Opening my eyes, I get blinded by the ceiling light. Sitting up, I find myself in a hospital again. Sitting up, I see passed out Ella on the couch. Getting off the bed, I try to sneak out of the room, only to be stopped by a call of my name.
"Ken, how was your sleep?" Seeing Will on a medical bed hooked up to some medical machines. "I... I slept well, but I guess the same can't be said for you."
Shaking his head, he winces in pain. "Yeah... didn't sleep a wink since I woke up." Sitting up, I can see his bandages color red. "Don't move! You must have ripped a stitch!" Almost yelling, he slaps my hand away and pulls out his IV. "Painkillers are for pussies." Standing up, he cracks his neck and points to the room door.
"I feel like walking. Wanna come with me?" Seeing his bloody side, I say. "Fine, but I'm coming only out of worry." Getting a small chuckle out of him he throws his blanket over Ella.
"Let's go then." Walking out of the room, we walk across the hall.
"You're a good man, Ken. At first, I had doubts in my heart about you being able to take care of Ella, but seeing you back there. Prioritizing her over many other civilians. I know you will protect her even at the cost of other people's lives."
Bumping into a doctor, he smiles. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you." With his slight gray hair, the doctor just smiles and says it's fine.
"I didn't know you had an eyesight problem." Clicking his tongue, he shows me the doctor's keys. "Eyesight problem? Mate, I was just borrowing shit. So where do you want to go?" Looking at the setting sun, I reply. "The roof, we could watch the sunset."
Getting a nod from him, I start to worry as I see his side drip. "Shouldn't you rest?"
Waving me off, he smiled. "I once charged into an enemy trench with a broken leg. This is nothing compared to it." Not sure if he was joking or telling the truth due to his upbeat tone, I decided to ask.
"Was the war.... really that bad?" Stopping in his tracks, I could see his eyes stare off into the distance for a second. "Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"
"Nothing, just... if you've ever watched a sunrise from a rooftop?" Walking up the stairs, he thinks for a bit before saying.
"Yes, I was ten. It was before the war. My parents took me to the activation of the electric grid. These days you take it as a guarantee, but back then I lived my whole childhood without electricity."
Arriving at the roof door, he starts to try the different keys.
"Anyways, we were watching it from the roof of an old building." Opening the door, we saw the red sky of the setting sun. "This exact sunset was on that day."
Watching it fall behind the mountains, we look at the shining city. "Aquaria, the crown jewel of humanity. Do you know why the north is so well developed compared to the south?"
Shaking my head, he closes his eyes, remarking on the past.
"It was a great siege. The entire north side of Aquaria was bombed to the ground. They tried to break through the bridges to the south side of the capital, but.... Everyone, kids, men, and women out of furniture made walls on each of the three bridges when those were blown and the enemy tried to get through. We used our bodies as a living wall."
Holding his bloody side, he clenches his teeth. Taking a deep breath, he continues.
"Weapons were fired over the river but no land was given. I remember my father teaching me how to use a gun. I was seventeen when he taught me under the fire from the other side of the river."
Coughing in his hand, he cursed. "Forty fucking years before it ended. It began when I was twelve, yet ended when I was 52. What a joke!" Pushing himself from the railing he starts to go back.
"It's fucking cold, I'm going back in. Also, just a friendly reminder. You're acting a lot like Raven." Going back down the stairs, I tried to run after him only to be yanked back.
Looking at my hand, I see a shoelace tied around it.
"When did he..." Not having the time to think about that, I untie it and run after him, but now he's long gone. I thought that he would be back in the room, but instead, I just woke up Ella.
"Hmm? Ken? Ken! You're awake!" Jumping out of her chair, I open my arms for a hug. "Of course I am. It was just a scratch." Asking her if she saw her dad, she shakes her head.
"No? Isn't he in the bed?" Nodding my head, I tell her he ran off. "He what?!"
Chuckling a bit, we stop at a sudden knock at the door. "Don't want to be a bother Mr. Ken, but some of the people here are sleeping." With a green shoulder pad and ginger beard, I recognize him as the volunteer captain from the gate.
"You're Alexander right?" Smiling at me, he tells me to call him Alex.
"Okay, Alex, but what are you doing here? Aren't you guarding the gate or something?" Sitting down, I just noticed that large cast on his hand. Not to mention the obvious shoulder strap.
"No, I got promoted. With more and more law enforcement leaving the South, it's officially starting to be a volunteer job to keep peace down here. I was there when you fought those cultist bastards. Sadly me and my men were trapped outside unable to help."
Looking at the ground in shame, I shake my hands. "Please don't feel ashamed! You saved all the citizens who were trapped there with us!" Getting a sigh from him, his eyes lingered on the ground even more.
"2 children, that's all. The rest was massacred, and even 12 of my men were crippled to the point that they can't volunteer anymore. I wish you would have saved them." Suddenly taking a sharp deep breath, he smiles. "Sorry, Ken, I shouldn't make you feel any guilt. It was our responsibility once you brought the barrier down."
Standing up, he told me that if I needed anything to let him know, but if anything. My mind was a mess. Seeing him walk off, I waved him off before closing the bedroom door.
Sigh Sighing loudly, I feel Ella wrap me in a hug from behind. "It's fine, you did your best. If you weren't there we would have all died there. It's only because you cut the orb that we even survived."
Trying to comfort me with her words, I understand something Will said.
"You're acting a lot like Raven." If I didn't decide that I did enough. Would more people live? I still could have held the blade, but I made the decision to drop it... [Don't do what you don't have to.] Raven's words ring in my head, without even realizing it.
I was let astray by my master's teaching, my principles, and my ego..... Was shattered.
"If I.... didn't acted like Raven..... those people wouldn't have died."