"..."
It had been some times since I left the Eternal Twilight. My consciousness was still rather muddled from transition from my home to this new realm. Though, honestly, I can hardly consider it a pleasant experience.
Ereth, just live.
"Father..."
The words of my father had emerged within my mind yet again. Ever since I left the Eternal Twilight, I've been riddled with an unbearable ache. It lingered in my throat and chest, leaving me nearly unable to breath.
Is this emotion what humans call love? No, it is more akin to homesickness than anything.
I held no directive within this world. I held no obligation to any one ideal or object. In truth, the things of this world hadn't interested me much. However...
I want you to become the Immortal Sword Saint.
My sole attachment still lied with my father.
Even if I had been given absolute freedom, I wanted to fulfill my father's dream - the wish he could never obtain, even after countless battles. After all, isn't that the one true goal of every child; to seek the acknowledgement and love of one's parent?
I had studied under him, been defeated by him, been loved by him, and been scolded by him.
Perhaps you can call the man cruel, saying those words to an empty husk such as myself, and you wouldn't be necessarily wrong.
He was short-sighted, unserious, self-loathing, and selfish. However, that man, Zoltin of The Promised Victory, was my father nonetheless. It was a bond that nothing could break.
Thus, I shall learn about this world further, and become the Immortal Sword Saint.
I strode through the barren wastelands of appears to be an ancient civilization. The copious amount of sand made it rather difficult to traverse efficiently and the various insectoid creatures were nuisances.
It is a good thing that nobody builds civilizations here anymore, it is quite bothersome.
In the distance, I could hear a number of faint voices.
"Help! Help us!"
"Damn it, get moving!"
"Of all days, why did the colossal sand worm have to appear now?!"
Hmmm...they appear to be in danger. Judging by the faintness of the sound, they should be around 2 kilometers away - a rather meager distance.
With a single bound, I jumped off of a sand dune, completely destroying its integrity while propelling me forward.
As an automata, flying at such high speeds hardly presented an issue. Wind resistance and projectiles hardly effected me at all, but I chose to cover my eyes regardless. Having my vision obscured by flying sand particles would have been more trouble than it's worth.
After a few seconds, the colossal sand worm was in sight, along with two
other traveling creatures covered in think wraps of clothing.
I suppose those are humans, just like father. Given my particular trouble with direction in this seemingly endless desert, I had no choice but to save them.
Using my forward momentum, I crashed into the mighty beast with a drop kick, destroying the creature's brain. It writhed in pain for but a moment before growing limp. The beast was dead.
I stood atop its corpse in awe. What was it's skin made out of? How was it capable of such growth? How did it survive the wild? Perhaps father was right. This planet hold a modicum of my interest.
Ah, I had nearly forgotten my primary reason for defeating this monster.
I jumped down from the sand worm's corpse and stood face to face with the trembling humans.
I leapt down from it's head, landing with barely a sound. The humans who had cowered behind broken walls and half-buried caravans now stepped forward, their fear giving way to awe.
"T-Thank you so much...you've saved us!" one said as he bowed before me.
"Oh thank you, Lord!" another cried, his hands clasped in prayer.
I looked at them - these fragile lives so easily snuffed out - and felt...strange.
This praise did not invoke the same sensation as father, yet it was not entirely unpleasant either.
I didn't care if people praised me. I didn't care if people acknowledged or recognized me. It was the duty of the Immortal Sword Saint to save and protect the weak, and thus, I shall.
My gaze met the clear blue sky. The sun of this land is bright, far too bright.
"What can you do for you, sir? Truly, we are grateful!"
The man exuberant an incredible warmth.
"Where is the Captial of Al-Aresta?" I asked in a flat tone.
One of the men, short of stocky, rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Al-Aresta...? Ah! You mean the northern country! It's only directly north from here."
"Directly north? Understood. Thank you for your cooperation."
The tall, skinny man looked a bit miffed and said, "W-Wait, do you seriously intend on traveling alone? You're over 2,500 kilometers away from the nearest town of Al-Aresta...there is no way you can survive alone until then!"
Survival for me was rather trivial. Due to my unique constitution, I had no needs for the typical necessities of humans. Water, food, defecation, sweat, sleep, and even blinking were all entirely unneeded for me to function.
Ordinarily, I had every reason to simply ignore them and continue on my journey.
However...
It was also important that I gained the necessary experience to become the Immortal Sword Saint. If I wanted to achieve father's dream, I needed to emulate him.
To learn is to embrace the inefficient. While it may have saved time going alone, I felt as though I could learn something about human nature from these two merchants.
That it was what it meant to be human - a concept I still had yet to fully understand.
In an an exaggerated manner, I copied my father's haughty laughter. "You're right! How foolish of me." I wrapped my arms around the two men in an expression of familiarity. "Would you two gentlemen mind giving me safe passage?"
Their faces lit up with joy. "But of course! You have saved our lives! It is truly the least I can do for you, brother. But...we'll only be able to take you to Sarenhell."
That was...rather easy. Being a hero couldn't possible be this much of a cake walk, no? Perhaps my father's teachings in social etiquette were truly at the level of a genius.
I didn't get what "Sarenhell" was, but such a fact was hardly relevant to my journey. As the Immortal Sword Saint, I will travel all the same.
The merchant duo quickly gathered their various items of interest before boarding strange four legged creatures. Their skin was thick, and bulbous sacks protruded from their backs. The wildlife on this planet is indeed a subject worthy of further research.
"What...is this creature?"
"Haha! Do you seriously not know! It is called a camel, brother. Are you from Outworld?"
"Yes, I am not familiar with this planet yet."
"Then we have much to learn, brother! Come along with us and we shall teach you how we do things on this planet."
I paused for a moment. Despite the amicable interaction, I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.
As though possessed, four words had left my mouth. "What are your names?"
I don't know who those words belonged to. I held no intention of saying such a thing, even regarding my father's wishes. So why? Why do I feel this way?
This terrible feeling at up inside of me, as though I was merely using these men for my own ends. My existence was that of an automata after all, not a human. These feelings were not my right by any means, and yet...I could not help but communicate with them.
I want to remember them.
After an awkward moment of silence, the two men laughed.
"Is that it? You were so tense! If that it all you wish to know, then we'd be happy to oblige. I'm Surt, and the short and rotund one over there is Freid."
"It's my bones, Surt. I was born with a robust constitution. You should blame yourself for being so scrawny."
"Eh?"
I couldn't help but crack a smile at their brotherly bickering.
Yes. This encounter was not a mistake.
"Please take good care of me, Surt and Freid."