It was Day 3 of my search, and it wasn’t going well. I took a moment to scale a large rock, taking note of the surroundings as the morning sun began to rise above.
A persistent question nagged at the back of my mind. Where do I go now? From atop my perch I could see that the forest was gigantic. There were more ruins not too far off, with a few destroyed buildings not yet fully consumed by nature.
I couldn’t focus enough to make sense of anything, and the aching pain from having to sleep on cold hard ground didn’t help the reality of the situation. I was hopelessly lost.
My mind wandered back to the woman, and her sister. Perhaps they would know something, anything, that could help me. The only issue being I had no idea where they had gone, or even where to look for them.
I needed help; I couldn’t find Shaun in a world as big as this one on my own.
After some time wandering, I stumbled on a strange place. It seemed to be a large gravestone with pillars surrounding it. I approached the grave cautiously.
Laying on the stone I saw some old dead flowers, and on the gravestone itself I noticed some written words. I rubbed off the dust with my hand, and attempted to read the inscription, but it was in a language I couldn’t understand.
I began to back off, thinking there was nothing to find here, when I saw a part of the inscription that was readable;
"To the Keeper who saved our lives and our future. May your soul find rest and happiness."
I paused, reading the same line again and again, like I was trying to remember something. My mind was fighting with me but then... The memory returned.
When I was "dead", I met my mother and uncle, they had warned me about the Keeper... and about my brother.
- The future of the worlds is in my hands... - I said to myself in my mind.
After living a ‘normal’ life for so long, I had forgotten who I was, and I still didn’t know my purpose. The Keepers… who even were they? I placed my hand on the cover stone and began to move it aside; I briefly questioned what I was doing but kept going.
The cover of the gravestone thudded loudly against the ground, thankfully not falling apart. Peering inside the grave I saw a large, armored man, or more the bones that were left of him.
I noticed something in his hands and without thinking I reached for it. His hands were grasped tightly, but I still managed to pry the items loose. From his hands then I found a shattered ball and an old letter.
Giving the ball a closer look, I couldn’t see anything interesting about it, so I placed it back into the coffin. Just as I attempted to read the letter, however, I heard angry shouts from behind me. Quickly, I hid the letter in my coat pocket and turned around.
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- Who the hell are you!? What are you doing with this grave?! - A man was yelling in anger. He held a gun towards me.
In the few moments it took for me to answer, more men showed up.
- I'm just... lost... - I said, in a bit of panic.
- Lost?! And what? You were looking for your home under the gravestone?! - He began slowly approaching me.
- No... I'm sorry I didn't mean to… - At this point I didn't know what I could say to justify myself.
He shoved his gun up against my chest and I raised my hands. He was looking at me with extreme intensity. Another man approached then and began to search me for weapons.
Naturally he took my knife, broken bow, and arrows, placing them on the ground beyond my reach. The gun was then pushed farther into my chest, and the gunman shot a worried look towards my weapons.
- You are a hunter? - He asked.
- Yes, but I'm not here to hunt... - I tried to answer calmly.
- So why are you here mister? To steal?
- No! No.... I'm here for my brother... he got lost... - I didn't want to say the whole truth to him so I lied anxiously.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
- Hah! Lost? Just like you?
That was that, my lie had been discovered. There was nothing else I could think to say, so I stayed quiet and still as they observed me. One of the men circled behind me, and as I saw another give a signal, I heard a soft, quick movement by my ear.
Immediately I ducked out of the way, rolling to the side. As I did so, I moved for my weapons. They started shooting at me, so I quickly snatched up my knife and arrows, leaving behind my broken bow.
- Stop him! - I heard them shout as I darted away into the woods.
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I ran as fast as I could through the bushes and thickets of the big forest. It didn’t take long before I lost track of them, but I didn't stop until I was sure I was safe. I hid in a small cave, near a natural waterfall.
While trying to regain my breath, I remembered the letter I took from the grave. Reaching for it in my coat, I noticed that my hand was bleeding. I likely cut myself when I was picking up my knife.
When I opened the letter, I saw a few old portraits and the letter itself. The five men in the portraits appeared to be happy, perhaps they were friends, or all part of a family.
All of them had white hair and strange, seemingly magic orbs in their hands. Underneath them was written names; Sém, Ori, Ven, Amos and Réss. On the letter was written;
"The Darkness and the Whispers are coming for me. I must follow the Light of my soul to know the truth. It will be hard, but I must endure. I can see her like a silhouette, just behind me. I did what I could.
We all know when our end grows near, my end is smiling at me. It is not as I wanted it to be, but we can't change everything. We are our own souls, wandering about these lost worlds.
We have seen much together, and you will yet see more. The future is not mine to keep, it is yours, my friends. Keep it safe. Réss."
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I had to take a moment to fully process this. The darkness, the whispers... the end. They had to be the Keepers and those orbs had to be important to them. They knew more than anyone else.
But what exactly did they know? Of the names of the Keepers, I recognized one… Ven. I had met him once before.
As I placed the letter back into my coat pocket, my mind was abuzz with way too much information. I decided that I needed some rest. After I double checked that the cave was safe, I closed my eyes slowly and drifted off to sleep.