In a vast but dark and empty space with a thin layer of black fog filling the place, Louis lay on the ground in that inhospitable place.
"Louis... Lo... uis..." a deep and resonant voice mentioned, which seemed to vibrate within his mind, giving the sensation that his thoughts were being invaded.
Louis opened his eyes and got up from the ground, a bit disoriented by the place he was in, looking to see if there was anything more than just darkness. "What's happening?"
"Hello, Louis..." said a voice appearing behind him. It was very tall, and his eyes were completely red; he wore a black cloak, even darker than the place.
"You again... Who are you and what are you?!" Louis was confused by the place and began to distance himself from the dark being.
"Who am I? I... am you..." it replied, getting closer and taking Louis's same form and voice, but with a deep and resonant tone. Its eyes remained red, and its skin turned grayish.
"Impossible... This must be a dream," Louis thought, surprised to see himself.
"Well... yes, it is... but I am very real... hahahaha, after so much time, I can finally exist! Hahahaha!" it expressed with madness and a resonant laugh, full of mockery and perverse pleasure.
"You're crazy..." Louis said upon hearing its words.
"Yes! I am! Hahahaha!" A great amount of darkness captured Louis, and the dark being took its original form again.
"Damned, let me go!" Louis said, trying to escape, but the darkness surrounding him did not yield at all.
"Ha, ha... I'm crazy about killing and turning this kingdom into ashes... just like that day I was born... Do you remember it?!"
The images of that day... screams of suffering and the despair of the people... appeared all around the place as translucent memories.
"Stop, STOP!" Louis shouted upon seeing all that again.
"Aww, why? We've just started, is that all you can handle?!" it expressed mockingly.
"What the hell are you? And where did you come from?" Louis said desperately, trying to escape.
"Me? I am you! Are you listening? I am Louis! But... I was born that day, the best day of my life so far! Hahahahaha. I never had the chance to exist! I just watched what you decided..." it expressed with madness and remorse.
"You looked like a fool, doing everything that man told you, when you were stronger than him!" it shouted angrily in Louis's face.
"Hehe, you're crazy! If you say that... it shows you didn't see everything," Louis said, mocking its words.
"Of course not... By following that guy's orders, I disappeared, but now... I've returned. I'm not sure why," it said, walking around Louis. "But... now I'll take advantage of the fact that I really exist!... I'll go deeper, where you hide your greatest pain. Maybe then you'll accept what you are! And I'll be able to take the reins. Hahahaha, HAHAHAHA!" it shouted with madness as it approached Louis and pierced his forehead.
"No! NO!" Louis said, resisting.
"Yes... Remember that day our father died... that exact moment," it said while smiling and taking Louis's form again.
"Noooo! Leave me... ALONE!" Louis screamed, making his eyes glow intensely. The vast amount of darkness surrounding him exploded, and the whole place filled with blue and red lava.
"Interesting... Hahahaha! Don't think I'll disappear with this," the dark being was amazed to see Louis's power after being pushed by the explosion.
In the real world, the blue necklace on Louis's chest shone brightly, and he sweated from his face, gripping the bed sheets.
"Come on, show me more...!" the dark being shouted while resisting the great amount of lava around it.
The lava turned violet and yellow, and the whole place was completely filled with it while Louis remained surrounded by lava, and his face became covered with violet and blue tattoos.
"Yes... Yessss!" it said with satisfaction while its body crumbled into small pieces of rock like charcoal.
Louis, seeing the dark being's madness and realizing how the place was, began to absorb all the lava again.
"Huh? What are you doing, damn it? No, this isn't over!" it shouted upon seeing Louis absorb all the lava.
Louis continued absorbing the lava, making his tattoos disappear from his face, and the darkness once again filled the place. Once he finished absorbing everything, a great explosion of blue, violet, red, and yellow light made the darkness disappear.
"Damned! Hehe, you still won't get rid of me," it shouted while smiling, seeing the great amount of light coming toward it.
The necklace stopped glowing, and Louis suddenly woke up, breathing heavily, touching his chest and looking at his necklace. "What... was that?" he said while observing his necklace and then looking around the room, which was completely different from the one he knew. Louis was only wearing his blue shirt and dark blue pants. He noticed the complete silence in the place and saw his katana on a piece of furniture; then he noticed that the window to his right had a blue layer. The door to his room was opened by Hanks, and upon seeing him awake, he quickly went to inform Professor Maxwell.
Louis got up and put on his black boots. He was curious and tried to touch the blue layer; his hand passed through it, and nothing happened, but then the layer disappeared, and the Professor entered the room with Hanks behind him.
"Thank God you woke up, are you feeling okay? Everything alright?" the Professor said, approaching and asking with concern, examining Louis from head to toe and even pulling his cheeks.
"I'm fine... Professor, what happened? And where are we? Huh! The guy with white hair? Where is he?" Louis asked, a bit agitated, remembering his last fight.
"Everything is fine, it's all been solved, and we're in our new home. Yeynos won't find us here again. I'm sorry for getting you involved in this, Louis. I never thought he would show up..." the Professor replied, trying to calm Louis down.
"It's okay, Professor... I'm a paladin, and I must fulfill my responsibility in any kingdom. My master told me that I should always help, but... this time I didn't help at all... They stole his piece, didn't they?" Louis's words were filled with a giant guilt for failing.
"Sigh... I'm sorry to put this weight on your shoulders, but you shouldn't feel guilty... A mission or an object is no more important than your life," the Professor understood Louis's words, feeling his guilt as if it were his own. Louis remained silent and turned his back on the Professor, reflecting on what he had said.
"Putting that topic aside... I want to talk about your wounds, Louis. You're half-human, right? Yesterday, when Hanks went to change your bandages, he found your wounds completely healed. I want you to understand that you have nothing to fear... but I need you to tell me what you really are. I'm the only one who will support you. Mei won't either." The professor's words were clear and firm, leaving a sense of gravity in the air.
"I... I'm a half-demon human... nothing more, professor. I'm sorry for not being more honest with you..." Louis replied, with a slight stiffness in his voice. A shadow of conflict appeared in his gaze, a sense of duty towards the professor, tainted by the burden of not having been entirely truthful.
"Alright, Hanks brings..." Understanding Louis, the professor was about to order Hanks to do something, but was interrupted.
"I think, to avoid causing trouble, it's best if I leave," Louis said, with a determined and serious look, taking his katana and leaving through the window.
"Louis! Wait!" The professor watched as Louis ran down the sidewalk with his katana in hand.
"It's for the best... I've always been a burden... Not even my own kingdom wants me there, why would this one?" Louis thought as he continued running eastward; people were looking at him running, apparently recognizing him.
Louis kept running, and for a moment, he lowered his gaze when he saw everything was clear. "My stuff was left back there... What will I do?" he thought, then looked up just as a car started to come out of a house and hit him, causing him to fall to the ground. He didn't get up; he just stayed looking at the sky with his arms outstretched as people stared at him and began to talk.
"Are you okay, kid? You should watch where you're going, huh? You... You're Alahead's paladin," the man in the car said, recognizing Louis by his eyes and red hair.
"How do you know that?" Louis asked as he stood up, surprised.
"Please! Ystir has the best journalists, they notice everything!" The man was so excited that he even got out of his car.
"Journalists...?" Louis whispered, confused.
"Yes, journalists, sir," the man said in a moderately high-pitched, rhythmic voice. He was a man with cream-colored hair, wearing a cream-colored suit, and had a mustache; his eyes were a bright brown. "Sorry you ran into my car... No, wait... Good thing you did!" he said excitedly, realizing something, and Louis was surprised by what he said. "Don't you want to come to my clothing store? Of course, you do! You must be interested!"
"Wait, sir..." Louis said, trying to say something.
"Don't worry, my store is the best! Let me take your katana, I'll put it here." The man insisted so much and even pushed Louis into his store.
"Weren't the clothing stores supposed to be in the south? Did I get lost?" Louis thought as he looked at the store. It had a counter in front of the entrance with a girl attending; there was a lot of clothing from left to right, and further inside, all kinds of footwear and stairs at the end of the hallway.
"Sweetheart! Come quickly, there's a very special customer! It's Paladin Louis! Yina, get your notebook to take his measurements," the man said excitedly as he searched for his measuring tape.
"Yes, father!" said a girl with brown hair and dark skin; her eyes were identical to her father's. She wore a white blouse with long, wide sleeves and golden details on the edges. The blouse design included golden embroidery near the neck and chest. Over it, she wore a deep blue sleeveless dress, cinched at the waist with a golden rope belt, which fell into two long loops in the front. The dress also had an additional emerald green cape at the bottom; she wore flat shoes that matched her outfit. A being in the shape of a boomerang floated on her shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir, I..."
"Oh, sorry... My manners. My name is Lowin, this is my daughter Yina and her rune companion, Ñin... And my wife, Lara, the best tailor in Ystir!" he said excitedly, passionately, and a bit nervously.
"Oh, don't exaggerate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Paladin Louis," said Lara, a little flushed, gently hitting Lowin.
"Likewise," Louis said, perplexed by the situation.
Lowin began taking measurements, mentioning them as Yina wrote them down in her notebook.
"I need to get out of here..." Louis thought as they measured his arm. "Mr. Lowin, I don't think your clothes will withstand my magic."
"That offends me a little, but don't worry! What? Do you have blue fire magic like Paladin Ribrin from the kingdom of Centarion? If so, my wife is prepared to make you the best clothes to withstand such magic," Lowin said a bit upset at first, then continued with excitement as he kept measuring his arm and then moved to measure his forearm.
"Oh, no..." Louis thought as he realized he couldn't leave.
"Tell me, what would you prefer me to make for you? Something similar to what you're wearing?" Lara asked while looking at Louis's clothes.
"(Well, my coat is probably damaged... I'll have to go back to get my things...) I'd like a blue coat with... I don't know how to describe it... it has triangular extensions around the chest that fold or something like that, I'm not sure."
"Fold? They must be lapels, for sure. Alright, what else?" Lara said, writing everything down after guessing what Louis wanted.
"I think that's it... Ah! Just with pockets inside, please, and no buttons; also some boots like these, but red," Louis replied while trying not to move so Lowin could finish taking the measurements.
The family finally finished noting the information, and Louis was free.
"Perfect, thank you very much, Mr. Louis, and don't worry, I'll make a great design for you. Can you give me your address so I can deliver everything?" Lowin asked, signaling his daughter to write down the address.
"Don't worry, I'll come pick it up... And how long will it take?" Louis asked, showing sadness on his face.
"Umm... By tomorrow afternoon. But, do you have something, sir? I notice you're sad... Did I say something?" Lowin asked, a little worried upon seeing Louis's expression.
"No... I... I feel like... I'm not good, and... that I shouldn't be in this kingdom... or any other." Louis's words resonated with them, who felt a warm sadness and guilt.
"But you're a paladin, you should be in a kingdom. You're a good person; you came to our kingdom to help us... I saw on the news you and a girl helping when the prisoners escaped from the palace," he said understandingly, feeling the sadness, guilt, and warmth that Louis's words conveyed.
"Maybe, but... I've failed, and I'm supposed to be strong... but really, I'm just a danger." He lowered his head, his words filled with deep sadness.
"Sir..."
"It's okay, thanks for everything, I'll pick up the clothes tomorrow," he said, taking his katana and leaving the place.
"Poor thing, he's so depressed," said Lara after Louis left.
"We'll make an amazing job to lift his spirits! I'll go right away and make the designs," said Lowin with determination, taking Lara's notebook and heading for the stairs at the end of the hall while his daughter and wife watched him.
"It seems people already know who I am... Or at least know part of what I am..." Louis thought as he continued walking.
The people watching him pass recognized him and talked about him. "Look, it's the paladin of Alahead," said an older woman upon recognizing him. "He's so handsome," another woman mentioned as she saw him. "He must have trained a lot to become a paladin," added another person. "His eyes are incredible," said a woman who walked past him. "He carries his katana; I hope I can use one someday," said a child. "Look at his arms, he must be very strong," commented a man. "He's just a kid," said an elderly woman. "Yeah, he looks too young to be a paladin."
"His eyes are strange," said a man, and someone else replied, "At least he's human," crossing his arms. "It's a bit boring that some paladins have the same magic," mentioned a boy standing next to a group of teenagers. "I wish I were a paladin," said one, and the other replied, "What are you talking about? It must be too much responsibility."
After a long walk, while listening to the murmurs of admiration and criticism around him, Louis reached the exit of the kingdom. The air felt different there, fresh and free. The eastern exit had, at first, a stone bridge with railings, and next to the kingdom wall, there were many carriages with different people.
"Hey! Paladin Louis!" shouted a man from afar in a carriage.
"Marti..." said Louis, recognizing him and stopping.
"How are you? Do you need me to take you somewhere?" he asked as he got out of his carriage and approached him.
"I'm... not well, and... I don't need to go anywhere," Louis replied hesitantly, wondering whether he should lie, but he didn't want to anymore.
Marti and Louis sat together on a bench to talk.
"Why do you feel bad? Did something happen?" he asked, feeling sorry for sensing his negativity.
"I've failed... I haven't completed my missions correctly... I let Professor Maxwell get hurt, I couldn't save those two men, I couldn't prevent the professor's piece from being stolen... I broke his bicycle." Louis' words were deep, filled with guilt, sadness, and regret. Tears began to fall from his face, sliding down his cheeks and falling to the ground with a soft sound.
"Hey, calm down, kid... It's normal to fail, you're not perfect, you're actually very young to be a paladin. You saved me... Me and the woman from the eastern harvest and her son; without you, we would have died," Marti expressed with understanding, patting his shoulder.
"I'm supposed to be different... I'm supposed to be strong, and now I'm... crying like a weakling," Louis said, hating himself, as the tears continued to fall.
"Crying doesn't make you weak... It makes you human. Can you imagine someone who doesn't cry? I don't know what that would be... Crying helps you release your emotions." Marti's words came with sincerity that resonated in the air, as if someone had told him that during a difficult time.
Marti's words managed to calm Louis; he wiped his tears and stood up. "Thank you..."
"I hope you can keep protecting people and become a great person," Marti said with a smile on his face.
"I will... 'he sighed' I feel better, but... this is strange... I don't feel like I want to cry or feel bad, but I still feel something negative," he said, noticing a strange sensation inside him.
"Here it is!" shouted a woman, pointing her hand at Louis; she seemed to have a holographic device.
Suddenly, a large group of people in suits arrived at the spot; they began shouting and running toward Louis. "Huh? Wait! Hold on! Aaaaah!"
The people started surrounding him and crushing him. "We have some questions!" shouted a man.
"Paladin Louis, tell me, do you wear contact lenses?" asked a woman.
"Ayy... I don't know what that is!" he replied, as they kept crushing him.
"Could you tell us why you decided to come here?" asked a tall man with a cap.
"I wanted to change my life!" he replied.
"Are you a spy?" asked a woman with blonde hair and glasses.
"Not at all!"
"Hey! You, nosy people! Move aside!" Marti shouted, trying to push them away.
"Do you think our kingdom is a great place?" asked a woman with short pink hair.
"How did you manage to become a paladin at such a young age?" asked another man with short hair styled to one side.
"Is it true that your red eye shines when you use your magic?" said a lady with orange hair.
"Please, calm down! Let me breathe!" he shouted.
Suddenly, someone fired at the ground, causing the crowd to panic and instantly move behind Louis.
"Huh?" said Louis, surprised.
"I see you became famous, thanks to that, we realized you were here," said a robotic voice.
"Kein!"
"And not just him... We're also here," "We!" said Jhin and Inock with robotic voices, standing next to Kein. The three wore metal armors that covered their entire bodies, even their faces; Kein's armor was black, Inock's was dark blue, and Jhin's was red.
"Now all three of you wear suits? You managed to escape, didn't you? What do you want now?" Louis said seriously, placing his katana at his waist.
"Please, isn't it obvious? Revenge!" said Kein, pulling a blade from his metallic arm and propelling himself with his boots.
End of the chapter
Note: next chapter on Wednesday