I found Serdolica pretty quickly — she was at the epicentre of the explosion I had caused, devouring crystals that were buried under a thick layer of sand.
"Hmm, I could've taken my time — you're having fun here without me."
After watching her for a couple of hours, I got bored, grabbed her, and we set off further into the desert.
The desert was enormous, and the damn sun was scorching even more mercilessly. That's when I noticed something unusual. Under the first rays of the sun, my skin didn't burst into flames like dry grass — it just started to get covered in burns. Because of this, I had to drink the last vial of black blood.
It took me a whole two days to cross this desert, and its outskirts greeted me…
I was standing over a lone corpse that I came across as soon as I crossed the sun-scorched desert. Even in death, the boy hadn't released the small blade from his stiffened hand. The weapon was ancient, with dried bloodstains — silent witnesses to his desperate resolve. His body was mutilated beyond recognition: some limbs had been carelessly cut off — obviously to make the boy suffer as much pain and despair as possible. His face was frozen in a grimace of hatred, his eyes remained open, as if he was trying to curse his torturers until the very end.
There was an oppressive silence all around, broken only by the occasional rustle of sand and the wheezing breath of parched plants. The sky above was starless, as if darkness itself had swallowed all the celestial bodies. I started looking around, and shadows began to emerge before my eyes — two small ones, surrounded by menacing silhouettes.
In my imagination, the picture of the last battle came to life: the boy was fighting with a fury disproportionate to his fragile body. His movements were desperate, full of hopeless bravery, but it wasn't enough. The large shadows were toying with him like predators with a cornered animal — their movements were slow and mocking. And then they grabbed the second small shadow — his comrade, or perhaps someone he was desperately trying to protect. The boy had lost.
"The world is different, but human cruelty is the same," I said dryly, about to turn around and leave. But then Serdolica suddenly jumped off my shoulder.
"What's going on?" I began to watch her with curiosity. She slowly crawled up to the boy, and I thought she was going to eat the crystals on his body, but instead she snatched the boy's blade. After that, she crawled back and threw it at my feet. I silently picked it up and raised it to examine it better in the moonlight.
I raised the blade and held it up to the moonlight. The weapon was outrageously simple — a mass-produced model that I wouldn't have been able to distinguish from a kitchen knife. Unremarkable, unpretentious, it didn't deserve special attention. But when my gaze fell on the hilt, I noticed words scratched on it.
At first, I couldn't decipher the inscription — the knowledge I gained from the Archosaur's blood was fragmentary. But gradually the meaning became clearer:
«To my beloved daughter».
I looked back at the boy.
"So this wasn't his blade? Was it someone else's — someone he was protecting? Or is he not connected to them at all?" I asked Serdolica with interest. She started jumping up and down in response.
"Hmm, I'm even curious how you know that," I looked at the slime with suspicion. After glaring at her for a couple more minutes, I shrugged and threw the blade away. Then I turned and started walking away, but before I could go a couple of metres, the knife hit my armour. I turned curiously towards Serdolica.
"What do you want from me?"
In response, she started jumping around me, then around the corpse.
"Save the owner of the knife? You realize that this body has been here for at least a week? Even if she's somehow still alive, can you imagine what condition she'd be in? Are you asking me to show mercy and kill her personally?" I said in indignation.
Why waste time on this? She's probably dead, and if not, her fate is worse than death. What's the point? I'd just be wasting my time.
Conflicting thoughts swirled in my head: on one hand, there was a desert full of dangers ahead of me, where every step could be my last. On the other hand, something in my chest was настойчиво urging me not to turn away from someone else's pain.
I had already turned to leave when suddenly a familiar voice surfaced in my consciousness.
«How can you say „why help"? If there's a chance to ease someone's pain, why not help? Don't you understand? Well… Oh, right, look. If a stranger hadn't helped me in a difficult moment, I would have died. And then you wouldn't exist either, and Mom would be sad. You see, son, there's so much pain in the world, and so many people who just walk by, that sometimes I think it'd be better if this world burned to the ground. So it's not a bad idea to help others every now and then. Still don't understand? Haha, okay! Then I'm asking you! If you meet someone who needs help, help them, okay? I'm asking you as your father. Even if you don't understand it yet, just do what I'm asking, okay?»
I froze, trying to process the sudden memory. Images of my father flashed before my eyes — I couldn't remember his face accurately, but I'd recognize his voice anytime. After digesting this memory, I chuckled.
«You're right, Father. I don't understand why I should waste time on something that's most likely already dead. But I'll fulfill your request».
After standing by the corpse for a while, I sighed heavily, then pulled out my brand-new two-handed sword.
«I'll need to get a shovel».
Three days later
I spent a long time looking for the monsters. I found them either in an abandoned mine or a shaft — you couldn't really tell the difference.
The overseers were quite large, clad in armour, and all of them had horns.
The workers who came out of the depths of the shafts, however, had all sorts of animal features.
«Funny. Are there no ordinary people around here?» After watching the typical medieval labour routine, I turned around, moved some distance away, then took a running start and jumped right into the heart of the camp, causing quite a commotion.
«Well, it's time to do some good!» I shouted, drawing that small blade and pouncing on the bewildered giant.