4. Door

The door’s closing, the Undeaths no more, the striking noises stop. It’s finally over. The remaining Undeaths cannot get through.

I am still laying down on the floor, with pain all over my body. My feets, my face are covered with black goo, and my nose is bleeding.

Jevannah then came to me and pulled out a small white cloth and a clear bottle with liquid. Jevannah pours the liquid into that cloth and wipe my face with that. The cloth absorbs the black goos and my blood. After that, Jevannah cuts a small piece of that cloth, rolls it into a smaller size with their finger, then inserts it into my left nostril.

Jevannah: “Don’t drop it.” Jevannah whispered to me, then stretched their arm to help me get back up. My pain in the back prevented me from standing straight.

I lifted my head to see everyone in front of me. Everyone seems to be tired, sweating, their clothes covered with black goos… Then I saw two people arguing loudly with each other. It was Regan and that woman…

Regan: “You stupid MUTE! How many times do I have to tell you this? OPEN THE DARN GATES WHEN WE ARE RUSHING!”

Thorne: “You think I didn’t try? I told you guys to get here FAST! I even hold the gate long enough! You slowpokes just like to waste my time!”

Regan: “Huh? When the crap did you open the gate? You just HATE us Thorne, isn’t that right?” Regan then pushes Thorne with their hand.

The bickering went on, as they began to push each other. Regan, who was friendly when I first met, was completely different now, full of angry expressions.

I sigh…

…Still, I can’t believe I survived that. That black and scary Undeath… the green flashing arrows… it etched on my mind.

Green arrows… That’s right… That woman… That woman saved me. That swift blade movement carved through the darkness, the cloak that sways up then sways down… That hunter’s eye…

I thought that was so cool!

Name’s Thorne isn’t it? Then Thorne is my savior! I certainly won’t stand here now if it’s not from Thorne’s action.

Well… What should I do when someone saves you from danger?

…

You express your gratitude, right? That’s right, I should thank them. Yes, that’s what I ‘must’ do.

As I walked towards Thorne to thank them, Thorne turned around, then said something unexpected.

Thorne: “Tch, screw you all!”

Ah…

Regan: “Yeah, right! Screw you too! Get lost, MUTE!”

Thorne then walked past me with a disgruntled expression. Thorne didn’t glance at me, at all. Thorne then ran towards a building behind us, disappearing into the darkness.

I didn’t get the opportunity to thank Thorne. Ugh…

Regan: “Sheesh, let’s go now.” Regan taps on my shoulder, seemingly checking my condition.

Regan: “You alright, Baldy?”

I only nodded. I didn’t reply as I was preoccupied with the thought of not being able to thank Thorne.

Regan: “ *Sigh* “ “Let’s just go home…”

We then walked to the building behind us, leaving the mess behind. I almost tripped myself again, as there was a dead Undeath blocking the door entrance.

This battle has caused great emotional damage to us. We were just fine before... Now, everyone’s face looks ugly, tired, and sad.

***

Thankfully, we did not encounter a single Undeath as we walked downstairs.

I’m not sure what place this is. We seem to be in a rectangular building. There’s only stairs here, and it’s really narrow. Perhaps it’s a tower?

We then reached the base floor of a building. There’s only one path here, and it’s a very long passageway that I can’t see the end of. Unlike before, the walls, the ceilings, and the floors are no longer decorated with tile drawings. It’s been replaced with maroon colored bricks, and I saw small rocks all over the floor. It looks rather ugly to be honest. It contrasts with that amazingly good looking tomb.

I thought Thorne was waiting for us here, but I didn’t see them. Why did Thorne not walk together with us? Isn’t Thorne a Jevannah’s follower? I suppose I should ask.

Me: “Jevannah, Isn’t Thorne your follower?”

Jevannah: “That’s right. What of it?”

Me: “Why didn’t Thorne walk together like we do?”

Jevannah scratches their head.

Jevannah: “Thorne is our scout… Well, scouts are supposed to be alone, isn’t it? That’s a job to find the correct paths ahead.”

Me: “Scouts are supposed to be alone? Isn’t being alone more dangerous? You guys struggle beating the Undeaths.”

Jevannah: “There are two things that attract Undeaths, A light, and number of people. Light is self-explanatory, and the more people exist together, the easier for Undeaths to notice us. By being alone, Thorne becomes harder to notice by the Undeaths.”

Me: “Even then, if Thorne gets caught by the Undeaths, then-”

Jevannah: “This is why I hired the best scout in the city, so rest assured. No Undeaths can catch the best.”

It seems Jevannah had a lot of trust with Thorne’s ability as a scout.

But think again, a scout provides a path for us to travel so we don’t get lost. Naturally, Thorne would be the first person to reach the tomb. Jevannah’s group then follows the path from Thorne to rescue me, then in order to return to the city, Jevannah brought us here using the last path… Assuming Thorne’s job is to wait for us here so we can catch up with Thorne, that would mean Thorne only provides one path from the city where they start, to the tomb. For some reason when we jog after our first fight, we followed the path correctly too, without getting lost in this dark place.

In my line of thinking, Thorne’s job would be done as soon as Thorne met us. Was there anything ahead that needs to be scouted? Did I miss something?

I can’t answer this yet. I have no clue about this world’s geography. Why do I think about Thorne so much? Can I just thank Thorne later?

Me: “I wish Thorne’s here…”

My mouth slipped. Oskar glances back at me and said:

Oskar: “Thorne hates people.”

Me: “Huh? Why..?”

Regan: “Beats me. That MUTE always likes to be left alone.”

Why? Why did Thorne hate people? What makes Thorne hate people? I don’t get it. Can I still thank Thorne?

No one can answer this question about Thorne.

…I don’t know, but…

In this dark place, I think being alone sucks.

***

We walked past that passageway, and we are now in a large expansive place. What I saw was giant rubbles everywhere. It has a maroonish color and it looks to be made up of bricks I saw before. It seems this place used to be a bunch of buildings, probably because some of these rubble look to fit nicely like a puzzle, but for some reason, they crashed down to the ground.

As expected, I did not see Thorne, but I saw something else at the front. It looks really bright, not far away from here.

Me: “What’s that bright thing above that rubble?”

Jevannah: “That is a firestone pedestal. That means we are close to the city. Do you want to take a look at it?”

Me: “Can I? Of course!”

Jevannah: “Alright. Oskar, lead the way.”

Oskar then leads us to that firestone pedestal. We took a path in the middle of giant rubbles. It looks like someone built this path for people to walk through for convenience, rather than climbing these rubbles. It’s kind of sandy but quite rocky though, so I need to take every step carefully to avoid harming my bare feet.

Oskar: “...We’re here.”

On my right side, a firestone pedestal sits atop of a rubble. We then slowly climb that rubble, watching our steps closely. There is nothing for my hand to hold on, so getting slipped here would certainly send me down. It didn’t take too long to reach the top.

I squinted my eyes as the light from that stone was bright enough to blind my eyes. I then touched the firestone, the eternal furnace. It was really hot, hot enough to burn my fingers if I held it a little longer, but weirdly enough, the heat really warms the place… And my body felt good about it. Moreover, the firestone smells nice, like baked food or something.

Me: “I’ve never felt so warm before… Wow…”

Jevannah: “That is the true power of the firestone. It warms your body, and refuels the light.”

Me: “Refuel the light?”

Regan: “Lights aren’t free, you know.”

Regan’s smile seems to come back. That’s reassuring.

Just as I was about to climb down, I slipped. I tried to grab something in that rubble, but since there was nothing to grab onto, I fell down quickly, and then I fell to the sandy ground. Fortunately, the sandy ground acts like a cushion, so I was fine… Except my left foot.

A rock penetrates into the flesh of my left sole! It hurts a lot, and it’s bleeding badly. Ugh!

Regan rushes to me as I scream in pain.

Regan: “Jevannah, toss me that lotion!”

Jevannah then takes the same bottle of liquid used to wipe my face, then tossed it to Regan. Regan puts the liquid into their right hand, then rubs it on my bleeding foot. With every movement Regan’s hand makes, I scream, and I scream. I can feel a tear from my eye is about to drop…

Regan: “Hold on just a little more. I’ll apply a cloth.”

Regan then pulls a greenish looking cloth, then wraps it around my left foot. The pain is still there, but gradually it goes away little by little.

Regan: “Alright, it’s done. The cloth needs to be changed though when we arrive at the city. Can you walk?”

I tried to put my left foot back on the ground, but as soon as I did that, the pain came back. This time, my tears drop, and I cry like “Waaaahh….”.

Regan: “Aah, you crybaby…”

Regan then crouches, and their arms turn back in a position to carry something.

Regan: “Here, climb onto me.”

Me: “...Huh?”

Regan: “You can’t walk like that, Baldy. Go on, I’ll carry you.”

I put myself to Regan’s back, then Regan locks my thigh with their big arms and quickly raises me above. Apparently, Regan can carry me effortlessly.

Regan: “Hug me tightly.”

For once, I can see higher than everyone else.

***

As I cling on Regan’s back, I begin to see a silhouette of a really tall and massive looking building in front of me. Right behind that silhouette, I saw a large yellowish light. It turned the structures way, way, above into yellowish.

As expected again, I did not see Thorne.

Jevannah: “That’s the city.”

I also saw a blinking light right at the middle of that silhouette. That blinking light looks similar to what we saw earlier at the ledge. Three times blinking, if I recall. This one is a little different, it blinks once, then it blinks twice that last a little longer, then it blinks once, and then finally one more longer blink.

Was that hard?

That blinking light appears again. 1 short blink, 2 long blink, 1 short blink, and lastly 1 long blink.

This light probably means something different than before.

Jevannah then replies back to the opposing light with three short blinks from their right thumb.

That’s different. I thought Jevannah would reply with the same blinking sequence. I should ask Jevannah.

Me: “That light blinking over there… does that mean something different.”

Jevannah: “That’s Thorne. That blinking means ‘remember’.”

Me: “Remember what?”

Jevannah: “Remember to pay their tab.”

Aaah… I see…

Torchbearer employs the follower, the follower gets their pay, huh?

This looks business.

***

We finally entered the city. The moment we entered the city, I noticed something bizarre. I couldn’t remember the past to make a comparison, but my brain is telling me something is… not right. I think I’ll list them:

That massive silhouette we just walked past is actually a wall. The wall was very tall. I could not see the top of it but its width was rather short, about 15-ish footsteps. I wonder if this is structurally fine. That wall goes so far away.

When we passed the wall, I saw many tall, tightly packed buildings forming like a block area. Each block is separated with very narrow paths, only fit enough for one person. The buildings I saw here are like a house or lodgings, with a door at the front, and a rectangular window a floor above. Some are taller than others. Problem is, the building width is too small, about the size of the door. The doors are ‘absent’, and contrary to my thought, it was dark inside, which leads to,

Where is everybody?

We followed Jevannah in the front, guiding us through this maze-like city, and we did not see a single person on our way.

I asked Regan, who has been carrying me for quite a while, but does not seem to break a sweat.

Me: “I don’t see anyone here. Is this truly inside the city?”

Regan: “No, this is more like the outskirts.”

Me: “Even so, does nobody really ‘live’ here?”

Regan: “Well, some people do live here.”

As soon as Regan said that, I saw someone inside a dark house without a ‘door’ on my left side. That person is sitting on the floor, with their knees bent, and both hands circling their legs. Their legs and their hands look rather dirty. I could not see their faces as they were wearing a black cloak. That person did not move at all, like a stone, soulless, lacking a sign of life. Deep down I could tell this person is suffering from the inside.

Something is clearly wrong with that person. I tapped Regan’s shoulder and pointed my finger to that person.

Me: “What is that person doing? Are they dead?”

Regan: “That person is contemplating their poor life decisions, and no, they are alive.”

Me: “What do you mean by that?”

Jevannah: “That person we are seeing now is someone we’ve rescued before. Hmm, what was their name again, hmm… *rumbling* “

!!!

That person they rescued? That person is like me then! Are rescued people supposed to be like this?

Me: “Jevannah, is this true you rescued them?”

Jevannah: “Yeah, We rescued them. I didn’t catch their names unfortunately.”

Unfortunately?

Jevannah then began to walk away. I have to stop them. This matter must be resolved.

Me: “Hey, wait! Shouldn’t we help them? They look like they need help!”

Jevannah: “Do they? Do they ask for help now?”

I feel like some part of me just snapped. What is wrong with us? Are torchbearers supposed to behave like this?

What’s even worse is Jevannah replied to my answer with a straight face, with no hint of being worried.

I have to speak louder.

Me: “It’s not that they ask for help, but the fact that this person is suffering inside. Don’t you see it? Aren’t you torchbearers? You said before, torchbearers guide people with their light, and don’t tell me you guided them here in a dark room?”

Jevannah paused for a while, then sigh.

Jevannah: “Listen, I did my job, alright? I receive help plea at a signboard, I go to where they are, rescue them, and then bring them to the city. I even brought them to the center of the city for good measure. I never put them in a miserable dark room in the city outskirts, and I wish they don’t end up rotting there. But they did, anyway. What causes them? I don’t know. Perhaps their lives are too hard, but then again, so do we.”

Me: “Then… Why? Why!!”

Jevannah: “Like I said, I did my job. What happens to them next is up to them.”

Huh… No. This is not right. Are you saying that we should let these people alone to suffer?

Regan: “Baldy, there are two paths for people we usually rescue here. They either live and work in the city, or hide themselves away from the people. Ultimately, it is up to each person to do what they want to do with their lives, but I do think the latter choice is… not a good one.”

But… But…

Regan: “This sad person you see here, I don’t know what the hell is this person contemplating about. Maybe they lost a game, maybe they had a misunderstanding with their buddies, and so on… but I know exactly what they're gonna do! Can you guess?”

Me: “What is it then…?”

Regan: “They do nothing. They’d rather hide their feelings and let the problem go unsolved, instead of trying! And, I know they won’t!”

Me: “So, you’re saying that even if we did help them again, they would end up the same like this?”

Regan: “Exactly. Think about it, why would you help someone when that person doesn't even try to help themselves.”

Jevannah: “We gave them second chances. Here, I don’t give third chances, and I am sure nowhere it will.”

…

I finally understood something. I understood why these people, the torchbearers, hate this kind of apathetic people. These torchbearers risked their lives by going through darkness, treacherous places, and had to fight the disgusting Undeaths… And to have these rescued people end up like this… It disheartened them. Their efforts, gone to waste.

Jevannah: “Are you done? When you’re done, let’s go. My master is waiting.”

…I have no words. I nodded and then we walked away from that door, leaving the person inside behind.

Is this the right thing to do here? Is this the correct response to that person? Is there nothing we can do to help them?

I kept pondering, but more importantly, am I going to end up just like them?

The more I think about what happens to me next in the future, the more I morally convinced that,

Doing nothing is the worst approach possible.

***

After walking through the mazes of buildings, we finally entered what I call the center of the city.

Regan: “Welcome to Masapas.”

The environment changes. Instead of tall, packed buildings, it was replaced with small, sparsely spaced buildings. We are on some kind of a hill, watching down below, I saw a couple of people walking around the wide yellowish field. My brain is telling me that something is still not right, like there’s too few people around here, but I’ll let that slide.

In the middle of the field lies one big massive, super shiny yellow stone. It’s a firestone. It glows brilliantly and makes the surrounding areas filled with golden yellow light. We’re still far from that stone, but from this distance I could feel the nice warmth.

We parted ways with Oskar a while ago. Oskar took a path down then went onto a building with a chimney. So, now it’s only Jevannah, Regan, and myself, still being carried in the back. I didn’t see Regan sweating after all of this carrying. Am I that ‘light’?

Me: “So, where are we going?”

Jevannah: “Follow me.”

We then followed Jevannah into a really tall rectangular building at the right side just a few hundred steps away from our original location.

When we entered the building, I saw a person greet us. This person is wearing a blue robe and a blue circular hat with a black ball at the top. That person has the same beard as Jevannah. That person seems to check some kind of paper from Jevannah. After a while, we then let through into the building.

Inside the building, at the front, I saw many doors, left and right, stretching quite far from the entrance. At the end of that building, I saw some kind of illumination, a firestone perhaps? It glows faintly, causing the room to light rather dimly with yellowish color. On the left side, there’s the staircase that leads up and down. We went downstairs and went down a couple of floors. When we stepped on the stairs, it sounded different compared to what we had. Instead of sounding like stepping on a rock, it sounded crackling. Maybe these stairs are made of different materials?

After going down five floors, we finally stopped at a floor with a single room at the left. This place is a lot darker than at the entrance.

Jevannah: “My master wishes you to enter this room.”

Regan then brought me down. My left foot is still painful, so when I stand, I have to lift my left heel high enough to not let my sole touch the ground.

Jevannah: “Alright, this is a goodbye. If you want to see me, just find a building with a big triangle hat.”

Jevannah then walked away through a path behind me turning left. Apparently this floor connects to the field outside.

Regan: “Well, I’ll be waiting for you outside.”

I only nodded, and then Regan left.

…

Now I am alone, with a single room on my left. Jevannah wants me to enter this room. Is someone waiting for me? Is finally the time for me to meet my Spirit and earn my purpose?

Enough questioning.

I knocked on the door.

…

It seems no one’s inside?

I turned the door handle, entered the room, then I closed the door.

The room is pitch black dark, and it’s not that big, about square size. There, I saw multiple objects laying on the floor. There is no light here, but these objects seem to be glowing. I saw a circle drawn in a white color, and at each of the four corners of the circle lies a single object.

At the top left, I saw a small blue gem.

At the top right, I saw a finger bone, with seven fingers.

At the bottom left, I saw a green ticket.

At the bottom right, I saw a goblet with some kind of trash inside.

…For some reason, I recognize all of these objects.

…For some reason too, I know what to do.

I slowly walk towards the center of the circle. Then, I sat on the floor. I then closed my eyes.

…

My mind… My thoughts… slowly wandered away from me…

…

I lost my consciousness.