Wanderer

A complete stranger of a woman suddenly appeared before me. We sat opposite of each other in wooden chairs and a wooden table between us. We made eye contact, I stared into her black endless eyes.

"How are you?" She asked.

"I'm fine," I responded.

"Are you really?"

"Yes?"

"Mmm, I'm not so sure about that."

"Why not?"

"Oh, cmon, be true to yourself. Look deep. Do you really think you're happy?"

"...What kind of question is that?"

She got up from her chair and walked towards me.

"Don't you lie! Liar! You're not even trying to think…"

I got up and stepped backward, keeping distance.

"Wh-where are you going? D-don't you see how lonely I am?" Her voice started quivering.

I tripped on my own self and fell to the floor.

She came over and climbed on top of me, sitting on my legs. Tears started flowing from her eyes as she stressfully gripped her short black hair.

"Won't you give me some company?"

...

My eyes opened to the sight of bushy green leaves and the same haunting purple sky.

That was... a weird dream.

Damn. That was really weird. Dreaming about someone I don't even know. Yikes... Whatever, looks like I got bigger things to worry about. Can't spend any more time like this.

My hands are all bruised up- no- my entire body is covered in nasty bruises and cuts.

I picked myself off the forest grass and brushed the dirt off my grey baggy pants.

My eyes scanned the area around me. Tall leafy trees matched with delicate blooming flowers, windy gusts of air brushing against the cool grass.

Well, it was obviously a forest. I just didn't know where it was. I haven't been here before.

Not just that, but with all that's just happened I'm confident this place is just lurking with monsters. To top it all off I'm also missing my sword, so I'm kinda screwed here...

...Oh well. I can't stand here all day.

With that I took off walking in a random direction, hoping that it might be enough to find an exit so I could search for a village or even a city nearby.

It wasn't enough.

As I aimlessly walked, crunching leaves and trampling down grass, the realization of the severe situation dawned over me.

Sure, maybe I might've barely escaped the gory fate of death, but what about regular citizens? What about other unprotected towns or even the soldiers defending those towns? By all means I wasn't the strongest, but I wasn't the weakest either.

My stomach twisted and turned at the possible number of deaths. Technicians and Scientists from the Agency predicted that roughly at least half of the World's population would fall if such an event were to happen.

Ah... but that's all-technical talk. Surely such a large number of lives would never be lost.

The though lingered in the back of my head despite my attempts to reassure myself.

My thinking lasted for minutes. Somehow, somewhere, I came across a small lake surrounded by trees with an opening for a small overlooking hill at the back. Pink flower petals danced in the water along with lilypads causing small ripples of water. Amid the purple clouds the vibrant sunlight reflected off the water.

Seeing the water had made me realize how thirsty I was. My mouth was dry as a desert. My body moved on impulse, reaching to drink the water even if it was dirty. My body crouched over the water, cupping my hands together to pour some of the water in my mouth.

After a few satisfying sips my eyes shifted upward. I intended to stand up but froze immediately when my light brown eyes spotted someone a few feet away from me.

A... woman?

A woman with wet black hair, dark statue like eyes was suddenly in front of me, pointing a sword at me. She was covered in water as little droplets were on her moist skin. A towel hung around her shoulder's, she carried a pair of clothes in one hand and her blade in another.

What really threw me off was that she was naked.

I stumbled backwards, trying to get away as she approached. I was in too much of a bad position to get up, and before I knew it, the tip of a sharp blade pointed at my neck.

"What are you doing?" The women asked with an angry tone in her voice. She was NOT happy. Her eyebrows furrowed and her cold black eyes stared at me cautiously.

"U-uh-" Were all the sounds I could make as I was completely surprised and caught off guard.

"Answer!" She yelled as the blade began to make contact with my neck.

"Ah, ah! I just wanted water, ma'am!" I immediately and truthfully answered, hoping that she could realize the misunderstanding.

It turns out she didn't.

"Is that so?" The blade retracted and the pressure on my neck was relieved, "Look away, you perv."

Silently, I obeyed. My head turned and faced the trees next to me. After a couple of seconds, she cleared her throat which meant that I could look now.

She had slipped into a black shirt and tied her towel around her waist.

"Stand up," she commanded with a stern voice.

I stood up. It was then when I realized that my divine energy levels were superior to her, meaning that my skill could probably beat her if desired. Though, her aura didn't give any murderous intent. Just cautious. I guess she was just trying to figure out what I was doing.

"How much do you remember?" She suddenly asked, keeping a distance from me.

"Huh? You mean... about the demons?"

She nodded. My attempts to recall the situation were only met by a dazed, pained feeling in my head.

"Um, not much. My memories a bit hazy."

She sighed and sheathed her sword. "Let's go talk elsewhere."

She walked away, expecting me to tag along. I followed her, trying my best not to look harmful or suspicious. Though... I'm sure I came off as awfully suspicious. Auh.

Sooner than expected, we had arrived in front of a small wooden cabin with a front porch. From the outside the cabin looked tidy, well-built and had a sturdy roof made out of cut logs. However, the harder you looked the more you realized it was definitely homemade by an unprofessional with small scratches all over. This meant... this woman was living all alone in a secluded cabin.

Weird. Was she an outcast or did she prefer to live alone?

She opened the wooden door and led me inside. She brought me into her living room and told me to sit on the leather sofa. I did.

"I'll be back. Stay there," she warned as she went to another room.

I patiently waited and admired the furniture around me. A bookshelf containing plenty of books, a dining table with a few chairs, a small kitchen with enough space to just hold some food and to cook, and two doors leading to separate rooms stood in front of me. A couple of landscape painting were hooked onto the wooden walls. Based on her furniture I could tell that... she liked to be secluded.

I mean, who'd stay alone in an empty forest if they hated the silence? Seemed like she was able to keep herself quite busy.

The woman came back. She changed into a white collared shirt, brown leggings and brown ankle high boots. She carried an assortment of items in her hands.

She sat next to me on the sofa. Firstly, though, she handed me a glass of a yellow, vulgar looking liquid.

Instantly, my memory recognized the liquid by the intense smell. A few sips of the refreshing liquid were enough to make me squeal.

"AIIYEEE! Phew, man. I haven't had some Cyran Wine in a while."

She looked a bit confused as she tilted her head yet had a slight smile to her pink lips. "Sorry, I'm not used to having guests, so I didn't know what to give you."

"Ah... It's alright. I like wine, so thank you," I reassured her, "We should introduce ourselves." It had dawned over me that I didn't even know her name.

She nodded in agreement, her blackish hair flowing as her head bobbed.

"Right. I'm Aurath Vitali, ranked #47 in the Elite Swordsmanship Union," I introduced my name and official title.

"I'm... Riniya," she answered plainly.

"Just Riniya?"

"Yes. But you can call me Rin, or Niya, or Rini, or Yan, or-"

"Eh... I'll stick with Rin for now."

"O-okay. Sorry, I haven't talked to humans in a while," she casually mentioned, her ears flickering, "Ah, forgive me, I have something of yours."

Rin handed me my trustworthy blade and the sheath. I thanked her but something seemed off.

"So... how'd you find me?" If she had my stuff, then I'd assume she found me somewhere else before.

"O-oh... you must be really confused. I- uhm- I was going to the market. When I walked back home, I saw an unconscious body. It turned out to be you," Rin explained, trying to perfectly recall the details of how she came to find me.

"I... see. I'm assuming I wasn't in the best condition."

"Nope... Actually, that reminds me," she took something small out her hand and unfolded it. She stood over me and put a strange looking cloth over my eye, tying it around my head.

"...Huh. What's that little cloth for?" I didn't understand the motive behind her actions or her purpose.

"O-oh... I'm sorry, I thought you'd want to cover it up, so-"

"Heh? Cover what up..."

"Y-you don't know? U-um... I don't know how to say this, but here," she handed me a small hand mirror and untied the cloth.

Instantly I recognized what she meant. Surprised? Slightly. But I knew something was off from the beginning. Still. I kinda let the slight amount of shock get to me in that moment. Oopsies.

"...Where the FUCK is my eye?"

"A-ah, sir. Calm down. I can regenerate a new one for you, but it might take a while."

"...Please."

It wasn't my first time losing an eye. In fact, it's happened more than I'd want to admit. It's just that... a medic could easily replace the eye if they actually still had it. But mine's probably out somewhere laying in some bloody battlefield, meaning a new one had to be made.

"Are you alright, sir?"

"...I'm fine. Just a bit shocked. I'm used to it, actually."

"Oh, good. Here, I'll put this back on," she said, reattaching the cloth.

I thanked her. We both stayed silent for a minute. It seemed as if we had run out of topics to talk about.

"Um... I need you to do me a favor, sorry," Rin had interrupted the short-lived silence.

"Yes, Rin?"

"I need some help with something outside," she explained as she opened the backdoor, leading me into her backyard.

She kept her backyard organized and it lacked a big area of trees. It was like a small little opening in the forest.

"What do you need help with in here?" I curiously asked as it seemed like there was nothing for me to do here.

"I-I'm awfully sorry, sir," Rin's voice suddenly became apologetic, "But I have to know how capable you are."

With that, Rin began to unsheathe her sword on her hip. Without any warning, not a slimmer of hesitation, she lunged forward and aimed right for my head. Had I not managed to duck just in time, I probably would've been completely eyeless.

She didn't hold back one bit. She recovered quickly and swung, targeting my torso. I backstepped out of the way.

"It's okay, sir," her voice became firm and serious, "You don't need to hold back with me."

She stroked a downward strike. Just in time my reflexes drew my sword and blocked, giving me enough time to counterattack by stepping to the side and following with a vertical slash.

She saw the attack coming, despite it being a counterattack. She moved before I had even released my attack. "You're fast."

I jabbed my sword at her. Rin parried; I parried back. Our blades danced with repeated vertical and horizontal strikes. Blue sparks fell from my blade, red spark fell from Rins. We held and pressed our blades together.

Bit by bit, I had come to learn Rin's swordsmanship skills. Whenever I managed to counterattack, she would read the direction of the attack and move the opposite way. Based on that... I might be able to sneak in a little jab to her stomach.

Rin attacked with an upward cut. I dodged to the right and turned my shoulder towards her, indicating that I was to follow up with a horizontal slash.

What Rin didn't know was that... I could fight with both hands. In fact, left-handed was more natural to me.

Rin jumped into the air and behind me. In the short moment she jumped, I switched my blade into my left hand and directed a powerful jab right behind me, just as I had predicted.

...

It hit. My blade gruesomely pushed up against her stomach, impaling her. I quickly sheathed my blade and caught her in time before she fell to the ground.

She looked at me and smiled.

"...Not bad for #47."