The Silence

When I got back, everyone looked down, embarrassed because they found out the truth. I couldn’t stop smiling, because I finally got my freedom back.

“Hey, we have a battle to win, so focus on what’s in front of us.” I announced pointing Frank at the monster's army, which was only getting closer.

“Wait, old man!” I turned around to see Edward in his regular clothes.

“What are you doing here?” I had to scream, because monsters were making so much noise. And beg you pardon I am not old! At least not looking that old!.

“I think you could need this.” He gave me a sphere, I recognised it right away and looked at him with a silent question in my eyes. “I stole it from my father. I also had a message from…”

“Hey, I don’t want to interrupt whatever moment you have, but we are about to start.” Ma’ik hit me lightly in the shoulders to redirect my attention to what’s important.

Ed joined me in the first line with other heroes, who at least stopped being overwhelmed by my presence and somehow accepted it.

“So are we going to see the greatest hero of all time in action?” The Bear Hero laughed snidely.

“Are we even needed here, let’s step back and learn.” Someone else joked.

“I am starting from the beginning as a Fish Hero.”

My smile was wide, but I made myself focus on the danger, as one of the rules I followed during the fight was not to neglect the enemy, especially in numbers like monsters who were attacking us. I wasn’t fighting anyhow different than earlier, butswinging Frank was much lighter. Maybe because there was no more hiding and I was proud to have him in my hand. This sword was a masterpiece, a gift from king Albertus. I was hoping that this battle would be enough for him to rest in peace and forgive me for not protecting him.

Killing monsters was not a problem, I have never felt especially sorry about them, but I would definitely rather fight naturally born ones instead of created ones. Dodge, attack, dodge, attack. Being aware of what was going on, and that was hard because they were coming from everywhere including air, and often others fighting put me in the spot where the monsters had an advantage.

For all of us, the main problem was mud itself, before it sank in the ground it was slowing us down, and as we were getting more and more covered in this the rash was hard to bear. The heroes were stronger, but most of us, who didn’t have much contact with it, were getting weaker. Even when you would be able to dodge the mud left from your direct opponent, you could get it from one or two killed somewhere near.

I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and looked around. All the sounds were somehow gone and I realised that I am on the battlefield, where the death already took a lot. My hands again covered in blood, dirt and mud, sweat going down my face, I mopped it from my face. There another monster fell, there the ogres, there the dwarf, there a man. In the corner of my eyes I saw Ma’ena and her husband standing back to back, fighting bravely. The projectile from one of the dwarves' machines crossed the sky and put a lot of monsters in the air, or rather the huge amount of mud left after them. It all fell down almost like rain.

I didn’t know why my mind decided to shut up all the sound from around, when I was standing in the middle of the battlefield. I should be surrounded by all kinds of screams, roars, clashes and still that silence felt somehow right. Like I had to take this step back to understand things, to slow down and realise that in that very specific moment I am bound to life with the spell Edward gave me earlier. So how could I fight along with others, when I didn't risk as much as them. The sphere was so small yet so heavy, probably because of the weight of the spell itself. It was powerful and fed by Ned’s energy for so long, still the colour was pretty, light grey sometimes seemed to be blue. I was looking at those eyes so many times with trust, both in danger and while drinking beer next to the fire. He was my friend! But he pretended it? Is it even possible to pretend friendship on such a level? Why do I think about it? I was holding the proof that he wanted me to suffer. There was no time for regrets and longing for the lost friend, he was not the only one, and I have so many now, real ones and for whom I was ready to lay down my life. The glass is delicate, so a moment later the wind took dustlike left of it from my open hand.

Suddenly everything got back, just like I came back to reality from far away. All the sounds were surrounding me again and my body felt more real than ever. No excuses, just a thrill I missed from the time when every fight could be my last and I would sacrifice myself for a greater good willingly. I swung Frank to cut the monster, trying to get me from behind, now was the time for me to truly show off my skills. No thinking, no going easy, just one goal, get rid of all the monsters, because that was the only way to keep everyone safe. And about elves we would take care later.

The chaotic dance party must have kept going. The mud as the dancefloor was not the nicest one, but switching partners kept everything a bit funnier. One second I was dancing with something similar to the snake but as I dodged it the Bear Hero took care of him. In the meantime, the wingy creature was going at us, so I directed its attention to me, dodged it and killed it as it hit the ground, because it couldn’t stop the attack. When the tiredness should be hitting me, I felt more energetic, with every other monster on my count everything seemed more enjoyable. I knew there shouldn’t be a smile on my face, but I saw that other heroes had some fun too, putting a bit of rivalry between them, about who is gonna be better, after all that was our job. We were training constantly and resigned from a steady life with family to be on the move all the time, so it was our time to shine and reward all of the effort and sacrifice we did in our lifetime. The group dance, the solos and partners in number which felt almost infinite. I took another step…