What's the point of being "good"? All it amounts to is living your life for others. The same people you saved yesterday will throw you away tomorrow without batting an eye. Is that evil? No. It's just the circle of life that's been spinning for eons. Only a fool gives his life for others—he becomes a pawn, forgotten like smoke. Vanity. The selfish live longer than the selfless. Truly, this world is survival of the fittest.
I'm drowning. I can't breathe, yet I feel calm as the darkness swallows me whole. The taste of seawater fills my lungs. A hand reaches out, and I mirror it. Then it's no longer seawater but the taste of snow.
A blizzard howls around me. My skin stings, the cold bites. A woman clothed in white stands ahead.
"We finally meet, Kael." Her voice is soft, but it cuts straight through the storm.
"Who are you?" I asked, though it felt like I was asking myself, sensing the strange fondness.
"I am the dark katana you wield."
I said nothing. The snow beat against me, sharp as nails. I didn't know if the shiver down my spine was mine or the blizzard's.
"As things stand, you can't win against him. And the evil spirit inside you—this place won't let it take over."
She paused and looked straight into my eyes.
"Your eyes are deep. They've seen too much… yet you're still blind." Her gaze drifted into the fog.
This is Zoro's wife. How am I talking to her? It's like when I spoke to my mom. Do they… share some hidden tie?
"I don't understand. You—"
"Hush, child. The time will come. Your mother was my sister. I can't let her son die here. Besides, you also freed my spirit from a seventy-year grudge. But to unlock my full power, we need a pact. Spirit and flesh."
She was suddenly right in front of me, her hand clutching my chest. The blizzard ripped away, everything falling into black. My body was shadow now—transparent, except for the heart pulsing like fire. She still wore white.
"Mikhail, do you agree?" She was already fading.
I wanted to ask a thousand things, but time wasn't mine anymore. My katana felt heavy, alive, begging.
Why am I shaking? If I die now, what is there to lose? I'm tired of this world. So why should I fight even on the brink of death? They'll survive without me. They're all so strong. If I were reincarnated, I'd want to be a bird.
I stabbed my own heart.
The black katana turned red, painted with my blood.
"Now rise, young warrior," she said, vanishing like a scene from a fantasy novel. The world warped, and suddenly I was back in reality.
My heart burned. I frantically tore off my shirt as I cried out.
A dark flame enveloped me; veins spread from my heart throughout my body. My eyes changed.
Monsters from the tomb swarmed around me. I couldn't move. Their shadows stretched over mine. But their heads fell.
"I think we came in time," a voice said.
"Of course not, you idiot. Can't you see they're at the brink of death?" Emma slapped Fin on the head.
"Kaein is on his way. The best we can do is retreat," Tom said, looking down at me.
I knelt and vomited the poison from my body. I felt like a ghost—numb, detached, untouched by emotion. Was this the price? I didn't die. I sighed.
"Hey, kid, are you okay? Let me heal you," Emma asked.
I walked toward Rebecca and placed my hand on her chest. The poison ceased—or at least it stopped affecting her.
I remembered what Bill said before stabbing me:
"Make yourselves at home. I can't entertain you at the moment, but maybe if it fits my schedule, I'll come back."
With a cold glance, I looked at Tom. "Retreat is not an option. The show must go on."
I placed my katana on Blaze's frozen body. The ice reversed, returning him to normal. He almost punched me, still furious from before he was frozen.
Blaze crouched and punched the ground as if it were the one who defeated him.
"Blaze, stop," Emma pleaded.
He paused. Without looking at me, he said, "Kael… I have a selfish desire."
"Yeah?" I replied.
"In his eyes, I saw Bill crying, chained in his realm. I don't care what it takes, but right now… I want to… I—I want to," he stammered, anger boiling within him.
"I want to kill that bastard. So… will you put your life on the line for my selfish desire?"
The gate back home was open. I was tired—not just physically, but deep in a way flesh couldn't heal.
"As long as you let me have his head," I replied.
"Hey, don't forget about us too!" David shouted angrily.
The other two laughed.
"Leave these monsters to us," Emma said.
"If we clear this place before Kaein arrives, we might just get a raise… which means more booze!" Tom grinned.
Akkad walked lazily through the pyramid, searching for a key. He passed the tombs of his past warriors and saluted them.
He didn't know why that devil gave him this vessel, but he knew he had to find the key sealed in this place.
It had the power to open the gate of both heaven and hell. But he wanted to use it to open the gate to the spirit realm—
to free his warriors and ancestors, to release his true body, so they might dominate the world rightfully as the top of the food chain.
The pyramid did not resist, for it was one with him. He finally found the key. It looked sophisticated, yet marvelous.
He reached out his hand to grab it, but a spear ripped it to shreds. He turned and saw Blaze, who had thrown it.
He sensed my presence behind him. Instinctively, Akkad's tail lashed for my head, but it struck nothing but air.
I appeared in front of him. He swung, but I vanished. His tail crashed down, and my sword was at his neck. He hardened it in time before I could take his head.
He leapt above me and felt something he hadn't in years: fear.
Heat descended from above. He looked up and saw Blaze shining as bright as the sun.
"Remember this attack, Bill!" Blaze roared, reminding him of the day they once fought.
"Flame Dragon—Ancalagon!"
The attack came now more fearsome and strong. The whole pyramid shook under its impact, the floor glowing red with heat.
What did they use to make this place? I wondered, marveling at its durability.
Blaze stood beside me, his light cutting into my darkness. We fist-bumped each other.
"Thank you, for helping me set my brother free," Blaze said.
"Are we free?" I asked, almost to myself.
"No. Your fate is already set in stone." It wasn't Blaze who answered.
The ground erupted. The man who once resembled Bill was now fully mutated. His shadow almost overwhelmed Blaze's light.
His red eyes burned with fury, yet even then, he managed to smile.
"You have my full attention."
Note : the next chapter is a flashback