"What... What do you mean?" Her voice was shaky, like she didn't want to admit what she had heard.
"I meant what I said." He was concise. He sounded stern.
The environment right now was an in-between space. Normally, it didn't take much time to return them to where they were, but for some reason, it was taking a long time this time, as if they were suspended in time. The scenery changed into a starry vista, reflecting a dust of galaxies and stars. It was only a matter of time until Lucid returned to Tyriana.
"I... I can't. I am bound."
"Stop with the bullshit," he spat, every word like it had been pent up for days. "I wake up in some godforsaken world, I have something on my face, and on top of that, I have a voice inside my head guiding me, telling me where to go."
"I... didn't... know... you harbored such resentment... for... me."
"On top of that, you can read my mind like an open book! Oh, great, I can't even think in peace!"
He continued.
"And by the way, who are you to tell me what to do or where to go? Because I swear, ever since coming here, you've been giving me nothing but orders, telling me to live and all!? Fine. You want me to live?" he yelled out in frustration.
Bracing himself, he bit down hard on his own tongue. Blood immediately spilled from the corner of his lips.
"No, Lucid, stop!" she urgently called out.
"Please... stop! I beg of you!" the voice pleaded, desperate. A faint glow, resembling soft, warm arms, wrapped around his neck and chest. One ethereal hand clutched at his lower jawline, pulling down to try and stop him.
"Please... this is the last—"
Her voice cut out as Lucid's body tumbled to the ground. The stone pavement hit his injuries, and he momentarily blacked out from the pain, coughing up blood from his attempted suicide earlier. He lay there, coughing, soaked in blood and covered in sweat. The trickling sound of the water fountain was nearby—the same place where the kids had been playing. He had made it. He had successfully cleared a trial. A trial that had scarred him for life back on Earth, leaving him half-dead then. And who was to say he wasn't half-dead now, lying on this pavement.
'Looks like my intuitions were right. B-grade spiders tend to have a lot of offspring. The one I fought earlier when I arrived was probably one of many that colossal one birthed. Good thing I could locate its den quickly...'
'Thank you, Aika... I might have learned a thing or two from you... Still, to this day, you helped me... though you betrayed me.' He thought bitterly. Aika was a former teammate of Lucid. She had given him lessons and advice when it came to rift hunting and what distinct traits Fallen have that are different from one another. In a sense, she was his teacher, though they were the same age and grade. Laying on the cold pavement, looking to his side where the sun had started to dip—it was now sunset—he felt the same ill feeling toward Aika.
'But I will still take her down...' he thought bitterly.
"Hey, kid! What in heavens have you done to come out alive!" a stern voice yelled out behind him.
It was Bjorn, that rude guard who had greeted Lucid upon his arrival. Following just next to him was the tall, lanky guard, Gabriel. They came running to him.
"I see you are rather faring well so far on your second day," Gabriel uttered, his hair tied back. His long ears were prominent. He had a spear in his hands and extended a hand down to Lucid.
Bjorn was much the same. He had a long beard extending down his breastplate, and his armor was larger than most guards. He carried the same helmet, his spear resting on his back.
"Are the kids safe?" Lucid asked.
Bjorn looked at him, puzzled, and then laughed. "The kids are fine... Actually, the whole town is safe!"
"Kid, you managed to prevent a rift! Look at you, I swear the younger they are, the more guts they've got."
"What my partner is trying to say," Gabriel interjected, "is that you prevented one of the worst disasters that have destroyed towns alike. Normally, one appearing requires strict protocols and measures."
"But you just went in and made it vanish! At first, we thought you were gone for good, a sacrifice and all that. But you came back after a day. Bahahahaha!" Bjorn was beyond happy.
"Yeah... yeah," Lucid managed, followed by a internal remark, 'Didn't this guy hate my guts?' He coughed up more blood, a stark reminder of what had happened prior. 'Alice,' he thought, feeling suddenly a bit at fault for how he had acted.
"Cheer up... You have prevented a disaster."
"The estate's noble seeks to have a hearing with you at the end of the town, on top of that hill. Our young master is a kind person, one of his lineage."
"You mean there isn't royalty here?" he asked.
"No... Do you need medical assistance? Because I fear such knowledge is known by everyone."
He shook his head, slightly worried that his secret would be found out.
"Tyriana is within a faction composed of multiple nobles and towns. It is more like an alliance between different towns and kingdoms," Gabriel continued.
"Well, I imagine that you are exhausted. Rest up, and we will provide you with the details later. The... innkeeper, Rebecca, has been pretty down lately. Make sure to greet her well."
Both of the guards waved him goodbye as they walked away, continuing toward where they were supposed to guard for the evening. He waved back, managing a faint smile for a moment.
He turned around, lightly holding his shoulder, and limped away. He had one thought in mind.
'These guards! What the hell is wrong with them? Letting someone covered in blood from head to toe go off like that! Is there no hospital around here... How fucking irresponsible!' he yelled inside his head.
Walking back now, the streets were quiet. People flinched as he walked by. A guy with a face obscured by mist, wearing ragged clothes and practically soaked in blood, was something straight out of a horror story.
Walking back now, the streets were quiet. People flinched as he walked by. A guy with a face obscured by mist, wearing ragged clothes and practically soaked in blood, was something straight out of a horror story.
After walking for a while, remembering his way back, he could see a familiar tavern in the distance. Just outside the porch, a woman with curly hair and horns sat on a chair, her hands clamped together with a worrisome look on her face. It was Rebecca, the innkeeper who had greeted him the first time. Seeing her, he let out a faint sigh of relief.
"Rebecca!" he yelled out.
The woman immediately stood up from the chair, pressing her hands against it as she looked around, hearing someone call her name. There, just over the road, was someone heavily injured, someone painfully recognizable despite the injuries all over his face.
It was Lucid.
"My god... what in heavens happened to you?" she yelled out, rushing down to inspect his mist-covered face and injuries.
"I... I heard what happened. Come inside," she said urgently.
He went inside. The tavern was the same as ever, though it was still closed. Had she waited for his return before opening? Or was his absence such a problem for her that she didn't want to open in the first place?
"Sit down," she said under her breath.
As he sat down, he looked around, half expecting to wake up as if everything was a dream. But his mind was playing tricks on him; things started to seem vivid. Was it from the exhaustion? he asked himself.
Rebecca came back with a tool kit and bandages. Her tall frame knelt right next to him as she inspected the massive wound on his collarbone.
"You went inside a rift and saved two kids..."
He chuckled slightly. "It was nothing."
"No, you showed a demonstration of courage that I thank you for..."
She sounded more sincere. That thought led him to think about Alice—her sincerity and unwavering compassion for him. She did mean to help, admit it all, but at one point, there was a line not meant to be crossed.
His arm was lifted up with two hands as she pressed his hand to her forehead.
"What are you doing?" he said, flustered and slightly taken aback.
"Shhh," she replied.
"Someone brave and charismatic like you... you are a godsend."
"I have been thinking... why don't you work in this tavern? I need plenty of help."
"I need you..."
'Whaaaat!!!!!' he yelled in his mind.