Night had long fallen over the fortress, and the darkness seemed to weigh on Alaric like an oppressive shadow. His body, covered in cuts and bruises, ached with every step, but it was nothing compared to the mental exhaustion overwhelming him. After days of fighting, loss, and hard choices, one thought alone drove him: finding his friends.
Kimpa Vita had followed his instructions. While he sacrificed himself by fighting the guards and causing chaos, she had discreetly freed Kael, Lira, and her fiancé, Luther. They should be outside the fortress now, safe. But as Alaric approached that long-awaited moment, a strange anxiety gnawed at him. His heart pounded faster. The long-anticipated reunion was within reach, and yet, a shadow loomed over him.
Alaric crossed the last crumbling gates, his hands trembling with exhaustion, his breath shallow. He spotted them in the distance, a small group gathered at the edge of the forest, outside the dark walls of the fortress. Kael, Lira, Kimpa Vita, and Luther. They were there, alive. That was all that mattered... wasn't it?
Yet something in the air felt heavy. Alaric, weakened, struggled to keep his thoughts clear. Every step toward them felt increasingly difficult. It wasn't just the pain from his battered body. It was something else.
When he finally approached, Kael was the first to notice him. He widened his eyes, visibly surprised. Alaric smiled faintly, expecting a warm welcome, but Kael didn't move immediately. His gaze was perplexed, as if he didn't recognize him at first.
"…Alaric?" Kael murmured, incredulous, before a wide grin spread across his face. "It's you, isn't it?! You're alive!"
Alaric nodded weakly, his lips curving slightly. He felt relieved, happy to hear his friend's voice. But before he could say a word, Lira spoke. Her voice, usually soft and comforting, was cold, almost distant.
"Alaric?" She furrowed her brow, as if scrutinizing someone she barely recognized. "Is it really you?" she asked, suspicion lacing her voice.
Alaric froze. He had expected some surprise, of course. A year had passed since they had last seen each other, and he had changed greatly, both physically and mentally. His body had grown, his features had hardened, his strength had multiplied. But he hadn't anticipated this… this distance.
Lira stepped back slightly, as if reluctant to come too close. Her gaze was fixed on his injuries, his bloodied clothes, his face marked by recent battles. Her eyes were filled with doubt, as if she were searching for the young man she had once known.
Kael, however, didn't seem to dwell on those details. He rushed toward Alaric, embracing him with an energy Alaric no longer possessed. "We thought you'd never come back! I… I can't believe you survived all this!" he said with genuine relief.
But in return, Alaric felt only emptiness. He weakly hugged Kael, but his mind was already elsewhere. He was still looking at Lira, hoping to see some shift in her expression, something that would remind him of the camaraderie they once shared. But she remained frozen, arms crossed, her face stern. And the silence between them grew, widening like an invisible chasm.
"It's really him, Lira," Kael insisted, trying to break the tense atmosphere. "It's Alaric."
But she shook her head, as if that wasn't enough to dispel her unease. "It's not…," she hesitated, searching for the right words. "It's not really him, is it?"
Alaric felt a weight settle in his chest. He knew he had changed. He felt it with every sword strike, every decision he had been forced to make to survive. He wasn't the same as he had been a year ago, when they had all set out on this quest together. But hearing Lira say it out loud was like a cold dagger plunged into his heart.
Kimpa Vita, who had been watching from a distance, slowly approached. Luther, her fiancé, followed closely but stayed a step behind. Kimpa had seen this transformation in Alaric from the beginning. She had sensed it. And even Luther, though he didn't know Alaric personally, whispered to his wife:
"He's changed… He carries something dark inside him now. Like someone who's seen too many wars…"
Kimpa nodded. She knew it too. Alaric's aura was no longer that of a young man seeking adventure. It was that of a warrior marked by violence, by the need to kill to protect those he loved. A man who carried death with him.
Alaric, close enough to overhear their whispers, lowered his eyes. Every word, every glance he caught reminded him of a painful truth: he was no longer truly the man he had been. He had saved his friends, he had fulfilled his mission, but at what cost? Lira's gaze had become that of a stranger. Kael, even in his joy, couldn't understand what he had endured. And Kimpa, despite everything, seemed to be the only one who truly perceived what he was hiding beneath his exterior.
"So, what do we do now?" Kael asked, trying to inject some enthusiasm into the situation. But even he could feel the tension.
Alaric opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. He didn't know. Saving his friends had been his only focus for the past months, and now that it was done, all that was left was a hollow void in his mind. His voice seemed to have abandoned him, smothered by exhaustion and the weight of his choices.
Kimpa Vita moved a little closer, breaking the silence. "Alaric…" she said softly, trying to catch his attention. "What's the plan? We need to move quickly. Reinforcements are coming, and you need medical attention."
Alaric looked up at her, but his mind was foggy, as if her words were bouncing off an invisible wall. He couldn't think clearly anymore. His body was on the verge of collapse, and his mind wasn't much better.
"Alaric?" Kimpa Vita repeated, this time with more urgency. She could tell something was wrong. "I can heal you, but it will only delay the inevitable. You can't keep going like this."
But Alaric, lost in his thoughts, wasn't really hearing her. The dull pounding of his heart echoed in his ears, drowning out the reality around him. He had found his friends, but the euphoria he had expected wasn't there. There were only strange looks, whispers about how much he had changed. The gulf between him and his companions felt wider than ever.
Kimpa Vita gently placed a hand on his arm, pulling him slightly back to the present. "Alaric, we need to leave. Lira, Kael, and Luther are safe, but we have to move."
Alaric nodded slowly, but deep down, he knew something had broken that day. He was no longer the person they expected, and they were no longer the friends he had hoped to reunite with.
And as he walked with them, the persistent feeling of being a stranger among his own friends only grew stronger.