Savior

I was deeply saddened by the fact that I felt I had gained nothing conversing with this man. I may have gotten more answers, yet I felt no sense of gratification, like this journey was all for nothing. I could not go home, and even if I could, I do not deserve to. I had lost all the new friends I have made here and left those in Caelum without a sky to reach for. This was karma for my past sins. As I was about to leave this frail man behind me, I realized that I had almost forgotten to ask him about one more thing.

"By the way, you seem to know a lot about Fesha and that dragon. Fill me in on that too." I asked despite my conflicted feelings, because finding answers is all I have left, and maybe his next words would make me feel like I have done something of value. I needed some form of validation for everything I have done.

The man's eyes shut slightly, like he was thinking of what to say next. "Um, perhaps some things are better left alone." He said. 

His tone was strange, like it did not match what he was saying. Despite what he said, he sounded as if he was resisting the urge to tell me. His pale white eye twitched around, looking somewhere behind me, then bolting back to my face.

"Uh, I shall ask thee once more. Art thou sure thee seekest such truth, especially one that would pain thee so?" He asked again nervously.

This man's tone had always been strange from the start. He told his stories as if they were a pain to him, and he was terrible at hiding it. Even now his nervousness was off. I found it abnormal, but after the ascent I took from the depths just to get here, I'll let my greed for answers take me just a little more. 

"Just tell me, but you don't seem too good. Are you o..."

"That pale dragon..." The man cut me off instantly. "... is a heresy here in Caelum, a capital of dragon slayers or course, yet that dragon now has become the hope..." He paused, looking like he was thinking what to say next. He nervously laughed. "No that's not right. I'd like to thank thee, for slaying that accursed dragon, and ridding Caelum of its gluttonous miasma."

The man seemed to be all over the place, his sentences felt rushed. I noticed this yet I hung on every word the man said.

"Hast thou noticed the curse that brings memory loss to Caelum?" He asked and I nodded. "That accursed dragon breaths a dark miasma that floats to the depths of Caelum. It eats away at the memories of man until there is nothing left. Thanks to thee, that miasma is no more, and the people can finally have their memories returned. That traitor Fesha, what was the princess thinking?" He said it like he did not mean it.

"What?" Was all I could think to say.

The man's words utterly confused me. His restraint to give me an answer now turning to praise for my deeds, it did not make sense. Why was he nervous to tell me at all if he was just going to praise me? I should have felt more suspicious about it, yet I did not dwell on it, because he had said what I have been wanting to hear all this time. I mindlessly accepted his praise, the warmth of its words filling me with purpose. I had finally done something good despite the sins of my past, right? This had to be my redemption, saving the survivors of Caelum, who I had left in the dark.

I prepared to leave, thinking of nothing else but my accomplishments. "Thank you for everything." I said happily, knowing that I was a savior of Caelum.

The man smiled like he wished that he was not, but I paid no mind. "No no, I thank thee for all thine efforts. Now..." He gulped. "Now, ah-haha... now we can all reclaim what we had forgotten."

The man seemed to get less articulate each second. I asked him one more question before I left.

"One more thing, has a woman in a white dress been through here?" I asked.

He nervously laughed. "Thou speakest of lady Magdeline, yes? I was surprised to see her memories almost fully back, though she seemed somewhat distressed when I saw her. Anyway, she went over yonder! It felt good seeing her again." He said as he pointed back out the way a came, more specifically, at a smaller corridor that branched off just outside the garden chamber.

"All be on my way then, thanks again for everything." I said.

He smiled back, but it was a smile that felt distant, like he was loathing himself. "Of-of course, it's only right for the one who felled the pale dragon and that traitor." His voice cracked.

I went along and crossed the arched frame of the smaller corridor. As the man left my sight behind the wall, I heard him speak. It was quiet, but echoed just loud enough for me to hear from where I was.

"Oh mother, I couldn't do what I did to her again. Please forgive me." He spoke in fear.

As I was about to peak my head out to see, I heard the sounds of ripping and squelching. The man groaned in pain before finally going silent. I had seen nothing, but heard everything. I did not want to see, I knew the sight could only be gruesome. Maybe I should have been scared or felt devastated, but instead I thought: "I can't save all of them." I saved Caelum from the curse of their forgotten memories, and that was more than enough for me. Of course there would be a few casualties along the way, as all stories of adventures have had, but in the end I stood triumphant.

The words of those old man have lifted me, those hollow words. I would not know it at the time, my brokenness latching on to any validation I received. I saw the signs, yet ignored them for my satisfaction. If only I had seen my delusions sooner, then maybe the truth would not have hurt so much.