Listen, that–Agan, that was a joke. I’m fine, really.”
With a skeptical expression, Agan pressured him.
“What are you talking about? Do you realize how much of a corpse you look like!?” The man shook when Agan said ‘corpse’, and Jutan bit back a retort. “Hey, Jutan! Answer me!”
After a few seconds of tense silence, Jutan looked back with a fake smile on his face. He chuckled with a harmonious tone, and the baby was no longer confused. It smiled back at him.
“You’re worrying yourself too much!” Jutan beamed at Agan, mustering the best act he could do. “Really, don’t worry about me. I’ve–I’ve hunted and killed all my life, so just one small death shouldn’t matter to me anymore, right? Go back home, brother. You deserve the rest.”
It took Agan a good few seconds before he finally stopped doubt from showing on his face. He sighed exaggeratedly. “...Alright. Just take care of yourself, Jutan. You do seem good to me now, so I guess I’ll leave.” He turned around to get out of the house before remembering something crucial. “Oh–by the way, Jutan.”
A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Jutan’s neck.
“What is it?”
Agan pointed to the child in his arms, asking with a joyful tone and smile, “What did you name your son?”
The other man blinked, and hesitantly spoke. “...It wasn’t me who named him. It was…Khlon, Agan.” His brother winced at the implied injury. “My son’s name…is Jaffy. We both agreed to have it as that.”
“...’The Child Who Overcomes’, huh. It’s a good name…I apologize for coming so late at night.” With a burst of power sent to his wooden torch, the light brightened.
“Don’t worry about it. I was still going to stay up for a bit, anyway…” The man set the child on the ground, who moved his limbs unpredictably as Jutan let go of him. “Go ahead, now. You’re going hunting again tomorrow, right?”
With a nod, the other confirmed his guess. “Yeah. You should come sometime–get your mind off some things, you know?”
“Hah. Maybe next season.”
The two chuckled, and Agan left the house. He closed the door, walking back to his own home. His face grew dark as he remembered the conversation he barely paid attention to, however.
‘He lied to me. His aura…it fluctuated as he said he was fine.’
Agan balled his fist, and on his path to his home, a voice spoke from his right. He was too distracted in his thoughts to notice their aura, so he nearly flinched when they spoke.
“It’s annoying, right?”
Agan turned to his right, and answered with another question. “Mantoh. What’s annoying?” His torch flickered, and he looked at the man.
“...Dealing with your brother. He’s too obsessed with that child, isn’t he?” Mantoh regarded his words with caution, hoping it wouldn’t anger the other man. As he had no reaction, he continued, still on guard. “...His child is cursed, Warrior Leader.”
The following words raised an eyebrow from Agan. “Has the trip back home made your mind crazy? What are you talking about?”
“It’s not just me, Warrior Leader. Everyone else is starting to have some kind of suspicion.” The man stepped forward, hands trying to communicate. “Why else would Khlon die when it was born?”
“When he was born.”
Mantoh flinched. Agan squinted his eyes at him, but not out of anger or hate. Agan had felt the same suspicion, but he let it go because they were brothers.
“Just…let the man mourn. Khlon’s death was just a coincidence. Let the rest know that too.” He sighed, and Agan waved Mantoh’s worries away.
“But–”
“Don’t.”
The torch light grew brighter, and Agan glared at Mantoh for a good ten seconds. After a tense exchange, the two parted, and the darkness of the night finally settled in. As Mantoh grumbled away from him, Agan blew his light out and entered his home.
With an exhausted sigh, he lay on his bed, one fit for the leader of the warriors.
‘...Mantoh didn’t lie to me.’ He bit back an angry grunt. ‘Those bastards…who do they think my brother is? His child, even!?’
With yet another sigh, he thought to himself, ‘Well…it should be fine.’
‘They’ll probably stop their suspicions when nobody else is affected…’
-O-O-O-
“...They thought his child was cursed, Doctor. Basically every single villager there thought so except me, and—maybe one or two other people.” He ‘tsked’ with annoyance and hate, and he let the doctor prepare a response.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Doctor Jones raised her glasses, and she thought back to her previous patient.
“I see…what an awful thing to say about a little baby–they must have been really caught up in irrational beliefs and superstitions.”
Agreeing, Agan said in kind, “Yeah…” He remembered the customs and sensible things the Emians learned for their ways and tradition. “It…it was really bad, I’ll tell you that.”
The doctor took note of his mental fatigue once more. Then, a question came up in her mind.
“If you don’t mind, can you tell me how your brother reacted?”
Agan sat up straighter, and stretched his arms. He didn’t mind the curiosity.
“Yeah, of course…” He tried his best to recall for a moment. “It took him…yeah, a week or two to finally end his sadness. Something always felt a little off about him afterwards, like he was faking something, though. My brother seemed to be dealing with it quite well.” Agan tapped the arm rest, and then continued with a nostalgic awe.
“But—anyways, like you were asking…” The doctor perked up slightly at the mention of herself. “Once he found out about the rumors, he…man.” Agan started laughing. “That guy didn’t give a shit! ‘So what if they hate my son?’ he said. ‘It’s my son, not theirs.’ HAH! The poor fuckers didn’t even know that their words never affected them—at least, I think it never did. It was quite admirable of him…” His laughter came to an end.
“His ability of ignorance wouldn’t be able to last, however…” His mind started drifting into his memories, and the doctor grew more curious with a hint of respect for the man. She was still on guard for anything terrible that might happen in his story, however. The profanity was nothing to her; however, her patient’s trauma was.
“It sounds like he must have been some kind of incredible human being—most people would have been incredibly hurt at being told their child was cursed, let alone having their lover die. Most, if not all, would struggle to deal with what happened.” The doctor’s aura in the man’s eyes only affirmed her words. Doctor Jones herself wasn’t doing as well as the man thought, however...
‘...So this is the start of Jaffy’s life…’
The mystery and tragedy of the situation gave the doctor very opposing emotions. She had done her best to ignore the talk that occurred beforehand to focus on the current one, but the man kept reminding her of it. Her aura shook slightly, but the man didn’t say anything about it.
“Could you tell me more about what happened as time went on?” She asked, pushing away the pain for now. The doctor would deal with it later.
With a sudden movement, Agan laid his back fully on the couch, sinking into its depths. He spread his arms and he breathed in deeply.
“...Give me a minute…then I will.”
Although his eyes were nowhere near as tired as Jaffy’s at the moment, the doctor examined his state of emotion. Clearly, what happened next was going to be hard on himself–and if it was unfortunate enough, it would be hard on her as well. She prepared herself, the near unnoticeable aura becoming harder to see.
A few minutes passed, and Agan apologized with a sigh.
“...Sorry. This part is just a bit…” He gulped, but not fearfully. “It’s where things start getting quite awful.”
“That’s okay,” The doctor reassured him. “Take all the time you need to talk. Remember that you are under no obligation to tell me anything.” Doctor Jones smiled at the man.
Agan groaned, but not with hostile intent. “No, no, no. I need to tell you…at least this much.” He gripped the armrest with his right, and he touched his left eyelids briefly. The doctor listened closely.
“So…I made an offer to my brother. I wanted him to come hunting with me–take his mind off things, and sharpen his skills. He got a bit rusty from taking care of his child for so long. My wife–” Agan blinked a few times, and then continued. “Her name was Mala, and she kindly took care of my brother’s son while we went hunting together. Occasionally, some other villagers joined us, but we mainly hunted for ourselves unless there was some kind of event we were going to prepare for.”
The doctor smiled at the good news, but she knew that there was going to have to be some kind of twist in his story. Agan kept talking, a regretful gloom starting to show on his face.
“We made for a powerful duo, and we always came back with good harvests…but, while we were out there fighting, others would continue to talk about Jaffy–” The doctor’s hand flinched. “–who was left in my wife’s care. She was fighting her own battle out there…” The man gazed somewhere in the room blankly.
The chair started to creak under both the man’s heavy emotions and his grip.
“Then, someday…” The man covered his eyes, for fear the doctor may see the rage inside them. His blood boiled at the very thought of what happened.
“Someday…this random fucker grew bold. When we were just outside the village, I heard my wife scream, and my brother and I ran with haste.”
Agan uncovered his eyes, and the burning flame inside his heart dwindled with effort…
“Mala had gone outside with the baby in her arms for a few breaths of fresh air, and after being out there for a small while, this guy, he…he threw a FUCKING ROCK AT THEM!”
…only to be reignited with a fatal fuel. The man was heaving, chest growing and deflating once every second. The anger was clear and visible, The doctor leaned in to speak, but Agan stopped her with a sign of his palm. He calmed himself down, but it was obvious the anger was still there.
“...Haah. Luckily for us, the child wasn’t harmed, but…” Agan’s face had an implied shadow on it. “My wife had to heal herself for a few days. However…as I took care of her, I lost sight of my brother…that guy, Jutan.” He closed his eyes tiredly, and remembered that dangerous aura he had felt. Now that he noticed it, the one in the lobby–Nata–had a similar one.
The man shook, but only slightly.
“It was the first time I had ever seen him so angry…and so powerful.”
-O-O-O-
The frantic movements of Agan fixated themselves on Mala, and he finally calmed himself down as his wife comforted him. For the past hour or so, he had been worrying all about, covering her wound in oriental medicine. He nearly shed tears at the sight of her injury, but his pride forced him to hold them back.
“...Listen, Agan. It’s okay. I knew what I was doing out there.”
In response, the man in the room could only grit his teeth.
“What are you–what are you talking about!? If you knew you were going to get hurt, you should have stayed inside, damn it!” Agan’s voice shook his hands, those of which were applying a special water-herb mix cream onto her back, where the wound was. As a result, Mala groaned in pain. “I–fuck, Mala, I didn’t mean to–”
“Ugh…cut that out and treat me, won’t you? Really, Agan, you don’t need to worry so much. I made a mistake, and now I’m paying for it. Simple as that, you silly man.” Though she said that, the pain was starting to affect her mind. Mala had no doubt the stone would have killed the child had it landed on him and not her. She was grateful for that, even if it came at a cost.
“...It’s not that simple.” Agan said worriedly, the coating almost done. “You could have died out there, Mala.”
She smiled, but the man couldn’t see it.
“...Thank you for worrying about me, my husband. You shouldn’t say these things out loud, though.” The man stopped and contemplated for a moment, and then he continued working on her back. “You know how our village is, Agan.” She closed her eyes with a smile still on her face. “I’ll still take care of Jaffy.”
“But–”
“Shhh. No buts this time. Just relax.”
The man sighed, finishing the final touch of cream. An invisible weight took off on his shoulders, and he put his hands in a bucket of water.
“...Alright. Fine. When you get better though, you’re cooking me meat.” Agan stuck a big leaf on the back where all the cream was and wrapped it around her body, and she put on her top clothes. Then, as Mala pushed him down softly, she stared at him for a good five seconds. She leaned in for a kiss, but…
“LUUUUUMAAAAAYYYYYY!”
Both of their heads immediately turned to the noise of the action, and Agan slowly took Mala off him. Because of just who spoke that name, Mala didn’t mind.
Agan’s eyes shook at the tone Jutan had.
“...I’ll come back after this, Mala. Get some rest.” The man said, picking up his sword. The woman nodded, and went back to lay on the hay bed.
With haste, Agan burst out his door, and he looked out for Jutan’s aura. He didn’t have to, though; a powerful hate-filled blow struck the ground somewhere else, and the noise rang out in his ears. Some of the villagers came out to see who had caused this ruckus, but most of them stayed inside.
With urgency, he ran towards the noise with efficiency. ‘What the hell is going on?!’ Agan thought in his head, the chain of events seeming too odd to happen. Then, judging by the screaming, he appeared to be very close to the combat. However, before he could truly see what was going on…
“AGHHHHHH! FUCK! SOMEONE HELP—”
“YOU TWO! Stop what you’re doing this instant!” Agan commanded in response to the screaming, and then he entered the scene.
At the very sight of what happened however, Agan stopped his speed, dropped his mouth, and spoke quietly. His eyes widened at the realization of what had happened.
“…Jutan? No…NO! YOU IDIOT!”
Because on the road was a brutally mutilated man who had been cut wide open in far too many places.
“FUCK! JUTAN!”
As the one who had cut him open looked back with eyes dyed a bloodshot red and a frenzied frown…
“…What the fuck HAPPENED TO YOU, MAN?!?” Agan gripped the other man’s shirt, and his sword dropped. The other one’s didn’t, and…
…the corpse of Lumay laid on the ground, perfectly clean for every villager to see.
Jutan wasn’t done yet, though.
Agan immediately backed away at seeing Jutan swing at him, and a strong turbulence hit his emotions. In anger, he hurriedly picked up his sword and yelled, “JUTAN! What the fuck are you doing?! It’s me, Agan!”
“You…YOU…!” Jutan swung with far more might and hatred, and Agan felt a tinge of fear. The man hadn’t expected him to get even more powerful than before, so Agan had nearly gotten hit by his blade.
“Lumay, you—“ Jutan picked up his pace, and Agan was starting to get overwhelmed by his speed. “WHY?!?! HOW COULD YOU?!? I—WE WERE FRIENDS, AND YOU—YOU TRIED TO KILL MY FUCKING SON?!”
In near equal amounts of indignation and anger, Agan bit back. “DO I LOOK LIKE LUMAY TO YOU, FUCKER?!” He started getting exhausted, but Jutan didn’t stop his flurry of blows. “YOU ALREADY KILLED HIM, JUTAN! IT’S OVER NOW!”
“Yes. It’s over now.”
Agan’s blood froze, and even Jutan’s crazed mind stilled at hearing his voice.
The old village chief stood from afar, but his presence was enormous. As he slowly started to walk to the two, his cane stamped the ground with a sound practically resembling their heartbeats.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
In fear, Agan dropped his weapon and prepared to flee, while Jutan prepared for a fight while sweat poured from his body.
When the village chief got close to the two, he gazed at Lumay’s dead body, and his face darkened.
He looked straight into Jutan’s red eyes, who was still prepared to fight.
“What. Have. You. Done?” The chief asked.
In response to his aggression, Jutan regained control of his body and immediately slashed at him with all of his power, using every single bit of his ability to hit him in his heart.
Parried.
Jutan used the remaining muscle in his arms to redirect the parried blow into the chief’s neck, spinning his body for the most force.
Deflected.
Agan noticed what he thought to be a powerful aura weakening, and he tried to stop his brother from attacking again. It was no use, however; the old chief’s aura had practically paralyzed him.
Jutan, with a growing fear showing in both his body and eyes, swung down at his opponent. This time however, the village chief stopped holding back. He threw his cane upwards into the sky.
In a flash, the old man broke Jutan’s sword with a martial art known only to the generations of village chiefs, and as the man was shocked, he immediately hit both his stomach and liver, knocking back the man. Then, for the final touch, he hit Jutan’s forehead with his palm, instantly knocking the manic man out.
While Agan stood and watched the spectacle that had happened in just a second, Jutan fell to the ground. The chief looked at him with his cane now back in his hand, and Agan flinched, finally able to move.
“Take him back to his house,” The village chief commanded, a stern stare from him on Agan. “I will decide on his punishment tomorrow. ALL OF YOU, GET BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE DOING!”
As the old man walked away, the villagers who were looking at what happened went back inside, and they muttered about the event. Agan fell flat on the ground, and after shaking his head, he carried his unconscious brother to his home in trepidation.
‘This isn’t good. Murder is one of the worst crimes one can do in this village…’ Agan thought to himself as he walked. ‘Even the village chief got involved with this…though, that was unbelievable.’
‘To think he made the village chief get serious, even for a moment.’
Agan’s back drenched itself at the very thought. Suddenly, the man he carried on his shoulders felt heavier.
Just what turned his aura into that powerful state…? He managed to last more than three seconds from the strongest person in the village…’
-O-O-O-
The man closed his eyes at the bad memory. To this day, Agan still didn't understand what happened to Jutan at that time–that burst of aura from him had only lasted until his blackout, and he never showed such power again.
As he grew distracted in his thoughts, the doctor, who didn’t know what was going on inside his head, spoke.
“...I can’t believe someone would try to hurt a child on purpose. It’s absolutely appalling; a child should never be treated this way.” She scrunched her eyebrows. “It’s just cruelty for no good reason.”
Absent-mindedly, Agan nodded. Doctor Jones waited for him to zone back in, and then she asked him a few questions.
“Do you have some thoughts about who might have done this? Were there certain people in the village that you suspect might have done this?”
He sighed, but he still had the energy to laugh. “Ha. There was no need to investigate. My brother…” Agan’s eyes closed slightly out of regret. “I should have stopped him when I had the chance. As I took care of my wife from the stone injury, that guy, he–” Agan groaned in annoyance and understanding.
“...He killed the man who tried murdering his child. Mutilated him. If you saw his corpse, you would have thought someone tortured him rather than killed him.” Agan laid back onto the couch. “As I said before, I had never seen him like this in my entire life.”
“Wow…” The doctor wasn’t affected by it too deeply, but she was certainly surprised at the new event. “The fact that he took action to stop this person must have been quite shocking.”
“Yeah…” Agan looked around the room to distract himself. “It was something that never made any sense to me…”
“Do you know what brought him to such an extreme response? Did he explain it to you, or did he say anything that could help you understand his reaction?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s mainly because they tried to kill his son, but that by itself didn’t make sense. That guy was too kind for his own good; there’s no way he would murder someone.” His head cast down. “Yet, he did.”
The doctor listened silently.
“His emotions took control of him that day, and because of that, he got in trouble…” Agan shivered as he remembered the old man’s aura. “The village chief punished him quite severely after he regained his bearings…”
A bead of sweat rolled down his neck, but he wiped it using his hand.
“…He sent Jutan to the Land of No Return, but before that...”
Agan recalled the anger he had felt for Jutan at that time, his fists unconsciously balling in his seat.
“Jutan…his ‘trial’ couldn’t even be called fair in any world. He was given a terrible decision to make…”
-O-O-O-
It was the day after Jutan had gone berserk, and Agan sat down cleaning his sword mindlessly after he woke up. Mala was still in her room, resting from her injury.
“…Ugh…I…”
Agan turned towards the man who woke up. As he felt it might be a bit dangerous for him to sleep in his own home, he had him stay until he woke up. It was a good thing Agan had a spare bed, otherwise the man would have had to sleep on the floor. Jutan, that is.
“…You’re finally up, I see.” Agan said, going back to fiddling with the stone sword he had. Jutan sat up straight at Agan’s voice quickly, but he immediately winced. His guts felt like something had blasted them, and his arms felt extremely tired.
And then, the memories flooded back.
“Agan, I…what did I do?” Jutan questioned him, the other man putting his sword down on the ground. “All I remember is–I only remember seeing red and that…not that. I…Agan, what did I DO TO LUMAY!?”
Jutan shook, but he tried his best to stop it. One reason being the pain that came from it, and the other being his own pride. Despite his guilty and fearful tone, he kept himself from speaking profane words.
Agan looked back at him with sad eyes knowing his brother didn’t mean to kill the man. “You…” He sighed, still hesitating.
“Jutan, you…”
“WHAT?!? Tell–tell me already! How bad was it!?”
With every second, the memories Jutan held came back to him, but they were distorted and blurred. He couldn’t tell what was going on, and it practically felt like he was in two different places at once. Bit by bit, event by event, Jutan only remembered the madness he was in. Before Agan could intervene and tell him, he muttered to himself in guilt over and over again.
“I…I kept slashing at his head…and his limbs…they kept reattaching themselves to him…to Lumay…why–WHY was I so ANGRY!? That…it wasn’t me.” Jutan manically laughed to himself, tears starting to come out of his eyes, trying to convince himself. “It couldn’t be…it couldn’t be…”
“What the fuck are you talking about?!”
Agan rudely interrupted Jutan’s thoughts, and he stepped out of his stupor. The man was still in great shock, but as he remembered his brother’s presence, he regained his senses.
“Jutan, you didn’t torture the man or anything…well, maybe.” An invisible arrow hit Jutan’s heart, and Agan hurriedly tried clearing up the misunderstanding. “No, no, I mean–listen, man.” He listened. “You…murdered him, yes, but you didn’t do it painfully. Not for long.”
Jutan didn’t take it too bad inside, but a growing trepidation made his skin crawl.
“That’s…Agan, that’s still terrible. Oh my–fuck!” The man was unable to hold back anymore. The other man’s eyes grew shocked at the sudden usage, as it was the first time in years he had heard him swear.
The man’s eyes stung for a moment, and he covered them in pain. His senses were flooded, and Agan started getting worried when his brother’s aura was starting to turn back to how it was the day before; the day he had gone mad. However, it stopped after roughly ten seconds, and Jutan took his hands off his eyes.
Small drops of blood were on them, and Jutan’s vision stopped transforming into red. It seemed he didn’t have the energy nor emotion to go back to his prior state–something Agan was quite thankful for. However, before Jutan could wonder why his eyes hurt, fear swept his heart as he realized something else.
“Agan, they–what are they going to do to me?”
His brother turned to him with a grim face. Jutan’s heart sank, wondering just what his punishment for murder would be. Agan was unable to answer his concerns however, and was only able to look at him for a few seconds.
“...I don’t know, Jutan. The village chief was going to decide after you woke up.” Agan fidgeted with his hands with worry. A soft, hearable set of knocks gently hit the door to their home, and Agan squinted his eyes. “Speak of the beast and it appears…”
Immediately, Jutan ran to hide somewhere else in a different room. Agan stayed still at his spot however, calling out to the man outside. “Yes?”
Somewhere in his home, a baby woke up at his voice’s volume, but a motherly woman made him sleep in seconds once again. Jutan, however, was not as peaceful. He scurried around in Agan’s home, and finally found a suitable hiding place in what some may call a makeshift closet.
A young muffled voice outside came through the door. “Warrior Leader!” He knocked a few more times, and called out, “Is Warrior Jutan awake?”
With a pull from his side, Agan opened the door. The boy sparkled at Agan’s cool expression and powerful body, but he instantly cut himself off from the embarrassing actions he was about to perform. With a nod, Agan finally answered with a sigh.
“Yes…Jutan is awake.” He hesitantly said, the boy curious as to why that was so. However, out of everyone in the village, only two people were below the village chief–the chief’s children and the leader of the warriors. As such, he dared not question him.
“Give him a minute to gather his mind, young one. Then, we will come to the Great Bonfire for his…trial.” Agan left a slightly bitter edge within his words, but the boy was too inexperienced to notice anything.
“Yes, Warrior Leader!”
The boy saluted, and with a barely-hidden excitement at meeting the one and only leader of the warriors, he walked away with a pop of giddiness in his every step.
The leader wasn’t as well as the boy thought he was, though. Agan’s upper face was blocked with a shadow, and the man hoped the village chief would be lenient on Jutan. He knew it was selfish of him, but he didn’t want his brother to disappear just like that. Even the rest of their family wouldn’t want that to happen to him, despite their very clear opinions on his “cursed child.” The very pair of words left a bad taste.
He walked to his closet, clearly sensing his brother’s aura from it. The doors slid open with his power, and Jutan covered his eyes at the light. As he was sitting on the floor, Agan immediately pulled him up from his position, making the man slightly dizzy.
“...Come on, brother. If we’re late, the village chief might give you an even harsher punishment.” At Agan’s words, Jutan sweated, and his clothing stuck to his back. His mind cleared up.
Jutan, after a minute of thought, finally gathered the courage to stop hesitating.
“...Alright. Listen, Agan…”
“Hm?”
“If I don’t come back from this…”
Agan turned to him, and Jutan prepared his last words inside his head. Finally seeming back to his original self, he gave a grim smile.
“...do you mind taking care of my child? At least until he grows up…” The man looked away in shame as he said this, but Agan patted him on the shoulder. He reassured his brother.
“Of course. Now, let’s go…”
-O-
The village gathered around one half of the great bonfire, surrounding the four main villagers partaking in the trial about to happen. The village chief sat on a chair in front of the bonfire, and the trial began.
At least, that’s what would have happened.
“Warrior Jutan,” The old village chief called out. “You are guilty…of murder.”
If the villagers hadn’t heard the ruckus from yesterday before, they would have been shocked greatly, but since they had, their shock had lessened at his words.
The village chief continued, his hand still on his cane despite sitting. “Therefore, we will not commence a trial.” Jutan nodded. “Of course, you should know this by now.”
Agan sat to the right of the chief, and the chief’s son sat to his left. He still didn’t know what the chief was thinking, but he hoped it wouldn’t involve his brother’s death.
“I will admit. It has been a long time since a murder has happened, so I was planning on giving you the greatest punishment.” Jutan’s skin crawled at the chief’s voice, knowing exactly what punishment that was–death.
Agan listened closely to the old man’s words, despite how much it hurt him.
“However…” The village chief stomped the ground lightly with his cane. “I’ve decided to be slightly more lenient because you are the Warrior Leader’s brother.”
Jutan’s eyes visibly widened with hope, but Agan had a vague suspicion he was going to pull out something just as worse as the death penalty. The village, all of them being witnesses, stayed completely silent during the whole procedure. None of them even wanted to imagine being in Jutan’s place.
“...Because of that, I am going to give you two choices, Jutan.”
The village chief’s voice had a lingering ominous tone to it as he removed Jutan’s warrior title, and Agan hoped that his fears wouldn’t become true. Still, Jutan did not notice the discrepancy from him.
He was too focused on the possibility of living. Agan grimaced at Jutan’s hope.
“Jutan. The first option is…” He tapped the ground again, the all-too familiar clack making Jutan steel himself. “…To go to the Land of No Return for a season.”
Jutan immediately stood up, shouting at the unfairness. “You—Village Chief, if you want me to die, why don’t you just—“
As Agan’s eyes were flooded with the old man’s aura, Jutan stopped speaking, paralyzed with his sudden show of power. Although the man also agreed with his brother, Jutan, he didn’t dare speak his thoughts out loud. Even the rest of the villagers, who were angered at Jutan’s outburst, didn’t say anything for fear the old man would pressure them next.
The village chief stopped projecting his aura, and Jutan sat flat on the chair prepared for him once more. With a sweat, he grew anticipated for what the second option was. Agan cursed in his mind.
“…As I was saying, Jutan,” The man flinched. “The first option for you is to go to the Land of No Return for one season.”
Jutan nodded cautiously.
“The second option…”
The village chief’s cane clacked the ground once more, and everyone at the scene felt a foreboding, ominous feeling. Jutan’s clothes stuck to his skin, and his brother could practically hear the fearful heartbeat inside his aura.
“…is for you to kill your child.”