The emptiness, the sadness, the guilt – all of it had been replaced by a fiery rage, a rage so strong that my chest began hurting. The murmurs of the crown around me, the warmth of the flames before me, each and every one of my senses, everything in this moment ceased to exist. It was just me and this rage. Ranork Saintsworth. I am going to kill him. I’m going to make him suffer. Whatever will need to be done, will be done

“Ranork Saintsworth. I will kill you. The Gods be my witnesses, I will kill you.”

Suddenly a hand placed on my shoulder snapped me back to reality.

“I guess we don’t have a healer anymore.”

“At least we don’t have to deal with them anymore.”

“Too bad for the kid. Maybe he’ll leave too.”

The people around us would not stop murmuring. Even now they still despise us. My mother, their healer, had died, and they couldn’t see anything beyond their hate for us. We wasted our lives among these animals.

I grabbed my necklace, trying to calm myself down. I just needed to focus on myself and forget about them; I won’t see these ungrateful people ever again anyway, they’re worthless anyway. They’re no different than Saintsworth, they think they’re better than us, but they seem to forget that they’re human, just like me. Before monsters like Ranork Saintsworth, we are all equally weak. I tried to stop thinking about them, but the sight of what remained of our hut and their voices, just fuelled my rage. I held onto my necklace and felt my hand begin to burn as well.

A drop of rain fell on my face, and in a matter of seconds, heavy rain descended upon us. Soon the people began to scatter, but Mr Oliver remained by my side, his hand still resting on my shoulder. The rain came down hard, it seemed it was never going to stop, and the flames were soon extinguished.

What remained were the ruins of my old home. This place where I always felt imprisoned, this place I always wanted to escape from had become the place where I committed my greatest sin. I was happy here. I loved them. I should have told them as much.

I recalled my parents, how strangely they behaved, how they made sure to tell me that they loved me, and how I refused to say the same. Why didn’t I tell them that I loved them. I squeezed my hand, feeling the ring attached to my necklace bite my palm, and just remained there.

I couldn’t say how long we stood there, just staring at what used to be my home. I reluctantly let go of my necklace and made my way towards the ruins. Surprisingly the hut was still standing, some walls came down, but somehow it was still standing.

Father was always good at building things.

I made my way towards the hut, and as soon as I touched the door, it tipped over. A small cloud of dust lifted off the ground, and once again, so much anger surged in my chest. I took a deep breath, attempting to calm down.

I walked towards the kitchen, and there they were. Their bodies lay there on the ground, completely charred, and turning into ashes, their limbs now gone. The rage now completely replaced the emptiness. I knelt beside them, now tears falling from my face.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t the son you deserve. I have done nothing but cause you trouble. Please, rest. If you are ever reborn, I hope you will have a better son.”

I stood back up and turned to Mr Oliver. He was just looking at me, his eyes full of pity. He quickly turned around and left the house. Confusion overcame me, but I couldn’t bring myself to follow him. I just looked at him as he walked away.

Right now, all I wanted was just some time with my parents. I didn’t want to think, I didn’t want to say anything, I just wanted to sit here, in silence, for a moment.

**********

Some time has passed, and I went out. I must have stayed there for a long time, the uncharacteristic summer rain had completely stopped, and there was a heavy smell of wet grass, mixed with the smell of burnt wood.

I tried looking for Oliver, wanting to thank him for his help. I looked around, and then I saw him by some trees, just sitting down and staring into the empty space, completely unfocused. I walked over to him, I felt a sense of fear with each step that I took, the closer I got the more frightened I became. I dragged my feet as I walked, no longer having the strength to lift them, and the moment Oliver noticed me, his expression instantly softened, and all the fear melted away.

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“Sir,” I called out to him, out of breath from taking these short steps. “Thank you for your help today.”

“Ah, Caine. I hope I didn’t overstep,” he said, his tone really serious yet friendly. “Where I’m from, we usually bury our loved ones, so I dug two graves for them.”

He stood up and gestured at the freshly turned earth as my mind was being overtaken by a flood of unfamiliar emotions. Just why is he helping me to this extent? What can he possibly expect from me in return?

“T-t-thanks.” I stammered.

I turned around and headed towards the hut, the man following closely behind. Once inside, I went to grab the remains of my father, but as soon as I touched him, he began to turn into ashes, his shoulder slowly crumbling away. Witnessing my father slowly dissolving created an indescribable turmoil within me.

This is my father, he was a good man, and he had some issues, but he was my father, and I loved him. And he was now turning into ashes. My hatred for Ranork reignited, and my thirst for vengeance surged once more.

I turned around, and I saw Oliver conjuring something out of thin air: he held two pouches in his hands, and held them open, offering them to me.

“Some people from my land, burn their loved ones, they cremate them, and have them close.” He said. “It’s not much, but maybe it can offer you some solace.”

I grabbed the pouches, opening them one at a time, and saw Mr Oliver raise his hand, now covered in a crimson energy. A ray of light shot past me, reaching my father. He turned completely to ash, and the ashes lifted, weaving through the air and falling into the pouch. I looked into it, clenching my jaw, failing to keep my emotions in check as tears streamed down my face, thinking about how all that remains of my father rests in this small pouch, slightly bigger than my hand. I took a deep breath and sighed, tying the laces of the pouch, making sure that it was held safe, and then opened the other one.

My mother’s body also turned to ashes and flew into the pouch, and as it did, tears began flowing in my eyes, once more.

I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, wanting to calm myself. This feeling, this sadness, I needed to leave it behind. For vengeance, I cannot be weak anymore. All I need to do is just kill Ranork Saintsworth.

The tears stopped, and I walked out, leaving Mr Oliver inside. He followed behind me, and we walked in silence towards Arzamac and beyond, trying to get out of this village. The people would stare at us and murmur, but I didn’t care anymore. They can say whatever they want, but they’ll end up regretting it.

Mr Oliver trailed behind me, occasionally quickly glancing at the villagers, who would then avert their eyes just as quickly. My eyes were fixed forward, not even bothering to look at all these people around us, after all, I would never see them again. It didn’t take long before we reached the other end of Arzamac and exited those walls, but I just kept walking, the man still on my tail. I stopped and turned around facing Mr. Oliver.

“Sir” I called out to him “what are you going to do now?”

“I’m not really sure, Caine. I want to go somewhere quiet, maybe a small village, somewhere near a mountain, and just spend however many years I have left there.”

I was not expecting him to tell me a clear answer, I was expecting him to just give some vague answer. He looked at me differently now, he no longer seemed distant, even the look in his eyes, it was not simple pity, but I couldn’t figure out what he wanted.

Wait. what exactly did he mean by spending ‘however many years he has left?’ He still looked young, and given how strong he was, he must have been healthy; his complexion was good, and everything about him showed strength. Even if he had enemies, I couldn’t imagine him being afraid of them to the extent that he is scared that they’ll kill him.

“What do you mean, Sir?” I asked, after not being able to come up with any reasonable answer.

“Ah, that,” he replied, calmly. “I am most likely going to be alive for seven more years. Some things have happened, and I have become ill. My body is fine for now, but eventually, I am going to lose control of it. I won’t be able to eat, drink, or even breathe, and eventually, I will die.”

I was speechless. He just told me his fate, he told me exactly how he would die, but he did so calmly, almost as if he was discussing the weather. How can he be so relaxed when he knows he will die so soon?

“Look Caine, you don’t have to worry about that okay?” he said after looking at me. I must have had quite the expression for him to say that.

“Even if I die soon, I am okay with it. I spent so much time fighting just to survive, and I am tired. Death is not something I fear, it is something that will free me. Ah, sorry, what am I even saying to a child, I’m sorry about that.”

He gave a soft chuckle and covered his eyes with his hand, looking up at the sky. I wonder what kind of life he lived for him to think that dying is better than being alive. I wished he would tell me more about himself, I wished we could spend more time together, but I guess we must part ways now. I just wanted to walk together with him some more, not wanting to stay alone. We continued on the path in front of us, walking in silence, leaving Arzamac behind us.

“Sir, I just wan-” I began

“Caine, I know you don’t know me, but do you want to come with me?”