As I emerged from the treeline, walking towards the town's main gate, I felt a sense of dread begin to settle in my stomach. As much as I hated the idea of talking to people, I was definitely more afraid than annoyed. This was where Ilias Temple was located. It was the single most religious place on this entire continent, and I had no doubts that a particular crazy goddess would have her eyes firmly focused on the village. More specifically, she'd be interested in Luka, but that didn't mean she wouldn't glance in my direction every now and then. On top of that, the idea of talking to humans just felt a little... odd. I mean, the last time I interacted with one of them was when I tore that bastard's throat out.
That memory made my mouth water. Ah, the taste of his red had been... Delectable. I gazed hungrily towards the village, ready to-
NOPE! Nuh-uh! Not doin' that shit today!
...After snapping myself out of... whatever that was, I sighed, and continued walking towards the village. As I grew closer, I tried to straighten up my back, just to appear at least a little more confident. Really, what was I so worried about? I had my sword with me, so I could probably take on half this town if I needed to. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, but the thought that I'd probably be fine made me relax somewhat.
I was stopped at the main gate by a single, plain-looking guard. His armor looked like shit, and he carried a rather old-looking spear. Other than that, there wasn't really much to say about him. He was just kind of there.
"Halt." The man groaned flippantly, making it clear that he didn't give a shit whatsoever about me. "State your business, or whatever."
I blinked. There weren't that many strong humans on this continent, but even this guy seemed just a little underqualified to be a guard. He had all the enthusiasm of a college student working a dead-end, minimum-wage job. It was a feeling I could understand, as I had once been in that position. For half a second, I felt a strange sense of camaraderie with this man. However, that was quickly dashed when I watched him pick his nose, and flick the contents of his little search out onto the grass.
Ew.
"...Is there a store in town where I can buy building materials?" I asked, trying to keep the disgust out of my voice. "I plan to do some shit out in the woods."
The man raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Wordlessly, he pointed to a building off in the distance. I nodded to him, and stepped into the village.
People gave me weird looks as I passed by. I was new in town, so I guess, for some reason, that made me into the local spectacle. All the eyes on me made me feel a bit sick, so I clenched my fists, and picked up the pace. I had no quarrel with them, so I bit my tongue, and schooled my expression. They were just innocent people, eyeing a stranger that probably looked kind of shady. To be fair, I did kind of look like a bum with my long, unkempt hair, and slightly dirtied clothes.
The village was slightly smaller than Enrika, which was sort of strange to me. I mean, wasn't that temple supposed to draw heroes from across the world? It wasn't nearly as grand or popular as the one in San Ilia, but Ilias regularly baptized people here. It was a yearly thing, for fuck's sake. Even if most of the people left soon after that event, wouldn't at least some people stay?
Most of the houses were made of wood, and looked just a tad bit flimsy. It was just a standard medieval town, to be perfectly honest. The roads were a little overgrown, and there were plenty of buildings that looked rather worn. They weren't necessarily falling in, but they didn't exactly look new, either.
I could see the shop at the other end of town. There were a blacksmith sitting near it, which was cool, I supposed. I wasn't really looking for a new weapon, so I just kind of ignored it. My short-sword was made of Enrikan Steel. This village probably couldn't do better than that.
As I speedwalked past the temple, I noticed a priest trying to draw my attention. I cursed, pretending like I hadn't seen him. Great, this was just what I needed today. I heard him call after me, but I continued to walk away, hoping that he'd get the fucking hint. Unfortunately, It seemed like I was dealing with the densest man alive.
I was only a few yards away from the store when he caught up with me. Despite looking like he was eighty-five, the priest was a speedy little fucker, it seemed.
"Young man," He wheezed out, his voice carrying a light southern drawl that reminded me of my old life. "May I speak to you for but a moment?"
For a second, I was tempted to tell him to shove it, but then I imagined how angry Yuri would be if I got kicked out of town on the first day. So, as much as it pained me to do so, I acted polite, discretely scratching little cuts into my arm to deal with my pissiness.
"Is there something you need?" I asked, trying my hardest to keep the anger out of my voice. I was successful, but it was getting harder by the second.
The old man scratched his neck nervously, clearly sensing my irritation. After a moment, he let out a sigh, and stood straighter, a stern look crossing his face. I wasn't sure where his sudden confidence came from, but I would've respected it, had I not been so mad.
"Now, this might sound just a tad bit strange to you, but hear me out." He said, his expression a cross between being angry and concerned. "Two nights ago, I received a vision from my goddess. She told me of a man that would arrive at the village. Of course, you match his description identically."
I felt the pit in my stomach form into a black hole. My rage, while still simmering, was now seasoned with a healthy dose of trepidation. Just what had she said to him? For a split-second, I debated whether or not I should just kill him and run, but I tossed that idea out almost immediately. If I killed one of Ilias' priests, I'd probably wake up to being struck by lightning.
"She said you had potential to do great things," He continued, his voice taking on a slightly softer tone. "But she also made it clear that you were in danger of going down a dark path. Now, it's my duty to help those in need, so I just wanted to let you know that you can speak to me. Confess what darkness plagues your heart, young man, and I will help you with it as best I can."
I felt my anger begin to recede somewhat. I mean, I was still annoyed and uncomfortable as all hell, but this guy seemed pretty genuine, so I didn't really want to be downright mean to the guy. It was a shame that he worshipped that bitch of a goddess, because he just seemed like a nice old man.
"...Sorry, but I'm on a bit of a timetable today." I muttered quietly, trying to keep my voice even. "Perhaps another time, sir."
The man gave me a meaningful stare, but sighed, and let me pass.
"Just... be careful out there, son." He called out after me as I walked away. "Remember what I told you."
After... Whatever that debacle was, I walked into the shop, waving at the shopkeeper as I closed the door behind me. It actually looked kind of nice in there. There were several shelves with different items. Mostly, it was practical stuff, like nails, screws, small sets of tools, etc.
"Good afternoon." The man said, eyeing me with a hint of caution in his eyes. "Haven't seen you around here before. Is there something I can get you?"
I nodded, fishing out the list Yuri had given me. It was just mostly standard building materials, so I didn't really pay it much heed. Wordlessly, I handed it to the shopkeeper, who looked over it with a raised eyebrow.
"You doing some building?" He asked. "There's not really all that much space in town for that, you know."
I shrugged.
"Eh, this isn't gonna be inside the village, so that's not a problem for me." I grunted, casually noting how his eyes widened somewhat when I mentioned where the house would be. Quickly, his eyes scanned over me, seemingly noticing my short-sword for the first time. His gaze lingered at my hands for a moment, an expression of understanding crossing his face. I mean, he likely didn't know what was going on, but I was content to let him think whatever he wanted. The truth would probably have gotten me thrown out of there, after all.
"Are you an adventurer?" He asked. "Your hands have the calluses of a swordsman, so it's pretty obvious that you know how to fight."
I chuckled, but didn't respond. He took that as a yes, which was fine. If he thought up a backstory for me, well, that was just less work to do.
It took him a moment to gather all the items on the list. After he'd stuffed everything into a sack, he figured up the price, which ended up being roughly fifty gold pieces. It was a tad bit more than I was expecting, but Yuri had given me extra money just in case. Quietly, I paid the man, and left with my goods.
The walk back out of town was no less awkward than my initial entrance. The people continued to stare, so I didn't linger. I just wanted to be done with the day. I hadn't done much physical work, but I was tired nonetheless. Dealing with people was exhausting. Besides, the constant ache in my back didn't really help things either. My body was still recovering from that incident with the guards, I guessed. There wasn't much I could do except just accept the pain, so that made my mood quite a bit worse.
I wasn't looking forward to building the house, either. I'd helped my dad construct a shed once, back in my old life. That had sucked so fucking much, and that was just for a building that was barely bigger than a fucking closet. How bad was this gonna be?
Yuri was waiting for me outside the village, leaning against a tree with her arms crossed. I waved to her, gesturing to the large bag of stuff I'd bought from the shop.
"Got the shit." I grunted. "Got lectured by a priest. It was weird."
Yuri raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. After a moment, she sighed, and gestured for me to follow her.
"I was doing some scouting while you were in town. I found a pretty good spot." She said neutrally. "It's well hidden, but close to the village. It'll take some work to build a house there, but it shouldn't be anything too bad."
I sighed, and asked her to lead the way.
*LINEBREAK*
With a primal roar, I delivered a solid blow to the base of a tree, causing it to sway significantly. After two or three more punches, the tree fell with deafening crash, shaking the ground beneath my feet. My muscles burned from exertion, a thick sheen of sweat covering seemingly every inch of my body.
Let me tell you, Yuri's training had really fucking paid off. I'd just punched four trees down! I felt like a god. Though, my hands were cut up pretty bad, so maybe it wasn't such a great idea.
For a brief moment, I simply sat, and admired the red that was dripping from my hands. Of course, I stopped after a few minutes. The red was always beautiful, no matter where it came from, but... It just seemed kind of boring when it came from my own body. I just didn't feel that same sense of awe that I did normally. It was strange, but probably for the best. I mean, if I was so attracted to my own red, then I'd be cutting myself up all day.
With much effort, I dragged the fallen tree over to Yuri. She'd been busy making boards out of all the wood I'd collected. Of course, they were rather crude-looking, as we didn't really have the tools to make perfect pieces of lumber. That sort of thing required a sawmill, which we didn't have, of course. Still, her monstrous strength made it easier to cut them, so it wasn't exactly a hopeless endeavor.
After depositing the tree next to Yuri, I collapsed, feeling my body throb with pain and exhaustion. With a shaky breath, I informed Yuri that I was probably done for the day. She glanced over to the already-sizeable pile of materials, and sighed.
"I suppose you've done enough work for today." She said. "Take a nap. When you wake up, I'll need your help again."
I gave her a tired thumbs up, and promptly rolled over onto my side. I didn't care that I was sleeping on the ground. It was comfortable enough.
I closed my eyes, and was asleep within seconds.
*LINEBREAK*
Yuri quietly continued her work, eyeing her son with no small amount of concern. She'd noticed something off when he came back, like he was... upset about something. He didn't mention anything of note though, so she could only guess what it was. He had briefly mentioned a priest, but from how he'd described it, it seemed like barely more than a footnote.
Now that she thought about it, he was quite against being near Ilias village in the first place. At the time, she just thought he was being his usual, antisocial self. Now though, she knew something was up.
Why did he dislike this town so much? He'd never been there in the time they'd known each other, so whatever happened must've been before she found him. Of course, she knew basically nothing about his past. Well, that's not entirely true. She did know that Alex was the son of that red-haired bastard, and that they'd gotten separated for whatever reason. Of course, whenever she asked Alex about it, he'd claim he didn't know how he got in the forest that day, spouting that strange story, over and over again. He continued to claim that he died and woke up in a child's body, but that was just untrue. He didn't believe himself to be lying, but there was just no way that was possible.
Initially, she'd thought him delusional, but now she knew better. Alex was (mostly) sane, so why would he believe in such impossibilities? One word: magic.
Something must've happened to him; something that someone didn't want him to know about. Whoever they were, they altered her son's memories. That was the only logical solution she could come up with. The only real question that needed to be answered was simply, "Why?".
Well, that didn't matter now. Alex had been her son for nearly ten years, and nothing would change that.
The sound of muffled footsteps snapped her out of her thoughts. Swiftly, she leapt to her feet, short-sword at the ready. Her eyes scanned for the sound's origin, spotting a silhouette in the trees.
"Come out." She growled quietly, careful not to wake her son. "I know you're there."
Slowly, with its arms raised in surrender, the figure stepped out into the open, revealing themself to be a blue-haired elf. Idly, Yuri realized that this was one of the few elves in Enrika that had been somewhat friendly with Alex.
"I just came to deliver a letter." She said quickly, grabbing a piece of paper from her pocket and holding it out. "Micaela sent me to find you."
Yuri frowned, but allowed her to come closer. The elf couldn't hurt her, anyways. Once she was within reach, Yuri gracefully snatched the letter from her hands.
"There, you've delivered it." Yuri growled. "Now leave."
The Elf complied, hurrying away like her life depended on it (which, it kind of did.).
Yuri looked down at the letter, and sighed as she opened it slowly. It was from Micaela, of course. If it had been anyone else, she'd have just balled it up and thrown it away, but Micaela was her longtime friend. Even if they parted on bad terms, she was one of the first real friends that Yuri had.
The letter read as such:
Yuri,
I know you're upset with me, and maybe you're right to be, but my hands were tied. I can't control public opinion, much to my dismay. It might be a good thing that you left when you did, as most of the villagers saw you and your son as nothing but murderous psychopaths. I dread to think what might've happened had you stayed.
I apologize for not doing more in the beginning, and I wish you and your son well, but please, consider something for a moment.
Alex is unstable. You and I both know that. I know how you trained him to fight, aiming his illness against rapists and killers. Honestly, I don't think that will sate him forever. It's not absolutely guaranteed, but the chance of him hurting innocent people is rather high. I'm trying to find a way to cure him of his disorder. If I find a lead, I'll let you know.
Once again, I'm sorry for not stepping in, and I understand if you don't want to talk with me. I hope we can still be friends, though.
Sincerely,
Micaela.
Yuri frowned as she read the message. Micaela still didn't trust Alex, even after all this time. She was probably right not to, but that fact didn't stop the anger from rising in her chest. With an annoyed sigh, she stuffed the note into her pocket, and got back to work. There was still so much to do, after all.
*LINEBREAK*
When I awoke, it was nighttime. The moon shone high in the sky, blinding me as I cracked my eyes open. After a few moments of disoriented blinking, my vision returned to me. It was cool out, which meant that hard labor would be slightly more bearable. It was much easier to work in sixty degrees than ninety, after all.
My back still throbbed, but there was nothing I could do about that, so I ignored it once again.
Groaning loudly, I slowly climbed to my feet, trudging over to Yuri with all the grace of a half-rotten zombie. Okay, so maybe I wasn't as well-rested as I thought. Whatever, I could still work.
Yuri had finished cutting boards a while before I awoke, and had started on building the floor. Once I approached her, she handed me a hammer and some nails, and we got to work.
I'll spare you the sordid details, because construction is... Well, it's really fuckin' boring. That's not what y'all are here to see, so I'll summarize.
Basically, by the end of the first day, we'd gotten the floor done, and we'd started putting up the supports for the walls. On the second day, The walls were mostly complete. On day three, we finished with the walls and started on the roof. It took two more days to finish that, so all in all, it took us five days to build a house. If you think that's an absurdly short period of time to construct a building, then you'd be right. If we were normal humans, then it would've taken much, much longer.
Let me tell you, my monster blood is a fucking blessing.
The house was simple: two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small storage room. It suited our needs perfectly, so I had no complaints. Also, it just felt nice to rest inside a building that you created. It's an inexplicable feeling, one that seems to reek of smugness and satisfaction. It made me feel like I'd accomplished something, I guess.
Now, once we finished the house, there was another problem we faced. Quite simply, we didn't have any furniture. Yuri made a couple crude-looking tables and chairs, but we still didn't have beds. Until we got ourselves some mattresses, we were gonna have to sleep on the floor.
After a couple of days, I started training with Yuri again. She seemed unusually vicious in our spars though. I didn't necessarily complain, because it was kind of fun to fight her when she was serious. However, I certainly felt like shit at the end of the day.
Overall, life was okay. I never went into town unless we needed something, much to Yuri's dismay. She kept telling me that I should get to know people, that I should make friends. Fuck. That.
But, as you all know, good things must eventually come to an end. That night, I curled up in my sleeping bag, blissfully unaware of what the night had in store for me.
*LINEBREAK*
Yet again, I found myself within the clouds, squinting at the bright light that seemed to slowly descend towards me. I felt my heart practically leap into my throat, as it always did whenever I was in her presence.
Ilias looked down upon me with her carefully-crafted mask of benevolence. She looked beautiful, in an unearthly sort-of way. I knew better though. She might've been pretty hot on the outside, but her personality was ugly as hell.
Of course, I'm repeating myself. We've discussed her evil ways already, so you all know how I feel about her. Hell, I imagine most of you feel the same way.
"H-Hello there, ma'am." I stuttered, a cold feeling spreading throughout my gut. "Is there something you need from me?"
Ilias chuckled at my nervousness, giving me what she probably thought was an assuring smile. It would've been, had I not known her true nature.
"We've already been over this, child. You don't need to fear me." She said calmly. "I just wanted to speak to you about something important."
The cold feeling grew until it practically encompassed my entire body. Shit. Was it time to leave already? I'd been prepared for this day, but that still didn't make it suck any less. I'd hoped she'd wait a little longer, but this was still manageable.
"Do you wish for me to start my journey?" I asked, doing my best to adopt a reverent tone. "I'll begin as soon as you need me too."
Ilias shook her head, and I felt relief flood throughout my entire being. I did not want to leave yet. Really, I didn't wanna go in general. If I could live the rest of my life in peace, that would be just fine with me, honestly.
"Not yet, but this is somewhat related to that." She explained. "There is another person I've had my eye on for a while now. I want you to meet them, and possibly... befriend them."
Suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach again. I looked at her with wide eyes, and before I could stop myself, I yelled out just what I thought about that.
"What?!" I shrieked, unable to halt the words spilling from my mouth. "That's a horrible idea!"
Ilias paused, surprised by my outburst. She frowned slightly, and I could feel the air grow colder. I winced, mentally kicking myself for my lack of control. Okay, I had to salvage this. If I made her any angrier, I was probably gonna get electrocuted. I needed to be really, really careful from here on out.
"Ma'am." I muttered quietly, flinching at her flat stare. "I'm sorry, but I feel like that'd be too dangerous for the person you wanted me to meet. I have trouble controlling my anger at the best of times, and sometimes my... cravings make things worse."
That wasn't necessarily a lie. I didn't really want to be around people in general. I could usually control myself, but it had been a while since my last hunt. I was starting to feel the hunger pulse in the back of my head, my mind beginning to fog ever-so-slightly. It was bearable for now, but the problem would grow with time. A callous, evil part of me wanted to go attack the town, ripping into anyone and anything I came across. I ignored that thought, but it was getting harder not to pay attention to it.
Ilias seemed to sense the truthfulness in my words, giving me a look of false concern.
"I understand the struggle you're going through." She said gently. "I have no doubt that you'll be able to suppress it however. Trust in me, and everything will be okay."
Shit. A small part of me had hoped that she'd drop that plan, but alas. Still, at least she wasn't pissed with me anymore. That was a plus, I suppose.
"Alright then." I nodded, still somewhat nervous. "Who is this person you want me to meet? They must be pretty special if you've been watching them."
Ilias smiled, pleased at my acceptance of the task. God, I hated how fucking pleased with herself she looked. Oh, the normal person wouldn't notice, but I did. She was such a fucking bitch that it physically hurt me to be near her.
...I hope she couldn't read minds, because that would be... awkward, to say the least.
"His name is Luka." She stated, thankfully not noticing how I stiffened suddenly. "He has incredible potential. Still, I feel it would be better if you traveled with him, at least for a little while."
She continued on, talking about his appearance and whatnot. I didn't hear any of it however, her voice being drowned out by my internal screaming. This was exactly the kind of thing that I wanted to avoid! I could fuck up so much by simply being near that kid. The plot could be ruined if I wasn't careful!
After dropping that bombshell on me, she basically said some more worthless bullshit about how she was confident in my abilities. She was just trying to maintain her image, and we all know that.
Once she was done with that, she bid me farewell, and allowed my mind to fade...
*LINEBREAK*
I awoke with a gasp, quietly cursing as I shot up to my feet. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I felt an acute sense of despair at the thought what tasks laid ahead for me.
...I needed a drink.
A/N: There's another chapter for you all. Ah, poor Alex. It seems that no matter how hard he tries to hide from the plot, it always seems to find him.
There's not much to discuss today, other than how much I want to smash my head into a wall. Work's been a pain in the ass, let me tell you.
This chapter feels a bit rough to me, but if I don't release it now, It'll get delayed at least a week. Sorry if it isn't that good.
Anyways, here's a little Omake I thought of. It's not really funny, just a little scenario I thought of when writing the housebuilding scene.
Yuri, like all living beings, needed to piss every now and then. Alex had been helping her build the walls of their new house for a while, and he seemed like he knew what he was doing, so she left him for a moment to relieve herself.
After emptying her bladder, she walked back over to him, pausing as she heard him singing something.
Whatcha gonna do?
Time's caught up with you
Now you wait your turn
You know there's no return
Yuri frowned as she listened, trying to recognize the song. The lyrics sounded strange, unlike anything she'd ever heard in music (To be fair, she didn't really listen to stuff like that.) She winced slightly as his voice rose, echoing throughout the field.
Take your written rules
You join the other fools
Turn to something new
Now it's killing you
He kept singing for a while, but most of the lyrics didn't really make sense to her. The song mentioned stabbing yourself with needles at one point. Was that a thing? Was it just some kind of fad that Yuri didn't know about? Whatever it was, it was just really strange.
Eventually, after a couple minutes of the song, he moved onto the final verse.
Now you know the scene
Your skin starts turning green
Your eyes no longer seeing
Life's reality
Yuri felt a strange, disturbed feeling wash over her, and it only got worse as he continued. Just what the hell was this song? Wasn't music supposed to be uplifting, or something like that? Once again, his voice rose, obviously entranced in the song.
Push the needle in
Face death's sickly grin
Holes are in your skin
Caused by deadly pin
His voice dropped down to a normal volume, but Yuri could still hear him perfectly.
Head starts spinning 'round
You fall down to the ground
Feel your body heave
Death's hands start to weave
For the final time, he grew loud again, putting all of his effort into the last lyrics.
It's too late to turn
You don't want to learn
Price of life you cry
Now you're gonna die!
Once he finished the words, he let out a sigh, and continued working. Yuri watched him with her eyebrows raised, unsure of what to think about that little display. She still didn't really understand what the hell the song was about, and that only seemed to make the lyrics she did understand even more ominous.
Slowly, she walked back over to him, giving him a strange look as he turned to face her. He seemed to catch on to what she was thinking, because he turned a bit red, chuckling sheepishly.
"So uhh..." He trailed off. "How much of that did you hear?"
Yuri sighed, and picked up her tools that she'd been using.
"Alex, you're a strange child, you know that." She grunted, chuckling at his indignant protestations.
'Never change, Alex.' Yuri thought with a smile, returning to the work she'd left behind.
A/N: I obviously don't own the lyrics. They're from Black Sabbath's "Hand Of Doom". I cut out basically the entire middle of the song, because I think the beginning and end are the most meaningful parts (and because it's really fucking long.).
If you don't know the song, you should totally listen to it. It's good. (I'm fairly sure it's about drug use, but you never know with Black Sabbath.)
