Chapter 43: Never Again

Cliff's blade sliced through the Sorcerer's body with a sickening squelch, pinning him against the carved stone wall. The black mage's eyes filled with disbelief and pain as his liife ebbed away in that one powerful blow. The crimson trail painted a haunting picture on the cold, unforgiving surface.

The images played out like a relentless nightmare in Reo's head, each gruesome detail etched in his memory. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision clouded by the lingering horrors. His throbbing head pulsed with pain, making it a considerable effort to keep his eyes open.

A peculiar lethargy engulfed his body, unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was as if his very essence had been drained, leaving behind a hollow shell. Though some of the pain had subsided, Reo struggled to pinpoint the source of his agony. It was a chaotic maelstrom of torment, his body a battleground of sensations.

Oddly, the numbness that shrouded his mind provided a strange respite from the physical torment. It was as if his emotions had shut down, unable to cope with the overwhelming trauma.

The boy's thoughts drifted back to the events of a while ago, and his heart grew heavy with a multitude of emotions. Regret, guilt, and sorrow intermingled in a painful symphony. He unconsciously chewed on his cracked lips, the taste of blood a bitter reminder of his helplessness. In the end, he couldn't do anything to prevent the little girl's agonizing death. The weight of his own ineptitude pressed upon him like a leaden shroud, and Reo sat there, a silent witness to the girl's harrowing demise.

"You're awake." The voice was from Cliff. It was low and somber, a slight hint of nervousness dwelling within.

Reo lingered silently against his broad father's back. The peculiar lethargy and his current situation urging him to remain unresponsive. Eventually he said,

"...You came." His voice raspy and uneven.

Cliff's head shifted just slightly at his son's words. A slight smile making its way to his curled lips.

"You weren't home even after dinner. Of course I came to get my son."

Reo lingered on his father's words for a few quiet moment. Despite the time of his words and dry reactions, Reo was quite surprised to see his Father down here.

Reo and the kids have been out in the forest for hours since they left the village. They hadn't returned back for dinner, and even the sun had set behind the horizon, so it was a given the parents would begin to get restless. And once it came down to this, a search party would be issued.

Quite frankly, with this trail of thought, Reo was able to continue to push through this harrowing event without crumbling up until now. He new help would eventually come sooner or later, and then once it did, it'll all be over.

All they just had to do was survive. All in one piece—

—until one of them died.

Cliff with a restrained sigh listened to the sober beating of Reo's heart. Even he was overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions. And for a moment, they broke out.

He hadn't yet heard the full story or details of what exactly had transpired. But Cliff had seen the bodies, the eerie cave and the unsettling cult chapel, along with his son in a miserable state.

'Reo... you've been through so much.'

Reo's agonizing expression as he passed out on the cold altars' surface remained forever etched in his mind. Standing right before it, right there, it was where Cliff lost control.

Thinking back, it was better to keep the black sorcerer alive to gather info. On his way down to the chapel, Cliff had come across a strange dungeon like corridor with corroded cells. Obviously, something...or someone...had to be put and restrained in those cells. Then there was the cold bleeding corpse of the little girl just before the altar. Cliff hadn't also failed to take notice of her haggard appearance and the faint red swollen marks round her wrists and ankles, betraying the long amount of hours she had been kept in chains.

Now that he had some time to cool off a little, Cliff began to think.

Up until very recently, there had been frequent and totally random kidnapping of kids within a certain age gap. But this was only within villages and towns outside of this one, so the village hadn't ever faced a situation like this before, until now.

When he thought of it this way, yeah, he really shouldn't have killed the black mage. Maybe tearing of his limbs and leaving him just on the brink of death's door would have been good. But when Cliff had the cold blade of his sword running through the sorcerer, his flooded mind didn't offer room for calm and calculated analysis or decision. 

Cliff simply acted all entirely in emotions and murdered the sorcerer.

Reo had his own thoughts and deep rotted regrets on Cliff's back too.

His black eyes dulled by his lethargic state of mind flickered with dark emotions as Cliff felt the body of his son squeeze and tighten slightly.

Frustration welled up within him, and he clenched his fists, biting down on his lower lip.

'Never again.' Reo vowed silently.

Never again would he watch someone like that die before his eyes. Never again would he be pushed around by those with abused power and be put through such a harrowing situation as today. This event had forced a dark realization to dawn on Reo.

Reo's eyes burned with a dark determination as he recalled every detail of the day's events—the menacing hounds, Shorty and Scarface's explosive powers, the sorcerer's dark magic, and his father's extraordinary skills in the chapel. 

This wasn't earth. This world was just as unfair, treacherous and harrowing as earth. Perhaps even more so.

At this rate, Reo would have everything of his, everything he held dear, ripped away from his grasp right before his eyes at any given moment. The way things stand, not even his second chance at life was an exception.

And the way he was now, there was nothing he could do about it but watch. With a fierce glimmer in his dark eyes, Reo accepted his faith

This was Reo's life now.

This was his new world. It all came with the territory, and he swore to himself,

'Never again!'