Nights in the forsaken forest were much brighter than it be would be during the day, the moonlight illuminating the world much more clearly than the radiant sun itself, giving way to the invisible paths that many men and women charted and treaded for those that would pass after them, giving to the otherwise unpassable forest. A question remained from the early explorers of this forest, giving way to multiple interpretations and philosophies of the forsaken forest:
'Why the hell would anybody ever willingly choose to go here?'
This was especially true for normal citizens, let alone Insigs, without the able capacity to properly defend themselves, like fighting in the darkness, or against it.
There is a simple reason for this, one that shocked no one upon its late discovery...
Greed.
The disgusting, powerful, intoxicating, drowning, death-defying, primal desire that prevailed in all manners of way throughout time and space, creating wars, resolving conflicts, destroying families, and repairing relationships with loved ones, both lost and forgotten. Everything started and ended with greed. From an infant's desire to suck on its mother's breasts, to the never-ending desire to live, ultimately leading to the only thing that embraced all… Death.
Death accepted all and rejected none, bringing all that is alive and not into its graceful arms…well, almost everyone.
It all starts with the smallest coincidence, the tiniest mistake, and the most infinitesimal desire for victory, power, and wealth.
A lean man stood, his face a mask of suspicion and incredulity as he watched an exhausted, slumbering boy—more specifically his mangled leg. It was changing, destroying, and improving itself, a dark shadow of its former, pathetic self.
It was not a pretty sight, he admitted, its disgusting visage similar to the numerous times he had ripped another living being's still-beating heart in the past with his bare hands and brutish strength, digging into flesh and piercing through bones whilst cutting through nerves and veins. It was a harrowing experience for both, but extremely satisfactory for one... as much as he denied it.
There was just something about it that just seemed so… poetic, majestic, and most of all: beautiful, surpassing any play or other works of art by a major landslide. It was this toxic memory that surfaced in the man's tainted mind as a comparison of the only thing that he can focus on.
The flesh seemed to be eating itself, gnawing on the skin and muscle with even more deadly-looking and undoubtedly-horrific flesh and skin, with bloody white teeth that seemed to be made of the boy's own bones.
The unconscious boy—perhaps most terrifyingly—seemed to be unaware of the disgusting phenomena, peacefully slumbering through it all with a contented grin on his somnolent face. The boy seemed to be having an amazing dream, giggling every now and then in glee as his flesh devoured and destroyed itself with insatiable gluttony.
Seconds, then hours, lead up until the rise of the radiant sun. He stood there, stupefied, completely lost in the horrid sight with unrelenting attention, expecting some kind of outer being or daemon to rip the boy in half and wreak devastating havoc on everything and everyone it laid its eyes upon.
By the time sunlight seeped through the cracks in the interweaving branches and leaves of the enchanted forest, he had finally noticed the ebony katana in his grasp, as well as the tightly-clutched hand that connected to his shaking arm and soaked body drenched in cold sweat.
His eyes were bloodshot and wide-open like a madman's, which wasn't far-off from his current state. In fact, it was actually the most accurate description that you could give to the man, along with crazy, lunatic, and severely traumatized.
Only after taking notice and admitting all these things did he finally noticed the boy's condition with a secondary thought.
It had been partially healed.
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Lieren woke up feeling significantly more tired than before he had gone to sleep. His limbs felt heavier than steel, rusted and stiff from centuries of intense abuse and unfair leverage. Not only was it heavy, it was also restricting and painful, almost like a rotting corpse undergoing rigor mortis. Nevertheless, he had to stand up, face the day, and prove himself… to himself.
With a brutish scream that tore the heavens, the boy lifted his back and faced forward, his face sweaty from overexertion. There was intense pride on his stiff grin, a mark of both his hard work and rightful achievement. He said with profound determination:
"Well, that should be enough for today."
…And plopped down to his back, letting the cold floor of the wooden wagon flooring envelop him in a welcoming embrace. The world of dreams was inviting him once more, whispering sweet promises to his already surrendered mind.
"Five minutes. Just five more minutes, and I'll be more vigorous than a golem with a Leviathan Core… I promise." The boy closed his eyes for the final time, yielding to the invisible weight dragging his eyelids down.
"No, you're not." With a snap, Lieren's steel-like body was snapped in half… at least, that's what it felt like.
'Why does pain hurt so much?,' asked the boy to no one, not bothering to say the words out loud, letting it hang in his coatrack of maybes, I don't knows, and laters.
He just did not have the capacity to think of anything else when everything felt so damn painful!
With a begrudging smile, he arose from his wool coffin like some kind ancient mummy or century-old vampire. Even his eyes looked as if it was an undead's.
"Good morning." The girl in a dark-pink maid's outfit said with a chipper tune.
Lieren, however, was not having any of it.
"…Why…" He grumbled under his morning breath.
The girl, however, just tilted her head innocently.
"….? What was that?" She said in a sweet voice that sounded like clashing steel in his mind.
A vein popped in his forehead.
"WHY DID YOU WAKE ME UP!?!" He yelled for all the world to hear, his voice reverberating throughout the enchanted trees of the Karan Forest.
A metallic crash could be heard outside of the wagon. The girl, Red, just smiled modestly. A shadow of rage passed by her face.
"Because you said so, you dumb, stupid idiot." Her smiled felt like it could freeze rivers and waterfalls with just a glimpse alone.
And Lieren was bearing the full force of it at point-blank range.
Time seemed to stop at that gaze, cooling his aching head and mitigating his pain with an even more powerful and volatile force. His body even began to feel cooler and cooler by the second—which passed by like an eternity each. With a look of frozen terror on his face, Lieren bowed his head and began tucking away his bedroll and folding it the way Red had taught her like an obedient puppy.
'Girls are scary. So scary.'
An unexpected question came from his side that brought him to near death from shock and dread.
"What was that?" She snapped, one brow raised in suspicion. Her smile was still there, a cold contrast to her disbelieving gaze.
He jerked momentarily, which he tried to conceal, only to fail and look back to the young girl the same age as him, utterly crestfallen and completely defeated.
"I… I'm sorry."Lieren felt naked and vulnerable under her questioning gaze.
'How did her demeanor change so fast? Just yesterday, she could barely utter a word. But now…'
He let the thought trail off, desperate to avoid another verbal beating. Besides, it was not like he hated her newfound confidence. In fact, he admired it. She had found something to anchor herself to, give her hope and peace. As for who it was, he only hoped for it to be somebody decent… at the very least, it shouldn't be that terrible noble. Then again, one could only hope.
And hope was something that he himself has found recently.
With a fresh smile and sun-kissed cheeks, he looked forward to another day, and what it had in store for him.