"This is… this is just an Inn?!"
The young leaders walked into this inn, absolutely dumbstruck by what they found. Wooden tables with wax candles lighting them, floorboards so pristine it was quite unnerving, and the people inside were all exotically dressed.
"I don't suppose any of you brought coins with you?" Lilac asked.
"No… I don't think the Mountain Lord anticipated us to be visiting a place like this…" Rei murmured, glancing around, "And, the guards that are supposed to be watching us in secret…"
"Bah! What does it matter?" Bōshi asked, "This is our collective first time beyond the forests, and even though we have all heard many things about it before, we should do something precious with it! The secret guards following us likely won't interfere in anything anyway."
Kyōji nodded, and so did Hinote.
"Well? Let's stay the night at least." Seiji said. But, before she went to the reception desk like the others, she noticed Shuku, with an unreadable expression on his face.
Those who were staying at the inn were disgusted by him, his partially deformed face and arm. Though Shuku's face had slightly healed by now, his arm caught most of the attention anyway.
"…Relax," Seiji whispered. However, she manipulated her voice, and it somehow managed to echo and resound in his head. Her voice had a relaxing effect, and Shuku, who was frozen from fear and anxiety, was gently pushed back into the actual moment.
The illusion of fear was shattered and Shuku persevered through. The reason why he was stuck in place was because this grandiose inner hall of the Inn reminded him of that.
It looked the same and felt the same too. The look on those decadent fellows who stayed at the Inn was the same as on Father when he stared upon his deformed, one-year-old self.
At that moment, it was like Father was staring down at him, and he could do nothing but stare back at his disgusted face. Those empty eyes of apathy, unfeeling and forever cold-blooded to all who were beneath him, only stared at him with one emotion.
Disgust.
•••
Shuku and Seiji arrived later after the others, and by then, they had sorted the rooms by the reception desk and entered them.
"Already?"
"Ah, you two are here now?" Nuru questioned, after hearing Shuku's voice in the halls.
"Seiji, you're in the room on the left, and Shuku, you're in the room opposite mine."
They both nodded and went into their respective rooms, and Shuku was surprised to see Lilac, who was already in her bed. Shuku was glad to see that there was another bed beside it.
"Ha…"
As Shuku relaxed into it, he realised that this was the most comfortable bed that he had ever been on.
"Comfortable, right?" Lilac asked.
"Yep," Shuku replied, "Very much so."
Then, there was silence, apart from the flickering of a candlelight. They didn't seem to have much to talk about.
"…"
"…."
A tense silence filled the air, only to be cut in half by Lilac's voice. The candlelight flickered quietly as she said,
"We are quite similar."
"Huh?"
"Our lives, I meant."
"What do you mean?"
"I used to be someone filled with pure hatred once too. I was once someone wronged my entire life. I just wanted to kill that specific somebody, and then myself afterwards, since I would have no reason to live after."
"…How do you know that's what I am?"
"Because you are someone who is like a demon, with how much hatred I can feel, running through your veins. I can feel your despondent soul, aching for vengeance, and the countless tears of blood that were shed by your darkened eyes, but I'm not sure if your siblings can see it too because they aren't uncomfortable around your presence."
"Or perhaps it's because we are all demons."
"…Hm. Even the scars you bear tell me something. I even see you managed to birth a Bloodmark out of that sheer hatred and fury, which is incredible, yet also horrible."
"…"
"…Sorry."
"But, I just want to ask you. Have you ever felt loved in your life?"
"…"
"…That's alright too. There's no need to answer such a question. But, I know that you are on a far different path than me, who ended up sacrificing her feelings for the sake of an Elden God."
"…I know."
"You know?"
"Yes. I know what you mean. And, truth be told, I don't know what love is. My future is bleak. My life is bleak. All that death that was at my hands, and for what reason? All that lies ahead of me is my karma, and the death that follows."
"No. That isn't all that there is. Your sister, Seiji, also knows that. Why do you think she is doing all of this?"
"All of what?"
"You needn't know. All that she is doing is eventually show you a way out, and to guide you. She has had such a plan since the day she learnt about you, and the fate you have bore."
"But, why? I mean nothing to her, she only sees me as a fool to twist and turn to her desires, just like my secondborn brother, that is just the way of things and that is why Father-"
"You are wrong. Do you only see blood as crimson water due to the amount that is already on your hands, or is it because your supposed father sees it as that too?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"You won't understand that saying until you see the world for yourself. But, for now, you should only persist with the current fate you lead. That's how I 'found' myself eventually."
"…"
The candlelight burnt out, and the room grew dark. Now, it was only Shuku with his thoughts.
If blood was truly thick at all, why did Father abandon him?
Why did he cast him away, as if he was no longer his son?
Why did he?…
His eyes watered, and he thought,
Is life meaningless? If there was a chance that Father accepted me, regardless of whether I succeeded or failed the ritual, what would be my purpose?
To become the next Oni? A fickle goal. To explore the world? What for?
"Why are we born? Why do we suffer?"
Unfortunately, Lilac couldn't answer his question for him, as she had already gone to sleep. But Shuku, desperately looking for an answer to his question, mumbled,
If life has no purpose, why do we dream? Why do we speak, why are we happy? We live, to enjoy and to be fulfilled. We live, to serve the purpose we have been given and we have given ourselves.
He had come to an answer instinctively as if this answer was written in his bones from the moment he was born. He had already known what it meant to live, and that meant he had to build his purpose.
"My purpose… my… purpose…."
But, before he could answer that question, he fell into a deep slumber. At that moment, the winds of change could be felt again, as fate and destiny unwound for this young man who was still a chap, merely affected by all the blood on his hands.
He had found his resolve, yet what can he do when he cannot find a purpose?