The Parting Words

"Elyana liste-"

As Dad turns behind, Elyana propels herself fast, like the wind, towards him with vengeful determination. The lethal blade finds its mark in a merciless plunge and gushes straight inside Dad's unsuspecting stomach.

....

As it unfolded before my very eyes, a sudden lifelessness overcame me—my gaze frozen, my thoughts breaking away from reality, and the air stolen from my lungs. In that bewildering moment, the veil of comprehension lifted, leaving me out of this world.

Dad's eyes widened at mercy, as if they'd pop out. He looks down at the knife, held by Elyana's firm hands.

Elyana clenches her teeth and twirls the knife inside Dad's stomach. A gush of blood from his mouth spatters on her face.

She raises her face and meets Dad's eyes at a still pause.

After a moment, she slowly lets go of the knife, and Dad sinks to the ground on his back, shattering away a few of the glasses from the broken jar.

*THUD*

I stood there in numbness, unable to comprehend the situation in front of me.

Elyana takes two steps back, turns around, and runs out of the house.

.....

"Huhh..?"

What...what did I just witness? Elyana stabbed Dad.? Our dad—her own dad?

I see that Dad is still breathing and moving a little. He is not dead yet.

Huff* Huff* Huff* Huff*

"Dad..!! Elyana, you Bitch.!!!" I punch the wall in front of me while screaming my lungs out. I punch again and again and again and again and again until I feel no energy in my arms. I break down and clench myself in tears.

Dad, trembling, slowly raises his hand towards me.

"Dad..!!" He can see me.

He clenches his fist, and the bubble that was wrapped around me disperses in the air, making me land on the ground.

Without wasting a second, I ran towards Dad, sat down, and picked him up in my arms.

"Dad..! You okay.?"

I wiped the blood from his mouth. Tilting my head around his body, I saw the dagger stuck inside his stomach and how much pool of blood had covered us.

"Oh God...Dad.. Say something. SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP..!!! MY FATHER HAS BEEN STABBED."

I know, it's over. She has stabbed the solar plexus, and there's no healer in the area. The palace is many miles away, and can I lift Dad alone.?

And yet again, I can't do anything except look down and cry over my weakness. Until Dad gently holds on to my cheeks and lifts my face up, his fingers feel like frozen ice.

"E-lea..."

His weakened gaze looked into my tear-filled eyes.

"Dad..." with a soundless voice, I took his name.

"Stop crying, my child. You want to become the knight, right.?"

"Hmuuhm..." I snorted and nodded.

"Knights don't cry. We take pride in our lives, even when we are losing them.

I nod again.

"Elea.."

I clutched his cold hand as tears kept streaming down my face.

"G-Go inside of it."

"Inside.? Inside of what.?"

He gobbled up his strength to say the next word.

"Murk."

My eyes widened. A sense of confusion rushed in. If I heard him correct or not, I asked him again.

"Murk.? You want me to go inside the gate?"

"hmm.."

"But no one has made it back again, right?"

"They came from there. This world is done."

...

"You will find your answers in the Murk. Do not wait here any longer. Just run inside; you'll know once you keep going."

".... "

"Promise me, you'll embrace life's uncertainty with courage."

Looking at how his voice has started reducing even more, I am trembling for what's coming.

"I-I don't know if I can do this alone."

He smiled faintly.

"You're never alone. I and your mother will always be watching you."

I nodded

"And Elyana is there too. Take care of her."

I jolted firmly and nodded sideways with fierce eyes.

"No! Dad, I will kill her."

The blood came out of his mouth, and after catching his breath, he answered.

"She might be having her own reasons. Let it be. You know your sister, right.?"

I don't know what to say anymore. There were too many questions on my mind, but more importantly, staying with Dad is the only thing on my mind at present. I kept him close to me.

Just then, with his last vestiges of strength, he moves his hand to reach for his chained knife. With a solemn gaze, he pressed the weapon into my trembling chest, a silent transfer of fate in the waning moments of his life.

"Take it..."

"Dad.!?"

"You haven't selected your weapon, right.?"

"B-But-"

"It's a gift for reaching here. I have done..what I had to do...Now..It's your turn. Be Strong."

I clung desperately to his hand, tears streaming down my face without mercy. Each sob echoed the ache in my heart, a hopeless grief, as I held on to the warmth that was slipping away.

And with the most heartwarming smile, he whispered his final words.

"Congratulations, Elea."

He takes a shuddering breath, his grip loosening as the cold claims him. The room grew still, the silence echoing the void that had suddenly entered my world. Father's hand lay lifeless in my grasp.

*Sigh** These people are good at making fools of me. I know this is just a prank. Elyana, Mom, and Dad—everyone's in it, so I am playing along. 

"Dad, you can wake up now. I know this is just a joke. Mom, you too."

After a moment's pause, I-

"Dad...Dad...He-Hey wake up.."

"Mom.."

Tell me all this is a joke.

What happened here.?

Why did this happen?

Urgghh...Huuh...I-

What am I supposed to do now?

Huh.?

Urging in despair, I soared my head above and screamed my life out.

WHY...?? why..why..? Why why

..WHY DID THIS HAPPEN...AAAAAAAAAAA..!!!!!!!!!!!"

As the tears flowed freely, a profound ache enveloped me.

The world blurred into a haze of despair, making my senses numb. 45 minutes have passed since Dad's passing moments; that felt like an eternity. I am still sitting here with Mom and Dad, unable to move or think. Slowly, a little clarity began to pierce through the emotional fog.

Dad's words started coming in, and he asked me to take care of her and figure out the reason behind her action.

"What kind of reason can make you kill your own parents.?"

I murmured.

The image of that demon woman who wore my t-shirt and what Elyana did were flashing repeatedly in my mind.

My eyes gazed at a blood-stained chain knife in my hand, and a sheer determination towards something arose from within me, and words took shape in response to it.

"I will kill both of those bitches with my hand. ELYANA!!"

—Resolution.