Interlude 2 / Distant Nightmares Disorient One From The Path
Finding myself in an unusual place, I began to wander about to figure out where I had been. An unnamed forest was something I didn't want to find myself in when my eyes opened up, especially when my memory had been so hazy. A stinging pain ate away at my consciousness as I walked by the trees, trying to get a sense of my location.
None of it felt real. Somewhere in my heart, I already knew that I was dreaming, but I don't remember ever going to sleep. Just what was I doing before entering this state? I couldn't remember. Did I want to remember? The pain merely heightened every time I tried to answer that question, as if it was trying to block out that reality. After all, this was a dream, extracted from reality. There was no reason to remember the cruel truth of my reality.
The… cruel truth?
There it was again. The pain never wanted to subside, lingering on as much as it desired. My foot never stopped though, traversing through the forest without a single problem. As if I've already been here before. The trees looked familiar, yet I was never able to recall where I saw them. Even the earthen ground had a familiar scent to it, trying to lead me deeper into the forest.
Even that point had been confusing to me. How did I even know I was heading deeper inside without knowledge of where I had been in its relativity? My mind hurt when I tried to conjure up answers, so I left it at that. There was no point in putting myself in harm's way without a good reason, right?
And even so, chills ran down my spine as I walked more and more. Something was wrong about this forest, but that in itself was not correct. It was better to say that whatever was happening in this forest, that caused the trees, its leaves and the nature around them to shiver in fear. It was that feeling that was being radiated back onto my shoulders, and yet my feet kept going.
Until I saw him.
A blonde-haired man stood between the trees. His green eyes glared downwards at the ground, but with the bushes covering that space, I couldn't exactly see what he was staring at. I thought it might have been a flower or a certain herb he was searching for, but that wouldn't make sense. Seconds, minutes - I wasn't counting how long he stood there for until I realized his unsightly appearance.
On his face, blood. On his arms, blood. On his chest, blood. It soaked, not simply into his clothes, but his very skin itself. However, a step closer allowed me to see what he had been holding. It was a spear, drenched in blood not of his own.
At his feet, a dead body. He had finished killing somebody and all I could do was stare at him without any emotions. For he did not feel anything after taking the man's breath away from his body. His eyes were empty, yet filled with an unexplainable emotion. It was evident that he did what he felt like he had to do, but his frozen self had stood there for what felt like an eternity.
As if he knew he damned himself.
"It's bad manners to spy on people like that."
I jumped when he spoke up. He looked over to my direction very slowly, but when I tried to answer him, nothing came out. Words would not form properly, even if my throat moved correctly. It was then that I realized he was not talking to me. Footsteps followed behind me and I glanced backwards instead to see another man approaching.
He walked right past me. He did not acknowledge my existence and once again, I was reminded that everyone must have not been able to see me. I merely glanced at the man's back, noting the strange hunting gear that would have been fit more for a warrior and his green hair.
The spearman laughed, seeing the face that I could not see.
"You should learn to announce yourself better, Peleus."
"Was Plexippus not of your own blood, if I may recall?"
"You recall correctly, but then I ask. Who is to damn me for spilling my own blood? Mere fools who believe to heal what does not need to be healed, they should be the ones to be damned instead."
"A fool is a man who plays the wise, yet misunderstands his own choices."
A tense silence was brought before the two, like they were warriors facing each other. Alas, they should have been merely hunters at this point, a fact I did not know where I caught from.
"Besides, you have much more to fear than what blood I have spilled. Were you not in fear of what to happen to you as well? Did you not accidentally slay Eurytion while hunting the beast? You had thought to be the one to land the first attack, but instead, you were the one to land the final attack on your dear father-in-law?"
"Do not remind me of such things. Under the veil of the night, I'm going to flee this place, in the hopes that I may retain my freedom for a little longer."
"And yet, it was difficult to even touch that demonic boar with our weapons. Eurytion served as that reminder, did he not?"
"Do not speak as such. It was a mistake, a sin that I could not bear thinking about."
"That wasn't my intention. There is another meaning that you must interpret. You must remember the difficulty of attacking the demonic boar."
"In so that you could be praised more? As the one who killed the demonic boar?"
"No. So that her achievement is all the more greater. I would not be able to kill the monster if it was not for her to show that its defeat had been possible and for her to cripple it enough in that first shot for others to rally in their strikes."
It was that moment that Peleus had known what must have transpired here. His stature changed and his form loosened a bit, rolling his neck to gaze at the body once more. All in the meanwhile, the blonde-haired man glared at the dead body and raised his spear, angrily thrusting it into the corpse's chest. All without conveying it on his face.
"A shame that no one bothered to pay attention to that."
"They would have praised you more if it weren't for the actions you took at the end of the hunt. You gave it to her, did you not? The trophy of the hunt, the Calydonian Boar Pelt? I was so busy hiding my head that I could only hear what happened. You caused quite the uproar."
"She deserved it. And these bastards won't accept that!"
"Are you not fearful that this may not end well for you? You should flee while you can, just like I am. You may be the prince of this land, but that does not ignore your scrutiny for the others."
"As if I could leave. As long as she remains, I will as well. I shall protect her, even if she does not know of it. No matter what happens to me."
My throated swallowed down, hearing those firm words. Where he could say them with confidence, there was might behind it and evidence to show for it. Those were not of empty words, but one that were filled with the flames of passion. He genuinely desired to do so and knew what he needed to do in order to uphold his self-contracted agreement. Envy wallowed next to my heart for some reason, holding a fist right on top of it to ease it back down to null.
Peleus' tongue was bitten by himself and I could know what that was the case. Even I had a difficult time watching the blonde-haired man say what he wanted to say, knowing that it may lead him to his end. However, it was a road he insisted on travelling, one that could not be turned away from.
The man pulled out his spear and pulled out a cloth from his waist. The dirty blood of his victim must be cleaned off his spear as he casually sat down and started his work. It left Peleus to ponder in watching the man's slow and meticulous strokes, but he stopped when the blonde-haired man stopped as well. His green eyes closed for a brief moment and opened up, gazing over to the acquaintance.
They were not friends. A distant gaze like that would not be given as such, but there had been a level of trust between each other. Perhaps from a former journey by each other's side? It was difficult to know what type of relationship these two men had with each other.
"This may be the last time we speak to each other, for it may be a trip to the underworld that one of us will soon see. In that case, I wish to ask you something."
"What would that be?"
"I believe you will have a child that will become one of the greatest heroes in the land. For that reason, I want you to speak of the stories of the chaste huntress to them. I know you like to recount your tales of the past to people, so I do not fear that it would be a difficult task. Alas, I ask that you spread her name to be a hero worth idolizing, not a curse that many see as today."
Peleus remained silent, but then started to laugh.
"Is that all you ask of me? A meager task."
"It is important, nevertheless."
"I can tell. I might have been one of the few that would have accepted this request of yours and see it as nothing difficult to achieve. I have my pride as a man, but there is also a type of pride of being a comrade in arms. She is worthy of that name and thus, I shall tell my future children of her legacy."
"That much, I appreciate it. Thank you, Peleus."
The blonde-haired man sighed, continuing the cleaning of his precious spear. It was evident that he did not want a single speck of blood left on the weapon. Not because he wanted to hide his sin, for that was something impossible to do. But every moment I saw the blood dripping from its tip, my heart started to tremble.
"You should finish your preparations for tonight. Your sin will follow you, so you should leave as soon as possible. My father's celebratory banquet will remain for merely today and at the morning dew's sight, those who revered Eurytion will surely come for your head."
"That was the plan."
Peleus gave one more look at the dead body, before dismissing it. His footsteps were heavy as he glanced over to the skies. My eyes followed his own, noting that dark clouds were starting to settle in. To believe it or not, it might have been the sign of a bad omen, but Peleus didn't utter that obvious line. He merely took a deep breath and started walking out from the forest, not heeding my presence again.
All that was left were me and him, but as I carefully watched, he stood back up. His spear aimed downwards at the corpse and without another wasted moment, he stabbed downwards once more. The choice of his targeting had been the hand.
A hole formed and its blade dug itself in.
The memories started surging back to my head. The daggers that Saber shot out and an injury I took in trying to protect Archer. An injury that was wasted, causing me to shiver like the trees in the wailing winds. Cold sweat dripped and my face went pale as I shuddered to look down to my hand. I didn't want to, but my head was already moving through my restraint.
My foot stepped back, my lungs were short from breath, and I tripped over myself, falling onto the ground. I couldn't think. My mind stopped itself from thinking because if I thought anything else about my situation, I wouldn't be able to withstand its pressure.
It was a mistake to ever believe that I could.
"Is this really the extent of your wish, kid?"
In a blink of an eye, the scenery slightly shifted. I was still on the ground underneath the trees, but the blonde-haired man stood right over my head. His spear struck down, pinning my hand to the earth and I was quick to realize that I've simply replaced the man he just killed. Blood gushed from the wound, staining the dirt with my blood and screams were left for only myself to hear.
And yet, all I could exert was a mere gaze upwards to the blonde-haired man. His expression was terrifying, filled with a distasteful anger in dealing with a condemned enemy. As such, my punishment was death, as with all the others that he must have dealt with.
Was I… really going to die? I don't want to. I just want to wake up and forget that all of this happened. This was not where I belonged, for I should have been a normal person, unknowing to this mysterious world hidden underneath the surface.
"To think, all that talk and this is what it amounted to. You protect her once and you start crumbling when you find out what it really means to protect somebody. That is not the brand of a weakling, for a weakling wishes to grow stronger. That is a brand of a fool and a fool you will always remain if you choose to stay lying down like that."
I…
"Are your feelings for her not genuine? Have I been possibly mistaken?"
I… don't…
"What is it that you want to do!?"
"I… I don't know…"
My words finally escaped, yet merely in a quiver. The flashes of Saber, glaring over to me with an ambience of a killer, kept flickering back and forth in my sight. It wasn't going to be any easier from here on out, especially if Saber was merely our first opponent.
Was it wrong for me to run away? To escape while I could?
"As long as your words are empty, she will never look your way. Are you simply going to accept that, kid!? Are you just going to let that fear run your decisions!?"
I couldn't answer him, merely glancing up to the gray skies above. The wind started to pick up, howling instead of wailing now. His hair ruffled in its galeforce, but his glare remained ever vigilant. He was waiting for an answer. The correct one. It was something I could not simply give to him.
I did not want to die.
And yet, I wanted to be by Archer's side.
A contradiction with one another for someone as useless as I. There was no power I could hold that would protect the words that I decided to give her. There was nothing that stopped that promise from falling through the cracks, fading into the obscured darkness. I could not bring myself to raise myself back up. My body stayed slumped on the ground, vaguely seeing the blonde-haired man click his tongue and lift up his spear from my hand. He had enough of these charades and I'm sure that Archer did as well.
Even now, I worried for her, despite not having the position to do so. All I did was cover my eyes with my arms, trying to block out the sorrow of my despair from leaking out. Short breaths. Painful chest. Difficult to swallow anything.
Shallow footsteps moved away from me, but stopped after a few seconds.
"Listen, kid. No one starts out as a hero, but you only climb up as far as you could dream. And if its dreams that a hero needs to succeed, you've failed. You've let a nightmare consume your sight, annihilate your reach, and dissipate your dreams that you desired. Your flame flickered into nothingness, weak to a mere breeze of the wind."
His words fell on deaf ears. I didn't want to hear his harsh words.
"You'll realize what's important to your heart, even if you think it's childish. If it's real in your heart, then it's worth fighting for. That it's worth protecting, no matter the cost. There's no reason to be weak and half-assed about your decision."
Silence. Nothing. The wind stopped and the trees stood still.
My body started becoming colder and colder as his voice echoed in my head.
Have I... already given up?
"Come find me once you've stopped being a fool, kid."
I... really am pathetic.