010: The Nemean Lion

My journey continued deeper and deeper into the forest.

The further I went, the thicker the underbrush became.

It got to a point where I had to cut through the underbrush with my small, relatively dull knife.

As I drew closer to the center of the forest, the red string on my right hand began to pull me more than before.

It caused me to rush my journey and not really take in my surroundings as much as I should have.

If I had slowed down, I would have noticed the red path of blood trailing behind me, but I was too oblivious to realize.

Man, this underbrush sure is getting annoying.

I wish there was a way to just get rid of it all in one fell swoop.

Alas, there is no such way.

How depressing.

The sun is starting to set.

The moon will rise behind the golden tree.

The sunset was captivating, one of the most beautiful sights a person could ever see.

The sky was covered in a variety of colors, but I only acknowledged one color.

Red.

Just like his eyes.

I can't stand it anymore.

Everywhere I look, I see him.

I can no longer tell if it's his presence in myself clouding my vision, or if it is just that absolute evil is a part of everything in the universe.

I don't want to view the world like this.

It's making me go insane.

I just want to go back in time, back to a time when I was just a normal guy.

No.

Scratch that.

I was never normal.

I always saw the world differently from everyone else…

Because…

…

Nevermind.

You wouldn't understand even if I put it into words because I don't even understand it myself.

Too many questions, not enough answers, so what's the point of focusing on them until I get the answers I need?

The sun finally set, and the darkness of the night sky began to spread across the horizon.

Noticing that night was coming, I found a clearing and decided to set up camp.

I didn't have anything to sleep on, so I would be resting on the flower covered ground.

This small clearing was full of flowers.

Beautiful flowers…

Red flowers…

Asol.

Why must I see him in everything?

Just ignore it.

I searched for materials to make a fire.

Sure, a fire would give away my position to anything nearby, but it will also provide me with light and warmth throughout the night.

I grabbed a mix of kindling and large sticks.

I set up a circle with small rocks, and I set up the sticks like a box.

I placed the kindling in the middle of the box and then began to slam two rocks together to start a spark that would turn into a large fire.

It's funny how one small spark can ignite a whole fire.

I used to be that spark.

I would always be the one igniting the flames in others.

When they were too scared, I would ignite their courage.

I would stand in front of them, and once they saw me do it, they too would do whatever they were scared to do.

They called me brave because of this, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

I denied their praise because I didn't really understand what it meant to be brave.

I always thought that I was just simply foolish for not thinking about things before I do them.

*CLANG*

The rocks started a spark extremely quickly, but one of the rocks scratched my right hand.

I looked down at the blood covered hand.

I didn't want to cover my hand in any kind of splint, because I was nervous that the red string would disappear.

I'm following such an absurd thing.

If anyone was watching me, they'd probably laugh at the fact that I'm following a hallucination.

Even without the red string, I still wouldn't cover my hand because for some reason the blood feels warm…

Comforting.

It's strange.

The blood keeps my hand warm.

The thick…

Red blood.

Red.

Again.

Everywhere I look, that's all I see.

Red.

Blood.

Flowers.

Sunset.

Are those things evil?

Asol is red and the absolute evil, but does that mean that these things are evil as well?

I can't imagine flowers or the sunset being evil.

Everyone views these things as beautiful, so they cannot be evil, right?

No.

Maybe that's not it.

Maybe evil is a part of everything.

…

That's depressing.

*RUSTLE*

The bushes.

Not again.

Is it him again?

Has he awakened?

The masked man…

Is that you?

*ROAR*

A massive lion pounced out of the bushes.

WHAT THE HELL?!

I dodged to the side, and the lion landed right in the fire.

His body began to burn uncontrollably.

WHAT IS A LION DOING IN A FOREST?!

THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!

Well, whatever.

It's dead now.

*ROAR*

The lion jumped out of the fire and charged at me.

HOW THE HELL IS THIS GUY STILL ALIVE?!

The flames were scorching his body, yet he continued the charge.

I could see the burn marks on his fur.

Wait…

They disappeared?

How did they disappear?

The lion bore his claws at me.

I dodged his slash, and stabbed his front right leg.

I pulled out the knife, and expected him to collapse, but the wound closed up the second I pulled the knife out.

WHAT?!

His claws nailed the back of my left thigh.

I collapsed to the floor.

The blood flooding out of my thigh was warm, and it didn't hurt one bit.

The more I bled, the stronger I felt.

I do not know why.

The harder the fight became, the more determined I was.

I sprang back on my feet and narrowly dodged his pounce.

I stood facing him, and both of us hesitated for a moment.

Neither of us wanted to overcommit.

We were scared of a counterattack.

Wait…

I'm scared?

I'm supposed to be brave…

Or was I really just foolish all this time?

Nothing makes sense anymore.

The lion saw me in my moment of questioning, and attacked.

I slid under the lion and cut open his stomach, but it reformed as quickly as I cut through it.

The lion was still on fire, and it scorched my left shoulder.

HOT!

TOO HOT!

My left shoulder began to burn.

The flames were spreading across my clothes.

I was burning, yet the more I burned, the the more I cooled down.

The flames started to feel cold.

It didn't hurt.

It wasn't hot.

Fire is merely a bright, flickering light.

It's not that hot.

Fire should burn my skin, but it doesn't.

The fire stopped spreading across my clothes.

The fire feels…

Like nothing.

I can barely even notice it on my shoulder anymore.

I was captivated by my invincibility to the heat, so much so that I forgot about the lion attacking me.

A lion that cannot be harmed.

Reminds me of an ancient myth about a guy named Hercules.

He fought the Nemean Lion.

This lion had gold fur which could not be pierced by any weapon.

Hercules only won by stabbing him through the mouth.

Maybe, that will work on this lion.

I could try it, but it's risky.

If I'm wrong, then he'll bite off my hands and easily kill me after that.

My legs shook.

How can I defeat the lion if I don't take this chance?

I don't have any other options at the moment, yet my fear is paralyzing me.

I can't move.

I'm too scared of death.

I thought I was courageous, but in the end I'm simply weak and worthless.

*ROAR*

He tried to bite me.

I had no means of escape.

My body wouldn't move, nor did I want it to.

I accepted defeat.

My body slumped over, prepared for defeat, yet my right hand held the dagger out.

My body refused to give up.

A tear fell from my eye.

I was fully prepared for death, yet my body refused to give in.

My arm reached the knife out, aiming for the inside of his throat.

My body refuses to give in, so why should I give in?

I rose to my feet.

"You won't ever see me like that again."

I said.

I thrust the knife down the lion's throat.

I get it now.

Being brave isn't about doing things others are scared to do.

Being brave is fighting through your own fear and doing something that you were too scared to do.

The lion stopped dead in its tracks as blood began to spill out of its mouth.

I pulled the knife out of its throat, and a spherical organ came with it.

It was pale white and had a mix of veins and arteries running through it.

It seemed like it was some kind of heart.

The second I removed his heart from his body, he slumped onto the ground, lifeless.

"This is my sacrifice. I pledge on this body to never give up, or cry, or back down ever again. I will be a man that others can rely on. I will be a brave hero, and if I want to do that, then I cannot be weak. I can be scared just like everyone else, but I refuse to let that fear control me. I WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED BY FEAR, INSTEAD I WILL DEVOUR FEAR WITH MY STRENGTH!"

Ever since I jumped off the cliff, my emotions were off the rails, but now I have discovered my own strength, I simply have to uphold it.

His body was still on fire, and luckily for me, it was cooking the meat for me so that I could eat it.

I haven't eaten anything since I woke up, so I'm starving.

I put out the fire on my clothes, and began to feast on the lion's meat.

It was absolutely disgusting, but I didn't have any other options.

After I filled my stomach and was satisfied, I immediately passed out due to exhaustion.