'How unfair...'
"Unfair..."
As Hayden staggered back to avoid the hero's attack, he thought, 'Even my last words are lame,' and fell down the cliff.
As he fell off the cliff, bloodied and broken, he expected death to claim him.
Yet, against all odds, Hayden woke up—alive. The pain was excruciating, but survival instincts kicked in. He had faced wars, noble intrigues, and countless assassination attempts. This wouldn't be how he met his end.
"Ugh- What I-I am still alive!" Hayden exclaimed, drenched in blood. He was suffering severe blood loss.
"Why?!" Hayden cried out, addressing the absent emperor. "I sacrificed everything for you!"
But silence greeted him. No hero, no emperor. Only the harsh reality of survival and the fact that he was abandoned.
'I had another chance to live so I won't try to please anyone! I will only fight for my good!'
And then, a voice—a deep, resonant voice that seemed to come from the very earth itself.
"Why are you crying?"
"Who!?" Hayden surveyed his surroundings in an attempt to identify the voice's origin.
"Be strong and fight."
"Fight?" was Hayden's thought as he continued searching for the person speaking to him.
Hayden scanned his surroundings, bewildered. There with all his strength, an adult male lion stood before him, its golden eyes fixed on him. The lion's presence was terrifying
'Did the lion speak? Is It someone from the lion race or Is It just a regular lion?'
Roar
'Why does It sound so angry?!'
"Hey, let's talk about it, okay? Good lion, good lion, stand there and be a good lion."
'He must have smelled the blood.' Hayden thought. Lion took a step closer to Hayden, forcing him to back away.
'I survived lots of wars, the almighty hero's sword, falling from a cliff, the emperor's cruelty, all those stupid nobles, and thousands of attempted assassinations and this will be how I will die? What a joke!'
With a raised claw and an open mouth that displayed its razor-sharp fangs, the lion lunged at Hayden.
"This is not how I will die!"Hayden threw himself backward onto the ground, avoiding the lion's blow.
'I need to find something to distract the lion, like a rock or a stick.' Hayden thought hastily.
A thump was heard as the lion's claw hit the ground. Hayden reacted swiftly as he grabbed rocks from the ground and threw them at the lion.
'This should at least hurt him a bit. Since I am a skilled soldier, anything I throw ought to feel heavier than normal.'
Growl
'I think I infuriated him even more.'
Hayden heard a shout: "Come here!" He glanced behind the lion and saw a young girl, maybe in late her teens. She was looking at him and making hand signs telling him to come to her. Hayden swiftly removed the weighted armor he wore, wishing taking It off would make him run faster because he was about to take the risk of his life.
It was "now or never," and Hayden took off sprinting. Hoping the lion won't have time to respond as he runs in the shape of a waning crescent moon. Fortunately, he was correct.
"Are you okay?" the young girl asked.
"Yes, thank you so much" Hayden responded. It was a first for him. If he was in the palace, he wouldn't even thank someone, let alone accept their help.
"There is a cabin over there. It is about 100 meters away"
"Are you not going to come?" Hayden enquired with a hint of worry. It sounded so real that It scared him. For someone often labeled as emotionless within the palace, this sudden display of concern felt oddly out of character.
"No."
"What If the lion-"
"I will distract It so don't worry."
Hayden wanted to protest, he wanted to say 'It can hurt you...' but when he saw the girl's eyes he decided against talking. The look in the girl's eyes was very familiar to him. It was just like the soldiers who weren't afraid of anything If It meant protecting their loved ones.
'You don't even know me...'
"Now go!" the girl shouted.
"Okay..." was the only word that was able to come out of Hayden's mouth.
'Maybe gods aren't so cruel. But It wasn't them who saved me so ... They are pieces of sh*t'