"What's... going on? Why is there... so much noise? I try to open my eyes... but everything is so... blurry. Why do I hear people screaming? Where am I? Is there anybody there...?"
As the turmoil subsided, Akuro tried opening his eyes but ran into hazy vision and vague uncertainty.
"WAIT! I was in the middle of a battle."
Then everything struck him, as a concentrated attack of despair.
Acute pain emerged from his chest.
Like an ardent knife from the pits of hell continuously piercing him.
[AAARGH!!! ARRGH!!]
With all his might, he lets out a potent cry for help.
But in a dire fit like this, who would have the kindness to help him?
With the dreadful awareness of helplessness—he pressed down on the agonizing area.
When he looked at it, he discovered an arched wound that mutilated the flesh around it.
"Blood?... Is that... blood?"
It was indeed blood—his failure to process the wound resembled his fading consciousness.
"Is... is this it? Is my journey already over? Oh man, I just got a promotion, I wish I could've stuck around a bit longer—explore the world, maybe even go on an adventure."
What's wrong with me... I fancied a completely ordinary and unpretentious life. Well, no point in bickering over it now.
"Is this what I leave behind? Nothing but regret—couldn't even fulfill my last mission."
"I know this world is a hellhole, but death is not an excuse to get out of it."
In front of him, lied a mound of corpses.
All the Valens that once fought with honor, are now lying there, slaughtered, like livestock.
His unwelcoming vision and sinking consciousness blocked him from discerning any moving beings.
"Just if I could have another chance... in life—I would make this world a better place... or at least die without remorse."
"I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry. In the end, I was nothing but dead weight. Even though everyone trusted me; I let them down."
A single tear ooze down his face—as that was all the visible emotion he could muster.
In his seemingly last moments, he caught a voice crying out to him.
"But... that's impossible... they all died. We were wiped out."
"I... can't... muster... enough... energy to open my eyes."
"I think... I... recognized that voice someho-..."
....
...
..
As Akuro trounced flat on the ground with blood pouring out from within,
a distressed *Neigh* could be heard from across the battlefield.
A war-cry of the Centaurs? Or perhaps a dreadful horse?
As the sound drew nigh, it became more apparent as it took the figure of an actual horse. Upon it, rode a man, whose expression was the lifelike depiction of determination.
The horse raced towards Akuro and reached a halt.
The man leaps towards Akuro, who is enthralled by death.
He thoroughly and delicately inspected Akuro's wounded body.
After looking at the gash in his chest, the man's face retired to a worrisome expression.
With subtle hints of regret in his voice, he slowly murmured to Akuro.
[Don't die on me, kid.]
He reached within his backpack to draw forth a mysterious red box—its size bigger than that of rock but smaller than a boulder. It was sealed shut—only to be used in an emergency.
Two white lines, one horizontal and one vertical extended from the center towards the end of the box—symbolizing a first aid kit.
He unlids the box, exposing its constituents.
Packed with air—the only things that housed the box were a few bandages and a strange bottle, of the size of his hand, loaded with a vitreous fluid.
Without wasting a moment, he placed the box next to his feet and picked up the strange bottle. Then, he took out a dagger from his belt and pressed it against the bottle; right below the neck.
*Pop*, the bottle's head was skillfully sliced off in a mere moment. The liquid started to bubble as soon as the bottle depressurized. He held his thumb on the opening as to not let any liquid out.
Akuro's shirt was torn off by the man, revealing his slender and scrawny physique. The bottle slowly emptied as the liquid was poured into Akuro's wound.
The blood that came in contact with the liquid disappeared. The ditch of the wound was also filled with the liquid. The fluid settled in a matter of seconds and turned into a globby substance, which then slowly took the shape of flesh and developed skin. Soon, all the blood was gone and all that remained of the wound was the scar.
This could be classified as a miracle. Akuro had yet to see something like this. Regretfully, he wasn't conscious to witness it.
Although. the fluid covered the wound with fresh skin, it did not regenerate the lost blood. You can say that he was knocking on death's door but could still turn around and come back.
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An unbearable pain made Akuro sit upright and buckle onto his chest.
The sudden movement prevented him from viewing even after opening his eyes.
"What? Where am I? This pain! AAARGH! It's burning!"
As his vision restored he glanced upon his chest, where he discovered a sharp gruesome scar.
*Pant* *Pant* *Pant* *Pant*
His eyes stretched as wide as possible, accompanied by furrowed eyebrows. The hyped breathing was brought about by the fusion of his efforts to consolidate the pain and remembrance of his last memories.
As a thousand thoughts flooded his mind, all he could focus on was
"Where are the others? Where am I? I was supposed to be dead. Why is there a scar on my chest? What happened to my wound? Who brought me here?"
Even in this condition, the first thoughts of Akuro concerned 'others'. It was a testimony to his unwavering sense of camaraderie, of how he values his fellows above all else.
His will and determination were the only things he was able to do for himself thus being able to breathe for this long.
Fate has not been generous to him. Always encountering difficulty and trial at every footstep. Nonetheless, he faced it wholeheartedly, with unparalleled conviction.
This was a reward for that.
Fate blessed him with a second chance at life.
"I-I should calm down..."
To do so, he closed his eyes and put everything aside, thus emptying his mind. In doing so, the erupting pain just vanished. He fell into a deep trance of thought.
"Alright. So. All that I noticed before closing my eyes was that I am still in a sandy area, underneath some type of shade. So it is plausible that we-"
Akuro's mulling was startled by a mature voice that emerged from his rear.
[Ah, so you're finally awake!]
[Eek!]
Akuro instinctively turned towards the voice and threw himself back, causing him to abandon the shaded area for the harsh daylight. His expression was deformed because he could not see who that man was before him.
[Hey, hey. I am harmless.]
The man said, raising his forearms to his head; to solve Akuro's confusion.
As Akuro's eyes adjusted to the sudden sunlight, he realized who that man was.
[I-It's YOU!]
[Huh, it's me??]
He responded, pointing a finger to himself—astonished.
[W-we met earlier. You're that carriage driver! The one I argued with!]
[Hehe~ So you remember. Good. That should clear some confusion.]
A bit of relief washed over that man's face. Probably since there won't be any mistrust now.
The feeling was the same for Akuro. As he saw a friendly face, he became relieved.
[That jump just now was quite sturdy. You should be able to at least stand up. C'mon, try it.]
Pouring all his energy into his feet, Akuro tries to stand up little by little.
In doing so, he even lets out a few audible grunts.
In a few moments, he finally gets up.
[Finally! That wasn't so hard, was it? Now try taking a few short steps.]
His legs were already trembling; he had lost so much blood.
Trying to walk seemed like an impossible feat but Akuro tried it nonetheless.
He raises his feet just barely above the ground and barely moves forwards. After taking a few more feeble steps just trips over and falls face first. Luckily, the man caught him and took him back inside the small tent.
Chapter 3 Fin~