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Even the most innocent ones. Even for the ones who were just doing what they could to live every single day of their lives, the safety and protection that they wished with such burning hope— would one day be extinguished by one single darkness that’s darker than the Void.
- Valerio Kono
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Weapons of iron and steel cannot be made overnight. It’s like what I was told, no matter the cost, just do things right. Do not question what they will be used for, may they be used to fight in the war, just keep quiet and keep on making more. That was my job afterall. It’s what I had to do to keep myself and my daughter living every single day. Inside I scream, while she continues to play. Hoping— and I would even pray. That everyone that I hold dear— everything that makes this village my home, would all stay.
“Is everything alright, Valerio?” he asked. “I just noticed that you suddenly had gone quiet and have been staring in the distance for a while now. Is something wrong?”
“It’s… nothing. I was just so tired from my work that I almost forgot what it feels like to relax for once.” I responded, taking a deep breath. “How about you?… Alessio?”
“Oh, it’s just the usual,” he responded. “But to be honest, I do begin to get bored and exhausted doing the same mercenary work as well. Makes me wonder what it would feel like to be working in a different job that doesn’t involve your hands getting dirty…”
I stared at him for a short moment before saying, “Well, I was about to offer you to work as a blacksmith in my shop instead but when you say it that way…”
“W-What?! Of course, I would be fine working as a blacksmith if you would offer it to me, but you know what I meant by what I said!” he shouted a bit then looked away.
I let out a chuckle from seeing his reaction. “Of course, I know what you meant. I just thought of messing with you a bit, Al… You don’t need to feel so embarrassed.”
He sighed before looking at me, “Aren’t we both too old for jokes like this? Or it could just be that your jokes are too old, or overall just very terrible for me to laugh at.”
“Ouch. Oh, Alessio, how could you wound me like this? After my best attempt of just trying to lighten up the mood for us from your very, very sour look?” I said, slowly smirking before we both laughed while getting hit by him on the shoulder a little hard.
That smile on his face. That playful laughter from him. The peaceful atmosphere all around us, how I wished that this would all stay. How I hoped that nothing would ever change between us. Nothing would change in this peaceful village. In the lives of these villagers and their children, and the life of my daughter, the one who I wanted to continue to watch grow, live in happiness and bliss. Not knowing of the harsh reality…
But how it came crashing down once that day came. Once she said those words… “Father, I will just be selling these flowers now before the new visitors come, alright? I promise I’ll be careful and come back soon.” and soon she ran off…
If I didn’t agree to her leaving on her own, would she have been saved? Would it never happen in the first place? If only I knew that she had one of the stones with her at that time, I would have already stopped her. If only I knew that it was what triggered the whole catastrophe to happen that day. If only I was fast enough, then maybe she…
She wouldn’t have been found lying on the ground with the debris and the other corpses. Unmoving, and was stained in red. I couldn’t help but just stand there, mourning in my head, before soon looking at the floating tyrant with a sword tightly in hand, shouting at the top of my lungs, “... YOU will pay for everything you’ve done!” before giving it my all on fighting him off all on my own… But none of it was enough…
Even with all of those skills, strategies, and powers from the two stones that I had at that time, the hatred and anger that I had, none of those were enough to defeat him. After I was finally left lying on the ground, I thought and believed that it was already the end of me. Despite how I still had the determination to end him. My body and energy were already failing me, my mind was already in shambles. Making me hear voices due to the drawbacks of one of the stones for using it for too long.
Is this how I will end? After losing everything I’ll be losing my mind as well? I began to crawl on the ground while gritting my teeth in anger. I refuse... I refuse to die when it’s not my time yet! I refuse to let things end this way without making him pay for what he did… One way or another… Sooner or later… For everything… For everyone… For my daughter…
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“Y-Your Majesty! We found a survivor here!” one of the guards shouted as they began to carry me carefully back to the carriage. While I could only keep my eyes open a little longer, I was able to see the Queen’s gentle and worried face. Feeling her gentle warm hands on my cheek, but I could barely hear what she said before I soon lost consciousness…
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After some time, I found myself lying in a comfortable bed, in a majestic room, and hearing murmurs from the nurses who were surrounding the Queen. When she finally noticed that I was awake, she quickly approached me, kneeling on the floor just beside my bed. “You’re finally awake. Thank goodness that we were able to still save one,” she said, her hands on my cheek, her face lowered as if she was trying not to cry. After taking a deep breath, she looked at me again, “I-I’m sorry… How are you feeling now?”
I could only look at her with blank eyes before responding in a monotone voice, “Numb… Everything just feels numb right now.” and looked down at my bandaged arms and hands, “Am I… truly the only survivor that was found out there? And no one else?”
She became quiet before shaking her head. “I’m sorry... But unfortunately, yes.”
Clenching my fists, I soon gritted my teeth in anger as tears streamed down my cheek, “That bastard of a king! This is all HIS fault! Everyone is dead now because of HIM!” I just kept on shouting and immediately threw the vase with flowers on the wall, making her lower her head and cover it with her hands as the nurses tried to stop me.
“HE destroyed everything that was in his wake, HE took it from MY daughter and showed her no mercy! HE showed no mercy to anyone!” After finally letting out those final yells, I fell onto my knees on the bed. Tears continued streaming down my cheeks with my head lowered and my hands still clenched. “He took her away from me…”
Silence then filled the room. She looked down at me with pity, before she finally spoke in a low tone, “I’m so sorry for everything that has happened. And for your loss. I didn’t know that it would end up that way. I didn’t expect that he was that kind of—”
“You didn’t know? You didn’t expect it?!” I sternly said as I looked at her. “What was going through your head when you thought of the idea of having a little meeting with the enemy kingdom’s ruler in my village— in my peaceful home— would bring?!”
“I wanted PEACE! I wanted to finally end this never-ending war once and for all!” she shouted back. “Please believe me, I never wanted any of that tragedy to happen!”
Breathing heavily, I could see the eyes of the nurses staring at me with worry while some of the knights were looking at me sternly, ready to attack just in case. I then sighed, “Tell me, what would believing in your words would do? It wouldn’t bring back what I’ve lost. It wouldn’t bring justice to what happened to those innocent villagers… Especially not when you still seemed to be in doubt of what that King did to them.”
Her eyes widened in fear and shock. “W-What?... H-How do you know that I…” I was silent, trying to keep my composure, and instead, pulled out and showed a cyan stone to her, making her more surprised and dumbfounded upon seeing it. “That’s… That couldn’t be one of the six stones of the realm, is it? How… How did you get that?”
I continued being silent and when she noticed it, she hesitantly touched it and immediately her eyes widened as the stone glowed. Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she let it go and moved back. The nurses surround her out of worry as the knights approach me but stop in their tracks and look at her once she commands, “Stop at once. Don’t hurt him. He hasn’t done anything wrong. It was my choice that got…”
After she took a deep breath, she stood up properly as she looked at me. Her eyes still had some tears left but still, she spoke, “I see now where your anger and hatred was stemming from. And I see now that you were telling the truth of what has happened… Despite how much I want to wish and hope that it wasn’t the case.” Her tone and the aura around her changed drastically now. “You said that you want me to bring him to justice for what he did, have you not?... Then let me help you. While you help me too.”
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Ever since I agreed to it, the Stone of Mind was with the Queen, and she was never the same again. While I was never the same again as well. It’s as if all of my human positive emotions died along with that village, along with my daughter. The people around me now know me as this strict, brutal Head General of Helio Vermillion, not knowing what I was back then… other than myself, the Queen, and a certain old friend of mine, who I never expected to see one day on the other side of the battle of this never-ending war…
Who I never once expected to be fighting against with, and almost ending his life because of a misplaced anger and hatred. He, who I thought would be by my side once he knew of the truth as well, didn't expect that he would change drastically as well. Making me almost hate to expect anything else good from him and other people now. How I tried so badly to deny everything I heard from him during that last battle we had.
“It's about how I unintentionally saved the King of Ivory Moon when I couldn't find you at that time… isn't it?” I recalled then another, “...I am tired of everything, Valerio… But I still pondered and tried to make things happen, however wishful and selfish it may be, to reconcile the past and the now in peace. I suppose you're right about me being foolish.”
I don’t— I just truly can’t understand how you could look at that man and think of protecting him. After already knowing what happened… I thought as I tried to keep my composure, opening the door to the room where he was currently resting, and seeing his sister, Endellion sleeping on the sofa nearby. Walking towards the side of his bed, I looked down at him before looking at Endellion. With this chance that I currently have, I could have just easily taken the stones, even if I would have to receive my punishment. But…
Instead of pulling the sword from my scabbard on my side, I carefully placed the blanket on him and silently let out a sigh. Staring down at him as the purple stone on my tie began to glow until I quickly grabbed a hold of it. Not too tightly, but I could feel it hurting my hand as it continued acting up, making my hand bleed a bit but I kept a serious look at him before soon taking my leave. It seems that even after everything that I know now, even after how I believed that I had no humanity left in me after so long, and how desperate I was to get them, somehow at that moment… I still couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Is it because I am afraid of the consequences? Is it because I am afraid of her and his wrath for my disobedience and betrayal if I were to do it? Is it because I do care about them? I stopped walking in the hallway as I looked at my bloodied hand and the purple stone that finally stopped glowing but was now stained in my blood. Or am I just waiting for a much better opportunity? Just waiting… for things to get out of hand soon because of this?
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