With a low sigh, Toan left his house, his faithful dagger clutched in his hand. Looking around, making sure that no one was watching, he headed into the Divine Beast cave, opening it's massive doors. Closing the doors behind him, he let out a sigh, finding a smooth rock for him to sit upon, glancing at his dagger occasionally. He clutched at his dagger, his hands trembling fiercely.
"I can't do it...I just can't." He muttered, sniffling. "I can't save the world...I can barely save my own village..." He sighed, recalling all the fear he had going through divine beast cave. He looked up and down his arms, various scars, cuts and bruises covering it, reminders of his many near deaths trying to get to Dran.
"Why me? Why was I chosen?" He sobbed,tears falling down his cheeks, "I'm just a kid...Just a stupid kid." He clutched at his head, sobbing, as his nightmare from days past resurfaced.
Fire, that's all he saw. It coated everything in the village, from the houses, to Gaffer's shop, even the pond itself was consumed with fire. He looked around, frantically running through the flames, trying to keep himself from losing his lunch. Across the flames, draped over burning gates and fences, there we blackened bodies,some of the bodies missing eyeballs, more so missing skin itself, charred bone poking from the burned skin.
Heading towards his house, he lost his lunch upon the ground. His mother lay there, or at least what was left of her. He normally bright hair was gone, a blackened skull staring straight at him, her body a charred skeleton. He inched towards the corpse, falling backwards as the corpse moved towards him.
"You did thissss." It hissed, standing up, along with the various bodies scattered around/ "You failed to save us."
"Failure! Failure! Failure!" They all jeered, the corpses surrounding Toan, picking him up and tossing him into the flames. "You failed to save us, Toan!"
He sobbed, fresh tears streaming down his face. Clutching his dagger, he brought it close to his chest. "I'm sorry..I can't save the world.."
"Master?" A voice chimed out. "Where are you?" The doors of the cave were moved open, Xiao poking her head into the cave. "There you are!" She walked in, closing the doors behind her, nuzzling up to Toan. "What are you doing master? Wizard training?" Reacting quickly, Toan chucked his dagger away from him, it clattering against the wall.
"Uh...no.."He mumbled, wiping his tears away. "No..just practicing..sword throwing, for the monsters I can't hit..yeah.."
"..What's wrong master?" She asked, mewing softly. He let out a sigh, standing up and pacing around the room.
"..I can't do it Xiao.."
"Do what?"
"Save the world...I just.." He clutched at his head, throwing his beret to the floor. "I'm just a kid...I can't save the entire world.. I'm not brave, I'm not strong, I'm just a coward.." She mewed softly, gently licking his cheek, earning a soft blush from him.
"I think master's not a coward. Xiao thinks master's one of the bravest people Xiao knows. " She gestured around the cave. "A lot of people visit this cave, but you are one of the few Xiao has seen to actually go deeper then the first floor. Not only that, but to fight countless monsters, all to find Divine Dran."
"I was scared half the time...The monsters were terrifying and I was afraid the next attack would kill me.."
"I think master's braver then he thinks. Many people have fled from the monsters at the first sighting of them, but you fought all of them, no matter how big or tough they were. Master even said Xiao, when he didn't have to."
"..."
"You're very brave master, and very strong..." She moved closer to him, licking his nose. "Xiao thinks you could save the entire world if master wanted to."
"No I can't...I can barely save Norune...and I had your help...I probably wouldn't be able to get pass the river without you." Xiao crossed her arms, before tackling him to the floor, sitting on his stomach. "Oof"
"It's alright to have help master." She rested her head on his chest, purring. "Xiao is so sleepy.." She let out a cute yawn, before falling asleep on his chest. Staring at her, he couldn't help but feel safe. He wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes, fear no longer flooding his thoughts, hope taking its place.