Awakening of Regret

On his way home Saga slowly began experiencing a dull pain all over his body, his mind even beginning to fade as he walked on. Too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice that the wounds that once disappeared were mysteriously reopening again. His walk slowed to a limp as he struggled to keep consciousness, his left arm completely unresponsive, Saga couldn’t even grip the air with it anymore. His feet started to bleed profusely when he finally noticed that something was wrong. An excruciating pain in his stomach appeared as the reopened wound began to spill blood all over the ground. Blood frothed at Saga’s mouth as all the wounds he suffered during his battle reopened. The Mark on his chest stayed dormant as its host approached death.

“What’s… Happening to me?”

The pain was diabolical, Saga could barely keep awake anymore. Yet his legs refused to stop moving, constantly lifting one after the other towards his home. Myra. I’m coming… I’m coming home. A small smile pushed him on.

The Sun was almost down by the time Saga’s home came into view. His legs were about to give out, his eyes blurry and unfocused, constantly drooping. The Sun continued to stare down into him with its hellfire. Despite the heat, his teeth chattered as his body shook from anemia. He felt chilled to the bone as his mind began to fall unconscious.

“Just a little bit further... Myra, I promised that I would play with you until sundown… remember?” He breathed out the words, the voice not even reaching his own ears.

Saga’s legs gave way. He toppled onto the ground helplessly, unable to find the strength to battle his demise. The only thing he could hear against the boiling ground was his own slow, deep breaths. He laid face up towards the Sun, closing his eyes as his heartbeat slowed to a halt.

Upon Saga’s death, The Heretic’s Mark began to glow a bright red, blood surfaced on its crevices as it began to grow plantlike-roots. They grew to a considerable length, rising to the air before they suddenly pierced Saga's chest, routing themselves inside him, looking for his heart. Once found, it pierced the heart, connecting it to The Mark.

After a short pause, Saga’s heart began to beat again. The once semi-transparent Mark o was now burned visibly on his skin, no longer glowing. Saga’s breath began to fill the air, the wounds slowly started to close. His mind began to regain consciousness with the renewed blood circulation. The Mark had evolved into Saga’s heart, now a permanent part of his body.

At the same time, Myra looked outside her window, playing with a straw doll, wondering if her brother would soon come home. Her father was sitting on a chair right next to her, looking down at the ground with his face in his hands. His wife on the bed, silently crying.

“Our own son… How can this happen?” She asked through her tears.

“Priest William does not lie, all we can do now is wait.” The father's voice was emotionless.