Raya: [What are you talking about!? You almost just died!]
Raya, who had been sitting near my head, had gotten slightly annoyed by my joke. Though it might not have actually been a joke. At least, I know it's not a funny one.
Before getting lost in introspection I decided to keep the "joke" going.
Adam: [That means I did my job well. Make sure to praise me more… But did you really think that we could make it out of there without either of us dying? We were up against at least 50,000 monsters and an overgrown sea serpent. I purposely gave myself all the most risky tasks so that you at least had a chance of getting out. I'm honestly surprised at how well things turned out.]
I'm not sure why I'm telling her all this.
Gloating? Pity? Do I expect a reward for deceiving Raya? Do I expect her to love me more if I sacrifice myself for her?
Raya seemed bothered by my words. I could tell that she was gritting her teeth, wanting to say something but unable to find the words. Maybe she'd known what I was doing all along but ignored it. Maybe she thought I would have been strong enough to do everything without sacrificing anything. Maybe she was just finding out the kind of pitiful man I was, and was falling out of love with me.
Mentally, I crossed out that last possibility --There was no use in thinking about something so horrible.
Her head drooped down in defeat, but I saw her gaze shift towards her precious sword.
We sat in silence until we heard the ding of the elevator, alongside the opening of the elevator doors.
Outside the doors was complete darkness, like somehow inside and outside were separated by a tangible boundary. The light from inside the elevator couldn't even penetrate an inch into this strange darkness.
After a few seconds, the doors closed automatically.
Adam: [Can we rest for a few minutes before checking that out?]
Raya: [Agreed, I see no problems with that. How about we have lunch for now?]
Raya rummaged through our meager supplies and pulled out some rations and a flask of water. She helped me sit up against the wall and then offered me some.
Raya: [This is the last of our food. If we had more, we could wait until you fully heal.]
I nodded as I chewed on the hard rations.
Before the fighting started in Labyrinth City Proper, Raya and I had lightened our equipment by as much as possible, though it wasn't like we had that much to begin with. Unfortunately, I had lost my backpack at some point, so now we were left with nearly nothing.
Additionally, absorbing some of Raya's mana had messed with my soul on some level. It was unknown what the long term effects would be, but for now, casting any sort of magic would be nearly impossible. Anything other than healing life-threatening injuries wouldn't be worth it.
This problem might fix itself on its own, but it will at least take a few days.
After I finished eating I leaned on Raya, who was sitting next to me, and closed my eyes to rest for a little while.
She should be fine with this much, right?
- - - - - - -
I woke up to the sounds of metal clashing against metal.
Raya was nowhere to be seen.
The elevator door was open.
It was obvious what was going on, but I still couldn't accept it.
I willed my broken body to crawl across the floor, not hesitating to cross that strange boundary.
As soon as I passed the doorway, I saw Raya facing up against a monster.
It was at least 12 feet tall, bipedal, and had short black fur that completely covered its body. It wore nothing other than a loincloth and carried two gigantic cleavers. It had the head and snout of a cow but was otherwise humanoid.
A minotaur.
However, there was something very strange about this minotaur other than its monstrous size. All over its body were small but disgusting horns, the same type and size that might sprout from a horned rabbit's eye sockets. Atop the minotaur's head were much larger horns. They jutted out from its head and curled themselves into a shape reminiscent of a crown. Additionally, its eyes had multiple pupils, each oversized, bloodshot, and would rapidly darting around in crazy directions.
The dim lighting provided by the luminous moss would only ever leave it partially illuminated, making it appear even more menacing.
This thing could probably take on that sea serpent, but Raya is facing it alone.
She was getting pushed back as the two traded blows.
I wanted nothing more than to rush over and help.
I wanted to do something other than sit and watch from the sidelines, but my body couldn't even stand no matter how hard I tried.
The crazy minotaur swung its massive cleaver at Raya. She ducked and moved to its side, making some space between the two before noticing me.
She smiled then faced the minotaur once more and threw the sword she had been holding to the side.
Raya: [I can't let things continue the way they are now, Adam.]
After making this statement she reached to the sword that she had always carried on her back. I shouted something at her, but my words never reached her.
A thunderous roar resounded throughout the cavern as she drew the blade.
The dark cavern was lit up by the bright blue light, like the floodgates had been flung open by an unstoppable tide.
Electricity jumped off all points of her body as if she were a tesla coil. My hair stood up as charge accumulated on all her surroundings.
The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the minotaur's head flying from its shoulders.
- - - - - - -
"She's ready to see you now Pax."
I hesitantly took my father's hand and hopped off the chair.
I held his hand as hard as I could, completely relying on him to guide me as my eyes were closed.
I hate these shiny white floors. I hate these fluorescent lights. I hate how everything smells of hand sanitizer and death.
At the sound of a door opening, I looked up, only daring to open my eyes halfway.
That woman on the hospital bed was not my Mom.
My Mom was strong and energetic. She would run with me and play for hours.
This woman in front of me had sunken eyes, muscles that had atrophied and shrunken, a breathing mask over her face, and several tubes poking out of her body.
Her eyes seemed to tear up a bit as she looked at me. Her head tilted slightly. I saw a thin smile through the foggy breathing mask.
She called me over with a hoarse voice:
"Hello, Pax. How are you?"
My father stepped into the room, but for some reason I resisted.
It wasn't until he forcefully pulled me in that I hesitantly walked over to the side of the bed.
I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes, so I stared down at her hand.
It didn't look like my mother's hand. It looked like that of a skeleton's.
The hand turned its palm towards me in a gesture to hold my hand. It was a simple gesture, but I could still feel that familiar love from it.
I started tearing up at the pitiful state my mother was in. Just this simple act seemed to take a huge amount of effort from her, so I reached out and held her hand like she wished.
"How much longer are you going to be in here, Mom?"
Her hand squeezed mine with what little strength it had. It was like she was barely holding on and could disappear at any moment.
"Pax, I decided to stop the chemotherapy"
No…
"NO! WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP MOM? YOU CAN STILL GET BETTER! DONT YOU WANT TO GO OUT AND PLAY IN THE PARK WITH ME AGAIN!? DON'T LEAVE ME, MOM!"
I looked up at my mom now and saw tears streaming down her face.
Behind me, a hand that was normally strong and reliable was placed on my shoulder. I remembered the ease in which that hand once picked me up and threw me in the air.
But now, that hand was weak and pitiful. It was shaking from its very core.
"I'm sorry Pax, I can't keep fighting anymore..."
"BUT MOM YOU GOTTA! THE TREATMENT WILL WORK THIS TIME! DAD, TELL MOM NOT TO GIVE UP!"
But instead of knocking some sense into mom like I thought he would, Dad just crouched down and hugged me.
I screamed at him for letting mom give up. I screamed at mom for leaving me. I screamed at the world for making things play out this way.
But in the end I could do nothing. Apparently, no one could do anything.
Luckily, I'd eventually calmed down enough to hear my mom's last words:
"I'll always love you, Pax, so be good and grow up big and strong."
...
Far away, I played this scene over an over again before me. Once wasn't enough to remember all the details. Twice wasn't enough for me to feel the gravity of the promise forced on me. Three times wasn't enough to truly regret breaking that promise.
Four times wasn't enough to truly be sorry.
Five wasn't enough to change anything.
But neither was six or seven or eight times.
Adam: [I'm sorry, Mom,] I wept, unable to even reach for her emaciated hand once more. [I'm so sorry. I couldn't take it anymore, and I broke our promise. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.]
I dreamt of tears streaming down my face. Maybe drowning in these tears would be penance enough.
When I awoke, these tears stayed with me --I found that nothing else could be pulled from dream to reality.
I closed my eyes and did my best to remember that scene once more, then sat up.
Apparently, I was now the one on the hospital bed. Light blue curtains were drawn around me and I could tell that the bandages wrapped around me were fresh.
I also noticed that I could use some mana, so I turned off pain nullification to check what was actually wrong with my body.
And maybe the pain will help me forget.
Pain nullification worked by altering my neurons and stopping the signals from pain receptors from getting to my brain. Since it only required mana to be turned on or off, it was my most economic spell.
Just as I turned off the pain nullification, I heard some talking coming from the other side of the curtains.
???: [You can't stay here, he's coming for you. Raya, don't you get that fighting him now is just suicide?]
Raya: [Well, I'd rather commit suicide than keep running away forever. If I throw everything away now, I'll never be able to get another chance.]
For some reason these words struck deep inside me.
This feeling, combined with the physical pain coming from all over my body and the spiritual pain coming from the mixing of mana made me feel as if my soul had been ruptured and everything was crumbling around me.
It was intense apathy that stopped my will from forming any sort of resistance. A sinister Will took this rare opportunity to attack. It twisted its blade without mercy.
The nightmares and memories that had yet to be pushed deep inside me bubbled back to the surface to strike at my psyche once more.
Overwhelmed, my thoughts became chaotic and dangerous. Coherency and continuity shattered like glass before me.
???: [Ra~ya? Suicide? -Again. Don't… No. (don't) Leave Me.]
???: [I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry]
???: [Don't you see what betrayal feels like? Don't you understand what you did?]
That woman stared back at me through the gaps in my fingertips. She wore a concerned expression on her face.
Pax: [Don't leave me alone. I'm scared Mom, what's happening to me?]
Adam: [I can't see it anymore. Where did everyone go?]
???: [Calm down, you can rest now.]
Pax: [No, I don't-- I don't want to die. I'm scared. I don't want to die. I'm scared. I don't want to die.]
- - - - - - -
Perspective 4:
The two of them stared at the young boy curled up on the bed in silence.
Just a moment ago he had randomly woken up, only to scream some indecipherable yet horrifying things, start convulsing, and lose consciousness again.
Raya had immediately gone to his side to try and calm him down, but he didn't seem to recognize her even as he shouted her name.
Count Telantra had simply watched the entire ordeal in shock. After a long silence he finally managed to form some words:
"I didn't think it was this bad."
Why did I think that this broken child would be able to save Artenia?
Did my Eyes deceive me?
Raya caressed the sleeping boy's head.
"I'm sorry, Adam, for not paying attention to you. I took you for granted. I used you," she said, smiling slightly. "It's my fault you ended up like this... But, I promise I'll never leave you."
A part of Telantra wanted to let these kids have their moment and slowly heal, but he knew that there was no time for that.
"So you'll leave this place and flee south?" he asked, urging Raya to choose her love over her revenge.
She'd always been stubborn regarding all things other than Adam, but Telantra didn't often use this weakness against her. This time he justified it by saying that this was for her own good.
And it was.
If Raya stayed here, she would die in just a few days to Kael Drogo's hand. With the complete unsheathing of Ryuzu's Fang, it was guaranteed that he was already on his way to Celestia.
The trap that they'd set up wasn't ready yet, so everything had to be scrapped.
But there was still hope as long as they were alive --As slim a chance there may be.
"…yes, Adam and I will run away together," she responded, forcibly snuffing out the flame of revenge in her eyes.