The afterglow of the afternoon sun. Its light depicted the hue of impending dusk - reflected by the ocean currents waving through the horizon. The lull of the afternoon ensued. Winds came by and whispered secrets in the air from time to time. Those things made an awe-inspiring scenery in the distance - a dance between the azure depths of the sea and the golden clouds floating in the sky.
Back at the edge of the treeline where the encounter between Leif's group and the goblins happened.
Blood continuously dripped at the tip of Leif's dagger. Milena swayed with vibrance in his other hand. A green treasure and a bloodied blade. Both were a menace on the battlefield.
Shiva stood still in the distance. Tired. His breath heavily echoed around him. Gasping for air, yearning for strength. What once the pile of daggers beneath him was gone. After all, they're now resting in peace, planted on some goblin's torso or head.
The hobgoblin revenant lost its tree-like appearance with all of the blood sprayed around its rough bark-like skin. Now, it was more of a death machine. Surrounded by mutilated, if not, severed pieces of goblin body parts, it stood there silently. Its eyes still flashed the green life out of it. It stared blankly into the distant woods, waiting for more "blood" to come. What once given life, now brings death to those who approached it.
Leif, as he collected enough strength to move, went back towards Shiva. As he walked, the revenant also moved in sync with its creator and followed him. The both of them left behind piles of corpses on the ground. The pool of blood and the number of corpses around polluted the air with the strong scent of blood, piss, and rotting flesh. It was unbearable - but not for the three who were still standing. They, after all, were the cause of everything that had happened.
Shiva noticed them approach him and for a moment locked his sight on Leif's eyes. They're yet again glowing. His wits could not comprehend if it was real or his exhausted mind was playing and dulling his senses of reality.
"That was... too much," Shiva commented. Leif looked at him back as he heard what he had said.
Affirmed, he talked back. "Yeah. But now... At least it's over."
*** Birth Of A New Order ***
"Do we still have rations?" Leif asked Shiva.
"We already ate the last food we stole from the dead guards yesterday. I'm afraid there's nothing left."
"Is that so..." Slumped on the ground, Leif gave in to the weakness on his knees. He slouched at the base of a palm tree near where Shiva stood. Shiva followed his example and comfortably sat on the ground near him.
"You liar. You said fifteen," Leif grumbled.
"I did say that it was more though."
"Mhmm... But I think the word 'more' cannot satisfy these numbers."
"Can't argue with that."
The two then enjoyed watching in silence the aftermath of the battle they victoriously won. A sigh of relief escaped the both of them.
"We conquered death, as you've said," said Shiva as he showed a bright, worn-out smile on his face.
"You looked like you've seen better days."
"Haha, true to that..."
A brief silence ensued between them. It was deafening, for their ears were used to the grumpy shouts and voices of the goblins they fought earlier.
"The first time I killed a goblin... no, a living thing... it made me so guilty. I can't breathe with how I watched it bleed behind... without even knowing I was the one who sent it to its death."
As Shiva started to talk, Leif stared at the ground and silently listened to his friend's testimony. Shiva continued to share his experience.
"That sense of guilt... It was there on the first, second... the third. But I lost it in the fourth. Still, I kept counting, five... Eight... Eleven. But the thrill of killing... It started to blind me... made me forget why I was counting. That death count... became a mere number in my head back then. For I started to... started to enjoy it."
Shiva looked at Leif, but he saw him remain still... and unsurprisingly silent. He then continued to open up about his experiences to Leif.
"When I got my consciousness back earlier, I remembered... that guilt. How ironic. Only after experiencing something close to death made me remember that death isn't something one should enjoy dealing with. It made me remember the pain - not of this injury... But the pain of living."
"Living..." Leif mumbled under his breath, echoing Shiva's words.
"I was once lost around these woods... Three months ago. I don't remember anything, neither my name nor where I came from. It's like I just happened to get here... Alive."
"..."
"Echidna. The woman who rescued me. When I told her my circumstances, she told me to live with her. Said she'd take care of me... she didn't even doubt me for a moment. I can't remember a thing about myself so the village was suspicious of me and was against her idea. But she insisted, saying she'll even adopt me if that's what it takes."
"..."
"I did think that she's crazy too, with her selflessness and all... But she was dead serious with it. In the end, they accepted the idea so I lived with her. She... was not the reliable mother everyone had, always messing up the house chores and stuff. But she was a perfect mother figure for me. For days, she taught me a whole lot of new things. She gave me my name. Most of all... I felt at home when she was around."
"Was...?" Leif suddenly asked.
"The new lord of Grande took her when they came here two weeks ago. Old man Petro said they will imprison her there until we complete what they wanted us to find back there at the prison cave."
"What did they want you to do there?"
"They wanted us to dig for a certain thing inside the cave. They only told old man Petro about it, so I didn't know what it was. They held the other men by their necks as they threatened to harm their families back at the village if they disobeyed. But when we didn't find what they wanted in a week, they imprisoned us there instead. We don't know when we will be released. But we waited for several days... until you came. Now, here we are."
As he showed signs of being intrigued, Leif looked at Shiva full of interest. "You never told me this before. But, why are they treating you badly like that when we first met?"
"I once happened to almost escape... But since I don't have a connection to the village other than Echidna, they settled down with beating me up instead."
"So the reason why you wanted to destroy that place was not just because they beat you up..."
"Yes... I want to completely drive them all out of here. I just want to live peacefully again... Continue that short three months of happiness I had with my... mother."
"I see..."
Again, silence filled the air between them as they halted their conversation for a moment. Shiva again continued to share what was on his mind.
"But something changed inside of me after encountering you."
"What is?" asked Leif - his tone showed his curiosity as to what Shiva might mean.
"Back then at the fight, all I thought inside my head was that 'I need to survive'. When I saw you smile despite that circumstance, it gave me hope to continue fighting too. You know, struggle against these... pesky little devils. Hoping that we will survive... So I could meet Echidna again, even for one last time, and thank her for everything."
"What do you mean one last time? Wait, what? Are you dying on me now?" asked Leif, both bewildered and worried at what Shiva was saying.
"Stupid, I didn't mean it like that."
"What then?"
"I want to... accompany you on your journey - that's what I'm trying to say here."
Confused for a moment... and then shocked. What Shiva said surprised Leif at his very core.
"Woah-wait... But... I thought you just wanted to become strong so you can drive off these threats around you?" he asked Shiva.
"Yes, but the time I spent learning from you, exploring things, fighting for life - yeah... Everything of it was a whole new experience for me. It made me change my mind and gave me a reason to explore the whole world... You're going to become a millennium sage, or something right? That means you're going to explore the whole land to find what you're looking for, right? Then that's enough reason for me to accompany you. Who knows I may even find out one day who I truly am before I met Echidna."
"Well, I'm not playing some kind of noble adventure here too... If I'm getting imprisoned just because of my goal and inspiration, then I might walk the path of an outlaw just to achieve it... So if you follow me... Then you're just endangering yourself, don't you think?" explained Leif, proving his point at Shiva's sudden proposal of allegiance.
"Yeah, an outlaw who's freedom knows no bounds. Isn't that exciting?"
"No... I uhh... am worried. You almost died earlier after all, and here I promised that I wouldn't get you harmed as I trained you."
"What are getting worried about all of a sudden? When you were the one who's done more reckless things that endangered me at first? Didn't you already invite me as one of your accomplices back at the cave? You're just contradicting yourself now..."
Defeated, Leif couldn't utter another word to say something back. Truth be told, he wasn't just used to depend on someone else - like how he was supported at the start of the battle earlier. He was used to doing everything solo at his convenience back at the mountain he grew up with.
He was expecting that Shiva would leave him behind eventually when he finished helping him drive off the goblins and taught him a few tricks in combat. He wasn't prepared for this kind of development.
"What happened to me earlier was just unfortunate. It wasn't your fault, to begin with, Leif. Besides, you'll need a grand group to achieve your grand goal, isn't that right?" As Shiva told him those words, something heavy was lifted off Leif's back - something that gave him a refreshing feeling... A sense of reassurance.
"Echidna once told me that having someone by your side makes you a whole lot braver - a whole lot stronger. The old man Petro also said that some even form their alliances and orders to venture and find the great treasures of the land."
"You're emphasizing that old saying, 'No man is an island', right?"
"Exactly. Even how strong you are, you can't continue to do this thing alone, Leif. "
Leif, contemplating, stared hard at the distant horizon where the sky and the sea met. As seconds passed, he could feel that something was changing inside of him. The thing that his mind couldn't grasp earlier... slowly entered his heart without him knowing.
"I am entirely new to this kind of thing too... Having allies and all..."
"So, what do you think?"
"It's... not that bad. Not having to do all the work, having to depend on someone."
Leif looks back at him with those hopeful eyes he had. Brimming with expectations, he smiled from ear to ear as he conveyed his decision to Shiva.
"Let's make it happen then. Let's create one!
"A group?"
"Yeah, an order to be exact."
"It would be an honor if we will. But what would be the name of it?"
Upon asking, Leif immediately remembered the name of the flower he consumed back then at the prison. The flower that granted him the power to change his lone destiny.
"Let's name it..."
.
.
.
"Night Angler."