Chapter 26:- Untimely good bye
Disclaimer:- all the characters form the game belong to moonton and this is not a commercial story but just the work of a diehard fan.
Claimer:- the other characters which are not in game of mentioned are mine
Night had fallen upon the land of Dawn and under the light of its moon, the survivors of a once prosperous tribe made their way through the narrow trench of the canyon.
It had been a very harsh day for them as they had lost more than half of their population. Which too would've been annihilated had Saya not interfered, but in doing so she paid a great price. Now with literally an arm short, the Sai'oren Empress lay prone and exhausted in one of the remaining three carts while the tribe made their way deeper down the canyon as turning back was not possible at all.
Upon reaching a small stream, the first water source they had came across in months; Hilda declared that they would camp there. The rest agreed wordlessly as the day had taken a toll on them all, both physically and mentally.
They started a small bonfire but no merriment was heard that night, just silent sobs from the remaining tribesmen who were mourning for the loss of their loved ones.
Most of their belongings had to be discarded in haste while fleeing from Thamuz's demon horde. That had buffed them with extra speed but now that the onslaught was over, the tribe was now facing a very severe lack of resources. All they could save were some dry meat and a few blankets, which were distributed evenly amongst the people.
Saya was lying in Hilda's cart and still unconscious. The attack she had used had taken a very heavy toll on her and Hanabi was really worried about her friend.
Hilda approached them and asked, "How is she?"
"Still out cold, I don't understand. Why is she in such a bad condition?" The kunoichi shakes her head expiration.
"Well, the power she used was….Extraordinary. It's only natural that it would be so taxing. Don't worry though; I'm sure she will be fine." Hilda tried to reassure her. Hanabi just nodded in reply and sat next to Saya.
Rubbing the back of her neck, the brutish woman called, "Come one, Shortie, Its dinner time."
With Saya in such a critical condition, Hanabi really didn't felt like eating thus she tried to decline. But Hilda reasoned back, "You cannot take care of her if you don't take care of yourself?" her words were right so Hanabi finally agreed and followed Hilda out of the cart.
Hilda led Hanabi towards the bonfire where the rest of the fifteen members of the tribe had gathered around. Hanabi sat down on the ground while Hilda passed her a piece of dried meat, which was also probably the last piece of food the tribe had left. All it took was a few bites to finish it off.
It was all silent since then and no one spoke a word.
Suddenly, one of the younger boys amongst the group tried to lighten the mood, "Well, at least we survived. The legacy of the People of Wilderness still lives on, am I right?"
Another man snorted at this, "That might be, but at what cost? We are lucky we had Lady Saya with us, or else not even fifteen would've made it out."
The majority of the tribe were quick to agree, except for one.
"She better. This is all her fault anyways." A lone man spoke begrudgingly.
This angered Hanabi to her core and she growled lowly to the man. "What did you say?"
Hilda didn't seem to like that comment as well, so she too voiced her displeasure, "What's the meaning of this, Darim?"
Yet Darim didn't falter, "Did you really believe we would not notice? I know who they are. The Scarlet Flower and Saya Mahira, the Saviours of Mossenia, Vanquishers of White Tooth. Words of your endeavours travel far. Isn't it obvious? The Abyssal Demons were after them, not us." The man spat venomously.
Hilda frowned at this, "But that's in the past now. It was not their fault…"
Darim immediately stood up at this and roared, "Not their fault?" The man stomped forward and growled, "So the demon horde just came out of thin air to hunt us down? That half of our tribe was slaughtered just out of coincident? That my son was burnt to crisp because of some mistake?"
Hilda narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Talk to me like that one more time and I will bash your skull in."
But then to her horror, the rest of the tribe slowly started agreeing with Darim.
"H-He is right you know."
"All this makes sense now."
"This explains why the demons attacked our home in the first place."
"They had been nothing but trouble…."
Hilda gritted her teeth and held Darim by his collar, "Say another word, I dare you!"
Before things got out of hands, a voice suddenly shouted, "Enough!"
Everyone turned around and saw that it was none other than Saya herself. The one armed woman slowly limped towards them and requested, "Hilda, please let him go."
The Huntress was shocked at this but respected Saya's request and did as told.
Saya let out a breath and spoke, "Darim is right. The Abyss was after me. I should've known this but now, this mistake has cost you so many lives." Slowly Saya bows lowly, "I cannot apologise enough for the pain that I have brought upon you." She then turns towards Hanabi and beckons her towards her. Facing the tribe once more, Saya bows once more, "We will take our leave. Thank you for your hospitality." She said sincerely and walked away with Hanabi towing behind her.
Suddenly, Hilda was already on to her and held her back, "Wait, you can't just leave like that!"
Saya shook her head, "This is what you're people want and it's for the best, Hilda."
"No! Not now! You're wounded and alone, we should really stick together and what about finding a new home?" Her voice was heated but frustrated as well. Saya gently placed her hand on Hilda's shoulder, "I know you don't like this, but you're the leader of your people, Hilda and they need you right now. You cannot risk turning on them, especially now just because of your own feelings." Saya explained.
"But, what about me? What about how I feel?" Hilda almost yells angrily.
Saya smiles softly at this, "The path we walk is not always the one we choose. You are the leader of your people and as a leader. You will have to make decisions and sacrifices that not many can do. Stay with your people. They need you more than we do." The Sai'ore held Hilda's hand and gave it a firm and reassuring squeeze.
Almost overwhelmed by emotions, Hilda wrapped her arms around the slender woman into a strong hug.
"You better not die on me. We will meet again, Sister." The brutish woman says.
Saya laughs and returns the hug as well, "Yes, we will…..Sister."
Hilda finally let go of Saya and turned towards Hanabi, "You too, Shortie." With that she hugged her as well.
Saying their last good byes, Saya and Hanabi part ways with the People of Wilderness, not even knowing where the path ahead led them and to what dangers.
"I cannot believe those ungrateful bastards would say something like that to you." Grumbled Hanabi while stomping forward.
"I understand that you're upset, Neha. But you should know that the man was in mourning. He lost his son; of course he would be bitter." Replied Saya calmly.
The two had been walking through the trenches for the whole night and had reached quite deep inside the canyon.
Unsatisfied by Saya's answer, Hanabi spoke once more, "But you saved their lives, yet they still blamed you! Don't you even feel a little bit angry?"
Saya shook her head, "I've been in his shoes…. More than a few times. I know what pain courses through his being, thus I understand his pain." She replied softly.
The walk had been long and tiring, especially for Saya who was now wobbling on her feet. Hanabi frowned at this and asked, "You okay?"
The Sai'ore nodded, "Yes. Let's keep moving." But her legs gave away and had Hanabi not been there to hold her, Saya would've been face first on the ground.
"That's it. We are resting and that's final." Saya was wise enough to not argue back.
Since most of their belongings were on Nhari's back, the two still had a few useful things left, like a blanket. Hanabi put the blanket on the ground and laid Saya on it before lying besides the Sai'ore herself. Their horse laid beside them as well, visibly exhausted from all the things that had happened from yesterday.
Hanabi lay close to Saya and wrapped her arms around the taller woman. Saya gently stroke the younger girl and let out a relieved breath. The Kunoichi looked towards the Sai'ore, especially her left arm which was not there and felt guilt fill her heart.
"I'm so sorry, Saya-chan. For your arm… Had I known…"
But Saya shushed her immediately, "I will be fine, Neha. My arm will re-grow in a day or two, so no need to worry."
Hanabi frowned at Saya's sweet smile, not really convinced by her statement, but didn't protest. Right now, she was just glad Saya was with her, Hanabi just hopes that she could help her dear friend.
They thought that they had defeated him. They believed that they had escaped his wrath, but they were wrong.
It would take more than some heap of debris to kill the Great Lava Lord. The giant stones that had buried him slowly melted away due to his extreme heat and form the molten earth rose Thamuz once again.
He looked up towards the direction where the Zeno fled and wondered, "Such power…"
Thamuz had felt it. The power, it was out of this world. Had it hit him directly, he doubts that he could've survived it. The thought scared as well as exhilarated him.
He wanted to see more of it.
He thirsts for it.
He wanted it.
Bending the molten ground beneath his feet, the fire demon ling fashioned two Lava scythes in his hands, "I am fire incarnate, and shall have that power!"
The surrounding around them changed slightly as the two travelled further down the canyon after their rest. The Biggest change one could see would be the various crystals jutting out of the earth and littering the landscape.
They must be nearing the Crystal Mountain.
True to her word, Saya's arm was indeed re-growing. Her once arm-less part had grown till her elbow region, but there was a tiny information that Saya didn't gave Hanabi.
Her healing powers was due to her increased metabolism, that meant that Saya was growing back her arm by using whatever store food she had in her body to repair her damaged parts and re-grow her limb. And since she had not eaten in a good while, Saya had no way to compensate for all the body weight she had lost, causing her once slender and athletic body to slowly become skinnier.
Hanabi was very vocal about her concern but Saya was still insistent that she was okay.
Her immortal heritage, her Maya will not let her die. Her body was just protesting the lack of fodder, nothing Saya hadn't handled previously but that didn't really stop Hanabi from worrying.
It soon got dark and the two set up a small camp like they had done in the morning. Hanabi looked upon Saya, the woman's face was pale and gaunt with her cheek bones practically jutting out by now. She looked like she hadn't eaten for years and was very weak. Yet she was still stubborn and persistent. It almost made Hanabi wonder whether Saya really was crazy or that she was too prideful to accept her own condition.
It really frustrated Hanabi.
"I will sleep for a while. Wake me up in the morning, Okay." Saya spoke softly, her voice raspy and barely above whisper due to weakness. It didn't take long for the Sai'ore to fall asleep; she passed out the moment she laid her head down. Gone was her radiance and replace with a tired and worn out face. To see her in such a state broke Hanabi's heart.
"Why must you be so stubborn, Saya-chan?" she whispers softly while caressing Saya face.
Suddenly, Hanabi heard something. The Kunoichi looked up and her eyes widened in disbelief. There not far away, near the stream was a deer, a large healthy buck by the look of it.
Hanabi had no idea how was this even possible but there it was; a deer in the middle of a desert. Her stomach rumbled loudly as her mouth watered at the thought if belly full of roasted Venison and right now, perhaps, some good food was all what Saya needed as well. That thought was enough for Hanabi to take her weapon and sneak closer towards it.
The buck was drinking water without a care of the world, until a kunai came soaring towards it but Hanabi had been impatient and she paid for it as she missed her target by an inch.
With its guard up, the deer bolted away without looking back.
"No!" yelled Hanabi and gave a chase.
She really needed this hunt. Saya needed this hunt, so Hanabi was not going to give up so easily. The Kunoichi chased after the deer like a hungry wolf desperate for food and followed it deeper into the trenches.
Suddenly, the deer made a sharp turn and jumped down a hole in the ground, "Oh no you don't!" yelled the kunoichi and jumped down as well.
And so down she went, never at once considering, how on Earth was she to get back out…..
