Chapter 26 The Memories Flashing Through My Mind Like a Nightmare I Couldn’t Escape

Lyn stretched her pretty cat limbs and yawned, her golden eyes gleaming in the dim cave light. 

“So, we’ve got some time to kill. And it’s a bit early to go back to sleep, considering we just woke up. How about you tell me about yourself, Little Green? I’d like to know more about you.”

My heart froze. Tell her about me? I wasn’t anything special. I was just a miserable goblin slave, nothing more than a dirt stain on the ground... maybe even less. What could I possibly say that would interest someone as magnificent as her? Lyn was bold, graceful, and strong - everything I wasn’t. She saved me, fought monsters, and made jokes like it was second nature. I couldn’t even stay awake long enough to guard a cave without slapping myself with my ears!

But there was something in the way she looked at me, her eyes glowing softly, waiting patiently. It was like she really wanted to know, like she cared. I felt my chest tighten, that familiar wave of self-doubt crashing over me. What could I say? My life wasn’t just miserable - it was full of pain. Hurt. Fear. There wasn’t a single happy memory I could share with her. How could I impress someone like Lyn when all I had was... misery?

Still, under her gaze, I felt something stir inside me, a tiny flicker of courage. Maybe I didn’t need to impress her. Maybe I could just... tell her the truth.

I shifted nervously, my fingers twisting together as I looked down at the floor. My voice came out shaky, barely more than a whisper. 

“I... I don’t know what to tell you, Lyn. I’m... I’m just a goblin slave. My life’s been... horrible. Nothing special. I was... hatched in a breeding farm, one of many. From the moment I took my first breath, it was just... pain. Horror. Fear.”

Lyn didn’t say a word, but her eyes softened, and she leaned in a little closer. Her silence wasn’t out of disinterest - it was full of patience, a quiet invitation for me to continue. And so, despite the fear crawling up my spine, I did.

“I remember... there were so many of us. Hatchlings, I mean. All in this dark, dirty cave. From the very beginning, they treated us like... like we were nothing. I watched my friends, my kin, die in front of me. Some from torture, others... beaten to death by the evil goblins that ran the place. They treated us slaves like garbage.”

I felt my voice falter, the memories clawing at my mind like a knife. But I forced myself to keep talking.

 “There was a goblin slave. His name was Kaka. He... he was like my family. My only family. He took care of me, protected me, even when it meant he’d get beaten. He stood up to the worst of the guards - the ones who enjoyed torturing us for fun. Kaka... he was the only one who showed me the love and care I ever knew. But even he is no more, eaten by forest beast.”

A tear welled up in the corner of my eye, but I blinked it away quickly, not wanting Lyn to see. She remained silent, listening, her expression soft but serious. It was like she understood, or at least, she wanted to understand.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my voice as I continued.

 “Then... one day, the adventurers came. They raided the breeding farm. But they didn’t just kill the evil goblins... they killed us too. The slave goblins. I remember... watching them laugh as they slaughtered us. We were suffering. We were... we needed help, but they just... they just killed us.”

I looked down at the dirt, my hands trembling slightly as I spoke.

 “I don’t understand, Lyn. We didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t ask for this life, but they... they didn’t care. They treated us like... like monsters.”

Lyn’s expression darkened for a moment, her golden eyes narrowing slightly. But she still didn’t interrupt, letting me spill out everything I’d kept buried inside.

“The few of us who survived... we tried to escape into the forest, but... it didn’t go well. We ended up in another breeding farm, even worse than the first. That’s where I met Slasher again.”

 I shuddered at the memory, my voice dropping to a fearful whisper. 

“Slasher was... a goblin guard, one of the survivors beside me and Kaka. He was cruel. Sadistic. He had this... sick obsession with breaking us, especially Kaka and me. He would... he’d torture us for days. It wasn’t just physical, though. He liked to break us emotionally too. He’d laugh while he did it as if it were all a game. No, it was a game for him, a pastime. A fun.”

I closed my eyes, the memories flashing through my mind like a nightmare I couldn’t escape.

 “He... he broke Kaka, Lyn. He finally broke him. My only family... my only precious thing in the world. Slasher made a cruel mockery out of my precious Kaka. And then... he turned his attention to me.”

My breath hitched, my throat tightening as I forced the words out.

 “I... I don’t know how I survived. Part of me wishes I hadn’t.”

Silence filled the cave, the only sound was the soft patter of rain outside. I didn’t dare look up, my whole body shaking with the weight of the memories I’d just shared. It was the first time I’d ever spoken about it to anyone. And now, it felt like I was completely exposed, vulnerable in a way I hadn’t been in years.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I heard Lyn’s voice, soft but strong. 

“Hermit...” she began, and for the first time, there was no teasing, no playful tone. Just... warmth.

 “I’m so sorry.”

I blinked, looking up at her. She wasn’t mocking me. She wasn’t laughing at my misery. She looked... sad. For me.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely more than a whisper.

 “I-I just... I don’t understand why... why anyone would do that to us.”

Lyn shifted closer, her cat form resting a hand gently on my wrinkled head.

 “Not everyone’s like that, Little Green. This world is cruel, yeah. But... there’s kindness too. I’ve seen it. And I think you deserve to see it too.”

I stared at her, my heart pounding in my chest. Kindness. After everything... could I really believe in that again?

Lyn smiled softly, her golden eyes locking onto mine. 

“And for what it’s worth, Hermit... I’m glad you’re still here.”

I took a shaky breath, trying to keep myself together. 

“Thank you, Lyn. Really. For listening. But... there’s more. I haven’t told you everything yet.”

Lyn sat quietly beside me, her golden eyes watching me with an intensity that made me feel both comforted and exposed at the same time. There was no teasing in her now, just quiet understanding. It was strange... she was so different from anyone I had ever met. I had no idea why she cared so much about a lowly goblin like me. But she did, and that was enough to keep me talking.

“You see... I did meet a few friends. They were goblins like me, slaves. Grub and Grill. We were just trying to survive. We didn’t have a choice. But then... some adventurers raided that farm too.”

I glanced at her, half-expecting her to interrupt, to say something about adventurers being good or bad, but she stayed silent, just listening.

“We took the chance to escape during the raid. Kaka... Kaka had this plan, see? He told me, ‘If we can just reach the open plains, we’ll be safe. Fewer monsters there. No evil goblins.’ He was always smart like that. Always looking out for me.”

A lump formed in my throat as the memories washed over me.

 “And we made it, Lyn. We actually made it to the open plains. It was... it was so different from the forest, where death was around every corner. For the first time, it felt like we could breathe. No thick trees to hide monsters. No evil goblins. Just... open sky. I thought maybe, maybe this was our chance. We were gonna be free.”

Lyn’s cat ears twitched, and I could feel her anticipation as she waited for what came next. I knew she sensed it. She knew something went wrong.

“But... Kaka didn’t make it.”

My voice cracked, and I clenched my fists, my whole body trembling.

 “We were almost there. So close. But a monster... some horrible creature... it just... it snatched him right in front of me. One second he was there, and the next... he was gone. Just... blood. Everywhere.”

I could barely get the words out. My throat felt tight, and my heart pounded painfully in my chest.

 “I didn’t even get to see his face one last time. He was just... gone. Swallowed up in a few bites. I couldn’t... I couldn’t even say goodbye. No closure. Nothing.”

Lyn let out a soft sound, almost a purr but more subdued, like she was giving me space to let the grief out. It was strange - no one had ever been this patient with me before. It was like she really wanted me to tell her everything.

“But we didn’t give up,” I continued, my voice shaky but determined.

 “No, for Kaka, we pushed forward. Grub, Grill, and me, we gathered up as many of the hatchlings as we could. We... we found a spot in the plains. There weren’t many monsters around, and we dug out a little cave. It wasn’t much, but it was ours. For the first time, we weren’t living in pain. We weren’t being beaten. We were... we were free, happy.”

A small, bitter laugh escaped my lips. 

“We even planted a garden. Just some veggies. It was small but enough to survive. It felt like a small victory. Every day we were terrified that some monster or adventurer would come and kill us, but for the first time... we had something good. Something better than the breeding farms in the forest.”

I let out a long sigh, feeling the weight of it all settle in. 

“It didn’t last forever, though. It never does for goblins like me. But for a little while... we were happy. Or at least, as happy as goblins like us could be.”