Dawn- An Age Of Darkness

I focused my breathing. I didn't know if I could pull it off or not but I still tried. It was easier than making mana go all ballistic in my body after all. I poured a small amount of mana in my hand and made a small ball. 

This was surprisingly easy, now that I was calm. 

Holy was basically like poison for the undead yet, they wanted me to try it. It was like they were telling me to kill their father. Did they know that? However, I didn't have time to waste. They had already framed me, so it wasn't something to worry about anyway. 

Guess I'll just give it my best shot.

I tried my best to not think about harming the emperor and just cleansing him. I still didn't know what I was cleaning though.

The small ball went into the emperor and he writhed. Probably in pain. Jowy and Lianne looked pained themselves. Imazael had her eyes closed while the doctor didn't say anything. 

I'm not harming you…. I'm not harming….                  

Suffice to say, it was hard for me to imagine not harming this guy.

Too late to blame me now.

The light disappeared and the emperor stopped moving. Lianne's eyes were wet. 

Looks like I failed…

But just at that moment, the emperor opened his eyes. I gulped. 

This guy might be worse than even those monsters. How monstrous is he? Calling him a monster might be an understatement.

He looked at all us but when he looked at me, his eyes opened wide. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. I just looked at him with blank stares. "Before you open your royal mouth, let me say something. I'm not the person you think I am. I'm the guy who you tried to kill. You know the one who supposedly killed your sons. I'm Daarc." That came out weird but I didn't regret it. Besides, I didn't want him to get all clingy with me.

He immediately tried to sit up straight but the doctor shoved him right back down.

"My apologies. I was overcome with emotion…" I didn't know what he was apologizing for. For the whole fiasco, he caused a month ago or because he mistook me? He didn't clarify.

Lianne and Jowy went closer to him and sat by his bed. He was a tall man but his bed was pretty big. Well, he was the emperor after all.

"Alright then, if that is all, I'll leave." I turned around, prepared to leave. 

Lianne grabbed my arm. "Don't." The girl was really fast on her feet. Maybe she'd inherited it from her father.

"What now?"

"Please."

I sighed again. The whole day was full of sighs.

"Please let me apologize to you for everything. If only I was more vigilant…" The emperor started to curse his own idiocy. Did I really have to sit through all this drama? 

I had a mission. A mission to get strong. And I was also missing an arm. So I didn't have the luxury to seat around, watching dramas.

But I couldn't bare myself to leave after this either. I might have turned a little soft.

"Forgive me." The emperor still sat up and bowed his head. Given the fact that he was an actual emperor and still bowed his head to me made me feel a little bad. But after what he and his family made me go through, I didn't feel too bad. Actually, I felt sick.

"Don't worry about it. Next time, pay close attention to your kids." They were betrayed too, so I didn't press it too hard. I wasn't an inhumane monster after all, not yet.

I didn't have a father throughout my childhood. My dad died when I was seven. So I couldn't really understand what he was supposed to look out for. But I still acted all high and mighty. So it was kind of hypocritical of me. And it was ironic that I actually knew that.

"How many of you died?" I asked Jowy. Maybe it wasn't the best of times but I didn't want to be too subtle about it. The emperor had to know this stuff too. He had to know how much he fu*ked up. He could have easily extinguished the sparks before they could become the fire. He had the responsibility to know.

"Seven of our brethren survived including Lianne and me."

I paid close attention to the emperor. He had spaced out. He couldn't believe what he heard. Maybe this time he'd try to be a little more careful. 

"Fair enough I suppose. Anyway, I'd like to get back my things now." It probably wasn't the best of times but I really didn't want to stay here longer than I needed to.

Seven was still a large number. Back then I saw loads and loads of corpses. And what was worse, some of the corpses weren't even recoverable. I was partly to blame since I turned them into dust with my magic. But then again, I couldn't really let that undead monster run free now could I?

"Of course." 

"I'll lead you to your room."

Jowy didn't deny it and Lianne tried to steer me towards a room.

"Which part of 'I'm gonna leave right now' didn't you understand?" I made myself clear.

Lianne didn't even bat an eye. "None of it actually. You're injured and need more attention. You're pale and need nutrition. The least you could do is, spend the night eating good food."

I knew she was right. But I didn't want that. "But-"

"And besides, it would hurt… if you left now." The last part of her sentence was barely a whisper. 

I didn't owe her anymore. At least I thought so. But I couldn't deny the fact that I might have had the greatest role in her family's tragedy. So, I didn't complain too much. "Only tonight. Tomorrow I'm leaving."

A smile returned to her face. She really did look great when she smiled. 

Before I could get out, Jowy stopped me. Now I was really mad. "What now!"

"Thank you…"

That caught me off guard. I was expecting an apology not a thank you. I tried to formulate a response. "Uh… You're welcome." I took a deep breath and tried to not look awkward. "By the way, Jowy."

"Yes?"

"These will grow back right?" I was pretty sure he already knew about it.

"I'm actually not sure. But theoretically-"

"You little-"I tried to dash at him. How could he make me wear something like this without actually checking it?

Lianne grabbed me before I could lash out and just dragged me out. 

Imazael smiled as well. She was by the door. 

"Good work. I didn't think you'd pull it off though," Imazael whispered. 

Thank you for the confidence boost.

***

Lianne took me to the same floor where I had previously stayed and got dressed for the banquet. But we entered a different room. It was a single room and had pretty much everything someone needed for living: from a bed to an attached bathroom. Rather fancy. 

"I'll go get your things. Try to relax."

Not happening. Not while I'm here.

I couldn't relax even if I wanted to. And how could she talk about relaxation when she literally dragged me here?

Lianne left.

There was a window. I looked out. The sun was on the west horizon. It was afternoon. 

Was it really alright for me to stay here, after everything…?

I sighed. Things weren't looking good for me or my jewels. 

Guess, I'll just have to trust in my luck. My dumb shitty luck.

Lianne came back and she had three bags. 

Well, that was fast.

"Ummm… Why do you have so many things?"

She handed me a letter, smiled and left. She didn't even say a word. The letter was addressed to me and when I opened it, I was shocked yet again.

How many frigging letters did you have to leave me, geezer?

"Hey kiddo, 

If you're reading this, I could surmise that you're good to go. Anyway, as promised I left everything to the little missy. I took the mystic blade with me though.

… (Nothing on the first page)

….. (Nothing on the second page)

Just kidding! Don't look so down. It's all there. Even I know when to quit. And don't worry about my mission. I'll find some other way to kill the goblins. 

Ha ha ha. Brenda's things are there as well. I personally left some things too. I'll leave a detailed note describing some of their functions. I even left you an awesome gemstone: you can fetch a good price for it. Jowy has something for you too. It was something the Damn monster left for you. He kept it, telling me, it was important he kept it from you until it was time. If he plays dumb, beat the shit out of him and take it by force. You at least owe him that much. 

Oh and before I forget, I have a friend named Travador in Dracona. It's in Dwarvan lands. If you decide to visit, give him a greeting from me. He'd be sure to help you: he's the best one-handed swordsman I know.

I hope you achieve your goals and give that good-for-nothing demon a run for his money. 

Anyway, I get it that now I'm just being a little annoying so I'll stop. Good luck and have fun. Ah ha ha ha. And don't forget to visit.

Yours truly,

Denkaborkarere."

I started laughing. The geezer was really something. If someone saw me, they'd probably think I'd gone mad. Maybe I was a little.

I took a look at the bags. My sword, armor, knife, and most of the stuff were here. Brenda's things were here and the old man also left me some things with notes. There was money here too. 

I never did get to thank you, old man. Maybe I'll visit Elicaane one of these days. 

There were just too many things. I really needed to thank that geezer.

It was nostalgic and I smiled. I took out the mystic blade and looked at it. 

He even left this….

The sword shimmered and I'd nearly forgotten how light it was. The geezer had always complained that it was heavy, but to me, this was light. Maybe it had recognized me as its owner or something? Could swords even do that?

I put it back and lied down on the bed. The bed was soft. The sunlight faded by the minute and small lights illuminated the city. I could see even from the bed. It was kind of amusing. 

Best one-handed swordsman, huh? 

I chuckled in a defeated tone and massaged my missing arm.

Guess I'll believe you geezer.

My stomach grumbled. I looked into the things and found bread: old bread without mold. Elven bread was supposed to last at least a decade after all. 

Even after all this time I have to eat bread?

It was better than starving. 

The moment I pulled out the bread, Biteria came out of my hair. I'd actually forgotten about her altogether. More like I just ignored her.

I ate and Biteria devoured. Did she always like bread this much?