Holding it with both hands, I could tell just from the way his fingers gripped the long hilt, that this weapon wasn't just some random piece of gear you'd casually select as base equipment in your weapon slot.
In fact, he seemed very familiar with it, indicating that he had not been using this weapon for just a day or two, but was certainly well-acquainted with its weight, balance, and lethal range, like it was a natural extension of his own body.
The large scythe featured a handle of gleaming gold, its surface crisscrossed with delicate ancient patterns that looked like ancient characters, while the long, curved blade itself appeared to be split in two, for its upper half to be so deep black that it almost swallowed the light, while the lower half shimmered in a pure white that, by contrast, seemed almost unnaturally bright.
At the tip of the blade was an ornate, slightly curved Ankh cross, but it wasn't just some decorative thing, it surely had a deeper meaning, just like the mysterious engraved eye at the bottom of the cross, whose pupil, even from a distance, seemed to be staring at me.
This weapon had something majestic and otherworldly about it, it seemed like it didn't belong to this world. More like the world I originally came from. All the features of this weapon reminded me quite a bit of the ancient Egyptians, the time when the pharaohs lived and ruled.
Whoa… The thought slipped out before I knew it, as my attention wandered back and forth between the scythe and its owner.
Valentin was only a few steps away from me, and although the room was illuminated by the shimmering crystals—the vast majority of which turned out to be monsters—the light glowing on the ceiling and pulsing faintly within seemed to reflect particularly strongly on his face, making his golden eyes appear even more intense.
His eyes… were literally burning.
It wasn't just determination in them, but a fire that gave me the feeling this boy would be ready at any moment to throw himself into the thick of battle without a second's hesitation.
And before I could even say anything, his body tensed, and moments later he charged forward.
His boots scraped across the cave's gray stone floor, while his movements were surprisingly swift. And those fluent attacks, as the long scythe traced a wide arc through the air and its blade flew toward the first of the crystal monsters with a sharp hiss, astounded me.
These monsters looked like grotesque creatures made of living mineral in a variety of colors; their bodies consisted of angular crystal formations that crunched with every movement, while their limbs resembled sharp-edged spikes that could effortlessly pierce any careless attacker.
But Valentin didn't give them any chance to get close to him.
The long handle of his scythe allowed him to attack from a distance that made it impossible for the monsters to reach him immediately, and the moment the blade struck the first monster, its body shattered with a loud, sharp crack, as if someone has smashed a large glass sculpture with all their might.
Shards of crystal flew in all directions, reflecting the light of the cave and clattering to the ground.
Maybe I should get myself a scythe too, the thought popped into my head completely spontaneously as I watched Valentin fight.
Stop talking nonsense! Loli's voice rang out indignantly.
That's right! Don't abandon us, big brother! Violet's voice followed immediately afterward, just as offended.
I couldn't help but grin slightly to myself, because Loli and Violet were right. The two voices belonged to my swords—or rather, to their personalities, living within them as one of their two forms. And although their voices sounded childlike, I knew from the battles we'd fought together that their abilities were anything but harmless.
I chose them myself. I decided to fight alongside them! So I couldn't just ignore them just because I was momentarily impressed by Valentin's scythe.
Are you guys ready, Loli? Violet?
The question didn't just form in my mind; it seemed to travel through my arms, through my shoulders, all the way to my fingertips, which clenched tightly around the hilts of my two swords, while my gaze was fixed on the restlessly twitching crystal monsters before us, whose angular bodies glittered in the cold light like a thousand sharp mirrors reflecting every movement.
I'm always ready! Loli said energetically.
Me too! Violet chimed in.
Their voices echoed in my head, lively and full of an ambition that was almost contagious, while at the same time that familiar feeling spread through my body—that strange interplay of confidence and fighting spirit that always arose when we fought together.
Alright, I thought to myself, as I bent my knees slightly and shifted my weight forward, if Loli and Violet sounded so determined, then there was no reason for me to hesitate any longer.
The next moment, I pushed off the ground and took off running.
The stone floor of the cave vibrated slightly beneath my footsteps as my dark brown boots slid over small pieces of crystal that felt like loose pebbles under my soles, but my attention was entirely focused on the monsters, whose croaking sounds reminded me of the buzzing of a giant swarm of insects.
Before the first of these creatures had even fully raised its crystalline limbs, I swung my left blade and let a battle cry burst from my chest.
"HYAAAH!!!"
The scream echoed off the cave walls and mingled with the sharp clang of metal as my swords moved into action.
At that very moment, a crimson-red energy started to spread along the edges of both my swords, as if someone filled the blades with some kind of liquid light, and even before I realized how my body was moving, the Weapon Skill took control over my movements and forced my arms to perform a series of precise and rapid attacks that were far too fast for me to consciously control.
The first strike landed. The left blade pierced the monster's body, and before I could fully feel the resistance of the material, the creature already exploded with a loud, shrill noise.
My right blade followed closely behind, and the second strike cut like a flash of crimson light, while my legs automatically moved into a spinning motion that set up the next attack.
My right and left blades alternated in a rapid rhythm, leaving trails of crimson light streaking through the air as the attacks rained down on the crystal monsters like a storm.
Even today, one thing remained unclear to me. Understanding these magical-looking automated movements whenever I use one of these Weapon Skills. Whether with both swords at once, or with just one sword, or even a totally different weapon. At first glance, it looks like magic—though performed with a real weapon to attack an opponent in close combat, or with a bow and arrow from a distance. But then why would you even need wands or a staff, if you could use any other weapon in the same way?
It didn't seem to be that simple to find a suitable explanation for Weapon Skills in general. Whether it's a precise definition or how it differs from normal magic or my own skills, no one has been able to answer that for me yet. Anna once told me that she knows relatively little about this art or the use of glowing weapons, as she focused exclusively on her training as a mage. However, I was able to get one thing out of her.
The term
Of course, I also asked someone who had lived in this world since birth and trained with her weapon almost daily, which not only made her a 'legend' but also gave her the essential know-how…
All right, let's take the word 'know-how' and replace it with 'destructo-maniac' or 'combat psycho'… But I'm talking about the Golden Lioness, Elaine, who trained me for a while when the five of us were staying at the Heroes' estate in Almone.
Anyway, during our training, I asked her the same questions, but her answers… didn't bring me any further.
"What do you mean, 'What are Weapon Skills'?" Elaine said. "It's obvious—they're for whacking bad guys." When I heard her words, I looked at her with a confused and desperate expression, wondering if she was serious or if it was just a childish joke from that world, since she'd used the phrase 'whacking bad guys'.
No question, Elaine is an excellent warrior and she has taught me a lot when it comes to practical skills. But every now and then, she has her quirky side. Alicia thinks she might have been struck by her own lightning bolts, which shot out of her sword, and that's why she's a little off her rocker. But that's just her guess.
And yet, I would have liked some answers. Answers I could actually use. Questions upon questions have been bombarding me day after day ever since I stepped into this world. For example, how this world works. It's often crossed my mind that this world resembles a game or an anime—consider the use of magic, or especially the existence of a status window for us who got reincarnated. The style and layout of the menu, skills, and pop-up notifications are very similar to a game. Although I have to say that I haven't received any notifications in ages telling me I've unlocked a skill or anything like that. The first time in a long while was a message about receiving drop items, which I hadn't gotten yet, and before that, it was a few days before we completed a quest in that cave, just before I heard Loli's calls and made a contract with her.
Back then, to defeat the sandworm, I used Loli's sword form, Demon Tears, for the first time, in combination with the first weapon skill I'd ever learned in the One-Handed sword category: Dead End
To this day, I'll never forget the expressions on Monika and Anna's faces when they saw me magically summon a sword and slay the sandworm.
But when I looked away for just a moment, I saw the same look from the girls reflected on Valentin's face as well, when he saw my skill unleash twelve consecutive strikes and destroy five of those crystal monsters.
But suddenly, he also took out five monsters in a matter of seconds—but why was he in such a hurry? Is he perhaps a bit jealous? Hehe…
The crimson light effect on my blades faded again. The following second, we jumped back at the same time, our backs almost touching. We didn't look at each other, but rather focused on what was ahead of us.
"Only four left," I said to him.
"Two each?" he asked me.
"Agreed," I replied calmly.
A few words were enough for communication. Once, a teacher in middle-school showed us a documentary in class that explained how girls and women in general are more communicative than men. Apparently, this is due to social conditioning—that is, upbringing—which encourages them to talk about their feelings in order to nurture their relationships and show empathy. Furthermore, women are said to place a stronger emphasis on interpersonal relationships to build closeness and trust.
There are probably other reasons as well, though I dozed off halfway through and don't remember how it ended. In any case, based on the information I have, I can say that here, in this situation, there is no need for many words. Here, where we must fight for our lives so we can get out of here.
The midnight black, wavy blade of Demon Tears shimmered with a pulsating orange glow; as that pulsation turned into a steady radiance, I could only feel the distance between Valentin and me growing wider and wider as we simultaneously slew the remaining swarming crystal monsters—two each—with a single stroke.
Surrounded by the monsters' remains, which seemed to glisten in the light of the cave, I approached Valentin again, and he did the same. My swords vanished into thin air, as the battle was now over. Silently, we walked toward each other; our right hands rose slightly, whereupon the current silence was drowned out by a clap as we high-fived each other with our sweaty hands.
Although it had been a fairly quick fight, beads of sweat dripped from my face, which glowed with a big grin I couldn't hold back.
But I didn't seem to be the only one. Slightly, but only very slightly, I saw the corner of Valentin's mouth turn up a little.
That's odd. I'd already felt a strange sensation earlier when I heard his name. But I couldn't pinpoint the reason for that feeling, since so much of this still didn't make sense to me. To put that feeling aside, I had other thoughts on my mind, such as how or why I had been teleported to a snow-capped mountain and, first and foremost, what my exact location was.
I didn't have time to worry about any feelings.
But just now, when I felt that sensation again, I remembered that time back then. Back then, shortly after the incident, when I met Koji and Yorihiko, the same feeling washed over me, and we quickly became best friends.
Could this possibly be a sign that Valentin and I will become best friends too?
Lost in my thoughts, I felt a slight tremor beneath my shoes, which grew stronger and stronger.
Valentin and I turned around several times to figure out what was going on. But we didn't understand. The vibration grew stronger, almost like an earthquake, followed by thousands of different-sounding, overlapping screeches that surrounded us in a cloud of dust.
You've got to be kidding me… I thought to myself.
We already guessed what kind of creatures were hiding in the dust cloud, but when it cleared, we realized just how many of them were here and now. A few of them were still hanging on the walls, but they didn't move. Maybe they were still asleep, waiting for their moment to strike, or perhaps they weren't monsters at all.
But I could tell that the two of us were surrounded by roughly ninety percent of the remaining ones.
"What's this all about?! Why are there more?!"
"I count about forty of them," said Valentin, holding his scythe in a fighting stance. "I see. Almost all, or maybe even all the crystals are actually monsters. As if this place were a trap. But why? Am I maybe on the right path here?" he added muttering.
"What kind of nonsense are you blathering? We don't have time for this! We need to figure out fast how to defeat them all! Otherwise, we'll never get out of here—"
Unexpectedly, a new rumbling sounded from the side of the large chamber we were aiming for. The ground shook, more violently than before. The passage we thought was our way out began to crack all around the cave wall until it was finally shattered, and once again a cloud of dust obscured our vision.
What the—?!
Through the cloud, I saw a monstrously large shadow, almost as big as this room itself. In the center, a strange light burned—like fire, but not red, rather a bright blue. It was similar to the stone monsters I'd fought a few hours ago.
A leg emerged from the dust cloud, followed by the rest of the shadow, which turned out to be a gigantic monster made of stone.
A stone golem! But this one is maybe three, if not four times as big as the golems from before! Where on earth did it come from?
Suddenly, I heard a clanging sound. It vibrated in my ears as something fell to the ground, a metallic sound. I turned toward the sound and saw only the scythe with the golden handle, which Valentin had been holding in his hands just moments ago, now lying on the ground and vanishing into thin air shortly after. A similar effect occurred with my swords, Demon Tears and Little Rose, when I was certain the battle was over.
Next to it, in his strange-looking black robe, stood Valentin, his body trembling helplessly. His once ambitious and fiery golden eyes faded, his pupils shrank, his eyes widened, and he stared fixedly up at the large stone golem. His faint smile turned into a trembling sob of despair and fear.
"Valentin…" I wondered what was wrong with him. We'd only known each other for less than an hour, since I woke up, and yet he didn't seem like himself now. What on earth is going on here?
"What's wrong? Say something!" But I got no answer from him. He just kept staring at that golem, as if he recognized it from somewhere. At least, that's how it seemed to me when he began clutching his head with both hands, as if terrible memories were just coming back to him.
I knew that expression far too well. The fear, the despair, that time back then, in the past, when you lost something important in your life and, because of that loss, wander through the world despondent and sorrowful, or feel guilty because you couldn't save anyone. Just like me…
This golem must have something to do with his past; I was sure of it. However, if I fight the stone golem now, Valentin will be killed by the numerous crystal monsters. Due to his current condition, he's simply unable to fight! Even though we've made it this far, we have no choice but to retreat immediately! After all, our lives are on the line here!
To get past the crystal monsters, I didn't have any other choice but to jump over them. So I quickly grabbed Valentin under my arm and jumped up with all my strength, just as the crystal monsters were about to attack us, causing them to collide with each other.
Using a combination of my animal instincts and the Skill Physical-Boost, I hopped over the monsters until we reached the corridor we came from earlier.
But I didn't stop; I kept running, just in case the monsters were somehow following us. Fortunately, they weren't.
I ran about five hundred meters until I was sure we were safe for the time being.
I slowly came to a stop and carefully set the frightened boy down on the cold gray stone ground. His body immediately curled up, his hands returning to his head, his eyes staring into the void.
"Valentin…" I was a little worried. I know I said earlier in my mind that I couldn't stand him, but now isn't the right time for fooling around. For this moment, I should be friendly to him.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?"
Of course he wasn't okay at all, but to bring him back to his senses, I had to be able to talk to him. And just as I expected, he didn't answer my question.
No wonder. His mind is almost in another world. If he keeps this up, he'll be swallowed by the darkness. Wait… Wasn't that meant for me? I was on the verge of disappearing into the darkness forever, but I don't know how it is for him.
Never mind! None of that matters as long as I can somehow bring him to his senses. Even though I don't really like him, I'll try to help him. As a friend.
"Valentin. I know we just met, and I have no right to meddle in your past. But I can help you for sure."
"…" He still didn't answer. I cautiously reached out to place my left hand on his right shoulder to shake him awake, but then…
"Don't touch me!!" he shouted unexpectedly and swatted my hand away, then said, "You want to help me…? Don't fuck with me! You have no idea what happened that day. When that exact same golem attacked my village and crushed everything! Grandmother, my friends… everyone is gone! I was on my own most of the time! Try finding food in the cold winter, or find your way to the nearest village through deep snow when you have no idea where you even are. You have no idea what I had to go through to make it here alive! You know nothing!! So how do you expect to help me?! HUH?!" Valentin literally exploded with emotion.
"I… don't know anything?" I muttered. "Right. I don't know what happened to you that day when you lost everything that was important to you, or what you had to do to survive. …But don't you dare to think that you're the only one with a tragic story, you fucking idiot!!"
"Hh…?"
"Don't even think about making yourself look important just because you feel like you're the only one with a terrible past! Not just you, but also me and many other people—the things that were most important to us were taken from our lives! Whether it was in war, through natural disasters, through murder, or through natural death, each of us has our own story, and most of the time we had to move forward alone! And even if you have people around you who only talk to you because they supposedly care, or because they feel sorry for you, it's usually just an act! We will always be different from 'ordinary' people because we are not like them. But that doesn't have to turn into something negative! We can't turn back time to change what's already happened—that's a law of this world. But instead, you can do everything in your power to steer your future in a positive direction; that's all up to you. A wise man once said,
The fact that you've survived this far is a sign. A sign that, deep down, you haven't given up on fighting yet—precisely because you want to live. I'm not here to tell you what to do with your future, but while you have the chance, take advantage of it, okay?
All I can do for you right now is to listen to what's weighing on your mind. Maybe I can help you a little with that," I said, crossing my arms.
Valentin stared at me in disbelief. "… Listen…?" Valentin murmured weakly.
"As your friend, I can tell when you're down. And as your friend, I'll listen to you," I murmured, my left index finger scratching my slightly reddened cheek.
I'm not sure if I hit a nerve in his head or flipped some kind of switch, but unexpectedly, Valentin started crying. His eyes reddened, and salty tears streamed down his cheeks. He sobbed quietly, "D-Does that mean… you'll listen to me? No matter what I have to say?"
"Sure!" I said, sitting down on the big rock next to him, and Valentin began to talk about his past. Not just about his grandmother, his friends, or his first day at work, but also his connection to that giant stone golem, which was surely just waiting for us.
When I raised my voice at Valentin earlier, I suddenly wasn't one hundred percent myself. I didn't know him well enough to know anything about him. But his first appearance before we fought the monsters struck me as rather stubborn. He didn't say much at first and did everything on his own—at least he was the one who went into the depths of that mountain first, or when he wanted to go to the front lines to take on the crystal monsters.
But when he confronted me about not knowing anything, my calm vanished, and I couldn't help but put an end to that selfishness.
Sure, no question. Even if I'm repeating myself, I had no idea about him, nor about his past. But he shouldn't act like he's alone. I don't just mean that he isn't the only one with depression or psychological scars from a traumatic experience. But that, if he really wants to, he can find people he can trust—different from the ones I called 'ordanary'. Someone with whom he has a special connection. Just like I met Koji and Yorihiko, even though they were the ones who helped me out back then. Up until high school, we were practically inseparable; some guys from other classes even thought we were brothers or something like that. Well… At least that's how it felt to me…
But then that day came, and I never saw them again… And I regret it. Not just that I died, no—what I regret most is that I couldn't even say goodbye to them.
The other day, while I was trapped inside myself, I had a dream. A dream about my first day of my second year of high school. For some unknown reason, the day of my death played again in front of my eyes. I knew I wasn't myself at the time—or at least I thought all the events surrounding my rebirth were just a crazy dream—and in the end, I missed my last and only chance to say my goodbyes to them properly.
I guess Valentin feels the same way I do.
"I wonder if I would have felt the same strange way around Strain if I'd talked to him about everything back then. That feeling of relief."
"Sure. After all, you were best friends. …No, you still are. Even if we can no longer see those people with our own eyes, they live on within us as memories," I said, placing my clenched right hand on my chest. "Maybe that's one of the reasons why we focus too much on what happened in the past. It was the time when we saw our loved ones for the last time," I added.
"Yea…" Valentin nodded, looking slightly sad.
That's right, memories stay with you until you forget them on your own. However, if you had a strong bond with someone, it gets even harder to forget them—you still remember it well.
What was the bond actually like between my family and the other family members? I remember that my maternal grandparents were very kind to my mother, my sister, and me when they were still alive. At first, my other relatives were friendly to me too, but that changed as soon as my father murdered my mother and my sister and disappeared without a trace.
It rained nonstop on the day of the funeral. As the coffins containing the pieces of my mother and my older sister—put back together like a puzzle—were loaded into the hearses to be taken to the crematorium, I, who had just turned seven, stood at the entrance to the building where the funeral was being held. In my small hands, I held a picture of each of them, including the bracelet I had made myself and once given to my sister.
But of course, I wasn't alone there. Some friends and coworkers of my parents and my sister were there. And, of course, my uncles, aunts, and other distant relatives, whom I could already hear from a distance discussing not only the incident but also me.
"This is a tragedy. I still don't understand how that felon could have done something so terrible!" said Aunt Sachiko, who, had been taking me in temporarily since the day of the incident.
"I've always been against him," said Aunt Wakana.
"But which one of us is going to take little Yuuji in now? Will he stay with you, Sachiko?" Uncle Kazuyoshi asked in the meantime.
"That was only temporary! There's no way I'm taking in a murderer's child! You take him!"
"Huh? You know I can't take care of another child! What about you?" he objected, turning to Wakana.
″Forget it!″
After a while, everyone present disappeared, one by one, until I was finally left alone, still standing at the entrance in the rain. Aunt Sachiko and the others had either forgotten me or simply abandoned me like an animal, and I didn't move an bit.
That same evening, I was taken to an orphanage by police officers who had apparently been sent by my relatives, since no one wanted to take care of me. From that moment on, I no longer knew what a family really was, and I began, among other things, to distrust people who approached me, since I wasn't sure if I could trust anyone at all anymore.
But I wasn't exactly welcome at the orphanage either. They took me in because they had no other choice, and I went to school just like everyone else, but personally, I was looked down upon by both the other orphans and the caregivers and teachers. Every now and then, I heard them call me "son of a murderer" instead of my real name.
Valentin, on the other hand, still had his grandmother until he turned eleven, as he told me. I couldn't imagine that she was strict with him on purpose, but rather that she had certain ulterior motives, which were surely positive. From what he told me, it sounded more like she was on his side.
I chuckled softly, and Valentin looked at me in surprise. "I'm starting to understand why your grandmother was so strict with you."
"Oh, really?" he asked, looking puzzled.
"Yes… She just wanted the best for you. I guess she didn't want to lose you the same way she lost your parents. That's why she decided to raise you properly, so that you could take care of yourself even when she wasn't by your side anymore."
"…Grandmother…" Once again, Valentin began to sob quietly, letting the tears dripping from his eyes flow down his cheeks. Overcome by the realization and grief for his long-deceased grandmother, he could no longer hold back his voice or his emotions.
As I sat on the large rock next to him, recording Valentin's tears and his anguished cries in my memory, several things came to my mind. Blurred images of my mother flashed before me, the next second an image of me being excluded by the others in the orphanage's common room and crouching alone in the corner. And then suddenly a not-so-old image of me in Kaito's—or rather, in Gyuren's—form, as his mother hugged me, crying and thanking me for letting them see his face one more time. In that moment, I felt a sensation I had long forgotten, a special and pleasant warmth. The moment I realized, that I longed for a hug from my mother, but would never get one, ever again.
Unintentionally, my eyes welled up and a wet substance dripped onto the floor. I tried to wipe away the tears with my left sleeve, to no avail. Neither Valentin nor I could stop the stony hallway from filling with painful and desolate sounds.