The fire crackled as the room temperature began to rise.
Since the very day Lilith left this village, White had turned weaker. At first it was normal — signs of old life, the same had happened to Wood — but some are weaker from the inside rather than the outside. He had been coughing blood. Wood had tried every possible herbal remedy he could find, but nothing worked.
Wood showed them his hand. He was just breathing now, all that was left was the bones.
Aron moved closer and grabbed his hand. It was hot, probably from the fever. He held it carefully and didn't let go.
Wood : I tried my best boys, but he is not showing any fight.
Then from the silence, the words grew slowly from the mouth of White. Aro... Aron, he slowly opened his eyes. Is Aron ba -- back ?
Wood : That's impossible. These are his first words in days.
Aron, are you really back ? said White slowly, almost faintly.
Aron : Master, i am here. Look, you have to fight, otherwise you will not see me again.
White : Aron ? Are you here, son ?
Aron : I am, Master. I am back.
White : I am glad, he sighed out a breath. The old man's heart can't beat for all of life, it has got to stop somewhere. I have lived my life, it is time to live yours now. I am tired, i have to rest. But i am glad you came back. Just don't leave us again, son.
Wood placed a hand on Aron's shoulder. I guess it's time we leave and let him rest, Aron.
They headed outside, the door slowly closing behind them.
The atmosphere changed as they stood outside, the cool evening air hitting them after the warmth of the room.
Lilith : Mr. Wood, where is Lily ? I don't see her anywhere.
Wood : She said she would be giving water to the plants on Carlos's grave. She is one to care.
Aron's eyes widened as he heard the word Carlos. The memories appeared in his mind — the same knife stabbed into his neck, the same moment that changed everything.
Aron started running, he dropped everything. Lilith shouted, Aron where are you going ? But he ran at his full might, through the field Carlos and Aron had made together. He wanted to see Carlos.
The memories shook his mind brutally, but he reached the place. There was no one, just a beautiful sun and a rusty rock with green grass growing and Carlos marked within it.
Aron's eyes shone brightly, the tears falling from his eyes. He fell on his knees and touched the soil beneath the flowers dazzling on Carlos's grave.
Who are you ? A voice rang from behind. It was a woman with brown hair and white lines at the ends, white skin, light brown eyes.
Lily.
Aron : Nothing, i was -- he wiped his tears quickly. He was a friend of mine.
Lily : Can you give me some space, i want to pour some water on the grave.
She carefully poured water on each of the flowers, gently wiping the leaves to clear the dirt off them.
Lily : You look like a warrior, are you a relative of Carlos ? She spoke while pouring the water.
As Aron was about to say another word, Lilith interfered from behind, completely out of breath.
Lilith : Aron ! He came closer while barely breathing. Why are you so fast, he panicked.
Aron ! Lily shouted. Aron, are you Aron Norm ?
Aron : Yes, i am that Aron. He was quietly embarrassed.
Lily : I can't believe it's you Aron, you look different, what has happened to you. She got a little closer. Aron blushed for a moment.
Lilith : Lily stop now, he is back, he is tired right now. And yeah, don't you know i came back also.
Lily : It's not like i didn't know you would come back brother, but for Aron i never ...
The day changed to night quickly. As everyone settled they all started to eat, and then Aron told them what had happened over the last few years. How he alone had been experiencing everything, how lost he was, how many comrades he had spent time with just to see them dead and cold on the battlefield.
How he struggled to make a living, how hard it was to carry it all. That all that time he had relied on hope itself, but fate was the thing that had really been carrying him all along.
Lily had tears falling from her eyes, while Lilith and Wood sat in shock.
Aron : All my life i had been carrying hope myself, but fate was carrying me. I can't just live like a normal human anymore, i have a reason that i was sent to fulfill. It was to equalise the light and cast away the darkness.
"And the world moved as he spoke."
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A man bowed and pressed a seed into the ground and casually poured water over it, not knowing what it would become, just trusting that it would.
"To create a new order of humanity."
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An old woman opened her door and found food waiting at her doorstep. She stood there and stared for a long while before she believed it.
"To create a humanity out of hope."
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The resting bodies of soldiers lying on the battlefield, quiet now, the war finished around them but not for them.
"To mourn and cheer for the ones we loved."
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Somewhere a village fighting the storm, hands gripping ropes and fences, boots deep in the mud, protecting the field they had built together.
"To protect the weak and arise from the darkness."
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Luxorious sat on top of the castle at his favourite place, the wind flowing through his hair, his eyes closed, the whole city beneath him and none of it touching him.
"To exterminate the evil and guide the light."
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Trail's eyes glared as he watched the ice in the water slowly dissolve, piece by piece, patient.
"To resolve the pieces one by one."
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Zord's eyes glimmered toward the moon as he sat reading his book, the night quiet around him and the words steady in front of him.
"To see what hope would really look like."
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Balrad stretched his back while making the swords, the forge bright in front of him, his hands still steady, still working.
"To see what happens when one stands against them."
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Master breathed slowly in the dim room, his old weathered hand resting open at his side, still warm.
"To see how keen life is when it finally meets with justice."
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Carlos's grave rested quietly in the sunny day, the flowers were watered, the grass green and close, the name carved in the stone asking nothing from anyone.
"To see how obedient one's death truly is."
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"To carve a path and live through it."