It was a night filled with restlessness.
Ruth didn't want to comfort him at all, but the more she heard the repressed sobs of the golden-eyed boy, the more irritated she felt.
"…can't you just shut up and sleep already?" It was a very heartless sentence, but aside from being shocked, the golden-eyed boy didn't get angry at all.
"B–But I can't stop." Ruth also didn't know why she felt uncomfortable listening to him cry his eyes out. She didn't know what else to do, so her forehead remained wrinkled in irritation. In the end, she could only ask the boy himself, "Then what do you want me to do to make you stop?"
"...'' The golden-eyed boy's sob halted for a moment. Ruth glanced at the boy and was startled by his eyes starting to brighten like big light bulbs. Ruth felt a bit suspicious, thinking that the boy was about to tell her an outrageous request, she heard the boy speak,"Then–Then, could you tell me a story?"
Ruth felt a bit surprised, "...story? What story?"
"Anything. Tell me a story, whatever it is." The golden-eyed boy's tone sounded cheerful, but Ruth remained silent in the dark. Fearing that she was angered, the boy began to feel uneasy, "Actually…it doesn't ma–" His words were cut off from a sigh from Ruth.
She then started to tell a story.
"...once upon a time, there was an ordinary young boy from the countryside. His family were farmers, so he was expected to inherit their farmlands on the day his parents died or when he married and had children. But he didn't want to be a farmer at all, he longed for the prosperous city, a place beyond these endless farmlands. So he studied hard, and indeed, when he set foot on the prosperous city, he saw a place like a completely different world. Buildings almost touching the sky, people as numerous as ants, roads like intertwining vines, self-driving vehicles, and flying carriages…"
She didn't know why she initiated to tell a story to the golden-eyed boy, and such a childish story at that. In the end, that story slowly molded into the world from her past, before the apocalypse started.
⁕ ⁕ ⁕
The next day was another day for a new journey. After a good night's sleep, the golden-eyed boy finally regained his previous enthusiasm. He smiled very happily while asking questions about the world that Ruth told the boy. Ruth couldn't help but get a headache. She must have gone crazy when she said that story about her world so casually. How annoying.
"Once I grow up, I will definitely let Ruth ride in a flying carriage every day! Leave it up to me!" The golden-eyed boy puffed up his chest with a confident look on his face. Ruth didn't bother with his childish nonsense and just apathetically said 'oh.'.
The golden-eyed boy noticed his indifference and couldn't help but pout angrily, "Just you see! Ruth will definitely be surprised! But don't worry, I will graciously let you be the first to ride!"
Seeing his cheeks that looked like a bun, Ruth inexplicably wanted to tease him a little. "A little spout dares to say he will let me take a ride in a flying carriage? You're even smaller than me, how can you build a flying carriage?"
"I–I'm not a little sprout! I will be taller than my father in the future!"
Nothing changed after that night, except for the fact that the golden-eyed boy could now become a little calm even after he's seen other kids get taken into the woods once again, and that he became clingier to Ruth like a duckling following its mother.
"Ruth, you know that you can't follow those adults into the forest, right?" Facing the anxious eyes of the golden-eyed boy, she only nodded but didn't answer. Although she was inexplicably shoved into the body of a child, after living in the ruthless world of the apocalypse, it might be quite difficult to bring down a buff adult with the vast difference in size, but a small knife is still a knife after all. It can kill, just depending on how you handle it.
But she couldn't possibly tell the boy that she would indeed follow that adult to the forest, but it wasn't known whether that adult could still get out of the forest alive.
They continued their journey through various towns, and rumours of monster wave sightings had slowly brought their way to them. A monster wave was a very fearsome phenomenon in which a swarm of monsters lurked in the forests to attack humans and nearby villages. That was why the merchant who had been leading their slave wagon had recently hired skilled mercenaries to escort them to neighbouring towns.
Slave-trading was an illegal business in the empire, so although mercenaries generally abide by the principle of being loyal to their employers, it was still very risky. So the merchants made the children hide inside wooden barrels to act as wine products. When they finally reached the neighbouring town of Acacia could they only release those slaves.
The monster wave was very dangerous, but with the help of the hired mercenaries, except for some injured people, they were basically unscathed. It appears that those hired mercenaries had some genuine abilities. Ruth had noticed it very early even when she was stuffed inside the wooden barrel, but she felt that those people were very strange. There were unusually powerful energies from their bodies. Ruth couldn't help but curiously peek from the gap of the fabric cloth covering the wagon and saw a middle-aged man with silver hair from the distance.
He had the most powerful energy out of everyone. Ruth was very curious about those 'energies', so she leaned a bit more forward, but her heart couldn't help but thump when the middle-aged man met with her eyes and smiled, before averting his gaze.
He was very quick, but Ruth knew that he had seen her. Ruth pursed her lips.
The caravan travelled for a whole three days, and they also only stayed in those wooden barrels for a whole three days with only three pieces of bread inside. Unexpectedly, when it was finally the end of their journey, a heavy downpour befell them. Following that was the thick smell of blood, the clanging sounds of swords and the thud as dead bodies fell one after another on the muddy ground. There were inaudible sounds that barely could be heard, but Ruth heard it clearly.
"Those Imperial dogs! They still fucking found us all! Goddamnit! Hand me the reins!" The next second, Ruth felt the wagon move at a very fast speed. Ruth immediately stood up from the barrel and held the other barrels that were just about to roll out of the wagon.
Before they were far away, the sound of the horse neighs were heard and a stern shout, "The third prince is probably there! Catch that wagon!"
Third prince?
Ruth didn't have the time to ponder as the wagon was very shaky. Ruth immediately shouted, "Get up! All of you! And hold on to anything!" After that shout, little heads popped out of the wooden barrels and as they had been in those cramped barrels for too long, their legs were still shaky but they were aware enough that they were in a very dangerous situation, "Hurry up!"
Hearing that shout, every child immediately held into anything sturdy whilst closing their eyes. Ruth spotted the golden-eyed boy from the far corner who was vomiting, because he was vomiting too much, all of his limbs were very weak, so his hold eventually became loose. Ruth gritted her teeth and immediately clamped the little boy's wrist, preventing the boy from getting thrown out of the wagon. Surprised, the boy couldn't help but call Ruth' name with bright eyes "Ruth!"
Ruth didn't pay attention to him as he felt a sudden dangerous feeling. She tore the fabric cloth covering the front wagon and her eyes turned cold as she stared at the bloody corpse of the one driving the wagon and the arrow pierced between his eyebrows. Her eyes swept the mountains and locked on a particular spot, following that was an arrow covered with fire.
She didn't know who they were, but she was sure at the very least that they wanted their lives!
Ruth gritted her teeth and quickly climbed up the wagon and tried to find anything sharp on the corpse. After getting what she needed, she shoved the corpse on the road and held the reins. She didn't know how to drive a carriage, so she ruthlessly used the knife to cut the rope holding the horses instead. Due to inertia, the wagon shook, causing the burning arrow to barely touch the fabric cover of the wagon. But Ruth didn't dare get relaxed, because what was next was a cliff awaiting them.
"Hide in the barrels! We're about to fall off a cliff!" Ruth shouted hoarsely to the children still holding the pillars tightly like koalas, before quickly stuffing the golden-eyed boy into one of the barrels and helping the other kids inside as well. Just after she stuffed the last kid inside, the wagon shook more and more fiercely, and they immediately felt a terrifying feeling of falling into the cliff.
Ruth hadn't gotten into the barrels yet! The golden-eyed boy couldn't help but shout in panic, "Ruth!"
The other children shouted as well but she didn't listen to any of them. She only did her best to tightly hold onto those barrels like holding her lifeline.
'Damnit, I've gone crazy! After all those years, why am I still doing this?! Nothing will change, whatever I do…I still can't save anyone else apart from myself…'
Just when Ruth's senses were slowly filled with fog, a sweaty palm of a young boy held her hand and forcefully stuffed her inside a barrel as well. Ruth's eyes widened, and just after that, a thud was heard. It was unknown how long it was that they closed their eyes, but there was no expected pain from falling. A pleasant sound of bells ringing was then heard, and one by one, the children opened their eyes.
What they saw was darkness with hues of purple and blue and the sea of countless stars. It was like the sky after the sun falls, trapped in a small room. Those pure pupils of theirs reflected this beautiful scene, all of them in a trance.
The golden-eyed boy's eyes also took in this beautiful scene, completely dumbfounded. He quickly looked into the direction of Ruth who was glowing, stars encircling her. Ruth also noticed this and looked into her hands, "Ha, and here I thought I had already gotten rid of this shitty ability." There was mockery in her voice, but her smile was bitter. That was the first time that the golden-eyed boy had seen this side of hers.
Ruth slowly moved her hand, beckoning. Countless stars encircled them until they were finally touching the ground. The children simultaneously looked at Ruth and circled her.
"A–Are you a fairy? Did you save us?"
"Will you take us home?"
The golden-eyed boy felt displeased when looking at them clamoring to Ruth and forcefully inserted himself in between them while clinging to Ruth with a pout, "Stay away! She's not a fairy, she's my best friend!"
The other children didn't care who's the best friend of who, they were just very happy. But this happiness was once again short-lived as sounds of the horse's hooves resounded once again in the distance which made the other children shiver in fear and hid behind Ruth who looked into the distance with a frown.
Silhouettes were gradually uncovered in the forest, and with that, people wearing armors showed themselves. The insignia of the royal family shone on their chests, making the children originally terrified burst into happy cheers. The happiest being the golden-eyed boy who immediately called, "Uncle–"
Ruth pulled the golden-eyed boy, resulting in him narrowly avoiding a dagger thrown at him. Ruth's eyes narrowed, and a dangerous light showed itself. Their killing intents were so thick, it was impossible for Ruth not to notice.
They weren't rescuers at all.
The middle-aged man riding at the forefront raised his eyebrows at her, but his eyes mostly focused on the golden-eyed boy behind her.
"Sure enough, like your mother, you're as difficult as a cockroach to kill. I didn't expect the Duke of the North to find you first before the assassins finished their jobs. Really troublesome."
"Uncle? What do you mean?" The golden-eyed boy's eyes started to pool tears, but the middle-aged man he called 'Uncle' was still looking at him with those cold and indifferent eyes, like looking at a dead corpse.
"It is as you see, my dear Third Prince, you are the only weakness of His Highness the Crown Prince. You are a necessary sacrifice for the smooth ascension of His Highness Second Prince. Treat this as an honour to die for the future monarch."
He glanced at the knight behind him, and the other bowed in reverence before unmounting from his horse, pulling a sword from the sheath. With great killing intent, he moved in front of them, his sword glistening from the moonlight.
Ruth pursed her lips, looking at the empty void in front of her. For outsiders, she might only appear to be slightly dazed, but no one knew that she was actually looking at a blue holographic panel in front of her.
[Name: Ellis Lewellyn (Ruth)
Physical Age: 3 (Soul Age: 25)
Class: (Special)
Titles: One Who Defies the Natural Order, Slaughterer, Immortal One, A Child of Another World, Dragon Slayer, Stone Heart, Soul Banker.
Skills: [Scale of Equivalent Value (active)] [Soul Deposit (active)] [Empathy (passive)][Undying Body (passive)] [Withdrawal (active)] [Soul Loan (active)]
Inherited Skills: Pages [1] [2] [3] [...] [289]
Except for the 'A Child of Another World' title, nothing else changed. It was still that same blue panel from before, even the contents were unchanged. This was her only companion in that hellhole and was also the curse that kept on following her, even in another world.
Ruth muttered in a low voice, "Use 'Withdrawal'"
The sword slowly rose, bringing with it a cold chill of death.
Blood spattered on the golden-eyed boy's face. He made a small noise, frightened, looking with wide eyes as the seemingly invincible silver knight screamed in pain while looking at his amputated arm. A river of blood gushed out of the cut while he rolled on the ground in pain. A small, pleasant smell then wafted on his nose, he subconsciously sniffed it, and the last thing he saw was the cold glowing purple eyes of Ruth, her hand dripping with fresh blood, and the frightened cries of the other Royal Family knights.
Then he lost consciousness.