Kai struggled to keep his balance as he ran down the hall, the ground quaking beneath him and the dragon fast on his trail.
He glanced over his shoulder, and a whimper of panic escaped his lips as the beast snapped at his heels. He didn't have his armor. Didn't have his sword. He was going to die.
Not looking ahead, he tripped over something and fell, rolling to the ground, then scampered up.
The thing he tripped over grunted, then wheezed out a chuckle. "Heh, heh, heh." The wolf's fur was stained with blood, its body strewn across the ground. The dragon was gone, as if it had never existed. "Think that little stick can save you?" the beast said, the spear impaled through its chest.
Kai's eyes went wide, and he took a step back, his legs shaking.
"Bastard…" a voice thundered behind him.
He held his breath and slowly turned around.
"I'm going to kill you…" the giant said, seated up against the wall, blood spilling down his eye hole and the large wound cleaving his forehead.
Kai staggered back and felt soft curves press against him from behind, followed by slender arms coming around him over his shoulders.
"My love," she whispered, her breath hot in his ear.
"H-Hexaphalia?" His eyes darted between her and the giant, whose hand rose to tower over him. "L-let go!" He tried to wrestle out of her hug, his nails digging into her skin.
"Why do you still reject me?"
"Let me go! Get off me!"
The giant drew his hand back. "Die…" he said, and slammed it on top of them.
***
Kai jerked up from his sleep with a yelp, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He blinked, remembering where he was, and let out a sigh of relief, then lowered himself back into the hospital bed.
A sudden, paranoid itch caused him to check under the bandages covering his burned hand.
The mark is gone, he assured himself, closing his eyes. It's over.
The curtain drew open, and Dr. Gabriel Clarkson came in. "Are you feeling alright, Mr. Holloway?"
"Yeah… just a bad dream."
"Having a lot of those lately?"
He nodded, and she came to sit down beside him.
"You are not alone. What happened at the convention center was horrible… If you need to talk to someone, we have therapists in the hospital who can help with—"
"No, no, I'm fine, really."
She clicked her tongue. "I might not know exactly what you went through in there, but judging by your injuries, I can say without a doubt that you are most definitely not fine—none of us are!" She crossed her arms. "So if you don't want to talk to a therapist, that's your choice, but you should talk to someone—a friend, or your parents, anyone."
"I know, I know," he waved it off. "Gotta share the burden; I've heard that speech before." He lowered his head. Only this time… I'm not sure who I'm supposed to share that with… Vira's gone, and Lance or Nekoko… It's not like I can tell them about the magical aspect of it all.
"Good," she got up. "With that out of the way," she leaned over him, her expression grim. "It's time for some answers."
Kai gulped. "Ah…"
"Who was that woman on stage, the one with the Omen of Death on her chest? And that dire wolf, where did it come from? I also heard people say there was a giant and a dragon! Where did they come from? Some sort of secret bio-engineering lab? Then, there was the golden knight, who mentioned Vira's name and transformed the table into a stretcher—who was he? And what happened to the mark on your hand? Why did it disappear? When did it disappear? How did it disappear?"
He stared at her, lips pursed, his mind racing to follow her string of questions and think up some sort of reasonable explanation.
Her eyes narrowed on him after a long moment of silence. "Well?! Say something!"
"Okay, okay!" he sighed. "Look, the woman you saw… she was the head of the conspiracy; she gave people the mark, caused all the disasters to happen."
"Is she an alien?"
"What? No, I mean… maybe? Technically, yes…"
"And how? How did she do all that?"
"I don't know. Same goes for the wolf, and the dragon, and the giant, I don't know how—or where they came from—but they were her doing."
"And the golden knight? Was he an SID agent?"
"SID agent? Ah… not sure, but he took care of the wi—ah," he cleared his throat. "The woman. He sent her back to… wherever she came from. That's why the symbol on my hand disappeared, because she is gone, and her magi—ah… whatever alien technology she used doesn't work anymore."
She pouted and made a skeptical grunt.
"You can believe what you want… I told you everything I know."
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you at least know why she did it? What was the conspiracy all about?"
His lips parted, and he stopped to think. "She was… lonely, and angry, and hurt… felt that the whole world was against her, so she might as well destroy it, and everyone in it."
The doctor frowned. "Is that why you joined her? Because you felt the same?"
Kai hesitated. "To an extent, yeah… but I don't feel that way anymore."
"Really? What changed?"
"I, ah…" He blushed.
"Kai?" a man called from beyond the curtain.
"Lance, over here!"
Bella barked twice and rushed past the curtains, leaping on top of Kai.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he protested and chuckled as she licked his face.
"Hi, I'm Lance. Are you Kai's doctor?"
"Eh, hi," her eyes scanned the handsome blonde man, and she tucked her short red hair behind her ear. "I'm Dr. Gabrielson—eh—" she cleared her throat, her face growing as red as her hair.
He chuckled. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Clarkson," he said, reading her name tag. "How is he doing?"
She hid her face, containing her embarrassment. "Mr. Holloway is doing well; he is ready to be discharged."
"Sounds great."
"Thanks for taking care of Bella, Lance. I owe you one."
"It was my pleasure. She is a good dog."
Kai patted her head. "Yeah, she really is… How's the rat?"
"Fine, I think," he shrugged. "Never did rat-sitting before."
They both chuckled.
***
What changed? The question haunted him all the way home. 'Everything' seemed true enough, but too simplistic…
On one hand, he had changed, was changing, becoming the kind of man he could be proud of. His actions at the convention center had proven that. His will was tested, and he wasn't found wanting. Yet… it wasn't really 'him'. That paladin in bloodied shining armor… it was who he could be—when the situation called for it, in an emergency—but it wasn't who he wanted to be most of the time. He didn't want to fight or have to kill anyone ever again. His true passion was his art, and he had only just begun to explore what path he could take with it. Still, it was nice to know that if push came to shove, that paladin was within him, and that for the right cause, he could become that man again.
On the other hand, he wouldn't have done any of that changing if it weren't for the people he met—Vira, Lance, and the late Mr. Isaacson… and Nekoko. Not to mention Bella, Vermallelia, and Felicia. All of them, in their own way, made him a better man, and in return, he was willing to fight for them—and risk death if need be. He loved them.
The thought of Vira made his heart ache. Will he ever see her again?
In the end, Evelyn had said it best: there were two types of happiness, that which came from loving yourself and that which came from loving others. Kai was slowly in the process of achieving both.