8 The world waits for none

"You asleep-"

Late night.

Crickets-

"Not really-" Flint said, facing the wall.

It'd been a while since he last slept on a proper bed- and yet-

He didn't really want to sleep.

He didn't want to have those nightmares…

Anne was on the other side. Staring at the wooden ceiling… crusty. "Once you find who did that- once you find out… what are you going to do?"

"Kill them."

"Can you?"

They talked about this before.

But not much.

Anne for once- never asked many questions and that was that.

"Probably not… at least not as I am. Is there a reason why you're asking this now?"

"Not really. You remind me of someone. And that someone went down the same path as you."

Flint stared back, still not turning. "What happened to him?"

"He died… a very sorry, lonely death."

"I see…" Flint's focus went back to the wall. "Did he make it though…"

Yeah, perhaps Flint's journey was also going to be lonely-

But that didn't mean he was going to back out.

"No…" A mild sigh. "What I'm trying to say is…. Don't waste your life focusing only on revenge. It's not worth it."

Flint didn't expect that.

He really didn't.

All this time- Anne hadn't said anything about this.

She just-

Tested him-

And taught him practical things.

Namely- killing for a reason.

However-

Now-

She was telling him to stop?

Yes, it made sense in his head.

Going out for revenge-

Solely focusing on that-

Wasn't worth it.

However-

"Thanks, but- it's not just revenge. And I'm not shortsighted enough to throw myself in a battle I can't win."

"Then-"

"But there's various other ways to kill someone even if I can't do it; there's various ways to torture them and demand a reason behind the kill."

Anne didn't say anything. She hummed.

For the first time ever-

She hummed.

"Hmm… hhmm…. Hmnmm."

A sweet melody.

A nostalgic melody.

Flint was listening for the first time-

Yet-

He knew this-

He knew this-

"What the-"

After all-

Sometimes-

His mother-

And sometimes-

Even his father-

Hummed this melody…. Or at least some version of it.

"I've mentored your father and your mother. You know they were adventurers, right?"

"Yeah but-" Flint paused. He'd thought about this before. Why was this demon helping him? He did ask for her help but he also just attacked her out of nowhere. Yet, she took him in, helped him and allowed him to travel by her side in the guise of him paying her back… but in reality- there wasn't any way he could pay her back… "So that person you meant to come see-"

"Yes, your father. He wanted me to take in an apprentice."

"Maine-" Flint mumbled.

His sister was going to come up age last week… but she passed away.

"Yes."

It made sense.

Flint had heard about someone from the far seas coming. But-

Yeah-

He never thought it was Anne.

"Whoever did that, probably used at least a Legend Tier skill or a Calamity class spell, and that's clear. Even if they're alone- which I doubt, it'll be impossible for you. You can forsake your humanity to perhaps gain more power but that should never be a choice. Never forsake something so precious. So-"

"So- you're telling me to give up-" The words came out. And fluently too. He sat down-

Staring-

Though dark-

He stared-

He stared at those eyes-

At the eyes of the demon-

"Yes. We'll use a transporter here to travel to Brooke tomorrow and I'll introduce you to the Magus guild. Enroll there, and become a part-time student. Learn- eventually- you'll become stronger. For now- you must survive- I'm sure that's what your parents would have wanted-"

"But that's not what I want!" He screamed- and at the top of his lungs- standing up- glaring, tearing up. "That's not what I want…" He repeated, much quieter… and lay down again… turning back to the wall…

"I know…" Anne said. "Find work, find a life. Find someone to settle down and forget. Revenge- will bring nothing but pain… nothing but- sorrow… and nothing but disasters… It's not worth it. Your parents won't come back."

Flint wanted to argue-

He really did-

But he couldn't.

After all-

She was right and-

He was-

Powerless….

And the powerless had no right to complain.

Neither said anything for the next few hours.

Neither slept.

It was odd.

Odd how life worked.

Just a few days ago- everything was perfect.

Flint was on his way to becoming a rune knight-

His parents were doing great work as hunters in the village-

And his sister was beginning to do some chores for once.

However-

Everything-

Just fell apart.

Odd how everything seemed connected-

Yet so far away at the same time.

Life truly was-

Odd.

"I have a class suggestion for you."

"Suggestion?" Flint said- eyes droopy-

Yet, not a shred of sleep.

"Yes… become a Paladin; a holy knight."

"What? But I'm training to become a-"

"Rune knight, I know. And with the basics, completed, it shouldn't be hard for you to adapt to the Paladin stance. Your skills and instincts point you towards defending. You're not fit to be an attacker." But she wasn't finished. "And you should learn healing and barrier magics from the guild. If you want- you can try offensive magic but judging by your nature- I wouldn't suggest it."

"Why?" Flint spoke. Words didn't really want to leave his mouth anymore…

They didn't matter either.

His mind was made up-

Words at this point-

Couldn't change fate.

"Because- you shouldn't kill… I'm sorry to have made you kill these last few days; to gauge your emotional capability. But- in the end, you shouldn't betray your roots."

Anne forced him to kill-

She forced him to learn-

She forced him to move on-

And now-

She was forcing him to stop?

Why?

Even just yesterday she was-

"Why?" He again asked-

But there were no answers.

None.

And though neither slept.

Morning-

Eventually-

Came.

The world-

Waited for-

None.