Warped Reflection

As the gargantuan beast fell to the ground, guttural noises began to spill from its mouth.

It wasn’t a threat any more, so Ren ignored it and went to go pick up his carrying case, sheathing his blade in its scabbard. Its dim light was snuffed out, and the ruined cathedral was once again shrouded in darkness.

“Hero…”

Ren flinched, and turned around. The voice came from the shuddering corpse, seemingly finally evolved enough to mimic speech.

“You… failed… them…”

Ren threw the scabbard to the ground, and picked up a shattered brick, approaching the fallen monster. A quick death was better than this one deserved.

He planted his foot on its chest, and raised his arm high.

“You… failed… Her…”

It looked up at him, with a taunting, eerie grin, before Ren brought the brick down onto its skull with a sickening crunch.

“She… them… we … ripped… pieces… delicious…”

*CRACK*

“All … because of “

*SMASH*

“You-”

“DON'T YOU DARE MENTION THEM TO ME!”

Merrit watched in horror from a distance as Ren began to relentlessly slam the brick into the monster’s skull, as if deranged.

The remaining villagers, seeing that the danger had faded, began to wander back inside the church. There, they saw their savior panting, hunched over the corpse of some unspeakable horror, its head reduced to a mess of gore.

Some of the younger ones began to cheer, but the old and wizened ones looked closer, and began to murmur.

Merrit alone stayed silent, listening. Just who was this person in front of him?

“It’s him… The Knight of Crimson Flame…”

“But he died 50 years ago…”

“The Goddess returned him to save us!”

None of that told him anything, but at this point, he didn’t really care, anyway. Summoning all of his courage, he climbed down from the balcony and down to the ground floor, walking slowly towards Ren.

As he walked closer, he saw that Ren’s shoulders were shaking. Almost reflexively, he reached out a hand, as he would for one of his siblings, but hesitated at the last moment.

What could a person have gone through to become like this, and could he even do anything to help?

Noticing, Ren abruptly turned around, and seeing Merrit there, he froze. For a moment they stared at each other, unknowingly similar, yet completely different, separated by decades.

Perhaps there was once indeed truly a hero there, a knight of justice and chivalry, buried deep under the shaggy blonde hair, stubble, and grit.

Merrit truly hoped that was the case, and that there was more than just a broken shell standing in front of him. If this man was the knight they said he was, then he was living proof that even in these times, people, even someone like himself, might have the strength to change their fates.

Ren, in turn, merely saw a reflection. Age difference aside, he saw a naive youth, frightened and disgusted upon realizing his lack of ability to change the world, powerless to protect those he loved. A youth looking for strength, for hope, and wishing against all odds, that there was reason to believe that things could change.

He saw his past in those eyes, and all he could feel was contempt.

And yet…

“Don’t worry about the payment.”

Ren picked up and pocketed some ruined pieces of gold from the ground, shattered from the large statue that once stood in the center of the cathedral.

Goddess won’t need this anyway…

“Let’s go get your delivery. I left it back near the battlements outside.”

“I… I don’t think I want it.”

Ren gave Merrit an appraising look. Finally, he spoke.

“Is there anyone left? From the group of people who got you this?”

“... No. No… They’re all gone… I saw my brother and sister ripped apart in front of me… and I ran outside to see my parents in pieces… and I- I couldn’t do anythi-”

“They’d be pretty sad if you didn’t accept their last gift.”

“I… I-”

Merrit's throat tightened, as memories ran through his mind. Ren turned away and began walking outside to the door.

“Let’s go.”

__

The sun was beginning to rise, and the black liquid had all but dissipated, evaporating like smoke and disappearing into the sky. Besides the wreckage, there was almost no sign that a nightmarish monster had even been here.

Ren handed Merrit the delivery box, and they sat together, legs dangling over the edge, watching the new dawn rise.

“Before this… can I ask you something, Ren?”

“No.”

“Who are you? Really?”

There was a silence as Ren looked at Merrit again, deciding if and how to answer.

“ I was a… soldier in the war that happened 50 years ago.”

“And you’re here now? And still 20?”

“There were some special circumstances. I’ve only been in your time for about 6 months.

“So you really are a hero from the past?”

Again, Ren saw a glimmer of hope in Merrit’s eyes.

But people like this never got their happy ending. In a world like this, kind, optimistic, hopeful fools who always strove forward, thinking things could change for the better… could only expect a cruel death in return.

“I told you, I was a soldier. Now quit it and go eat.”

“What is this stuff?”

“Burger, fries, and a drink. Although it’s probably a little cold by now.”

“How is one person even supposed to eat all this?”

“Well, sometimes you share the fries-”

“Do you want some?”

“I’d rather not…”

Ren already knew the food quality was subpar. He would rather have his usual bread crusts, as at least those tasted like bread rather than sawdust. But telling Merrit that would likely be a step too far.

Hesitantly, Merrit took a bite of the burger, and froze.

“Not great, is it?”

Tears began to well in Merrit’s eyes, as he as he savored the last gift his loved ones had given him.

“It’s delicious…”

__

A few hours later, Ren finally opened the door of his run down apartment. Throwing his hat and apron on the floor, he walked over to the moth-eaten couch he called a bed, and flopped down upon it.

He would have liked to have taken a bath, but there was no running water in his apartment, so the last time he took one was 50 years ago.

Giving up, he sighed and closed his eyes. Today had been enough revisiting of things from his past. Killing a Demon Lord, drawing his blade, and seeing Merrit all left him reminiscing on unpleasant memories. Hopefully, today’s events would finally give him some peaceful sleep, without the torment of his usual nightmares.

As he slipped away into sleep, he realized he wouldn’t be so lucky.