It felt like an army was waging war near the place I was hiding. I didn't dare to risk leaving the small cave I was to see who was fighting who. And didn't even know if I would survive the night because the earth was trembling and the cave walls were shaking from the impact of the fight.

I hear the scream of a man. The howling of beasts and the echoing of spells. Occasionally, the sound of a tree falling on the ground got higher than any other, which led me to think that the giant cannibal was fighting the creatures of the night. If I was right, he would keep them occupied enough for me to safely pass the night. Unless he also found me, or I died by one of their attacks.

The biggest problem was the rainy night. It was cold and water was falling through a crevice inside the small cave. To make things worse I was still hungry, and couldn’t sleep due to a burning sensation from the cut on my head.

Pushing the blanket near my body, I sat closer to the cave wall, trying to avoid the water. My mace was at my right, ready to be used if anything found the cave and passed through the cover I have made with branches, stones and leaves. It wasn’t the best work I had ever done but was what was possible with what I had, and was better than nothing.

The ground trembled again, this time stronger than the last ones and I swear I heard someone shouting too close to the cave. Sweat started to drench my shirt, which didn’t make sense due to the cold. I thought something was wrong and started to check my body when I noticed the dark walls of the cave were moving and forming shapes like claws and glaring eyes.

I kicked the one right in front of me, but my feet only hit a stone. The dark figure laughed at me, raising his hand to attack, so I took the shield to block the blow, only for it to pass through the wood and cut my arm with a cold touch.

It felt like swords severed my limb from three different points. I let out a scream and got up, running from the cave. The rain had become red and smelled of blood now. My heart stopped for a second, while I wondered if this was another illusion or just another fucking disgrace from that world. The shadow left the cave, getting bigger and bigger. Laughing while glaring at me with his six eyes engulfed in fire. Thousands of souls screamed in agony inside them, burning like they were inside the fires of hell.

“Oh fuck!” I shouted while I ran, trying to escape the grasp of the monstrosity who was chasing me.

“I will feast on your tender meat!” it shouted, louder than a thunderbolt on a stormy night. “I will have your soul and of all those you love.”

A cannibal came running in my direction. I hit his chest with my shield, getting down so he passed above me and felt at my back. I hoped the monster would eat it and leave me be for at least a second, but it only stomped the man and keep walking toward me.

More enemies came from all directions. I ducked; blocked attacks and spells; jumped over fallen trees and smashed skulls like a mad man. Every inch of my body was working toward my survival in ways I had forgotten were possible.

At that moment, I felt like a death god, harvesting the lives of anyone unlucky enough to enter my sigh. The thunderstorms were illuminating my way, showing me where the next target was. The thrill of the battle even made me forget that a monster was chasing me.

Suddenly, I felt my body burning from the inside, draining all of my strength. I fell to the ground, fighting to breathe as each breath felt like a knife was cutting me from inside. The world started to get blurry, making it harder to make sense of the figures around me. The laugh increased, mocking me.

A shadow loomed in front of me, so I tried to hit it with my mace. Either the thing didn't have a body or I missed it because I never felt the impact. But I did feel the punch that broke my nose and made me pass out.

Contrary to what people believe. A person who passes out wakes up again in a few seconds unless something is wrong. I recovered my senses when whoever attacked me was carrying me over the shoulder. My hands; feet eyes and mouth were tied up, making it impossible for me to escape.

Not that I would be able to. Still weak and burning, I had no hope to fight back, or make a run for my life.

The person threw me in over something fluffy. "Who are you?" He asked me, his voice both strong and commanding.

His question took me by surprise and I could only wonder why a cannibal would want to know the name of his meal.

"Aron, if you are going to eat me. Kill me now or I will kill you later." I smiled, proud to sound so intimidating.

"You are burning with fever, Aron, and hallucinating. You need to rest." He said while untying my hands and feet."

"I'm not! You are lying, this is all a plan of yours!"

"You were running like a madman, laughing and fighting against nothing!"

I tried to get up, but he forced me down. I didn't know if it was I that was too weak or if it was him that was too strong, but it felt impossible to fight back against him. He put something in front of me, that smelled like grilled meat.

"Eat."

"I won't eat another human!"

"It's fish, you moron. I don't have a potion with me, you need all the food you can take if you want to survive."

I smelled it. It did look like fish, but I was not sure. My stomach howled, demanding me to eat the fish or whatever it was. The hunger won, so I shoved the meat inside my mouth and ate it as fast as I could. The taste was bland, but I was not in the mood to be picky about it.

"Good, you should rest now. You are going to need it."

When I finished eating, he tied me to what I believed was a bed. Saying it was for my own good. At first, I thought he was feeding me to eat me later, but as I lost any sense of time, I started to doubt it. He kept feeding me in the rare moments I was not sleeping or hallucinating, which was odd because I could only listen to the voices around me.

When I started to get better to realise days should already have passed, I started to get worried about Vanessa. By now, everyone probably believed me dead, and all I had was an empty promise that a pregnant woman had to be taken care of.

Yet, he didn't let me leave or even get off the bed. My eyes were still closed, so I didn't even know who was taking care of me, or for what reason.

He never answered my question, unless they were mundane like it was raining or not. And he didn't question me about anything. It felt like he simply didn't care.

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Then one day, I woke up and opened my eyes to see a stone ceiling above me. My arms and legs were not tied at anything, so I managed to sit down for the first time in a while and look at the simplicity of the improvised home I had been nursed.

My gear and stuff were above a stone, cut so clean, it worked as a desk or table. There was a piece of wood next to it, with five dried fish and a piece of leather with a crude map drawn with blood. Aside from that, there was the bed I was sleeping in and an empty basket.

I knew the man would not return because of the map. It showed the cave I was in and a path to the closest portal. I cursed myself for not thanking him for what he did for me, so I made a cut on my thumb and wrote a thank you on the wall.

After I dressed and packed my things, I eat one fish and made my way back to the portal. Despite already accepting the fact I was hallucinating, the way back proved the sounds of battle were real. The forest was destroyed, and there was still dried blood here and there.

My only explanation was that it had been done by the man who took care of me, which brought the question of how strong someone had to be to achieve that level of destruction alone. Or even to dare live inside the [Memoir].

Unfortunately, that was another question for my pile of unanswered questions. So I gave up on it and focused all my attention on getting back alive. This time, I managed to arrive at the portal without fighting and passed by a couple of knights and slaves who recognized me.

The look of surprise on their faces alone was worth the whole experience.No one needed to know the truth. All they needed to know was that I returned alive and in one piece.

Aside from my lost right eye…

Stuffing my chest, I crossed the portal, feeling like a hero who returned from an epic quest. The fort came into view, with the slaves and knights doing their work. At first, no one noticed me, until Alarm who was crossing the yard looked at me.

He froze in place for a few seconds, like he was doubting what his eyes were seeing. Then his mouth formed an angry grin and he became red. Someone noticed his sudden change of humour and looked at where he was starting, gasping in surprise.

By then, all eyes turned to me.

And I felt good as hell.

"You!" Arlam shouted, glaring while holding his sheathed sword. "How? No, forget that, I will kill you!"

"I finished my Mattugr, you can't kill me."

"I'm a noble and a knight. I don't need a reason to kill a filthy slave." He smiled. "Knee before me and offer your head."

My body moved on its own, obeying his order. This time though, something was different. The joy of obeying an order was gone. My mind was cleared of anything that bound me to them, and I even felt that maybe, I would be able to resist his order.

Which put me in a tight spot. If I did nothing, he would behead me. If I resisted, someone would probably kill me for resisting the spell. There was no way to get out of that situation unless someone intervened. Which was happening more often than I liked.

I needed a way out on my own.

He walked toward me, sword ready to strike.

My mind went mad, trying to come up with anything that would let me out of that situation. I had survived my Mattugr, which proved I deserved my life by their rules.

This reminded me of Justin's exact words as he put me under it. “But an assault is an assault and Aron is to blame. I will allow the gods to decide his fate by putting him into a mattugr.”

I was not sure how faithful the people of this world were, but that was a worth bet to take. "Would it be wise to go against God's will and end a life they spared?"

He stopped, and I felt the effect of the spell leaving me, which could only mean he didn't want to kill me now. I smiled since he couldn't see my face.

"Of course not, I was just jesting." He finally said. "But, I see that you are a packet, and as you know, I must confiscate it."

He was right, but it didn't feel right to give him my spoils. Yet, I knew he was only looking for a new excuse to hinder me, so I gave him everything I had under me.

He took the purse of death coins with genuine interest. "What is that?" He asked me, which got me confused.

"A purse of death coins."

He went pale, which led me to realize there was something more about those coins than I first thought. He opened the purse and took one of the coins, inspecting it against the sun, then threw it at me. "Take it and get out of my sign!"

This had been so out of the blue that it took me a moment to process that he was giving it back to me, which didn't make sense. Even so, I took them back, and left, knowing I could ask Justin about them.

But first, I had to find my wife. It had been too long since we had been separated, so the rest could wait. She was and would always be my priority.

"Aron?" Rodrigues's voice stopped me. "You are alive?"

"I am," I told him, turning to face him, already cursing him mentally for hindering my plan. "Finished my Mattugr."

"M'lord Justin will be pleased." He said, despite sounding frustrated. "You must see him at once."

Knowing better than to argue, I just sighed and followed him to Justin's chamber. Rodrigues opened the door without knocking.

Justin was sitting on his chair, reading a letter with the face of a man who had lost a close relative. "I thought I had been clear that no one -" He stopped talking when he saw me. "Aron? I tough you were dead!"

"I keep hearing that."

"How? Why took you so long? You were out for days." By now, he was up and looking hopefully.

"I had a hard time, couldn't return in two days."

"Don't matter! You are back, as I knew you would!

He pushed two chairs and put one in front of the other. With a sign, Rodrigues closed the door and stood in front of it, like was guarding the place.

"Sit." He said, back to his serious expression. "I don't have much time to lose. Have you thought about my offer?"

I didn't, but after all, I went and the fact my wife was now in this world made his offer interesting if it meant my wife would get some sort of protection. "If I accept, could you protect my wife?"

"She is already protected by the king's law."

"That's vague, I want something concrete."

He scratched his chin. "She was sent to the capital, but I could send a letter telling them I want to hire her for my household."

That news felt like a knife stabbing me in the back. All I wanted was to see her, and she was already sent somewhere far away. I got up and kneeled in front of Justin.

"I'm yours to command if you promise to take care of her. This is all I ask and I know it's far more than I should be a slave."

Which was the truth, In this world I was nothing but a slave, and a slave had nothing to offer that they couldn't force me to. It was already a miracle that he wanted me to work for him.

"A price worthy of someone with such potential." He got up, and stood above me, unsheathing his sword, he put it over my right shoulder. "Aron, do you swear a sacred oath to serve me and my household until the day you die? Not as a slave, but by your own free will?"

"I swear."

"Then I, Sir Justin, First of its name; Warden of the North, Ruler of High Mountain, swear under my name to uphold my promise of taking care of your wife and your son as long as you serve me and my household."

An oath was created by the Gods for you and Justin.

Any part who broke the oath will suffer a befitting consequence.

If one side dies or is unable to keep up the oath, the Gods will nullify it.

I read the message inside my head, realizing I had swore something far greater than I had first thought. At least I learned that an oath in this world was forced by the Gods, so I wouldn't do it a second time.

And it had been a great deal for me.

"So, what now?" I asked him, getting up.

He smiled.

"We go to war."