4 Chapter 4: ...Ma?

"M...Ma?"

Ragnar found himself being woken up by the sound of his own lips puttering; his voice, slightly deeper and hoarser than he remembers. He doesn't remember how many times he has woken up, only to fall again into the abyss of his own consciousness.

His throat... it felt dry — but at the very same time, it was… moist. There was also this weird taste that drowned his entire mouth; a taste similar to when he accidentally bit a raw lizard.

"...Ma?" He then tried patting the damp ground he found himself in; his hands, desperate for the warmth of their mother's care.

Very soon, however, a familiar feeling started to surround his body — pain. No, it was more like the absence of it. It was pulsating, almost beating with his heart.

It appears, then disappears; allowing Ragnar to feel what it feels like to not be in pain.

It… hurts.

His body was so accustomed to the pain it was feeling that not being surrounded by it actually made him grit his teeth in horror.

It lasted for hours. Hours of nothing but this weird feeling of comfort that burned him from the inside out. He remembered the stories his mother told him about Hel — and how the bad people are put there after they die.

So is it true? Was he the monster in this story? Was Hel pulling him away because he has been bad?

But why?

Was it because he could not help herself and cried for his mother?

Why is something like this happening to him, when all he did was stay inside and be with his mother?

Numerous thoughts circled in Ragnar's young mind — his thoughts that should have only been filled with happiness and innocence, slowly crumbling away along with the pain.

And soon, there was nothing.

Nothing but his breath, which was once timid and weak, now loud enough to echo through the darkness.

His legs that would seem to fall if one were to just blow on them, now felt like they could carry the weight of mountains– at least that was what it felt like for him.

His arms that would flail with the wind, now able to withstand storms.

There was, however, something that he couldn't understand.

The darkness — it was not the same. For the first time, Ragnar had to close and squint his eyes, almost as if he was attempting to remove something sticking to it.

"M… mama?" Ragnar once again tried to call for his mother as he couldn't understand what was happening to him,

"!!!"

Ragnar then took a step back, as something seemed to appear in front of him… only for it to follow him. He just wanted to try and remove the thing in his eyes… but then something happened… it was…

…He truly couldn't understand what it was

But soon, as the thing in front of him once again… moved, he finally realized what it was. It was his hands — he could see his hands in this weird darkness.

And as soon as that thought entered his mind, the darkness started to make sense. The rocks, the water that was dripping, the damp ground — Ragnar could finally see what they looked like. But even with all of these new sights that presented themselves in front of him…

…the very first thing that Ragnar tried to search for was his mother.

"Ma!?" Ragnar then once again screamed, causing his voice that was now filled with vigor to reverberate in the air.

"Ma!?" He once again called — until finally, he heard a whisper.

Ragnar quickly ran towards the faint noise, almost tumbling to the ground as he was not used to walking in this weird darkness. And very soon, he saw Alfhild…

…lying on the ground.

Ragnar rushed towards his mother in panic but found himself hurtling towards the wall of the cave; causing a chunk of it to crack. Ragnar was utterly confused because of what just happened. But still, he ignored it as he walked towards his mother, very gently this time.

"...Ma?"

Ragnar slowly crouched in front of Alfhild, his hands, still tapping several times even though he could already see.

"Mama?"

Something… was weird, however. Although Ragnar has never seen his mother before or any other people, he quickly noticed that something was missing.

"..." Ragnar then tried looking at himself, and then back to Alfhild several times to see what was wrong.

Legs.

And an arm.

Alfhild was missing a leg and an arm.

"R… Ragnar?"

"Ma!? What… what happened? Where… where is your—"

"S… shhh… You… you've become strong," Alfhild's hand trembled as it longed for the warmth of her son's cheek, "I… I knew you would become the warrior I know… you are."

Ragnar was right, of course — Alfhild was missing most of her limbs. She wasn't bleeding, however, as she burnt her injuries and wounds as soon as she cut up parts of her flesh…

…for Ragnar to consume.

She was weak… very weak.

"Just… just wait, ma. We… We're going to get out of here!"

"You… you can see me now?"

Ragnar was about to stand up, but before he could do so, Alfhild grabbed Ragnar's hand.

"Look… look me in the eyes, my son."

"M… ma?" Ragnar did as his mother ordered.

"I… I'm so… sorry… you… you have to see me… like… like this," Alfhild's voice was barely a whisper,

"I… am sorry… that this… this is the first thing you… you see."

"..." Ragnar's lips trembled as he looked at his mother's face, "You… you are beautiful, mother."

"Heh…" A small smile crawled on Alfhild's pale face, "You… you've grown."

"I… I'm going to get us out of here, ma!"

Ragnar finally stood up, gently removing his mother's hand from his face,

"This time… this time I am taking care of you, okay, mama!?"

Ragnar then leaped; his thin arms, smashing their way towards the rocks that covered them. But even with his newfound strength, he found the cave to be relentless.

"No!" Ragnar roared as the cave started to tremble.

"Ragnar…"

"We're going to get out of here, ma. Just wait!" Ragnar said as the bones of his knuckles started to show; his nails, completely gone, "Just… just you wait! It… It'll be my turn to take care of you once… once we get out of this place."

"Ragnar… no."

"Just… just wait, ma."

"The people… the people outside… they don't… they don't understand what you are," Alfhild tried to sit up, but even lifting her head took everything from her,

"But… but there are kind… there are kind people too… okay?"

"No! They did this to you!"

Ragnar's voice cracked; and along with it, light slowly seeped through a part of the cave — Ragnar was confused as to what it was, it hurt his eyes, but at the same time… it held warmth.

"Outside…" Ragnar gasped,

"It's the outside, ma!" Ragnar rushed to the light, and proceeded to burrow his hands through it — it hurts, it was a new pain that drowned his eyes, but it didn't matter.

"We… we're going to get out, ma! We're going to… we… we're going to…"

"..."

"..."

"…Ma?"