Her

Warmth… That was the first thing I felt — something homely caressing my skin. Like it was shielding me and keeping all the things that could hurt me away. It felt like home.

I slowly began to register Vivian saying my name. I couldn’t understand why she was saying it, but rather, how she was saying it. It sounded so soft, as if my name to her was held up on the highest pedestal she could ever place it on.

Then the smell came — copper, permeating through my nose like wildfire. It was so strong, my body felt like it was burning it from the sheer scent of it.

“Ze…ro.”

She said it again. She was saying my name.

My eyes slowly began to open, ready to confront the reality of why the darkness hadn’t engulfed me yet.

No… no… no… no… no… no… no…!

“Vivian?”

Hey… hey… tell me this is a dream? Tell me…tell me this isn’t real…

I gently reached my hand up to her face, unsure of what was going to happen next. My palm slowly settled on her skin, my fingers resting close together as my thumb gently traced the curve of her cheek. She felt so warm — it was the first time I had ever touched her face.

She nuzzled into my palm like a lost kitten, seeking the warmth of my skin and eagerly wanting to grab my attention.

She was hovering so close to me. For a split second, I couldn’t help but imagine us being this close together back in my room, with the same soft smile and those bright eyes that always told me that everything is okay.

“Zero… are you — are you okay? They…they didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Her arms started to give out; she was shaking and unable to hold out any longer. I lunged up off my back, quickly wrapping my arms around her as she fell onto me. I frantically moved my hands around her back, until I eventually felt my world stop.

I lifted my hands up to the sky — as the moon reached its highest point, casting down a beam of light

through the darkness. .

My hands were both covered in her blood.

I couldn’t move, it was blood. Vivian’s blood. It couldn’t be real.

“No, no, no, no, no!” I pressed my hands onto her back where it felt the worst. Desperately trying to hold it in and stop the bleeding.

“VIVIAN! GET UP! This can’t be happening. Please, get up, we can go home now right? We can go home a-and heal you and then we c-can go tell your father and Jaro and the guild and then — “

She was quiet… too quiet.

“Vivian? Please… get up…”

She nuzzled into my chest, seemingly making herself comfortable. “You smell nice, Zero.”

Her arms moved, weakly grabbing onto my shoulders to hoist herself up to my face before facing down toward me and smiling. It’s always the smile. “I’ve… always wanted to do this, I’ve always wanted to feel what it would be like — to be close to you like this. I’m glad…I could have this moment to myself before—”

My eyes blew open in anger and shock. “What do you mean?! Before what? You’re not going to die Vivian, you’re not going to leave me. I told you, I’ll protect you, I’ll keep you safe, you’re supposed to be here with me, always! You promised…you promised me you were going to wait...”

She just gave a weak giggle before leaning in close. “You’re…too loud as always. I’m glad I was able to meet you Zero. You were the reason why I could wake up every day and look forward to something, even if it was just trouble—“

It’s not working, why isn’t the blood holding in?!

I could feel the blood seeping through my hands. She was losing so much blood, I needed to do something, anything. I started crying pathetically, moving my hands from her wound and instead wrapping them around her tightly as I sobbed into her. “Please, don’t leave me alone. You’re all I need. I don’t care about being a hero, I don’t care about anything if it means you’re not here with me. I… I—“

Before I could finish my sentence, she closed the gap and kissed me. The kiss was soft, it wasn’t what I expected. It was over as soon as it began. She curled herself up on me, my arms still tightly wrapped around her. “Zero…promise me you’ll never forget me. Promise me… you’ll keep going until you become the hero you’ve always wanted to be. Seeing you smile… whenever you’re with me and talking about being a hero…was the reason why I’ve always lov — “

A few seconds go by, I didn’t notice. Why did I notice too late? I lift my hands up slowly to stroke her cheek, afraid I’d do something wrong and it’ll spiral out of my control, just like everything has been so far.

“H-hey? Vivian? Are you still there? Please, talk to me, anything at all. PLEASE! VIVIAN! PLEASE!” I shouted out like my life depended on it. I wanted to hear her talk, see her smile again, giggle, annoy me, anything at all. But nothing came. I didn’t want to believe that, and I still don’t.

I slowly sat up as I gently held onto her body, like she was the most fragile thing I’ve ever held onto. Afraid that at any moment, she'd shatter and disappear from my arms.

The gruff man mutters in annoyance. “Tch, she’s dead, what a waste. If we had her, we could’ve accelerated the ritual.”

He turned towards the other three standing nearby and barked out orders. “Gray, Corina, Luci. Follow the boy’s trail. Find where he came from. If there are others, kill them and take their offerings. Burn it all down.”

I don’t care anymore. Nothing matters without her. Nothing.

I grab a nearby cloth from the bandit tents and place it on the ground, before carrying Vivian and placing her down as softly as I could.

Kill. I’ll kill every single one of you FUCKS! I’LL KILL YOU ALL AND BRING HER BACK! KILL! KILL! KILL!

I couldn’t care about anything anymore. All that mattered right now was bringing back Vivian. No matter what it took. My body moved before I could think, I grabbed my sword from the ground and sprinted towards them.

“Altina, finish off the boy, that’s the second time now you’ve let him live.” The gruff man spoke out.

Altina was already facing me as the man gave her the task, her lance at the ready. I dash in and started flailing my sword around as she deflected each hit with ease, her composure unbothered.

“DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!” I repeatedly shouted out as I attacked.

Altina, sensing the man’s disdain, countered my attacks before thrusting her lance and impaling it through my stomach.

The gruff man spoke out again, this time with impatience. “Is it done? We are behind schedule now due to your incompetence Altina. You will be reprimanded once we —”

I grabbed hold onto her lance with one of my hands, my grip tightened until blood began to pour out excessively from my mortal wound. I force myself forward, thrusting the lance slowly deeper into me as I get closer to her. My eyes, crazed and manic. All I could focus on was that the one who killed Vivian was right there and that was my chance to kill her.

I shifted my arm with my blade and thrust it towards her to kill her. I knew that it was probably pointless, but I didn’t care. Surprised, she turned back towards me to try to avoid me, but I still had the surprise advantage. She quickly shifted back, but since I was holding onto her lance with a grip that wouldn’t release, it slowed her movement and my blade was able to find its mark.

I give a smirk as I look up at her, thinking I landed a killing blow, only to realise that I had only chipped her mask. Her eye looked at me, it was a beautiful colour of violet, the same as Vivian’s hair. Distracted, she forcefully pulled her lance out, before kicking me away and readied her lance again before murmuring to herself.

“Sleep well, ‘Hero’.”

She throws her lance at me and it pierces into my chest. I collapse and fall to the ground. My movement stops. It was the end for me. I couldn’t do anything. I was just as useless now as I was always.

Altina walked over and yanked her lance off of me, before turning back and walking back to her group.

The gruff man gestured to the three nearby and they disappeared, all three of them leaving off to follow my tracks. Altina walked by the man before he placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her. “Altina, why do you show restraint with the boy? The master will not be pleased to hear his blessed vessel so willing to abandon her position.”

She shrugs him off and continues walking past, the man turning to me before facing back and following her.

“Do you…seek power? Do you…seek it?”

Who’s…talking to me… seek…power?

“Do you…seek power? Do you…seek it?”

Power… power to do what? There’s nothing left power can give me…

“To kill… to destroy… to pass death… power will give you all.”

Power to kill… where was that when Vivian needed me… where was that when I needed it most.

“Vengeance is reason enough… I will ask again… do you seek power…”

If… if power will allow me back again… to keep Vivian alive in my memories… then I will seek the power. I do seek.”

“The power…understands… the power… will comply…”

“A pact… shall be formed… my master…”

The area surrounding me starts to slowly shake, the pendant around my neck glows grimly as it emits an ominous hum.

Altina and the man notice the presence of me, of what’s left of me and turn back to face me. The mutilated bodies of the bandits all crumble slowly into a dark oozing liquid as it crawls toward me, surrounding my body in its darkness before everything goes quiet again.

The man grumbles as he watches my still body. “The boy… it cannot be. He has taken the role of Death’s Decay. He must be killed now!”

Both the man and Altina rush in to kill me, sensing something unsettling was stirring within my body. Just as they’re about to reach me, my body implodes and forces them back away. They were both there, witnesses to the darkness that was exiled by the Hero of legends. Death’s Decay has returned, and with it, the end of the world.

“We’re too late.” The man pulls out his weapon, a massive greatsword, seemingly made from the bones of various bodies. “He must die before he can learn the truth.”

His speed was instant. He was in front of me within the speed of sound, his blade shrieking out as he lifted it up to pierce me. I let out a monstrous ground shattering roar. The sheer pressure of it forces him back. Just as the pressure starts to cause an implosion, I glance towards Vivian’s body, out of sheer force of will. I force myself to get to her as fast as possible. My body reacted before my thoughts could finish, I instantly teleported to her and gently lifted her up before casting a dark sphere over me to protect us both.

The blast was massive, creating a crater the size of a lake as it finished. Altina and the man were both unharmed, as they thought of what to do next.

“Tch, this is going to be a problem. That demon’s power has already surpassed mine. How did that boy have that sealed relic of old!” the man thought aloud.

Altina, seeing that I wasn’t attacking them, grew curious. “He’s…not hostile. His mana, it’s bright…it feels…warm…”

The man looks at her before turning back toward me. He slowly walks closer, testing the waters to see what Altina meant. As he noticed that I didn’t attack him at all, he casts a spell, his hand glimmering with a dark light as it shimmered into an orb.

“Orb of Destruction!” he thrusts it towards me, but before it could even leave his hand. I was already in front of him. My hand, forming into blade cut off his arm with a sickening crunch to the bone. He yells in pain and retreats back to Altina.

“It seems you may be right. He has no hostility to anyone that shows him no contempt.”

Altina notices that I’m still gripping fiercely onto Vivian’s body, she senses my mana again, and sees that it's conflicted, constantly changing and revolving around itself. One side shows that it's showing restraint, that it wants to protect, to defend the person he’s holding, the other, showing pure malice.

“It seems that he’s trying to protect the girl.”

“The girl? She’s already dead. He isn’t protecting anything.” The man uses his mana detection as well and senses mine. He didn’t care what nonsense Altina was spouting, but he noticed that my mana was slightly dimming out.

“It seems we were worried for nothing. Death’s Decay seems to be draining his soul slowly, he’ll be dead soon. That solves our problem. If what you say is true that he isn’t hostile, then let us leave. We have more important issues at hand.” The man says as he places his greatsword onto his back and turns to leave.

“Altina. Come.”

She continues staring at me as I stand still, darkness enveloping my whole body, showing no signs of a human or anything…just a pitch black void. She turns away and starts to walk off with the man, glancing over one final time, before disappearing into the night.