Always

The next day couldn’t come any faster. I wake up feeling like something’s been lifted off my chest. I feel lighter, my breathing has calmed down and I can think clearly for the first time in a while.

It’s awfully quiet. Usually the old hag barges in like a crazed goblin and pulls me out of bed. Weird.

I sit up on my bed and stare out the window. Alright! Enough wallowing! Time to get up!

Oh wait, I wonder if Vivi was able to get me that mission from her father. Hopefully she did! I’m looking forward to that today!

I bury my face into my arms as a long shuddering yawn escapes from my lips. “Guess I’m still a bit tired.”

I get up and stretch my arms and legs, getting rid of the stiffness that stuck to my body during sleep. I tread lazily to the mirror nearby and stare at myself.

Not too bad for a hero.

Eagerly, I flex my arms and pose in different positions, showing off my ‘muscles’ as I’d consider that the best quality for a hero. “Yeah, that's me, I’m the hero that’s going to save the world from the monsters.”

All of a sudden, a hint of my insecurity spikes up and unwanted memories re-emerge in my head.

You’re not a hero!

You’re nothing but a loser!

Hero? What kind of person would want a hero like you to rescue them?!

I can still hear them so clearly.

I gave myself a sharp slap on the cheek, bringing myself back to reality. I’ll prove them all wrong. Just you watch.

I look back at the mirror and see that my face starts to swell from the slap. I touch it gently, wincing in pain as I applied too much pressure. Why did I do that? Of course that hurts.

I shrug it off and walk over to my wardrobe and pull it open. Inside, my rough, torn leather armour and pants, my sword and most importantly, this.

I gently unfold a piece of cloth, inside was a small pendant. I wasn’t sure how I got this or why, but Mabel told me to keep it near me at all times. Probably just a good luck charm. I smile fondly as I gently rub the pendant before placing it around my neck.

I head out of my room and walk downstairs, greeting the other guests who were staying at the Inn as well as asking if they’ve seen Mabel.

“I wonder what Mabel is. She’s usually always here in the mornings with the guests.” I sigh and lean against the windowsill in the kitchen as I look outwards. The sun is bright, the crowds are murmuring in a loud but nonetheless homely tune in my ears.

I suddenly feel a light tap on my shoulder from behind.

“Hey heroboy-to-be! Been a while since we’ve seen each other.” a soft voice mutters out towards me.

“Who are you calling heroboy?! ”I turn around with a mask of fury and stare at the figure. Is that Kira? Kira was something like an older sister to me. She’s always looked out for me since I was younger, and she was one of the people I looked up to the most. Why? Because she’s always protected me, but the most important thing was: she was strong.

My hands move faster than my mind. I wrap my arms around her in a big embrace. “Kira! You’re back! I heard you and your party were out hunting some ghouls by Bleakwood Forests all the way in Shirehaven? Did you kill them all?! Can I come with you pleasee!”

She returns my embrace and ruffles my hair. “Haha, please, you really need to ask? It was a breeze. My party and I wiped the floor with them.” She leans in closer and whispers. “Guess what? I also promoted my rank, I’m now considered an Elite Adventurer.”

My eyes go wide with shock and feel like they’re about to burst out of my sockets. “WHAT?! AN ELITE? T-THAT’S LIKE THE BEST OF THE BEST?” I burst out in awe.

She leans back and gives me a proud smirk. “Yep! Apparently there was more than just ghouls there, the nearby village was said to have been possessed, so we had to bring Gabriel along since he’s part of the Light Order, you remember him right? The guy that used to pick on you haha.”

I shudder as I recall the memories. “Yeah…he used to pour fish guts down my back and called it the ‘hero’s initiation’. I’m not that dumb anymore!”

She chuckles and ruffles my hair again. “Sounds like him, but anyways, there was an elder ghoul matriarch, one of higher-tier undeads that rarely appears. It was possessing the local villagers and forcing them to perform sacrificial rituals to summon more of the ghouls. It took us a while but we eventually killed it and all the ghouls and were able to help the villagers back on their feet.”

The words went through my head like lightning. Ghouls, elder ghoul matriarch, summoning rituals. Monsters that a hero needs to take down. A hero like me.

Kira continues on, but then something weird she says catches my ears.

“ — yeah and then when we killed the Matriarch, it mentioned something like ‘he will make you regret’. I didn’t know they could speak, let alone have thoughts. I got Gabriel to go report it to the guild master as that’s the first time I think we’ve ever seen a monster have the intelligence to speak human”

Talking undead? I’ve never heard of that before. Is that even possible? I mean they were humans before they were corrupted and turned into undead, so they could align with what I’ve read and —

Kira pulls my cheeks hard and yells into my ear. “Kira to Zero! Stop daydreaming!”

I rub my cheeks in annoyance. “Ouch, what did you do that for? I’m right here.”

“No you weren’t. You were doing that thing with your eyebrows when you think too much.”

Tch, she’s just like Vivian, always thinking she knows what I’m doing. I’m not that easy to see through!

She sighs and glances around the Inn. “Where’s Mabel? I haven’t seen her today, I want to see the look on her face when she sees me!”

That’s right, I was looking for Mabel, where is she today?

She shrugs and pulls me into her. “Ah well, she can wait today, wanna head to the guild hall with me? I wanna introduce you to the rest of my party!”

My eyes light up. This is it, my chance to show actual adventurers that I have what it takes to be one of them, to be a hero of my own. “Okay! Let’s go!”

The walk to the guild hall was different today, especially with Kira by my side. We walk through the town centre, before standing in front of a statue, my mouth wide open in awe. The statue of Krall. The hero of legends who brought the world back from darkness.

“Oh right, you’re obsessed with this guy aren’t you? All your books in your room are about him after all. You always look like you’re seeing him for the first time whenever we used to walk past it” She gives me a smirk before slapping my back.

I turn my face towards her in shock, my mouth still wide open. “Obsessed? He saved the world! Without him, there wouldn’t be any of us! He’s the reason why I wake up every day, why I try so hard at everything, why I don’t and will never give up even if everyone says I’m not up to it. He’s the reason that makes me want to become strong so I can protect you, Vivian, Mabel and everyone important to me!”

I said too much, she heard me, she heard me.

Kira’s face softens as she listens to me. She grins widely and teases me. “Awww, the little heroboy wants to protect us all? I’ll be looking forward to that day Zero, don’t take too long or else I might have to protect you instead. Still, hearing you call Mabel by her name is refreshing. I haven’t heard you say her name in a long time.” She suddenly pulls me into her and wraps her arm around me and nuzzles into my shoulder, before whispering to me. “I’ll always be proud of you Zero, no matter what you do or become. Always.”

When we arrive at the guild hall, she introduces me to her party members one by one. Gabriel runs up to me and ruffles my hair and teases me, as he usually does. Next was Zane, stoic, quiet, the qualities of someone who knows their worth. Zoe was next. She was timid and shy, but opened up to me as I reminded her a bit of her little brother. Urlas was a big, bulky, loud man. He wasn’t shy about saying what he thought out loud, which seems to stir a bit of trouble between him and the other adventurers in the guild. Finally, I was introduced to the last member. I wasn’t too sure what to make of him, or her? They were covered up from head to bottom with bandages that had engravings on them. They didn’t speak, nor make a sound or anything to make themselves stand out. I slowly bring out my hands to shake their hand as a greeting, but they only stare at me a second, before only nodding and turn to face away from me.