Day 13 days ago
In a run-down village where
The man in black armour walked forward silently with heavy footsteps. He held an unconscious creature with grey skin in his arms with care. The villagers all looked at him with keen interest from the safety of their houses, trying their best not to be spot.
Unbeknownst to them, he could see and sense each and every single one of them. Even their thoughts as they looked at him couldn’t be hidden from him. Some wanted to avoid him, some thought he looked strong, some wanted to jump him and steal anything he had.
Insignificant thoughts which he paid no attention to. His main goal was the house that stood alone quite a few ways away from the village at the top of the hill. He simply needed to pass through the village to get to it.
There was no problem passing other places, but that would have taken longer than the amount of time he had.
While going, an old man stopped in front of him. The old man who had forgettable features and carried a cane crumpled on the floor before the Black Knight.
To the knight, this was an odd scene, but one that he would ignore. He passed by the old man dead set on his destination, but then the sound of the old man’s voice entered his ears.
“Please forgive us if we have offended you in anyway.”
The Black Knight did not stop. The sounds of his heavy footsteps echoed in the dead silent village.
“Lord Fafnir!”
The old man screamed the Black Knight’s name, but he did not react to it. It was one he had long thrown away.
“Please! This village has been raided by beasts, human traffickers and bandits! Whenever we cry for help from the guilds, no one comes because we are too poor to offer any money. When you and Lady Mo-”
For the first time today, the Black Knight spoke.
“Do not utter her name.”
His voice carried a very powerful threatening aura that made even those who were watching from afar back down. The old man shuddered on the ground, a feeling like the entirety of the world’s weight bearing down on him. But he felt like he needed to continue or the village would be way beyond saving.
“Ever since you left us, Lord Fafnir… things haven’t been the same.”
The Black Knight continued on his way to his destination without turning back for even a second.
A couple of minutes later, the knight arrived before a lonesome house that stood on a hill. This house was worn down with several holes in it and cob-webs plastered all around.
The moment he arrived, he dropped the sleeping child down and entered the house. The sound of a fire burning in the chimney entered his ears. Reality distorted before his very eyes as memories of the past mixed in with his current vision.
A happy couple sat down on the chair next to each other. The woman was pregnant and the man had his head to her stomach.
-They’ll be fine children
The man said with a tone so gleeful the Black Knight couldn’t believe it. He passed by the fireplace towards the dining hall. There, he saw the same couple, except this time there were two others. Children, twins, platinum blonde hair, golden eyes and fierce faces.
The wife had delivered and the children looked very healthy. They were having a family dinner and the children couldn’t stop talking as their parents listened with keen interest and warm smiles on their faces.
The Black Knight passed by it as he heard the sounds of children playing outside the backyard. He opened the door just to find the wife alone sitting down on the porch, looking at the children playing. The wife looked sickly, but still wore a warm expression that expressed her joy.
The husband rushed in through the door, passing through the black knight. The memory was distorted by the sudden cry of a raging monster.
The Black Knight grimaced, then walked out to the front of the house.
There, he was met with the sight of the child he picked up thrashing about. Her hair moved around like fire and streaks of golden magma could be seen on her skin. Her body still looked grey, but her eyes were blank and golden.
With no control over her body whatsoever, she threw fire balls and punches, as if she was angry at the world. The Black Knight only looked at her with a pitiful expression before getting in very close to her. Before she could react to him, he grabbed her legs and snapped them in half, followed by her arms.
He then dropped her to ground, allowing her to scream in pain as she slowly recovered from the wounds he gave her. An injury like that should have been healed within seconds, but a tiny bit of divine energy was enough to disrupt her normal bodily functions.
The Black Knight returned to the house. He could hear the sound of children crying while touching their mother’s sickly body. Down in the basement, he saw the husband on his knees, crying. The bracelets he had sold his soul to acquire, were useless in the end.
-Why couldn’t I save her?
The man agonised on the ground. The question felt directed at the Black Knight, but he too had no answer to it. Rather, he watched as the man faded away and left the bracelets on the ground.
He picked up the bracelet then walked out the house. The child, his granddaughter, was still screaming on the ground.
“Stop making so much noise.”
He angrily ordered as he put the bracelets on her wrists. She tried biting him, but that didn’t even make a dent in his armour.
Once the bracelets were fixed on, they let out a white glow, then absorbed the fire in the child’s hair. In an instant, she was reverted to her discoloured skin and somewhat normal features. The hob-goblin glared at the man who just looked at her with boredom.
She refused to scream anymore and instead just cried on the ground silently.
“Humph. You’re quite strong for a second-generation demi-god.”
He started talking to her.
“Most would have died from being in their [True Elemental State] for too long. Is it due to that [Rage] skill you possess? Or is there another reason you did not die on the trip here.”
Genuine curiosity was what the Black Knight felt as he looked at her. Second-generation demi-gods, although stronger than most humans, were still more human than god. The cosmic radiation from activating the skill [True Elemental State] was more than enough to shave off 5 years of their life every 5 minutes they used the skill.
This albino hob-goblin had it on for more than 5 days since their fight, even when she was unconscious. Yet, not once had she shown any signs of dying.
“Is it simply because I am stronger than I give myself credit for, or… hmm?”
He noticed something odd. What was once interest was now a disappointed and somewhat sad frown.
“I see. So, you too, have only a few months left now. How unpleasant.”
The fallen god slouched back on the walls of the house as he fell to the ground, tired. Not from physical exhaustion. It was more like him giving up any hope at all.
“In the end, the once mighty Fafnir family ends with an empty husk and a mistake.”
He muttered while looking at the sky. He remained quiet for half an hour, then paid attention to the hob-goblin when she coughed out something. A greenish substance. It was vomit and he looked at the hob-goblin with disbelief.
A wry smile found its way onto his face after he scanned her once more. Then, a spark lit up in his head.
A spark he wanted to quench before it turned into something dangerous. Something so poisonous it would ruin his life. It already did for the past 20 years. It had plagued him worse than any sort of disease imaginable, but there was no cure for it.
Finally, the disease was cured. And as soon as it was cured, the disease came back far stronger than ever.
This spark, was hope.
The Black Knight could not stop himself now.
“Do you wish to hear a story, child?”
The hob-goblin, unable to make any sounds just glared at him, but he didn’t take her anger into account. He continued on with his story.
“This is the story of a once mighty dragon who ascended to the heavens. A tale of how one unfortunate dragon aimed too high only to get his wings clipped, his name stolen and his family destroyed.”
He made a pause as he looked at the darkening sky. Night approached, as did the stars that blanketed it.
“The story of the overly ambitious god that tried to touch the sun without permission.”
