He noticed my mood plummeting and immediately realized that I don't want to hear any more of it.
"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable," he guiltily apologized and smiled awkwardly.
Guilt and uneasiness were written all over his face. I guess he really felt bad saying something that bothered me.
I felt the sincerity in his voice, and I don't really want to make a big deal out of it. He doesn't even know that what he said has affected my mood.
"It's okay. I don't really want to talk about it." I clutched the holster tightly in my arms before putting it away inside my satchel.
"Well, how about this," He swiftly changed the topic and sat on the chair behind him. "You want to hear something interesting instead? It's about the story of a legendary warrior that has been passed down in my family since the beginning of time."
"I— I don't think I have the time..." I hesitantly declined, but I discontinued what I about to say when I heard the last part of what he said.
"...Oh, It's okay. I can tell you some other time," he dejectedly said.
Although he seemed not too worried about it, I can feel that he really wants me to hear what he has to say.
It actually doesn't hurt to listen, and I also want to hear what it is. Maybe it's something that can help me in the future, just like how my grandma used to tell me legends when I was young.
Even if I do have things to do, I already decided to just finish it tomorrow. It's just garden cleaning anyway.
"Actually, I can stay for a bit. So let's hear what it is," I smiled and went to pick up a chair from across the room and dragged it over towards the front of his desk.
"Really? Are you sure? We can just talk some other time. I don't really want to hold you up in your errands."
"It's mostly done now. So you don't have to worry about me," I reassured him.
"Hmm... okay, where do I start?" He asked himself and placed his hand on his chin as if thinking real hard about it.
"We can start at the beginning. How did your family pass down this legend from generation to generation?" I suggested while making myself comfortable in this hard wooden chair.
"Oh, that's a secret I can't tell. Telling this to someone other than my family is already a sin to my ancestors."
"Then why—"
"It's because I don't have anyone else in my family to tell this legend to," he interrupted before I could finish asking.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I solemnly said.
"It's alright, kiddo. Life happens," he nonchalantly dismissed as if it's all in the past.
I looked at his eyes, but he does not seem to be too sad about it. I know how it feels to lose a member of your family.
"Yeah. Life happens," I mumbled to myself and looked at my hands, playing with the strap of my bag.
"Cheer up, kiddo! The dead stays dead while the living continues on."
I looked up at him and smiled bitterly. "Yeah, you are right."
He's right. I have to move on and accept everything that has happened in my life. They may have been dead, but they will forever remain alive in my heart.
I shook off my thoughts and focused on what Mr. Pockey will tell me.
"Are you ready for this?" I nodded my head, and he began telling the tale of the so-called legendary warrior.
"My father told me the story of the Legendary Warrior that vanquished the evil in this land. He was called many names, but Shadow Warrior was the famous one that stuck up until this day.
There was a time where this story was well known that everyone in the continent knows of it. But as time went by, only our family was left to tell the tale. Those who pursue the life of a blacksmith only have the right to learn of this story. Sometime in the past, our honor as blacksmiths were declining. More members of the family started pursuing different paths and began to disbelieve the legend. Now, it is only I that is left...
[The Timeline of the Shadow Warrior: Mr. Pockey Narrating]
"The Shadow Warrior defeated the enemy's entire first battalion on his own?" A soldier asked his fellow soldiers in the barracks.
They were resting and regrouping after an ambush from the Pellries Kingdom— where it left them scrambling for their lives.
This was the first full-blown war on the continent that involved all four kingdoms.
"How is the Shadow Warrior doing this?" An enemy warrior asked towards his fellow comrade before they got beheaded by the blade of the Shadow Warrior.
Blood, death, and darkness littered the battlefield where the Shadow Warrior stood alone.
But before he became known as the Shadow Warrior, he was only a happy teenager living together with his clan.
"Hey there, young and aspiring warrior!" A man wearing a worn-out black apron called out to the young teen walking down the road.
"Hey, Mr. Callins. Do you need some help today?" The boy asked, walking up to the man who is inside his workshop by the window.
"Nah, I'm all good. How ya doing?" The man started preparing the sword he was going to polish today.
"This is my first-day training with the rest of the warriors. Mother finally let me do it," the boy excitedly expressed his happiness.
He was overjoyed to be allowed to train with the warriors after a long time of persuading his mother.
"She actually let you do it?"
"Yes! I've been really excited about it that I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night."
"I'm so proud of you. If you ever become a great warrior, I'll make you the greatest weapon in history," the man excitedly offered to the boy.
He was also overjoyed to see the boy he watched grow up chase his dreams.
That day was the beginning of the Shadow Warrior's legend.
It wasn't long after that peaceful day, their clan was attacked by some mysterious enemies. No one knew the truth of what happened or who was behind the attack. Only the two people that survived the attack knew the truth.
Of course, the Shadow Warrior was one of them, and the second was an unknown person. It was believed to have been a friend of the Shadow Warrior.
It was a very peculiar incident that only the Shadow Warrior's clan was annihilated in that attack. It was as if it was on purpose. But the mystery was why and who. Why did they do it, and who was the mastermind behind it.
After that, peace began again. The weeping young warrior was left in shambles as he tried to survive on his own. He bid his time, trained all day long, and at some point, he emerged as the Legendary Shadow Warrior that destroyed all evil in the land.
The Shadow Warrior's first appearance was giving justice to the oppressed. Then he began slaughtering those people that were tainted by darkness. In no time, people began to talk about him.
However, he wasn't always known as the Shadow Warrior. He was formerly known as the Silver Shield of the Weak because he emits a streak of silver and moves like the shadows whenever he fights.
However. that name got lost along the way since his enemies began calling him the Shadow Warrior. He was literally like a shadow. When darkness comes, he was unstoppable.
His weapon was also a mystery to all. People couldn't figure out if it was a sword, a shield, a spear, or a bow. It was as if the weapon itself has a life on its own.
It wasn't long after his emergence that the land was rumbling, the sky was thundering, and the air was howling.
War is soon approaching.
"Be prepared for an attack! Hide if you wish to live. Kill if you don't want your loved ones to die!" The announcers' voices echoed throughout the kingdom.
The sky was engulfed by darkness, the land was covered in crimson-colored liquid, and the air was full of suffocating smells.
Many lives were lost in the war. But the Shadow Warrior managed to defeat most of them with the aid of his mysterious weapon.
The people who witnessed his battles or those closest to the battlefield saw the Shadow Warrior's monster weapon. It actually wasn't him who emits the silver light but the blade he used.
For a long time, he fought the darkness. He fought to the death. He didn't stop until the sky turned red and the earth was filled with bones.
However, the Shadow Warrior has to pay the price for all that. The last grasp of his humanity slipped out of his hands, and he began to fall into the abyss.
Then the Shadow Warrior never emerged again. His mysterious blade was the only remnant of the Legendary Warrior.
It was a tiny dagger that was too old and shabby to be used for anything. It couldn't even cut a paper.
So the people wondered how the Shadow Warrior did all the things he did with just a rusty dagger."
[End of story: Back to the present]
"That sums all of the things I know," Mr. Pockey said.
"That... was cool. I liked it," I smiled at him— very impressed at the tale he told me.
The legend feels surreal to me. I felt so bad for the Shadow Warrior when he lost his family after that planned-out attack happened. Then he decided to fight for righteousness but lost his light along the way. It was the saddest story I've ever heard.
"I'm sure there's a lot of versions out there. But that was the only version I know," he reached out to his drawer and took something from it. "Here, have this."
He handed me a necklace that has a half teardrop-shaped pendant but rust-covered most of it.
"Uhh..." I skeptically looked at it but accepted it anyway.
"My father said that with this necklace, you can find the Shadow Warrior's mysterious weapon. This was also made from the same material as the weapon. But I highly doubt that it's here," he explained before leaning back onto his again.
"Why exactly are you giving this to me?" I put the necklace on the table since I don't want to touch its rusted part.
"I am giving this to you because your sister told me to. I don't think I'll ever use it in my entire life anyway. So don't feel bad about it. It's not like it can be turned into something that has value."
What? Lilianna, again? Why is she doing all sort of weird things lately?
"My sister?" I bewilderedly asked.
There was a knock on the door, interrupting our conversation.
He just smiled at me before standing up and walking towards the door.
I just sat there and decided to just wait for his return. I heard them talking, but I tuned them out as I studied the necklace in front of me.
I wondered where half of the pendant goes. I only received it like it was cut in half. I really need to ask Mr. Pockey about this.
First, how would I even know if I found the mysterious weapon? Second, why did Lilianna wanted to give this to me? Third, where did the other half go?
Maybe Lilianna has it? But why would she have it? She doesn't like jewelry.
Mr. Pockey came back, but the urgency was plastered on his face.
"I am deeply sorry for this, Azalea. But the Mayor asked me to do something for him, and there is a deadline for it. So I cannot chat anymore or anytime soon. I need to go now," he hurriedly explained before leaving through the front door. I didn't even get the chance to reply.
Huh? What happened?
What did the Mayor ask him to do that it was so urgent that made Mr. Pockey run for it?
ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʔ•̫͡•ʕ•̫͡•
TO BE CONTINUED...