The Dead Boy Who Rose From His Grave

POV: Adventurer Guilds receptions in the town of Hagg - Rowlin Mardredwood

7 Years later...

It's been a total of seven years since that day. The day that constantly wakes me in deep sleep, relentlessly tormenting me and not allowing me the comfort of living in my sentimental dreams.

The guild, just like seven years ago, was teeming with crowds of people drinking, chatting, preparing, sleeping. The loud clings of glasses struck throughout as people toasted in celebrations, smiles plastered on their faces and ignoring the problems of others.

I couldn't forget about the day that I let him join. It was completely wrong of me, no matter how desperate the boy was. I've certainly made mistakes in the past that I'm not fond of, but this had to have been the worst mistake of my life. It was so easily avoidable as well.

But now as punishment, since I am unable to do nothing else, I hang up missing posters of the boy from seven years ago. The boy who introduced himself under the name of Kana. His childish nature shone through his cardinal eyes, a teeming glow of youth sprouting out of him visible to even the oldest and calmest of souls.

My hand stopped at the notice board, where I placed countless missing person posters, and before my hand pressed down on the new poster, a tear drop fell to the floor. A single drop. I didn't know the boy, practically at all. He was a complete stranger to me. Maybe I'm wallowing over this decision because he was a child or because it was because of me that he's now dead. No... It's probably both.

I couldn't do anything for the boy. It technically isn't my job to help him out, but it was certainly my fault he died. I didn't talk to him after he enlisted as an adventurer, but I heard he had a gig for a B - Rank mission with some party. At first I didn't recognise the party's name, but after I did some digging I found out about their tendencies to leave areas fairly quickly and restrict information about their party and their doings. It was a major red flag, but by the time I found out, they had already set off.

After that, when they eventually returned from their mission, I was away from the guild and my colleague was filling in. He told me they all came back, stern faces that were twisted a sour pallet and collected their reward. Since then, their party Bone Raid, has been inactive and have disappeared off the grid. The only lead that I have been able to intercept was that their leader has settled down in the countryside with his family. Though I can't say for sure, I've been meaning to go travel there and interrogate him but have been to busy with guild matters. When I look at things properly, for all the bad I caused, I haven't really done anything to correct it or at least put a rest to my unanswered question that keep me up every night.

"Huhhhhhhhhh..." A tired sigh escaped my mouth as I leaned past the window I was supposed to sit behind, looking on at a young lad, who couldn't have been any older than 15 or 17 years old.

"If he was still alive... he'd probably be about his... age... right?" Another tired gasp let loose. My body now slumped fully over the window as my forehead knocked on the wooden till in front.

Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump!

Heavy steps stomped on the floor, slowly becoming louder and louder. The wooden doors creak open, carrying in the heavy rain and travelling wind that spread through the guild. My head rose up from my desk lethargically. I corrected my glasses which fell of my eyes and wonkily slipped down my nose, improving my vision which was blurred without the assistance of said spectacles.

A tall man gradually strode in, body laid back oozing confidence or pride. Run down black leather boots, a torn russet coloured head covering that shielded his features. All but the eyes. A proud cardinal red colour. The same colour as the boy's who died 7 years ago. Though it was the same colour, it could never have been Kana's. His were filled with desperation, life, the will to survive. Whilst his looked bleak, darkened and rotted. His gaze bore no warmth, no happiness, no joy. Like a soldier who had returned home to nothing, but also had nothing on the battlefield.

His aura seemed to impose quite the presence on everyone in the guild, including me, as silence fell upon everyone. A threatening intent leaked from his body, the air around him felt like triple the usual gravity and felt cold enough to freeze lava.

Everyone who could, looked towards him. The rest diverted their gaze to their lap avoiding all possible contact. He paid no mind to the entrance he'd given or to the people who searched him with their eyes. His gaze was fixed forwards, targeted straight at me.

He once more began walking, the cold grasping at the surface near me gripping on to me and swarming me with it's chill. His heavy footsteps that sounded like the bell which sounded at midday, and his torn head covering that swayed in the motion of his movements. He leans over to my window and rests his arm on the till in front.

In a brazen raspy voice, he utters to me, "It's been 7 years yet you look not a minute older. I'm back, Rowlin Mardredwood."