I'm dying…
The boy's first thought was bitter yet an irrefutable truth. The sisters of fate had drawn his thread, he could feel his blood cool in his veins, his heart whispering its last.
Please… I don't want to die
He was too weak to open his eyes but he knew that opening them wouldn't offer any solace. In truth it was a sort of sadistic grace, a world so twisted and even more corrupt was all that surrounded him. In a bed knitted of his own blood he laid among ancient ruins, remains of pillars and marbles with overgrown moss, defaced and amputated statues of people that didn't matter anymore. Only ruins left of a temple that was meant to stand for eternity.
The trees that enclosed these remains were so twisted and mangled like the nutrients from the earth were poisoned, some were so deformed that they could be mistaken for a crying face. The leaves it produced were many shades of black and purple and red. And looking down on him like an evil god was a sky of ash, an armada of misery laughing at his pitiful existence.
With not a single glimpse of hope to grasp on, there was all the reason to let go.
Yet… for reasons unbeknownst to him his heart kept defying death, every beat felt like a prolonged death sentence force to agonise even more, suffering like a criminal who killed a King.
Why… why is this happening to me?
Murmurs and growls could be heard within the dense forest and now the citizens of this purgatory had taken notice of the boy. Drawn by the sweet scent of blood, human blood that had disappeared from this island centuries ago. Three glowing rubies protruded from the shadows, a beast as tall as a wolf with crimson fur, the muzzle of a Rottweiler and three sets of eyes red with blood. Then two more showed their salivated fangs.
Still barely conscious, the boy heard the predators closing in on him. The monstrous creatures barked wildly as if to celebrate their meal then at once they ran at him.
For a split second the boy felt relieved that his torment was coming to an end, finally he could rest and the pain would fade. However, facing death in it's bloodshot pupils the boy opened his eyes, gritted his teeth, his sheer will gave life to his numb arms and feet then he started crawling.
The cold cobblestones scrapping at his open wounds and the rushing wind cutting at his side couldn't stop him. His body was small, maybe less than ten years old and in this state anything could kill him. Something immeasurably more powerful was stirring him fordward, fear. This primal force in his heart wasn't caused by the dogs just inches away from tearing his flesh, the boy had realised something as he saw his end approaching.
He didn't know who he was, no idea where he was, there was not a single proof of his existence anywhere in his mind.
No… I won't die like this… I haven't even been given the chance to live! My heart won't let me! It's still beating in my chest! This means I exist!
The leader of the pack, the most imposing of the three pounced on him, sinking its sharp teeth into his leg, swung him in the air to finish him off and with everything left in him the boy said his first words.
"HELP ME."
He hoped it would be a scream, a bellow so loud and fierce it could be heard from across the island but it was an insignificant whisper in the wind.
Nevertheless his plea was answered.
A flash of steel and the monsters decapitated head flew in the air, crashing listlessly. The boy fell into the arms of a man, he was tall and his head was hidden behind a raven black hood but something else was making his face totally indescribable.
The two other dogs froze where they stood, their eyes once filled with hunger were now blank with despair. The sight of this man caused them to shake and wince like new born babes. That primal fear was now theirs to bear.
"Hey kid. I know you're tired but don't fall asleep or you'll die. This won't take long at all and then we'll go to get your wounds treated."
Just as his tempered tone indicated, he spoke the truth. He rose his sword, a feint ghostly black aura emitted and a simple horizontal slash cut right through the monsters' tough musculature.
Through the boy's eyes his movements were slow, so he didn't understand how all three of these visions of hell succumbed so easily. There was no strength in his movements but they die like death itself had fallen on them.
The boy had no time to grasp what had just happened, around him a black mist was forming blurring everything. Everything went black for a moment and then as the ink fog lifted, the boy was looking at the inside of a cave.
The cave was lit by a single mikeshift candle probably a combination of bone marrow and other parts of whatever roamed this accursed land. Next to the candle was a bed made of monster hide and that was it. Nothing else, just a place to rest.
The second they arrived he gently placed the boy on his bend and extended his arms summoning the somber mist, wrapping it around the rivers of scars over the child's dying body. Unfortunately, the boy had failed to keep his promise and had already passed out.
In a last ditch effort, the man persisted by wrapping the wounds in bandages soaked in medicinal herb which conjured out of the dark mist and laid his cloak on top of the boy to chase away the cold. He lit all the wax he had and surrounded the boy.
"sigh… What am I even doing? This kid is past beyond saving… I was too late."
He sat next to the boy, covering his lamenting face. As the hours past by and all the candles wasted, the boy still showed no signs of waking up and his pulse was fading. The man uncovered his face and drew a dagger out of his mist, his cold silver eyes didn't show it but he hoped to bring mercy to this abandoned child by putting an end to his struggle, a precise cut at it jugular would send him off peacefully. He aimed yet his arm froze in place.
He put the knife away and slept next to the boy.
"Maybe… just maybe…"
After all his heart was still beating.