Chapter 26:

Come the Night, Come Freedom

T.A./H.A. Paranoia Hero


It was all so breathtaking. The cool air tickled the hairs on Agon's arms, the tears from his eyes wouldn’t stop flowing; He did it. He made it through the day.

“I…I…” He couldn’t even speak, nor did he really want to. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what to do with his body except lie in the grass.

“I’m still alive…I-I made it…” He rolled around in the grass like a dog embracing the feel of it. He gripped the blades and let them fold and crunch in his hands, holding up the bits to his nostrils. He inhaled a little too deeply and sneezed several times. And afterwards, he cried again; tears of joy dripping down onto the grass. Mars looked at him with mild concern.

“You…must really like nature, huh?”

“I can rest…Do I even want to rest? No, I wanna take a deep breath…” And he did just that. He filled his lungs all the way with air and exhaled with a giddy expression pasted onto his face. “I can breathe!…I don’t feel anything…! No pain, no burning…” He ran to Mars and gave him the tightest hug he could. Mars returned the gesture with a pat on Agon’s head. “Uhhhhhhh…yeah. Okay, we’re uh…we’re doing this now.” Agon pulled away and wiped his tears away as best he could, trying to stop the flow.

“I-I’m sorry…Heh…I’m just happy the day is over…For a second, it…it seemed like it was going to go on forever.”

“Sheesh. Sounds like today took a lot out of you.”

“You have…NO idea.” Agon couldn’t stop smiling.

“My face hurts…but I can’t stop…I don’t wanna stop…”

“So, not that I'm against the idea of chilling here and admiring grass…but…”

“Ah! Uh…R-right…” Agon took a deep breath and started concentrating, pacing forward. “Well, as of right now, we’re kinda stuck with each other. We can’t go back to Caldivere because they’re gonna be waiting for you…”

“Right.”

“And we can’t go back to…” Agon thought of the Ruchians, along with Dinorah’s body being buried underground. He immediately dismissed the thought.

“Go back to where?” Mars inquired.

“A-ah…don’t worry about it.”

“What about your home? What was the name of it?”

“...Pier,” Agon answered, reluctantly.

“Not gonna lie, that place sounds made up.”

“You don’t say.”

“But yeah, let’s head there.”

“Pier is…uh…ALL the way out in the countryside. If we’re gonna do some travelling, I wanna head somewhere close by.” In truth, Agon wanted to find somewhere to relax, while still being able to enjoy his break from Olagna’s game. This night was too precious to waste.

“Well, if you don’t have anything planned, we could always head over to Myeknir.”

“Myeknir?”

“Yeah, it’s a town not too far from here. I heard they have a pretty nice bathhouse, if you wanna check it out.”

Agon’s face beamed. “That sounds great! Lead the way.”

An hour passed, and Agon couldn’t stop grinning. Time was passing, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he wasn’t hurting. His chest felt fine, his heart wasn’t racing. He couldn’t remember the last time that he even spoke without clenching his chest, but he held a conversation with Mars as they walked to Myeknir, and not once did he grunt or squirm in pain. The grassy plains faded out and were replaced with sandy terrain. Agon occasionally scooped his hands into the sand and watched it fall between his interdigits.

“Do they not have sand in Pier?” Mars chuckled.

“Very funny. I just can’t help it! The sand feels amazing in my hands and on my fingers. It’s been a really long time since I got to just…I dunno…”

“Appreciate things…?” Mars chimed in.

That was it. That was exactly the word he was looking for. Agon thought back to his last day in his home world. He thought back to all the times he was scared to go outside and play, all the times he didn’t want to risk touching a poisonous plant, or scraping his knee. He passed up so many wonderful opportunities to appreciate Mother Nature. He felt like Olagna would be gloating as he came to this realization. Agon was so afraid of the world around him, then, and for good reason. The world is wild and untamed; you never know what could happen next. But why were things so different here? Sure, he still harbored a great deal of fear, but why did he not feel that fear when he threw himself on the grass? Or picked up piles of coarse sand and watched it pour out from between his fingers? Maybe it was because he was already exposed to so much today. From monsters and creatures to warriors and dungeons, he certainly had a full day. He didn’t know why he felt so comfortable embracing the earth now, but he did know one thing. For a second, just a little bit, Agon regretted not taking the time to touch the grass in the front yard of his parents’ house. He wondered what it might’ve felt like. He then started to wonder about other parts of his home that he had overlooked in his fear and anxiety. What would they have felt like? Would they have made him feel as liberated there as he did here? As the last few grains of sand got stuck in the lines of his palms, he wiped them away and stroked his cheek scar. Mars took notice of this.

“You know, Agon, I've been meaning to ask you about that scar. How’d you get it?” A flood of memories came rushing into Agon’s head. The taste of Olagna’s sweaty hand invading Agon’s mouth as he scarred his cheek from the inside out with the blistering metal hook. He saw the Marrowta’s visage clearly in his mind; those garnet-colored horns, his ever-bleeding eye sockets, his disgusting face, and everything around it made Agon’s voice lower.

“Fishing accident.” He said bluntly.

Another hour passed, and Mars pointed to a large town that stretched across the desert sand. Dozens of lights shone in the sky as if a pile of stars fell to the ground. “Over there is Myeknir.”

“Woooow…”

“Let’s pick up the pace, yeah? All of a sudden, my body is killing me!”

The two of them rushed down a hill of sand to make their way to the main entrance. As they walked through, Agon was met with a swarm of people all hustling and bustling to get to different places. It was so weird to see a town so lively at a time like this.

“Wanna have a look around?” Mars asked, certain he already knew the answer.

“Let’s do it!”

The main area of Myeknir was dedicated to a grand market, where vendors of all ages sold anything from food to clothes, weapons, and even trinkets and toys for kids. None of the toys looked like anything that Agon would see in his homeworld. Not that he expected to see anything like that, but they were so bizarre that he couldn’t even fathom how half of them would work. Although the children who crowded around the table to try them out seemed to think otherwise. On the left wing were the houses of the locals. They were designed in the shape of staircases, stacking about three steps high, with each step getting its own front door. Agon studied the architecture closely, not entirely sure if he should praise it for its creativity or not.

“The bottom first step is the living room area. You gotta climb to reach the other two.” Mars commented.

“What’s in the other two rooms?”

“If I remember correctly…the second step is the kitchen, and the third is the bedroom.”

“Seriously?!? But how do you even get up there?” Just as he asked that question, an elderly woman came walking up to her home.

“Another long day. I can’t wait to get some shut-eye.” Just as she said that, she rolled up her sleeves and hopped onto the walls of her home, scaling all the way to the top step, reaching for the door and opening it, crawling inside. All in roughly four seconds. Agon’s jaw dropped.

“That shouldn’t be possible…should it?”

“Oh yeah, man. These people are built different.” Mars laughed as he patted Agon’s back.

The right side of town was dedicated to recreation and entertainment. The duo walked through the streets while Mars eagerly turned his head left and right.

“Come on…I know it’s around here…Aha!” He pointed to a sign that read “Bossa Ojah’s Bathhouse and Spa”. He grabbed Agon by the arm and pulled him to the front door. “I’m telling ya, man, I think you’re gonna really like this place! Do they have spas in Pier?”

“U-Uh…not that I know of!”

“Oh, so you’re gonna really, REALLY like this place! Bossa Ojah! Two men, please!” Mars shouted as he walked over to the front desk. A lovely woman dressed in a colorful saffron garment leaned over the desk and smiled.

“Ten mauneh.” She purred. Mars fished the money from his pocket and watched as she fished two tokens from under the desk. Mars took them and thanked her. “This way, guy!” Mars headed over to a door that had a weird symbol on it. He inserted the two tokens, and the door slid open to reveal a lovely hot spring that sat perfectly under the night sky. Agon stared in amazement, while Mars wasted no time taking off his clothes.

“A-AH! HEY! WOAH WOAH WOAH!” Agon stammered, shielding his eyes.

“It’s no more than what the Greater One gave me, guy!” He finished getting undressed and slid into the spring. He kept his left hand out of the water as he grabbed onto a nearby post so he wouldn’t be pulled all the way down by his left side and end up drowning. “Any day now, Agoooon!” Mars teased. Agon scoffed and started to get undressed, slowly making his way into the warm water. As he soaked his body all the way up to his neck, he looked up at the night sky once more and smiled.

“Not bad, Velicima…Not bad…”

Mghty
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