It wasn't so nice being alone in there, not while I know that I'm not the only human left after all and that is basically isolation.
The food my brothers gave me lasted for one week or more. As I knew that I could go back there and pick some more, I didn't eat it little by little, after all I was hungry and I knew that there was more where it came from, I didn't, however, want to go back there in a regular basis. God forbid if I was there to pick up food and another attack happened. They would kill me for that.
So, as I couldn't go out from the entrance point, as I would need something to use to swing across and good as hell skills to do that – I laughed thinking about falling into the endless pit because I can't swing in a rope – I used the lift the makers created to go down and search for some food.
Luckily, some lesser demons were always coming back to check on preys and, when found, they would gather some wood and make a fire to cook it. Less work for me, of course, and so I would end up going back to my brothers once in a month or so – yeah, they created the calendar again, much better.
One particular day I was feeling too adventurous for my own good and ended up facing one of those double sword wielders, angel-like, teleporting demons around and that experience made me set a reminder to never face one of those again. Not for now, at least. Not nice getting almost killed. Lately, I would learn that they have a name. Sycophants.
I went back to Haven and started bandaging up, eating what I found next and taking a recovering nap right after. That, except for the sycophant part, became my routine for months and I was starting to get bored by it.
Some nights I would wake up screaming, sweating and with a terrible pain in my chest after nightmares. I had, eventually, visions about my 'adventures' there that saved my neck, or about a mysterious woman that would always appear with a mad and scary smile to me, saying that we would soon meet. It looked like an angel by her look, angelical face, blonde hair, marble skin and soft voice, but eyes were red, wings were angel-like, but with black feathers, and her aura was... pure evil, demon-like. Yeah, I was hoping not to meet her.
A strange voice was also filling my visions, but no face to relate to it, saying that our meeting was soon at hand. The voice, it was like music to my ears, perfectly soft and almost seducing. Even though it was a vision I didn't like, because it literally gives me goosebumps every time, I was eager to have it again, just to listen to that voice again.
I was thinking about all of it while sitting down on the edge of that maker tree, holding my own legs and resting my chin on my knee, just looking at the horizon and tracing with my eyes everything I could see until the soft sun rays bothered my vision.
I couldn't stop thinking about my brothers and how miserable I was staying there. I missed sleeping in between them both, having them hugging me whenever I had nightmares, or simply hugging me because I was scared of lighting, kissing my forehead saying that everything was alright and they would be there with me to make it better. I missed how our breakfast every morning was always happy and funny, how we promised that we would always have dinner together or how we would just lay down on the couch like three lazy people, watching movies all day with a blanket over us, making us eventually sleep until the timer turned of the TV.
Those were golden days. And they would never come back.
That brought tears to my eyes and I just let them roll free. I would have to spend the rest is my miserable life alone, wandering around searching for food, fighting demons that were still lurking the ground despite their master being dead, coming back, sleeping and starting all over again the next day.
"I miss you guys..." my voice engulfed in sadness "Absalom should've killed me..." I buried my face in my arms, crying.
"You would throw away all my effort to keep you alive like that?" I heard a voice behind me, what made me turn abruptly to look him in his orange eyes.
"Death, what are you...?" I immediately wiped the tears away, trying to sound like I wasn't crying for the last ten minutes.
"It's a nice view, isn't it?" his eyes were focused on the horizon. "Completely different from where we were" I could sense him gazing the bandages on my left shoulder and arm "What happened to you?"
"A sword wielder, winged demon, that used his claws to attack once I made him lose his swords..." I took a deep breath, rubbing my eyes and holding my legs again "I was looking for food..." Really low, I could hear him sighing "Came to do something here? How's everything going?" I asked, eyes fixed in the horizon again.
"Came to check upon you"
"I'm fine."
"You clearly are not" he replied, leaving me no room to complain "You shouldn't be here alone..." he sighed.
"And where would I go?" the melancholy was pretty visible. I leaned on the wall beside me, curling up "I'm a walking target... "
"So go somewhere that no one needs protection" he crossed his arms.
"There's no where I'd rather be than with my brothers..." I signer "but where would it be...?" my voice was low.
"The fortress" he said
"What fortress?"
"Our fortress" he looked at me "it has been empty for a long while. Is probably more dusty than any place we've been in the kingdom of the dead" he giggled.
"But it's, like, your home. I... I can't..."
"We are never there, Maya. It's basically used when we need to recover"
"you guys? Needing to recover?"
"Wounds can be mortal to us as well, if you don't know. And when it happens, we also need a safe place to recover"
I sighed, hugging my legs again "Will I be alone there?"
"Yes, but not the entire time. It is why I came to take you there" he looked at my bandages again "No more big clawed, winged demon encounters" seeing that what he was saying wouldn't work, he sighed "and it's a safe place for you to meet your brothers once in a while"
My eyes grew wide "Will they be there?!"
"Not all the time, no. But yes, when you ask to see them, they can go there." He leaned on the wall beside me "Most importantly, this is to get you out of here." I felt him looking at me "is the least I can do after all"
I smirked "You didn't let me die more times than I can count. If someone owes something here, is me to you" I buried my face again.
"Well, just add that to the list, then" and I giggled "Come on, then. Let's get out of here" he offered me his hand to stand up an so I did, brushing off the dust in my clothes.
"Will we ever come back to this place?" I said before leaving "I mean, its pretty shitty right now, but... Its our home..."
"The demons need to get out first. Not all of them are bound to leave, though. They apparently like the place"
"Fuck, I would kill them all if I could" I bet he felt the anger, because he laughed.
"You would do so well with Strife"
And the place before me just disappeared.