Recollections
At first I thought the only thing that occupied that rather swelled head of yours was hot air; most of your crude jokes actually proved that theory. However the longer we traveled together the more I began to realize there was at least a tiny brain in there somewhere even if you got your best line from a fortune teller for two silver coins.
Even though I would never admit this to your face (the smug satisfaction you would then give to me if I ever did do this just might cause my helping hand to let go of you. Only to prove a point that is) you have become quite good company. Not great, you have a lot of work to do to get that far, but you're on your way.
You have proved that no matter how brash one is, if there is a will behind it (And a helping hand, otherwise you'd be saying hello to Ormazd) almost everything is within one's reach. Almost, though, for brains are better then brawn, no matter how big your sword – or ego – is.
It was following the defeat of the Warrior (our second to last battle) that everything sunk in and for a moment I was afraid. You were to busy boasting to notice this and besides I could never let you see me like this. I knew what the end of this journey would entail, what it would ultimately set upon my fate. But it was my duty to protect this land, rid it of the corruption Ahriman had released. I thought then that this is the only way, but there was a part of me that wished for preservation, and an even smaller part of me that wished to continue this journey with you.
When we arrived at the gates to the temple, I was steadfast, unmoving in my resolve. I had come to the conclusion that I was willing to sacrifice anything for this world even if it so happened you knew more about it then myself. Perhaps it was because you were a traveler reclaiming lost property as you put it, even though it's thievery either way. You've seen the world, been to the other end and back and I . . . I have yet to see the ocean.
As our final battle with Ahriman was taking place, I felt so alive, my heart racing as I followed closely behind you, your scarf nearly touching my face. With every healed ground, an overwhelming power pulsed within me, the blue light seeping from my body. It was exhilarating, an excitement that was almost breathing. I remember every moment of this.
Everything however came to a screeching halt by the end as I remembered what must be done to put Ahriman back in his place, sealed in the tree of life. It was like my life was leaving me and quite literally it did. I remember your plea, I can hear your words and it nearly caused me to falter, reconsider everything that, up until this point, I had set into stone. With one whispered apology that I knew you would never accept I let go . . . of everything.
Selfishness will get you nowhere; I had accepted my fate and you should of as well. I did what was needed, what was required of me, and you, the selfish bastard that you are, always takes what he wants. For once in your life you shouldn't have taken what did not belong to you. As I took my first breath – escaping death's clutches for a second time – I dreaded what I would find but in my heart I knew what had transpired.
I could hear your heart, beating softly in your chest, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the darkness reclaiming the land. I looked up at you but you averted your blue eyes from me. I wanted to scream, punch you in the face, anything that would release this anger I felt rise within me. Everything we had done, everything that we had set out to do was destroyed, crushed under your weak resolve.
"Why?" was the only word I could manage.
You didn't answer; instead you carried me further into the shadows.