Surrounded by blazing fire, Ray was thinking about his deeds.
After breaking up from the others, he proceeded to find the corpses that had his self-made fire accelerant on them. Every time he saw one of the decomposing Elves, he would dig them up and cover their bodies with dry leaves and branches.
The fact that the Spirit didn't bother making proper graves or burying them deep enough, so they wouldn't be exposed helped a lot in his 'tomb raiding'.
Afterward, he crouched beside them and lit them on fire using two rocks and ungodly patience.
His plan was quite straightforward. Dig up the corpses, set them on fire, run away while everyone is confused. It wasn't the best option, nor the most ethical, but the one Ray came up with, and so he pulled through with it.
The whole process was so mechanic; it was hard to imagine anyone but a serial killer could actually behave in such a way.
It wasn't that Ray didn't know or feel what he was doing, but as he knew what his actions entailed, taking a step back and retreating into the furthest corner of his mind was the easier option. It wasn't as much deliberate as a sub-conscious self-preserving mechanism.
The corpse he kneeled before when Kymil found him was his last. The last stage of his plan taking form, his consciousness gradually came to the forefront again, together with his guilt and regrets. Although he wouldn't kill anybody directly, he couldn't deceive himself with sweet lies. People would die. Not just one or two, but en masse. According to the Elves, the Great Clans, who house within the forest, all consist of thousands of residents, not to mention the various small villages like this one. Once the fire spread, there was no holding it anymore. He doubted that without modern equipment they would be able to put the fire out. It would continue to consume the woods until it died of its own gluttony.
His hands were smeared with dried blood and dirt, baked into his skin by the heat. In a trance he stared at them, wondering why he didn't feel as overwhelmed as he should be. He was sad at the loss of life, feeling responsible for their deaths, but...there was nothing more.
A gaping hole seemed to have opened up in him, swallowing all that could pull him down.
Ray was aware this wasn't a good sign, but how would that change anything? If anyone who was aware of their deficiencies could change them, there wouldn't be anything but perfect people.
Above and around, the flames were ravaging everything that stood in their way. Going by the screams in the distance, the confusion was at its max. It was the perfect opportunity to make a run for it. If the Spirit didn't find him afterward, it would just assume he died off somewhere.
Yet before he could make up his mind, the sound of breaking branches drew near. Ray didn't look back to see who it was. His experience with the elves taught him enough. There was only one person who would approach him as calmly as now.
"You still haven't run away."
Ray asked in a monotone voice.
Sitting down next to him, Kymil nodded his head. He caressed the body on the floor, disregarding the heat it was emitting.
"You know,...this kid was once my neighbor. A lovely child. Always skipping around, looking for the next adventure, although it mostly ended in a good scolding from her mother."
A dry laugh escaped his lips, memories of days lost flashing by.
"Well, now she's just a burnt corpse. At least she can't cause trouble for anyone anymore."
His hand moved to her eyes, slowly closing what was left of them.
"Say, Ray, have you somewhere to return to?"
Kymils shifted his head to look at him. His eyes hollow and tired
A short silence followed. Did he have somewhere to return to? He did have a family back home. Friends he moderately liked and an otherwise mediocre social life. But even if he wanted to go home more than anything else...was that an option? He didn't know how he ended up in this world, had no information on it and was, until a few hours ago, still a prisoner. Interdimensional travel seemed an odd thing to consider right now.
As if he got an answer, Kymil continued the conversation.
"I don't, Ray. I don't."
"This forest is all I and most of the villagers have ever known. Treading outside is unimaginable for us. Although we all came from different parts, the village has become our home. And Elves, Ray, never abandon their home."
"..."
"The Great Clans won't let a wildfire uninvestigated...You'd better hurry."
Having got Kymil's blessing, Ray lifted his heavy legs from the crisp ground. He thought Kymil would also try to distance himself from the fire, but as it seemed he would remain by the girls' side and indulge in melancholy. To him, it mattered little at this point. With all the horror he had been responsible for, what was one more victim?
The flames had already consumed most of the clearing and were advancing deeper into the forest at a fast pace. If he wanted to get out he'd have to travel to the barren mountains...where he had been captured for the first time. Whether it was fate or a prank of the gods, there was no doubt it was ironic. After all, he went through to get away from those mountains, at the end he had to go back nonetheless.
From the stories of the Elves, Ray had made out an, admittedly, crude map in his mind. By following it he should get over the Barren Mountain range and enter Human territory. Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen.
Every single step crushed something beneath Ray's feet. Wood, leaves, insects,...flesh. It all looked and felt the same. In this ashen plateau, nothing changed however far he went. The occasional scream or laughter was the only thing reminding Ray that he was still in that gorgeous forest he saw from the overhang outside the cave.
What Kymil said about the Elves seemed to be right. On his way out Ray didn't meet a single soul alive. They all must have run deeper into the forest. It was quite convenient for him, as the Spirit wouldn't mobilize his Lõtv to catch him, when all his dispensers were on the loose, escaping in another direction. He was still confused as to why he hadn't seen the Spirit since his arrival, but quickly put it at the back of his mind.
The trees getting sparser and increasingly livelier, his time inside the Woods of Alquorai slowly came to an end. Although he could have well done without this adventure, it had undeniably taught him a lot. About this world, the Elves and most importantly himself. He now knew what he was capable of when backed into a corner. The destruction he could overlook, the deaths he could justify. All so he could guarantee his own safety. From now on he had to make sure to never be this much at a disadvantage again. His fate had to be in his own hands at all times.
Lost into thought, Ray only noticed his surroundings after a steep hill was in his way. Looking back, the divide between forest and mountain was, once again, before him. The strange phenomena hadn't changed at all.
Climbing up, his gaze extended deep into the horizon. One side devastated by flames reaching into the endless sky. Its ground swallowing all light, the smoke it spewed blocking any further sight.
The other side lustless, without any life. Brown and yellow soil claiming the land as far as one could see. The occasional cloud of dust, brought up by the wind, being the biggest excitement.
He had been here before. The scenery had changed, but his feeling of dissonance remained the same. The only thing that looked somewhat familiar to Ray was the slowly crawling sun, creeping its way up the heavens. Although a lot bigger than he remembered from earth, it brought some normalcy into his now absurd life and a rare genuine smile on his face.