Kael desperately tried to think, but he found himself distracted by something else…

A part of him whispered tthat he was only acting so interested in a simple creature to cover the ache in his heart, but he forced himself to brush it off.

“I wasn’t even that close to him, though the least I could do is try to find his body when the weather clears up.” he consoled himself in that same monotonous voice.

Kael looked at the creature’s unconscious body, took a whiff of the surrounding air and realised that the creature would probably be sound asleep by the time he returned from a bath.

Kael stripped off every bit of clothing, his usually stoic face wrinkling in the sheer disgust of the smell. Taking in a bucket of water, he recited a simple heating incantation and watched as steam rose from the water, arousing old memories. Kael tried to dismiss them as he got into the water, but his mind got the better of him.

“Kael, how have you survived without knowing this spell? It’s so easy!”

“I am the swordmaster, not the spellmaster, I’ll have you know.”

“Tsk, tsk. How disappointing. Wait…does that mean that you’ve been washing with cold water all this while?”

“My affairs are not of your concern.”

“Sheesh, for such a renowned figure, you sure do lack some common sense. Here, let me teach you the incantation.”

That innocent smile and those light, harmonious chuckles would never be heard again. Whatever would the desolate Yerr Clan do without that dazzling touch of mischief?

Kael buried his face under the water, closing his eyes tightly. He counted, using the suffocation and numbers to get rid of those accursed memories.

The past is a memory, the future is a dream, and the present is the only reality.

Kael recited this line inwardly as he always did.

Clang!

It seemed that Kael need not attempt distracting himself as a distraction had already descended from the heavens for him, adorned in a silver platter.

Kael hurriedly stepped out of the water that had already turned a dark brown from the dirt, and scrambled for his clothes.

Opening the bathroom door, he expected to see many things. Some of them were reality.

He expected the creature to wake up, and it was indeed awake. Its azure eyes glowed even in the candlelight, looking straight at him.

He expected something to be broken. And true enough, the vase on the table he left it on was smashed into smithereens.

However, he certainly did not expect the reptile to tilt its head with a rose in its mouth, azure eyes blinking, looking like an innocent girl about to profess her love.

The snake had visibly shrunk. What had once looked like a massive jungle vine, taking up the entire space of the table now looked as harmless as a garden snake.

Kael stared at the snake, and the snake stared at him.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

It took a few awkward seconds of mental processing until Kael registered the situation in front of him. Hours passed in the span of a few seconds.

Kael snapped out of his shock, cursing at himself for being so slow.

No matter how much bullshit had happened in the past day and night, he had to stay on guard.

How could he just take in a random creature and leave it alone?

After all, it could be a remnant of the demons’ siege.

Kael summoned his sword, holding it up in front of it in a defensive stance. He inched closer to the creature, one careful step after another. The green of his eyes pierced through the azure of the reptile, his gaze unbreaking. Whenever the snake moved, Kael’s sword hand twitched as his muscles told him to cleave the snake in half, while his gut feeling told him that it meant no harm.

But he knew better than to trust his gut feeling after all this.

The snake in turn held his gaze, but did something absolutely absurd- it inched closer towards Kael, as if it understood his intentions, but Kael’s instincts took over.

The snake slithered towards him, and Kael’s hand moved on its own- the sword moved so fast that one could only see its glistening silver blade and a flash of the emerald hilt. The sword’s force caused the candle to flicker, leaving the room in darkness for a split second.

“Oh shit,” Kael thought, “I killed it.”

Kael bent over the table, silently reprimanding himself for killing an unknown creature without even observing or identifying it. It looked like it had some intelligence too. Its eyes were rather pretty- he might have even been able to sell it in the town for a good price. The village needed repair funds anyway.

He observed the reptile on the table. It lay motionless, no sign of breath. The rose remained in its mouth even in its last moments, and its azure eyes had finally closed. However there was one thing that Kael found strange…

Why were there no new wounds?

Kael did not decide to bring some random creature to his abode on a mere whim. He brought it as there was a creature that did not flee in the face of the demons and was somehow able to survive the effects of the demons’ barrier without the Yerr Clan’s protective enchantments. He brought it back because it was still conscious despite having bled so much that a crimson pool could form from the red-stained morning dew-like drops.

So how could it have died just by the force of the sword?

Kael’s right hand gripped around his sword as he used his left hand to check for the snake’s pulse when he saw the snake stir.

But it was too late.

“Shit.” he cursed.

As he had guessed, the snake was playing dead. It was quite an intelligent creature. The creature had moved the moment his hand approached it, and human blood spilt on the pristine wood of the table.

To put it simply, the thorns on the rose in its mouth scratched Kael’s finger.

Instantly its azure eyes flew open and it dropped the rose in its mouth. It slithered towards Kael and turned its head left and right, as if looking for something. It then stopped, its gaze fixated on the slight prick on Kael’s left hand. And as if realising something it started turning its head left and right again.

Kael stood in confusion. It was just a prick so he awkwardly rubbed his bleeding finger on the table, thinking that the out-of-place crimson smudge would blend in with the wood of the table.

When he looked up again, he saw the blue reptile slithering all over the table. It oddly resembled a human pacing around.

Kael observed the reptile for a while.

Its scales glistened, the dark blue a splendour to the eyes, its tail fading into a more greyish-blue shade. Its bright azure eyes reflected a river in the daylight, its scales reflected the ocean at night. Although it had shrunk and looked rather harmless, it truly was a majestic creature.

But the most absurd thing of all is that the snake seemed to share characteristics similar to those of humans, and it was rather intelligent.

Kael’s mind was in turmoil but he revealed nothing as he silently stared at the snake.

‘It seems harmless and humane. And the rose…was it trying to thank me?’

After a long while of ear-shattering silence, Kael moved. He reached out his hand toward the snake that was slithering all over the table. Sensing his movement, the snake stopped and stared. Its azure eyes fell on his palm, travelled up his arm and landed on his face.

Slithering towards his hand, it slowly coiled itself around him. Kael held his breath as he felt the scales slide against his skin, and tried to look away from the snake’s piercing gaze for some reason. He was clearly the one who let the snake on his hand.

So why did he feel like he was getting devoured?

The snake’s entire body was on Kael’s arm, and its face was only inches away from his. Kael folded his arm so that he could see the snake’s entire face, and the two azure beads.

“...Can you understand what I am saying?”

No response.

Kael felt a surge of embarrassment. ‘I can’t be like this just because someone died…what am I doing, trying to talk to a snake?’

Hiss

Kael broke free from his spiralling thoughts and calmly looked at the snake.

The snake’s tail was moving left and right, and it hissed, as if giving him affirmation.

Kael immediately walked out of his residence, wanting to head east down the familiar hallway as did everyone who had encountered something unfamiliar. He did not look anywhere but at the snake. However, the snake’s tail suddenly stopped moving and it looked at him, unmoving.

Then, ever so slowly, it shook its head. If it could speak, it would probably be saying “I am sorry for your loss.”

Kael was confused for a second, and thought ‘Even that cocky Spellmaster is going to get a headache as bad as mine-’

He abruptly stopped in his tracks. He finally broke eye contact with the snake looking at the glorious paintings adorned on the walls of the corridor. A portrait of the Clan Leader from decades or centuries ago stared at him, and he stared back.

“Right. The Spellmaster’s dead.” he whispered under his breath.

“Mister Kael?” A chirpy voice rang out.