Tragedy

Holding Lily to his side as he helped her walk, Alden stumbled out of the dungeon portal. When there were false gates, the dungeon gates would disappear and only reappear only when the boss was defeated. Arnu had sacrificed himself to distract Light McKing, probably so Alden could take Lily and meet up with the other rangers who were on the other side of the room but Alden knew that plan was not very reliable as Light would probably kill them anyways if he wanted to. The only issue was that there were too many witnesses but Alden was sure Light could find a way around that too.

It was a little early in the evening at the time that they had gotten out. Alden simply savored the sound of the crickets singing and his eyes found solace in the many beautiful stars shining brightly in the sky. Alden took a deep breath in, breathing in fresh air and the scent of grass Alden felt relieved at the feeling of the wind hitting his face, he was happy to finally be out of the wretched dungeon.

Alden turned to Lily and whispered to her, "Don't, mention what Light did in there if you want to live."

Lily's empty eyes were filled with anger the moment the words left Alden's mouth and she was ready to protest, "But what about my brothers!?? What about Lyle and Arnu? Justice has to be served!"

"Do you think justice will be served if you open your mouth? Don't you realize how easy it is for McKing's family to brush this incident under the carpet?" Alden whispered hurriedly to Lily as he saw the medics get closer. His tone softened as finished off. "Just be patient, you can't bring about justice if you're dead, you know."

Lily regarded him for a moment before tears began running down her cheeks, she nodded at him as she covered her face with her hands. Alden knew it was difficult for her to accept what had happened, she had lost the only people she could regard as family. How could she just accept it? Even Alden felt an aching feeling in his heart, he felt like a coward for running away and letting McKing get away with what he did.

He could feel himself getting close to the siblings, especially Arnu and Lyle but, they were taken away so brutally, so unjustly. It was all so wrong, it was all just so unfair. Alden wanted to lift his head and scream in agitation, he wanted to cry and pull at his hair, he resented himself for being weak, for being pathetic, and although he seemed composed on the outside, he was in a confused, pitiful state deep down inside.

Alden wanted justice to be served but he knew that it was not that simple, the strong made the rules, and as long as they decided that the wrong was right, then there was no way to bring about justice. Alden understood this and so he decided, he would not sit around being sad, he would become strong enough to punish those who broke HIS rules. But for now, he would be patient. His time would come.

"Take care of her, quickly, " Alden said to the medics who had arrived, they took Lily and began helping her. Alden denied the help they offered him and after checking him and ensuring he was perfectly fine, Alden was allowed to leave. Waiting for him outside the medical tent that had been set up was his mother, she seemed to have been crying and the moment her eyes landed on Alden, she ran towards him and threw her arms around him. He accepted her embrace and patted her back as she sobbed.

"It's fine mom, I am here now," Alden muttered to his mother.

"Oh, Alden, I thought I lost you too," His mother said, between sobs.

Alden grew silent when he realized what his mother said. Just to ensure he didn't mishear, he enquired, "Could you repeat that, Mom?"

"Your father, Alden, " His mother said to him. "he went into an A-ranked dungeon, and he didn't come back alive."

Alden's mind grew blank.

~~~