CHAPTER 8: Life's Importance to Death
PART I: Back to The Chase
Back on the outskirts of the Nameless Forest, Nex stood again, his feet bloody, his young body tired, and yet he stood, carrying Amal with his two hands, determined to go back into the forest and head north.
But before he started, he looked down at Amal. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then whispered in her ear, "May God give me strength to carry you to safety."
And he began running again, but he quickly realized that the little rest he had fooled his body, and now his body wouldn't move the way he wanted.
First he started shivering, then his legs grew more tired with each step, almost breaking with the weight of each step, and yet he didn't give up. He began running right beneath the trees to shield himself from wind and rain, and he started to drag his feet behind him.
Then his arms began to go numb, and he quickly realized he would not be able to carry Amal for long, so he slowly stopped and sat down beneath another tree while he was catching his breath. He looked behind at the distance he covered with that little attempt and realized it was only a few feet.
"I will just... rest here... Maybe they aren't even chasing me," he thought to himself.
He placed the infant in his lap, protecting her between his thighs, then let his arms fall down beside him and closed his eyes, hoping for a miracle when he woke up.
And yet before a miracle even had a chance to happen, the sound of horse hooves grew closer and closer.
The sounds of men yelling gave Nex enough strength to carry Amal and use the tree log to push himself upward to stand.
He knew it was futile, but he had to try everything he could, so if one day he saw Mallory again, he would tell her he never gave up.
So when he saw his friends, or Lucy, he would tell them proudly how much he fought to survive. He began moving.And with each step, his legs would shake beneath him.
He carried Amal in one hand and leaned on the trees and rocks to hold himself up.And as the sound of the hooves and men grew closer, like a cruel joke, the smell of burning bodies came from his right. And before he could even move away, he heard the voices of two men.
Nex ducked behind a huge stone and began to slowly slide on his knees through the mud towards them.
"Why are we even out here burning those... things? Why don't we unleash them on the empire or something?" the first man asked the other.
Nex peeked through the trees to look for some supplies, or a horse, and there it was—finally a way out. Two horses tied to the trees, past the two men and the massive fire. Nex let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
"You say unleash them like we even have control over them. We are lucky we have time to burn them before they turn into an army of dead walking around turning more people into them," the second man responded.
Nex moved along the tree lines to stay hidden, circling his way towards the horses as he listened calmly to the conversation.
"Come on, don't tell me you actually believe those corpses will somehow be able to walk. I mean, look at them burning, and they still don't separate from each other," the first man said mockingly.
Nex took a closer look at their clothes and saw their armor, as it was colored white, and the massive symbol of the sun was carried on their backs. He knew those soldiers belonged to the Sunrise family.
"That is what the doctor says, and he might be a lot of things, but he was never a liar," the second man responded.
"Yeah, but you know he is crazy. He won't lie because he actually believes it, but it will all turn out to be hallucinations—" And before the man even finished his words, a corpse from the burning pile of bodies lunged itself at him while the corpse carried the flame all over its body.
The soldier stumbled as he tried to back away and fell on his back. The other man unsheathed his sword, and the only thing that stopped the corpse was a single thread that had still connected it to the other bodies.
The soldier crawled back as he hurried himself up from the ground, drew his sword, and as he turned around ready to kill the already dead, he saw the head of the corpse slowly rolling towards his feet.
"Didn't I tell you not to lower your guard while on duty?"
The other soldier sheathed his sword, stainless and as clean as the day it was made. The corpse lay belly first on the ground without a single drop of blood coming out of it, as the fire caught up to it and burnt it.
The scared soldier grunted as he kicked the head back into the fire, then sheathed his sword. He turned around and started moving towards the trees, in the direction Nex was hiding.
"Where are you going?" the other soldier asked. Nex noticed his voice was raspy, and that of an older man.
"To pee. That corpse almost made me do it where I stood."
The scared soldier had a younger and more shaky voice.
"Don't take too long. We are almost finished." Then with a lower voice, the old man continued, "I wanna be out of this shithole forest before the sun sets."
Nex watched quietly, fearing his own fate—that soon he might end up in that pile of burning corpses himself—but his tired mind and body made it easier for him to think about nothing but survival.
He laid down Amal between harsh and cold bushes. Each time he lowered her more, the small branches and vines would slash through the cover wrapping her and scratch her little and weak skin, but yet she didn't cry.
She stared into his eyes with her grey and hopeful eyes, smiling with trust as he unknowingly smiled back at her.
Then he left her and slowly made his way, trailing the young soldier that just entered deeper between the trees.
The young soldier stood in front of a tree and pulled down his trousers from the front. Nex slowly and silently made his way towards the soldier. He crept through from between the trees, and barefooted, he stepped through the soldier's own footsteps. Nex stood up right behind the soldier and slowly reached with his left hand towards the hilt of the sword.
As the soldier finally finished his business pulled his trousers up and went to turn around, Nex sharply took hold of the hilt with his left, then held onto the shoulder of the soldier with his right and dragged him back as he moved forward, drawing the blade as soon as he took hold of its hilt.
The soldier reached for his knife in his boot, but Nex wasted no moment and lunged forward and held the point of the sword towards the soldier's neck.
The soldier halted his movement and waited for Nex to finish the job. Then when he didn't, he quickly glanced at Nex, noticing his bare feet, dirty clothes, and blood trail behind him. "Who are you?" the soldier asked.
Nex did not pay any attention to the question or the soldier's obvious glances. Nex lowered his voice to sound older. "I need one of your horses. Give it to me and all three of us will return home to our families. Don't... and I shall return home covered in your blood."
"That sounds fair. I shall go and fetch you the horse," the soldier responded.
"I am not that naive, soldier. I am coming with, and you are gonna walk very slowly towards the horses. And I promise you, the moment I feel the air of the gap between the point of my blade and your neck, I will make sure my blade is stained in your blood."
The soldier smiled. "You don't have to complicate your threats that much. Anything you say while holding my own blade to my neck will scare me to death."
Nex pushed the sword slightly deeper into the soldier's skin. "Then start moving."
The soldier took one step at a time, and Nex barely kept up with his pace. The soldier tried to steal a glance behind him at Nex, but Nex denied him with just a few words.
"Eyes forward." And he moved the sword a bit, reminding the soldier he held his life captive.
"How did you get in this forest undetected in the first place, kid? It is swarming with soldiers," the soldier asked.
Nex did not answer. He simply replied with a long and quiet "Shhhhhhhhhh."
Even after a few minutes passing, they had barely moved from where they fought earlier. The soldier had kept his mouth quiet, but his mind was still talking to him, asking him for answers.
"How did this child evade the patrols of young master Andy? They have been patrolling the forest for at least a day and a half now. How did he ever enter the forest in this state? If anyone saw him, they would have either cared for him or kidnapped him and sold him to the empire's slave traders. How did someone in his condition even walk here..."
The soldier suddenly froze in his place, then aloud he asked, "Unless... he was here before the soldiers came..."
Nex knew he was recognized. He knew the Sunrise soldier would never let him go the moment they knew his identity. The moment he heard those words come out from the soldier's mouth,
He thrusted his sword forward, but Nex's exhaustion helped the soldier as he pushed the sword effortlessly towards his left with his right hand and moved his head away within the last second, evading a fatal blow and only scratching his neck.
The soldier then kicked Nex with his right foot, trying to push him to his back and pull his knife out. He knew that when Nex fell, it would be incredibly hard for him to regain his footing.
But Nex did not sit idly and wait for the slow and heavy kick to hit him.
Once the sword was pushed away from the soldier's neck, Nex let it go and got low on his feet, kneeling beneath the soldier's kick and closing the distance, grabbing his other foot that held him on the ground. Then he grabbed the soldier's lifted foot with his other hand, and he pushed it up as he pulled the one that stood firm, flipping the soldier on the ground before he could even realize what was going on.
The soldier, falling on his back, gasped for air as he felt the agonizing pain from his steel armor hitting a massive stone on the ground.
Nex lay atop the soldier, exhausted. He slowly crawled up to sit on the soldier's chest, weighing his armor down even further and making him unable to move.
The soldier struggled, trying to push Nex off of him, but Nex kept crawling back atop him. And when the soldier felt tired, he looked from between the trees and bushes, and as he opened his mouth to yell for his mentor for help, Nex was already atop his chest. And Nex struck the soldier's teeth with his elbow—once, and again, and again, until his teeth fell apart until he could only gasp for air.
And as Nex elbowed him once more, Nex was unable to use his right hand anymore, as the blood dripped from his elbow. Nex unsheathed the knife from the soldier's thigh, and then he pointed the blade towards the soldier's neck. Then he looked at the poor young soldier's face—blood dripping down his mouth and nose, as tears poured down from his eyes and washed the blood away.
The soldier gasped for air in between his cries. "Pleath... let... me... go..." The soldier's words were incomplete—his teeth were no longer in their place after all. And as Nex himself gasped for air, holding the knife to his neck, Nex caught his own reflection in the knife's blade.
He saw... an unfamiliar person. Ragged, dirty, blood stains stuck on his face... dripping droplets of blood and sweat from his forehead... but perhaps what scared Nex the most was his facial expression... He was beating a helpless soldier to death, a soldier that did him no wrong, a soldier that he sought out to kill first, a soldier that was merely doing his job for the safety of his own people, and yet Nex was smiling.
"Is... that me?" Nex thought to himself... then he asked himself... "Why am I smiling?... Because I won?... No. It is because I survived." Nex told himself as he closed his eyes and then lifted the knife, slamming it down into the soldier's neck.
Nex felt the warmth of the blood as it hit his face. He slowly opened his eyes, watching the soldier's eyes fade of color as he gasped for air. His neck poured out blood like a fountain. His arms twitched as they lay beside him, powerless and weak. And as Nex watched, the young man gasped one last time, before he lay there still, dead...
The blood on Nex's face grew cold as he caught his breath, and as the blood dripped down towards Nex's neck, Nex's body grew cold as the heavy raindrops warmed him up, washing away some of the blood from his body. And yet he did not shiver, for Nex did not move an inch after he stabbed the soldier. He just sat there, looking at his work, observing and thinking to himself, "Was it worth it?"
And as his thoughts dimmed out, leaving him alone with the dead body, the cry of an infant reignited the life in him. He stood up immediately, ignoring all of his pain, and he ran towards the bushes where he hid Amal.
Nex ran with all of his remaining strength, but his feet betrayed him, as he tripped over. He gasped in agony—his feet had been crying rivers of blood beneath him for hours, if not days. He held onto a tree and leveraged himself back up, only to slip and fall again, but he did not stop. He would crawl there if he had to, for hearing her cries gave him strength he never had before.
He stood back up, slowly and painfully. He finally made it to the bush, as he fell many times. Blood covered his knees, elbows, and both hands as well, but he had made it to the bushes. And when he heard the cries of Amal coming from beyond the bushes, he knew... she had been taken from him.
He stood still for a moment, readying himself for the worst, and then the old voice called out to him, "Come out... I can hear you panting like a thirsty dog all the way from here."
Nex stepped through the bushes. As he leaned on a tree, he slowly revealed himself, still covered in blood—of his own and the young soldier—tired, gasping for whatever little amount of breath he could inhale.
Nex saw Amal being held in the soldier's arm, as he held his sword with the other. He gently smiled, happy to see she was unharmed.
Nex slowly started stepping forward, but the old man did not panic. He yelled out in a firm and cold voice, "Do not move..."
Nex stood his ground, then the old man asked, "Is he dead?"
"Who?" Nex knew who the old man meant, and yet he had to try and buy himself a bit of time.
The old man was not having it. He yelled out with sadness breaking his words, "M... my PUPIL, IS HE DEAD?... The young boy that was here with me moments ago?"
Nex wanted to lie his way out of the forest, but before he even opened his mouth, the old man yelled out again, "And don't you dare try to lie to me... There is nothing I am not willing to do for my boy." The old man hovered the sword closer towards the infant.
"YES! I killed him... so come and get your revenge if you can." Nex yelled out as he pulled the young soldier's knife, drenched with blood. The old man knew it was the truth.
The old man could not hold it together, his cries were quiet and lonely, yet Nex heard them, the old man did not move from his place, as he looked Nex in his eyes.
"Your pupil screamed like a slaughtered goat... He begged me not to kill him... So come and face me so I can send you where I sent him." Nex's expression betrayed him again, as tears poured down his cheeks.
The old man's cries went silent, then he sheathed his sword and slowly walked forward towards Nex.
"Yes... that's it..." Nex whispered, then he followed with, "I can finally rest."
Nex closed his eyes as the soldier slowly stepped closer to him, and then Nex looked up to the sky. As the vision of Bewolf came back to him, and how peacefully he passed, he had hoped for the same fate.
"An eye for an eye," the old man said aloud. Nex opened his eyes and looked down, witnessing the old man standing just a few steps from him, holding a dagger with one hand and Amal with the other. The old man lifted the dagger above Amal and said, "You took the soul of my life from me..."
Nex ran forward with all his strength. "And I will take yours from you," the old man continued as he slammed the dagger down. Blood dripped down from the cloth Amal was wrapped with and onto the old man's arm. Nex gasped, then froze in his place as he covered his mouth with both of his hands, dropping the knife to the ground.
He watched and awaited for a noise, a scream, a cry from the infant, and yet nothing came. The old man slowly placed the infant on the ground as the blood-soaked cloth covered her.
The old man opened his mouth to say something, but Nex did not wait. Instead, he screamed in rage as he ran forward and jumped on the old man, tackling him onto the ground with not much effort.
Nex mounted his chest like he did the younger soldier earlier, and with what little strength remained in him, he punched him. With every punch, Nex grunted with pain and cried out, "Why?!... You should have just killed me.... She had nothing to do with this..." But his punches had no strength behind them.
They barely broke the nose of the old man as he lay there with his own tears running down his cheeks. He said nothing. He did nothing.
After a while, Nex broke down... unable to even avenge his most precious being. He head-butted the man, then lay there, forehead to forehead, and whispered... "Kill me... please."
"No..." The old man answered simply.
Nex lifted his head and looked down on the man once more with tears clouding his vision, then he wiped the tears from his eyes. As he saw the sword of the man on his waist, waiting for Nex to unsheath it.
Nex weakly reached for it and unsheathed it with both hands. The old man did not move an inch.
Nex got off of the old man, then used the sword to stand up, then he tried to lift the sword, but his arms found no strength to do it.
He fell to his knees, then he placed the sword between his thighs and held the sharp blade from the sides. Blood dripped down from his palms as he closed his eyes, ready to throw himself at the sword.
The old man did not move or say anything. Nex whispered his final words, "I am sorry, Lucy... I couldn't find my way back to you." As the last drop of tears left his eyes, a wide smile carried his will and rest hung on his face.
Then as he gathered the last of his strength, a familiar and soft voice rang in his ears—a small child's cry, one that he had heard many times while hiding with her in the forest, when he ran with her from Pelon and the imperial soldiers, when he reunited with her in the Lif village, when he was kept away from her as a slave, and finally the image of when he first found her flashed through his mind—the same sound he had heard when he picked her up from her parents' corpses. "She's alive... Amal... my hope." Nex wishpered.
Nex opened his eyes, let go of the sword, and lunged himself at her. He took her out of the red-blooded cloth and watched as she cried out, completely unharmed.
He laughed out as tears kept pouring down, bringing him back to life, once again, he placed his ears on her chest hearing her heartbeats, then he hugged her tightly and gently, then he looked at the blooded cloth, then back at the old man, and he notcied his left hand was struck by the knife, the blood was not hers, but rather the old man's.
He laughed out as tears kept pouring down, bringing him back to life once again. He placed his ears on her chest, hearing her heartbeats, then he hugged her tightly and gently, then he looked at the blooded cloth, then back at the old man, and he noticed his left hand was struck by the knife. The blood was not hers, but rather the old man's.
"I couldn't do it... I couldn't kill a child... no matter what you did, I couldn't bring myself to become like you," the old man said aloud.
Nex did not answer... he just simply looked at the old man, crying in awe, unable to understand why he didn't do it or why he couldn't.
Then he gently laid Amal down on his lap and knelt down towards the injured hand of the old man. He held it with both of his hands, then lowered his head and kissed it. "Thank... thank you..." Nex couldn't finish his words.
He cried out as the old man lay there uninterested. The old man let out a small laugh, then said, "I must be the only man ever alive to have the murderer of my son kiss my hand and thank me for what I haven't done..."
Nex did not care about his words. He kept holding his hand and crying like the child he is.
After a few moments of silence, the ground trembled like thunder with the sound of hooves, knocking both Nex and the old man out of their grief and sorrow.
Nex knew who was coming, and he let go of the old man's hand and took Amal as he headed towards one of the horses, but the old man stood up behind him and held him by his shoulder.
"Wait..." he yelled out. Nex did not look back. He just stood there holding the infant tightly. "I did not say I forgave you... you are coming with me... you still have to answer for the death of my pupil," the old man continued.
"I... can't... if I head back, they will take her from me and lock me away in some foreign kingdom," Nex answered without turning.
"Who will take her from you?" the old man asked as the sound of hooves grew closer. Nex turned back slowly and answered, "I don't have time to tell you... but I promise you I can't be judged for the crime I committed towards your pupil...not now at least."
"And I can't let you go before you do..." the old man answered. Nex stood still as the sound of thunder crept closer. He looked the old man in the eyes, and he remembered the eyes of Lucy... he looked down at Amal as she stood still in between his arms, then he looked back at the west towards the sound of the hooves, then he whispered... "An eye for an eye..."
The old man froze as Nex slowly forwarded Amal towards the old man. "You would give her up to save your life?" the old man asked.
"No... I would give her up to pay for my crime... and to keep her safe from them." Nex's eyes did not leave Amal's face.
The old man hesitated... then he said, "Very well... I will take care of her like she is my own... I promise you."
"Amal... her name is Amal..." Nex whispered quietly behind his cries.
"I promise... to keep Amal safe... and that she would grow up away from all of this bloodshed," the old man said as he looked behind him at the still-burning corpses.
Nex turned and headed towards the horse slowly as the sound of men yelling finally became coherent.
"Follow the smoke!" a man yelled out, then the soldiers behind him responded with a loud shout. Nex recognized the man's voice... it was Sang's.
He slowly mounted one of the horses as he cut the rope tying him to the tree, then he said to the old man, "Head north... I will lead them away south of here."
The old man knew what this meant. He isn't only giving up Amal, but he's also giving up his life. The old man turned away and faced north, then asked, "What is your name, boy?"
Nex answered without turning back... "The Prince of Death."
The old man turned around as soon as he heard that name... his eyes lit up with grief, but he didn't find the horse or the young boy riding it.
Nex kicked the horse's belly and rode away south. He disappeared into the green, unable to look back.