Even though the ground beneath Ani was rocky and uneven, she still didn't care as she used all her strength to approach Kali's motionless body.
"Kali!!"
"Boriat, stop her, she's seriously gonna harm herself!" Arthur looked at the giant man next to him. However, the latter didn't speak at all as he simply sat there, heaving up and down with great force. He was barely able to stay awake.
"No… Ani won't listen. If… one of us gets harmed… She's the most to worry… She won't calm down at all unless she's certain Kali is fine." He replied with a complicated tone.
"Huh?" Arthur blinked in surprise before he turned to stare at Ani again with a changed light. Her struggle to reach her friend was all out of deep worry and care. She didn't even care if her fingers were bleeding or if she was on the verge of losing consciousness because of exhaustion.
"Why?" He eventually asked.
"Because we're her only family." He said.
Ani was an orphan that was abandoned by her parents in front of an institute. An old teacher working there found her and took her in. He raised her, fed her and taught her everything he knew and everything he learned across his entire career.
Ani was naturally talented in the ways of magic so when she started learning it, she was completely fascinated by it. That made her completely engrossed in it. She spent her days inside her foster father's library, reading countless books for hours and hours non-stop.
She never left that place unless it was absolutely necessary. She didn't even spare a few hours to spend with her father and instead completely lived in her own world, far away from reality.
'I want to learn everything that comes with magic!' She always told herself. Magic was so pure and beautiful. It was far more interesting than anything else around her. That firm belief made her completely lose interest in anything apart from magic.
So, for a few years, she lived that life, carefreely. However, all of that stopped when she one day left her library to check on her foster father since he didn't contact her in a while. He usually would visit her himself every now and then to check on her. Granted, she didn't like talking that much so their conversations would end in a few minutes but she still at least considered him a close person to her.
When she reached his home and entered inside, she was hit with a strong smell. A small so powerful that it immediately repulsed her.
"What the hell is this smell?!" Ani murmured as she closed her knows and called for her father. However, no answer came.
"Huh? He doesn't usually leave his house, does he?" She murmured to herself.
In reality, apart from the fact that he was now retired and lives alone in the city, she basically knew nothing else about his situation. Mainly because she never bothered to even ask about him.
As she walked through the house, searching for her father, she noticed that the house was a mess. There were no washed dishes, dust covered every area and the walls were starting to peel off because of humidity. It was as if this house was abandoned for a long time.
"What happened here?" She asked.
After searching around the house, she found herself standing in front of her father's bedroom. Opening the door slowly, the smell finally hit her stronger than ever which made her instantly realize that it originated from this room. The sound of the creaking door finally stopped as it fully parted open, revealing a sight that shocked Ani to the core.
On the bed laid her father and around him were countless flies and insects. His body was half eaten from the inside and outside and his flesh had long started rotting. The smell that emanated from him was that of a rotting body.
Ani stood there, unable to even process a thought for a good while before she finally blinked again. She didn't know when but tears were already welling in her eyes.
"I'm sorry…" She murmured.
Memories of every word her father told her whenever he visited her. 'Take care of yourself, Ani', 'Please eat well' 'Don't forget to come visit me from time to time when you can'. Every single time, she would brush it off with a smile.
After all, why wouldn't she smile when he was smiling towards her too as he said those words? Never did she realize that that smile was filled with hidden pain. Yet, her father never blamed her for her actions and simply gave her the same affection he did when she first arrived at his doorsteps.
"I'm sorry…" She murmured again as she stopped in front of her father's dead body. Her fingers were tightly digging into her palm as she felt the sheer loneliness her father must've felt. He had been alone for a very long time, after his wife died and his son also died, he didn't marry again and spent his time focused on his work.
However, that all changed when he found Ani, he decided to finally take care of her and detach himself from his job. Perhaps he saw in her what he yearned for or perhaps he felt pity. Either way, he ended up retiring from his job and spent his time raising Ani.
When she left his house completely, he was left alone. An old, wrinkled man needed to take care of himself which ended up being a really bad mistake. How did he cook or do his own chores alone? How did he live in such a dumpster of a house?
The more she questioned herself about all of that, the more pain Ani felt. Her heart was starting to break apart piece by piece and finally for the first time in her entire life, she felt regret. A profound regret that pierced her very soul.
She didn't even know what to do at that point. Could she even cry? Or even ask for forgiveness? She had abandoned her father and threw him away even though he took care of her. She didn't even bury his corpse properly when he died and let him rot on his own bed, alone in his own house.
"That's what I heard happened. She never forgiven herself for what happened. In fact, every time we're in danger, she will be the most worried out of us, not for herself, but for the rest of the party." Boriat explained.
Arthur listened quietly as he watched Ani. He didn't know how to feel about this. That story was messed up on all levels. Even just listening to it wrenched his heart, let alone actually experiencing it first hand. It was safe to say that it traumatized Ani to a great degree.
That explained her deep care for the party, after losing her only family, she gained this group of friends that soon became her close family members. Perhaps she took an oath on herself never to let them de
As they were like that, Ani finally reached Kali's position. Since it was slightly far away, Boriat and Arthur couldn't see nor hear her, they had to wait anxiously.