Huff… huff… Huff… huff…
In the unending darkness, the sound of a ragged, labored breathing could be heard. It was weak and shallow, as if on the verge of death.
Somewhere inside that darkness, there was a slender figure of a young boy slumped over by the wall in a motionless heap.
He was injured and bloody all over, with a large cut on his forehead and cheek while his right leg and left hand were clearly broken. His chest was horribly bruised, result of an impact to his ribcage and more broken bones.
He was bleeding from his stomach as he used his good hand to stop the blood loss which was proving futile. It was a miracle he was still alive, although only by a thread.
He was desperately struggling to survive but the darkness was merciless as it invited him into its cold embrace, tempting him into an eternal sleep devoid of the pain and agony he was suffering.
His eyes turned blank and his breathing grew slower with every breath and eventually, it stopped, drowning everything into silence again.
As he lay there, hovering over the line of life and death, he heard a soft feminine voice in his mind.
'Find her. Protect her.' He heard the voice, echoing in his mind, pulling him back.
He snapped his eyes open and gasped for a breath as the renewed pain from his movement helped him stay conscious.
The haze in his eyes cleared and he swallowed the pain as he tried to stand up. But he failed to assess the state of his body and fell over on his face.
The failed attempt worsened his already severe condition and he began to feel dizzy as his body went numb with pain. His eyes began to droop down involuntarily.
'Promise me. Please, promise me that you'll find her and protect her.'
"No- I cant…"his voice was weak, suppressed in pain and agony as he muttered incoherently. "Not here- I can't… not yet-"
He took a deep breath to jolt his mind and body by using the pain and turned himself over with difficulty.
"No… I cannot die here." He mumbled out loud again, his voice filled with strength and determination. "I cannot leave her alone."
He pulled himself back to the wall and sat leaning against it as he looked around. It was dark everywhere as if he was in a cave of some sort but he wasn't able to find any entrance or exit from his position.
He closed his eyes and replayed the events leading up to him ending up there in that state.
The last thing he remembered was the black lightning that split the sky into two and tore through the land like it was a soft jelly, causing a massive continental shift.
In a second, the ground was filled with cracks and crevices, opening up large chasms everywhere, leading into the dark abyss below.
Unfortunately, he was in the epicenter and before he could realize what was happening, the ground below him split apart and he fell into the darkness below.
He must've hit his head in the fall and lost consciousness, and the next thing, he woke up from the agonizing pain and nothing but the darkness in sight.
'I have to get out of here.'
He looked up in an effort to find any hint of land but he couldn't see past the darkness and neither could he hear anything.
He figured he must've fell down quite far or the land must've shifted again and closed off the crack he fell into.
That thought sent a chill through his spine and made him anxious. He took a deep breath to calm himself but ended up choking from the pain.
He was never afraid of death, but he didn't want to die here, not without fulfilling his promise. The debt of gratitude must be paid even if he had to trade his life to do so.
'I have to live. And I have to find her.'
"Mmm-arghhh…" He bore with the pain and pushed against the wall as he propped himself up to his feet.
He stood on his good foot and leaned onto the wall as he took slow, short breaths. He felt a sharp pain from his stomach and saw dark spots blinding his sight for a moment.
But he kept his mind focused and removed his torn and tattered shirt as he tied it around his waist to close the wound and stop the bleeding. He stood up on his good leg and used his good hand to lean against the wall to move himself forward.
"Aaarghh…"A heavy, pained cry broke through the momentary silence and slowly dissipated into the nothingness.
His mind and body were tormented with the unbearable agony but he didn't stop as he followed the wall and moved ahead into the unknown.
He didn't know how he was going to get out of this unending darkness but his will to live was burning strongly, guiding him towards his destination.
- -
After what felt like an eternity of punishment, he grew numb to the pain as he continued on his way, one step at a time. He fell over a couple times and getting back on his feet was a torture but he got a hang of it and ventured forth.
But after an unknown amount of time, he began to feel exhaustion setting in and his legs growing heavy with each step.
He knew it was only a matter of time before his mind and body would shut down due to sheer exhaustion, even if he wasn't so heavily injured.
He wanted to stop and rest for a while but he knew that if he stopped now, he would immediately fall unconscious and might not wake up ever again.
So he continued to push himself to move forward despite everything.
- -
He stopped walking, but not voluntarily. He stood with his back leaning to the wall as he panted heavily.
He was done.
He couldn't move his legs anymore and even his good hand had cuts and bruises all over. He felt dizzy and found it difficult to breathe as he slid down the wall, gasping for air.
'Is this it…?' his eyes drooped shut and a line of tears trailed down his cheeks.
'I couldn't help my village, I couldn't save the man who raised me, I couldn't protect the one person who wholeheartedly loved me, and after all this time, I couldn't even keep my promise to the person who treated me like her own son.'
What a useless existence.