Thanks to Saine's natural ability to regenerate fast she is able to travel quickly even with heavy injuries. And thanks to the medicine that Ezekiel gave her, the wound didn't open up no matter how she strains herself. But thinking of the medicine also makes her think of the sensation of Ezekiel's lips on hers. Blushing she wipes her lips with her arms again.
"What am I thinking?!" mutters as she curses herself for even entertaining the idea of the kiss.
Coming to a sudden stop, the long-forgotten feeling of home takes over her senses. There she is, the place she once called home, silent and desolated, and yet she can still imagine the place before.
Her village wasn't the most peaceful place but it was the best place for her. It was a place where children are trained to fight as soon as they can walk and teenagers are sent to hunt animals both magical and normal. On the other hand, most adults are busy protecting the mana ore caves from both monsters and humans. It was always busy in the village but even so, there was always laughter present. From children laughing from a good spar, teenagers happily boasting about the animals they hunt, and adults smiling at their children's achievements, and the good food they will soon eat.
It was filled with so much life but now, there's nothing. Nothing remains, not even a single scrap of a house can be seen. She already expected the scene but still, the longing to get a glimpse of what it was before is something she couldn't stop herself from hoping for. She fully knows the reason why it becomes desolated after all. It's all because she respected the protocol of the village and activated the destruction spell on the mana ore caves as soon as she was able to.
It took her a year after the massacre of her village before she was able to come back to it and activate the spell on the mine. The cries, shrieks, and yells of the humans were completely drowned out by the explosion of the mines. She will never forget the scene.
Blue flames devoured everything and everyone that cause the spell to be activated. It scourges the whole village area for three days and three nights. She watched it all happen. She marveled at the spell's power. She later even found out that the spell was merciless and that it even killed the whole viscount family and every noble family that was connected to the demise of her whole village in some way or another.
Except, the 'Hero'.
The 'Hero' that she failed to kill. The only target she had to deal with in order to completely avenge her family. Not only did she fail, she even found herself attracted to him...
Unconsciously she finds herself walking to the place where their house once was, only to see an empty lot with overgrown vegetation. Among the lush vegetation growing there, something catches her eye, it's a small stalk of lavender. Lavender, her mom's favorite flower, her dad's favorite thing to gift her mom, and Aine's favorite thing to draw on their bedroom wall...
With shaking hands, she tries to pick the flower only to find herself on her knees as if every strength is gone. Seeing the crushed lavender underneath her knees, she squeezes her eye shut and opens them again slowly only to find everything blurry as tears run down her cheeks. She wants to wipe them away, she wants to stop crying but her arms won't move. Her tears flow freely without her consent and worse of all is that she wants to scream and yell but her mouth won't make any sound.
Empty eyes looking at the cloudless sky and thinking of how she wants to go home, Saine takes out the blade that failed to fully pierce the hero's heart. Then without a moment of hesitation, she plunges into her own heart.
But then, before it even breaks the skin, it is forcibly yanked out of her hands.
Surprised, she looks up, and there he is Ezekiel with tears of his own.
"Why are you crying?" Saine blankly states.
"Because! *sniff* I almost lost you again!" Ezekiel pitifully answers.
"Pfft! hahaha," The absurdity of his words makes Saine laugh uncontrollably and she then chokes on her own spit and coughs violently.
"I want to stay beside you!" Ezekiel worriedly mutters as he gently pats Saine's back.
His comment only makes her laugh hysterically.
"So you intend to make me insane huh?" feeling how warm and gentle his pats on her back are and hearing the sincerity in his voice, Saine really feels like she's going mad! For not only isn't she mad at him for stopping her from meeting her family, she even feels a bit grateful for his warmth and sincerity.
"No! I... I" Ezekiel stutters.
"Why?"
"Because I care for you!"
"Bullsh*t, you massacre my whole tribe and claim you care for me? what kind of sad joke is this?"
"I can't explain it yet... it but please trust me,"
"How can I trust you if you don't even give me a reason why?"
Biting his lips he answers, "You're my savior, my light."
"You're crazy."
"If you say so, then I must be." he agrees with a smile
"Whatever," Saine sighs and continues, "I know it was foolish to even expect you to answer honestly," transforming her hand to claws, she then tries to dig her heart out but,
Ezekiel then grabs her hands and pins her down with his tears falling down on Saine's face
"Please! Please... please live, I beg you!" still tears flowing down his cheeks, Ezekiel desperately begs Saine.
"Why should I? There's nothing for me to live for..."
"In that case..."
Ezekiel literally takes his heart out and offers it to Saine.
Saine is speechless.
"As you can see, even without my heart, I won't die. But with this, you'll be able to control me as you see fit." Ezekiel then places his warm, bloody, still-beating heart with a bit of loose flesh around it on Saine's palms.
The urge to squish and throw his heart out is strong yet unfortunately, her hands remain still. She shoves it back to the gap in his chest and to her surprise again, his heart melded back without a problem, and the gap and wound instantly disappear. She looks at Ezekiel. Ezekiel with a forceful smile and tear-filled eyes tremblingly holds her hand.
Saine sighs and looks up at the sky. With different wild emotions raging inside her, she feels her body collapsing. She didn't fight it and this time willingly succumbs to rest.
"I don't know anymore..." She mutters as she faints from exhaustion.
Ezekiel quickly catches her and pulls her into his embrace. He then carries her in his arms.