Gwynne.
How does one kill?
"Isn't it from stabbing something in the heart?"
Really? Then does one not kill when he chokes the neck of somebody? Does he not kill when he lets his victim to bleed from it?
"...Then how does one kill?"
...Gwynne.
People kill not just physically. They can also kill someone mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
A knife can kill if it stabs, how much more a simple pen, who writes curseful words. A small flower can kill an insect, a single touch of liquid can kill thousands.
"...Can you stop someone from killing?"
Yes. Yes you can.
"How?"
By talking to them. Persuade them from killing people. Stop them. Restrain them. Knock them off. But if none of these methods work..
"Then what?"
Then you kill them.
That should stop them.
"...And that turns me into a killer?"
Yes.
You will become a killer, a murderer.
"But i don't want that. I don't want to kill."
But aren't you one already?
"HUFF!!"
Gwynne sat up in a sudden rush, her back filled with cold sweat, her eyes glowing red as she panted, breathing heavily as she desperately suck in air to breathe.
The darkness around them surrounds her very eyes, blinding her from seeing further.
The stilling silence was deafening to her ears, prompting her to cover her ears with her hands as tears fell from her eyes.
Rueben looked at her.
"What happened." He said with little to no expression on his face.
Gwynne gritted her teeth and wiped the tears off her face.
"I hate this... i want to leave..." Her voice sounded weak, vulnerable.
Skrt. skrt. skrt. skrt.
"The world just hates me, grabbing every fucking opportunity to shit my goddamned life." She sobbed even further, her eyes glowing red.
Sniff. Hak!
"Everyone hurts someone in their life, that fact is absolute and cannot be challanged." Gwynne bit her lips, "But how is it that everyone hurts me? Everybody hurts me instead of somebody else! This is unfair, how do they fucking do it each and every single time i try to be happy!?"
Her hands clenched, her nails dug deep into her skin, her face pale as she cried her whole heart out.
Keuk. Huff.
"Its unfair! The Heavens are unfair!" She yelled out as she cried.
Rueben stood still, his heart shaken from her tears but he steeled himself.
'I can't do anything. Not at this state.'
But seeing her devastated, her eyes filled with tears, he clenched his fist as he remembered that he had also went through the same pain back then.
Rueben down on the makeshift bed and softly let out a sigh. He patted her head and uttered, "Its gonna be okay."
Sniff, keuk.
Huff.
Silence filled the entire space, only Gwynne's sobbing and the scorching of the torch could be heard as the darkness surrounds them once more.
***
A drop of black liquid gathered around a stalactite, before it fell down to the ground in a splash. The drops of the liquid slowly moved due to gravity and fell from another height.
The black liquid then stopped and gathered around a hole on the ground.
Everything became quiet.
Then out came a being from that drop.
It looked elsewhere and nowhere, its eyes darting around as it stood still. Soon, the candles that littered the ground slowly lit up in purple flames, one by one.
It lit up the entire room.
The room was filled with books, tables, pens, papers, scripts and many more. Thousands upon thousands of scribblings littered the ground, the walls and the ceiling.
Chains hang from the walls, knives hang from the ceiling. Talismans littered the entire room. A cold wind breezed through it even though the hole place had no opening.
The being slowly materialised into a little girl. The girl grabbed a book and opened it softly.
She read for a moment before closing her eyes along with the book. She turned her head around and let out a soft mumble.
"To the gate? How is he still alive?"
To the gate? How is he still alive?
Her face scrunched up and she walked for a few moments before coming to a large hole with a sea of blood inside the hole.
"Its gone."
Its gone.
Then she turned her head and she slowly turned into a doll.
"Where has it gone?"
Where has it gone?
Two voices can be heard talking at the same time.
***
"We're here." Rueben gave her a look while she held the torch up high.
"Yep. This should be the place." She smiled, her white teeth showing.
The two stood below a large door, a gate if you will.
The door was made of steel, on the corners were rust, showing that the door was old. Chains locked the door in place, baring anyone from entering.
Infront of the door was thousands of bones, bones of all kinds, of all forms, of all sizes. It littered the ground, some were even buried below, dictating that this place was very old.
Swords, daggers, scimitars, shields, armors, weapons of all kinds and armors of all types was found everywhere, each rusting and losing their original luster.
Rueben held a rusty sword and swung it, the sword slowly turned into dust due to the horrors of time.
"How old is this place?"
"No one knows."
"How could anyone know, idiot? Of course they're already dead."
Rueben looked at her blankly, "But you asked."
"Yeah, that was supposed to be an expression." She rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
"How about you try to be polite."
"Polite?" Gwynne looked at him and let out a snarky grin, "I don't see someone worthy of me being polite."
Rueben stared at her, before nodding and looked front. "As expected, you can't communicate with uncommunicative people."
"What did you say?"
"Oh! Don't tell me you are deaf as well?" He shrugged his shoulders, earning him a pebble.
Gwynne then grabbed a more larger pebble and threw it towards him, to which he evaded smoothly. They faughy each other for a few moments, bickering before they armed themselves.
"This is the first time."
Rueben looked at her, then gestured for her to continue.
"That i came this far. I didn't have the courage to leave my house, i was afraid that i'll get lost and never be able to read books. Yes i travelled this place sometimes in search of supplies and all but most of my map came from someone who built that house."
Her eyes looked to the darkness, as if to see through something hidden within it. Her voice shivering.
"Its going to be dangerous from now on. There would be risks everywhere and we could probably die." She grabbed the torch, then faced to the cart.
He nodded his head. "That would be the case."
Gwynne paused for a moment, then she threw the torch towards the cart. The flame caught the paper from books and it caught fire. Smoke slowly came out and ash gathered.
"Can you promise me something?"
"...This feels uncomfortable." Rueben turned to look at her, then let out a soft sigh. "Come on. I'll protect you so don't worry."
Then he walked towards the door.
"..."
Gwynne stared at his back, her eyes shone. She let out a small smile.
"Damn bastard, acting cool and all." She followed after him as she swallowed back the words that she was about to mutter.
"Can the two of us leave this place alive?"
Gwynne let out a question, which the two of them has no answer to. They both were silent.
Before Rueben answered in a strong tone.
"We'll leave this place alive. I must make sure of it."
***
Picture this.
In the dilapidated halls, the walls made of wood and stone, the floors filled with tiles. In each turn of a corner, a door would appear infront of you.
You are given the choice. Between the door that helps you "escape" the halls or continue wandering the place till you find the exit.
Which will you choose?
Rueben once asked this question to his teacher.
They were inside a cave where hundreds of rat beasts were living, killing anything that came inside. It was hidden in a valley somewhere in the Forest of Depravity, a few hundred miles away from Arkvem.
His teacher was sent to this place to wipe out all the beast in the cave to avoid potential increase of numbers of the beasts inside this place.
It was when he was about 14-15 years old.
He remembered that his teacher only stared at him with a soft smile and rubbed his hair.
"Why ask such questions? Are you having second thoughts?"
He shook his head, "Remember Rueben, if you were to choose between dying by choice or dying by fighting, you must choose the latter. You never know, something good might happen if you choose to fight."
As ashes filled the air, they exited the cave together.
"Life is full of uncertainties. Its not only limited to bad things, good things can happen and will happen. So don't give up yet until you are truly in your last breath."
Rueben fell silent, the nodded his head.
"Understood."
***
Rueben flew and crashed to the wall, he then rolled sideways to dodge a spear that was flying towards him.
Gwynne hid behind a pillar, with a crossbow in her hand as she let loose some arrows towards it.
He wiped the blood off his mouth with his sleeve and looked at the being they were fighting.
A few moments ago, they were wondering how to open the steel door and enter. It suddenly appeared and stabbed Rueben on the knee and punched Gwynne, making her fall face flat on the ground.
Then it kicked the two of them away, giving them the chance to use Ichor Siphon and healed themselves.
The thing that attacked them was a knight with gray armor. Stabbed in its body were weapons ranging from sword, shields, spears, arrows, sabers and many more. It looked like a hedgehog but instead of needles, it was weapons.
The thing looked human but it was abnormally tall, atleast 3 meters tall, the cape was cut off and blood continuously seeped from the gaps of the armor.
After it arrived, it immediately attacked Rueben, clearly seeing him as a threat more than Gwynne.
"Protect..... gate....."
The being spoke softly, muttering from the helmet.
Rueben immediately grabbed a rock and threw it towards the thing. Gwynne followed suit and started throwing rocks at it, the thing caught the rock and threw it down the ground, it was about to rush towards Rueben when another rock was caught in its hand.
This little characteristics immediately caught their attention.
"This guy won't let the gate be damaged." Ruebe muttered softly, Gwynne nodded her head and let out a grin.
"Protect....." The knight shook, then looked af Gwynne as Rueben rushed towards him.
"GATE!!!!" It let out a howl.
The howl was loud, so loud that his ears bursts and blood sipped through.
"What- guh!?" Then the knight appeared infront of Rueben, before punching him in the stomach, sending him flying and crashed to the wall.
"Rueben!" Gwynne screamed and swiftly took out a small crossbow inside her bag and hid behind a pillar.
Rueben rolled before he wiped the blood off his mouth. Just as he was about to call out to Gwynne, the Knight appeared beind him with a spear on its hand.
It stabbed down but Rueben managed to spin around and stabbed the being in its neck.
Blood splattered, the Knight held Rueben up in the air as his stomach was stabbed, he held the tip of the spear and gritted his teeth.
"Invader... How.... Dare you.... Leave..... Leeeeeave!!"
Life is full of uncertainties.
You never know when life would gut punch you.