She stepped back.
“Master Kuzan?”
When she heard Yellow, she wanted to break down into tears.
She was “Kuzan”.
The head of the Gordob tribe. That name shackled her. If she were to run now, all of her brethren would surely die. Her older brothers and sisters who had given her food when she was young, and even her yet to be born siblings… None of them would be spared.
–––I’ll do it.
A look of surprise appeared on Yellow’s face. He knew full well what would happen if she were to use the treasure.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded to him as she filled the death crystal with her strength.
◇◆◇
My body is heavy. It’s as if I’m trudging through a pool of mud.
My eyes are heavy, and there’s a savage hunger gripping my guts. I can barely bear the pain.
“A a aAaA …”
Sounds that couldn’t be called words anymore left my lips.
I want to sleep.
If I sleep, then everything will cease.
I thought that to myself as I bore the pain that was strong enough to extinguish even my soul.
The dry wind of autumn that would ever scatter the dried leaves in its spell left through my hoarse throat.
“A a aAaAA…”
When I opened my eyes, a lake of fire appeared before me.
“A aaAa Aa.”
It was right under me.
–––What is… this?
Then when I looked up, I saw that the sky was red. It was literally a world wherein the land scorched hot and the sky burnt in anger.
–––Why are you showing me this?
Is this hell?
Then I began to fall. The erupting flames swirled into maelstorms, erecting pillars of fire, and I fell toward it.
Then just before I fell into the lake, darkness covered the whole world, and I fell into a world of darkness. It was dark like a cave. And in that darkness, I saw a sword buried into a rotten corpse.
A one-eyed snake was wrapped around that sword. That snake looked at me, and when our gazes met, images flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern playing.
“Ah–––”
–––I’m going to save the king! I’m going to save him!
Whose voice is that?
“–––Ah.”
–––It’s fine. Take all of me.
Who is this?
“ah–––”
–––But, you must fight! Fight with me, goblin king!!
“AhhH”
–––Ruler of the East, please save our village.
–––Fine. I’ll follow… for now.
–––Paradua will raise its spear for you.
–––We have no karma, but I beg of you, please save us.
“Aahh––”
–––Kill me. If you don’t, then one day, you will die by my hands.
“A, GAAaAAa!”
There is a woman crying. Why is she crying?
Memories of her overlapped with her mourns. It was a woman whose name I’d already forgotten.
I have to save her.
I want to wipe away her tears, and cut down the source of her sorrow. There’s no reason why. It’s just something I have to do as a man.
“Re, zhia…”