Rebirth
Chapter 2: Lang
When he woke up, he was soaked in sticky sweat. The navy blue shirt that he wore attached firmly to his skin and showed the ripples of his tense muscles. His coal black hair now lay matted to his head—he needed a wash.
Silently, he climbed out of bed and made his way down the hall. The night was still yet young, but he felt as if it should have been morning. Light footsteps trudged through the front room and finally outside. Before he could move any further, something caught his eye. Almost immediately he forgot about what he had been planning to do.
The gravestone drew him to it. Even in the darkness of night his eyes could make out the name engraved: "Galvan". Solemnly, he came to stand directly in front of it. Lang thought that he had gotten over his death, but in the midst of the darkness all the guilty and morose emotions resurfaced with a vengeance. He became motionless in the gray slab's presence as an eerie stillness overtook him.
"If only…I had been there…if I hadn't decided to stay away so long. But now…Where is your guidance now?" Lang whispered to himself.
The night seemed a bit colder than Lang had first imagined. A strong breeze tousled his shoulder length hair and brushed over his sweated skin.
"Couldn't sleep?" a female's voice asked from behind, startling the unsuspecting man.
Lang took a moment to answer, "This night seems to be a restless one."
"Yeah, it is, isn't it," the female Lang knew as Nancy replied.
Lang finally turned to the other, "And what are you doing up so late?"
"I heard you moving through the house. I was curious."
"You must have sharp ears."
Lang judged himself to be especially stealthy. It wasn't often that he was detected whenever he made an effort not to be. It also wasn't often that anyone could sneak up behind him without any forewarnings. He must have been nearly as attentive as he thought he was at the moment.
"Lang, you should really get some sleep."
"I'll be fine, Nancy. I just…thought I might reminisce on some things."
"Well don't dwell on the past for too long," Nancy advised.
Lang had found that despite her nagging nature, she truly did speak the truth. He had no idea where she had obtained such wisdom, but he found that that was what he most admired about her. There was no longer any Galvan to supervise him, but there was always Nancy.
"I'll try not to," Lang finally responded.
Nancy watched Lang for a moment longer and then disappeared into the house once again.
He was now the captain of Vigilance Corps and many people looked up to him in the highest regard. They had reason to. Not only had he saved their entire village twice (and not to mention the world), his strength and raw power had nearly tripled over the years. When he had first come back to Nohl, his power had surpassed even Avalon's previous to his consumption of the Source Forge's energy.
And now Lang was a Master of sorts both in the use of a sword and the use of his origin. How is it then that he felt so weak and vulnerable on nights like these?