[Unexpected Spring] by BlipXP and Koyomi – Blue Strokes

The blizzard unending, without a single reference point in sight and with his objective unknown, the hero keeps walking forward.

“Hey, hey! Are we there yet?”

The childlike voice of his companion is the only thing keeping him sane. It’s been years since the last time he’s seen, much less talked to, anybody else. He isn’t worried for any of the people he knows, though—every single one of the invading monsters had died by his hand before he’d left, and he’d made sure none remained.

Except one.

The one he couldn’t find…

The one he is out to kill.

Your last mission is to defeat the only surviving monster. It lies hidden, but fear not—we know for a fact you will find it. Take this Relic with you, and don’t ever let go of it. When the time comes, it will hold the key to defeating the monster for good. Spring shall come back when the monster is defeated.

So had the faeries told him before he adventured into the unknown, leaving behind the Kingdom of Endless Winter.

When all the monsters are defeated, spring will finally come back—that is the legend that has been sung throughout the kingdom for millennia.

And now only one remains.

To the hero, it doesn’t matter if it takes forever. What he cannot allow himself is to die before his mortal enemy.

“Heyyyyyy! Sir Mister Hero Lord Magnum Knight, sir!”

“I told you to never call me that…”

His voice is inaudible, the blizzard drowning out his words entirely. And yet, his companion hears the low-pitched groan flawlessly.

“Sorry, Master, I’m sorry. But isn’t that your real title? Isn’t that how you’re meant to be addressed?”

“The people who gave me those titles did it because they were too incompetent to think of a better reward.”

“Oh… Yeah, that seems improper. Why would they only give you that? You saved their kingdom…”

“Heh. If I had, I wouldn’t be here walking endlessly in this blizzard without knowing if we’ll ever reach the end. And besides, what would they even give me? All they have is words.”

“I-I see… I’m sure I have better words to offer you, Master! Do you want a few?”

“You’re a Relic, a floating book for Heaven’s sake. I’m sure you don’t need to try very hard to find a far better string of words within your pages.”

“Hmmm… That may be true. Yeah, it probably is. Master, did you know that we Relics are born from human lives that couldn’t be? When people die prematurely, the faeries collect their discarded futures and write them into a book, and sometimes we gain life once more! A chant of pure love and hope is what makes us return to this world!”

“… I actually didn’t know that, no. And now that I do, I would have preferred to stay unknowing.”

“But whyyyyy? It’s so marvelous, getting to experience the world for even a fraction of our past selves’ lost lifetime… That’s the reason, that’s why they tell all the kids about us in their lullabies and children’s tales!”

“I never had any of those. I wouldn’t know.”

“Eeeeehhh? That can’t be! You have to have heard SOMETHING! Right? Right?”

“Would you just shut up already?!”

The Relic’s kiddish complaints suddenly cut off. It’s reminded of the fact that, despite being the savior of their world, nobody had wanted the hero to stay at their town.

“… I was always busy working as a kid. My parents were sick so I could never go to school, and when I wasn’t working, I was doing my best to enjoy the little time I had with the other kids.”

“Hey, that’s an improvement!”

On a much lower tone, the Relic replies, hoping its master would not hear, but once again the fact that years under the blizzard has accustomed their ears to hear anything, no matter how minor, is proven beyond the shadow of a doubt.

“Huh? What was that supposed to mean?”

“O-oh! I didn’t mean it as an offence, Master, it’s just that… when we started this trip, you wouldn’t ever reply to me. This is the first time you actually tell me anything about your past.”

“Tsk. It’s been what, a decade since we left the kingdom? If I didn’t ever reply to you, I would have completely lost my ability to talk.”

“I see… Yes, that’s must be it. Though I’m saddened that you still seem to dislike me.”

“It’s nothing personal, kid. I can’t remember the last time I actually felt a connection to any individual.”

It’s at that point that the Relic drops the conversation entirely. This man… As cruel as it sounds, it’s possible that the whole reason for sending him out again was to get rid of his presence.

He was always dry, grumpy, annoyed at everything and not willing to talk or listen to anyone or anything. People celebrated his achievements and acted polite and thankful around them, but didn’t spare a single positive word about him the second he was gone. In some rare cases, pity

would accompany the insults, but even then the former was drowned out by the latter before long.

That is now all in the past for him, though. He thinks of this last mission as a relief more than a punishment. Being forever alone like this, save for the Relic’s occasional annoyance, was far better than staying where he knew he wasn’t wanted.

…

“Hey, Master…”

“What do you want?”

“Can you tell me about your glorious battles in the kingdom? I’ve always wanted to hear, but you wouldn’t say anything, but now that you have I thought I’d ask again and—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Shut up and listen if you actually care.”

The Relic went completely silent that very instant.

“Honestly, I don’t remember many of my battles. After a while, they all looked and felt the same… I guess a pretty noteworthy one was the one in my hometown.”

“Mmm? Mmmm!”

“Sigh. You can speak as long as you don’t interrupt me.”

“So what was noteworthy about it? Which enemies did you fight? How many of them were? How did the battle develop?”

“I fought the orc army, I think. I don’t really remember the rest. Just that the town was destroyed and not many people could really escape in time.”

“O-Oh…”

“There was also that other time. In the capital. About twenty thousand deaths, some elves and some human. Those black dragons paid for what they did.”

“…”

The stories of the hero continue.

For all of the battles he describes, which have gone down in history as epic confrontations between good and evil, fights for the kingdom’s survival when they were at the brink of total domination, he didn’t seem to care at all about that.

All the details he remembered were the ones the history books wouldn’t tell.

The sight of a cyclops impaling a child with its spear as the hero cut his head just an instant too late, and the smell of rotting corpses from both demons and civilians making him vomit multiple times.

The hero kept walking forward, as he had for the last ten years.

But now, hearing his tales from the battlefield, the Relic couldn’t help but understand.

Not agree. Not relate. It didn’t even pretend to find the hero any less annoying or insufferable. But at least it understands.

“… So, now all that’s left is killing the last monster, right? Then we’ll have spring! The kingdom will be forever saved!”

“Spring will never come, kid. This trip is just a way for me to die in peace and for them to not have to deal with me any longer. I’m sorry to disappoint.”

“But, but, the faeries would never lie! If you kill the last monster, spring will—”

“We’ve been walking ten years in search of that monster, and we haven’t seen a single living being in all this time. I believe it’s safe to say we aren’t going to find it in out lifetime.”

“B-but…”

“Just drop the topic, will y—oh.”

Both of them stop walking for the first time in ten years. After walking God knows how much distance, finally, something was visible beyond the never-ending snowstorm. Something big.

“A mountain! Master, it’s a mountain!”

“Yeah, it is! You’re right, it’s a mountain! At long last, a place to rest!”

“And, and, what better place than a mountain to be a monster’s hideout? Maybe that’s where it’s been all this time, and we can finish this mission for good!”

The mere idea isn’t something he wants to think about. There is no need for baseless hopes, they will only serve to hurt him further and he knows better than that… but even so, they reach the base of the mountain and look all over to find some kind of cave in which to rest.

“Here, Master! Here!”

The Relic calls out, and sure enough, there’s a small cave there—just big enough for them both to fit.

For the first time in a decade, they don’t have to spend the night under the blizzard.

But the next morning, when they both go out and prepare to keep looking for the monster—

An earthquake shakes the earth, and an avalanche of snow starts falling from the mountain. The hero runs with all his speed, the Relic struggling to keep up the pace behind him.

“Hey, you! Be careful!”

“Wha—?”

It was just a reflex—no, that’s a lie.

He knows perfectly what he’s about to do. Despite that, despite the consequence being inevitable, he jumps behind the Relic, picks it up and throws it away with all his inhuman strength. As far away from the avalanche as he can.

“Master, what are you doing?!”

“Don’t come back! Thank you… for being my companion for so long!”

Tons upon tons of snow cover him, and even though he struggles to get out, he can’t fight against Mother Nature. Or at least, not against this much of it.

After a few agonizing minutes, he finally loses the last of his strength, the snow slowly evaporating from on top and under his body. But it’s already too late.

“Heh… At least, right at the end, I made it… I’ve… killed the last monster…”

His eyes closing for the very last time, his breath and heart stopping for good, all the Relic can do is run.

Run towards the kingdom, blinded by the shining sun and surrounded by flower petals.

Run, in the world of spring his master had given him.

Finally free of monsters.