44 - Alive

Sunlight pierced my eyelids. I squinted, and moved my arm to block my face. I reflexively curled in on myself from a sharp pain in my stomach. The sudden movement made it worse. I cried out in pain.

I heard people respond, rushing around and coordinating with each other. Someone called for Thomas. 

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I moved to sit up. I opened my eyes, letting myself adjust to the late evening light. Sophie and Nate were at my side, and they helped me sit up and prop my back against something solid. 

"Where are we?" I asked. My voice was hoarse, nearly unrecognizable. 

"About a day and a half west from home. Thomas said you'd recognize it."

I didn't, at least not initially. The others had set up tents and a cooking pot. The clearing we were in was small. I felt at what I was leaning against, stone. Then I realized, we were back at the beginning. With nothing. 

Thomas arrived, the Lost in hand. Greg was at his side, holding the Ancient. Blood was splattered across their clothes, and others dragged monster corpses behind them. 

*You've awoken.* The Ancient noted, sounding relieved.

"I won't die that easily. Not while that creep has my wife and daughter."

"You came pretty dang close." Thomas replied. "You were unconscious for nearly three days. Not to mention, you almost almost died in our arms on our way here."

Greg set the Ancient down next to me. I touched my abdomen wound. It was covered with a large leaf, held in place with vine rope. I was shirtless, most likely for ease of changing the bandage.

Nate brought me a bowl of stew that smelled like mushroom. I thanked him and sipped from it. The others watched me expectantly. I swallowed slowly. It warmed me up from within, and I felt better with something in my stomach. I continued to sip from it. When my bowl was empty, I spoke again. "He had a countermeasure for the spell we had used against the Boss. That was the Ancient's ace. It's the only thing he had in mind, at least without killing his carrier."

"That's it?" Thomas asked, "We get jumped, our plan fails, and we call it quits?"

"I haven't said that yet. But the Ancient has had thousands of years to prepare. And his best plan was countered instantly."

The others didn't have a rebuttal. Eventually, they wished me well and went about various tasks around the camp. I stared into the darkening sky until I saw the stars. Did Katie see those stars too? Or was she tucked away in the mental realm with no access to her senses?

Despair filled my mind. My opponent was stronger than anything I had faced, and we had next to nothing. I was bedridden. Thomas still didn't know the abilities of his Soulblade, and we had fifty other normal people. Normal, modern people trying to live in a world with magic swords and giant monsters.

Thomas came to me with some replacement materials for my bandage and a basic torch to light the way. He unwrapped the wound at my waist, and pulled soaking red cloth-textured leaves away. I clenched my teeth, and looked at the revealed skin. It was puffy and irritated. Thomas cursed under his breath.

"What?" I asked, holding back tears of pain.

"It's been infected. And it looks like some internal bleeding too." He cursed again, "I wish Katie were here to do something with her magic."

"We've really taken the Soulblades for granted, haven't we." I asked with a wry smile.

"They solved all our problems. Fire, medicine, water... We have to do it all manually again." He prepared a replacement bandage. "I'll do what I can, but we'd need a surgeon to get you properly fixed up."

"And we don't have one in our group?"

Thomas's silence spoke volumes. No more words were exchanged while he rebound my wound. The task was done quickly, and he gave me a look that seemed to say, 'I hope you survive this,' before going to organize the others' sleeping arrangement.

I stared into the starry sky. The others settled down for the night, having muted conversations.

"Hey, Ancient, where do Soulblades come from?" 

He was silent for a moment before responding, *They - we - were once mortal, human, like you. My brother, sister, and I learned about the technique from the black-bound book. We were the first to use it, and though my sister and I tried to keep it secret, no one can keep a secret for a thousand years.*

"I figured. At least that you were once human. That's what the murals in the Temple of Swords are, right?" 

*Yes.*

I clutched at my wound, sealed with a barrier. "What if I became a Soulblade? Would it save my life?" 

*It would, but consider carefully. Immortality isn't strictly a blessing. And there is no way I have found to reverse the change. You will never be able to hold your wife again. And when her time comes, she will leave you for the afterlife. Your decision will have eternal consequences.*

"I see." I said, finishing my tone indicating an end of the conversation. The stars above twinkled innocently.