Aftermath

Perspective : Regina Clement

"The very air you breathe... Within each of you... there exists a particle... that I can manipulate... with a mere command, it will puncture your

heart."

Kyle said that as his face appeared contorted with anger, his brows furrowed and drawn together in a deep frown, his eyes narrowed peirceing daggers through the air with an intense and fiery gaze. His jaws clenched tightly, muscles visibly pulsating, lips curl in to a sneer, revealing gritted teeth.

I could sense the extreme frustration and anger in him.

As soon as everyone heard that,

An air of discomfort and distrust enveloped our group.

Keira said,

"What the hell man .... everyone?".

Kyle replied,

"Yes everyone".

Emilia with a look of sadness and disbelief on her face, said.

"Why .... The fuck would you do that?".

" we trusted you".

"You were our leader".

With Keira asking,

"Yeah ...Why? man.... why".

Kyle after noticing Emilia's expression, he realised the gravity of what he had just blurred out,

with a tone demanding forgiveness, his eyes widened, as he said.

"No ... No ... I am sorry... that was not what I meant".

"It's just ... that ever since federica died... I have been on edge ... and the way you all are acting... and ... I thought... you will ....".

Elkdrack with a cold head on his shoulder, as he tried to pat Kyle shoulder, said.

"Calm down mate ... take it slow".

"first relax your mind ... and tell us what you were saying".

Kyle replied, while panting.

"I thought you all would turn against me ... if we want to survive... we need to work together ... but you two were fighting, I needed to settle that ... you know, because I am the leader of the group".

"And when you guys were not listening.....".

Keira tried to fill his sentence,

"You figured... why not threaten them with that life ending spell you used on us ... huh".

"We were listening to you man ... no one disobeyed ... that wasn't needed".

Kyle tries to clarify the misunderstanding,

"No .. no ... no .. it's not like that".

Keira replied,

"Yes, it's exactly like that".

"There is no other way, that It would make any sense .... I didn't knew you loved being a dictator so much ... that, you would go to such lengths".

Thor Gild tries to stop Keira,

"Stop it ... atleast let him speak for himself".

Keira replied,

"He has lost the right to".

Amidst the arguing,

Sheela approaches Kyle, by her posture she looked as if she was about to slap Kyle.

But before she could carry out her intentions, Emilia steps in and holds Sheela's arm, preventing her from slapping Kyle.

Emilia's eyes meets Sheela's eyes with a mix of concern and understanding,

She said,

"I understand Sheela ... but this is not the way....".

" And don't forget that ... he is the reason Ron is still alive".

Sheela violently retracts her hand from Emilia's, grasp, as she spoke.

" I know but this is a different matter entirely ... ".

Emilia replied,

"No it isn't ... look, I have known Kyle for several years now ...sure, he can be a bit self centred sometimes.... however, I assure you he is a nice guy at heart ... but, this time he has really fucked up... and, he better have a nice reason for all this".

As she looks at Kyle with a menacing gaze she said,

"You do right".

Brandon was silent, even I was quiet, we found ourselves in a surprising situation where our silence masked a deeper and hidden discovery, all because we two got into a scuffle with each other.

However, I still wanted to beat the living shit out of him, but the time just wasn't right.

Kyle explained,

"Look it's not me ... it wasn't me ... I was against it from the start .... it was a part of my job".

"I wasn't going to do it ... ".

Elkdrack confused,

"Elaborate mate... Elaborate... what are you talking about?".

Keira said,

"Let me explain... its a spell called "dust binding"... It helps him, camouflage his grains of particles amidst the breathable air ... so that people can inhale it ... so, he can assassinate them".

"It can also be used to make a person... very sick".

Elkdrack asked,

"So, ... why did he used that on us?".

Keira replied,

"Control us probably ... haven't you heard... It was part of his job description".

Brandon says with a dominating tone to Kyle,

"That's Bullshit .... why don't you come clean already?".

"Shifting the blame to the guild master

... pathetic".

Kyle replied,

"But It's the truth .... the master offered me a lucrative price .... I tried to talk him out of it ... but he said that It would help me maintain harmony in the group ... he said If I wasn't going to do it ... he would hire someone else ... and anyone he would hire, wouldn't give a damn about any one of you ... I had to do it ... Emilia and Keira ... I did it for you two".

Emilia responded in silence,

While Keira said,

"Even if you are saying the truth... no one would believe, you... because you tried to hide this from us".

Sheela spoke,

"Never expected that from you Kyle ... ".

As Sheela, Emilia, Keira and Ikbal left Kyle's side,

Keira said,

"We can't trust you anymore man ... we are looking for this treasure on our own".

Kyle tried to stop them,

"But ... we are a party ... you 4 won't survive there on your own".

Keira replied,

"It's far less dangerous than being by your side".

"See you friend".

Thor Gild said,

"Don't worry I will go with them .... ".

Kyle tried to respond,

"But .... ".

Unable to stop his friends, Kyle stood there, with slumped shoulders, his head slightly lowered. His eyebrows were furrowed, indicating a sense of regret and sadness.

His hands clasped tightly on his blades, almost as if he was restraining himself from expressing his emotions.

I could see a hint of tension on his face, as if he was struggling to find the right words to express himself.

Despite his disappointment, there was also a sense of remorse in his eyes, as he understood the consequences of his action.

Kyle stayed in a state of Shock as, he murmured,

"No .. No .. this isn't how it supposed to happen".

"This isn't right ... I have to do something".

[4 hours later]

With Kyle in that state, and half of our team going on, on their own, there was no one to listen to,

So, Patrick suggested,

"Let's get moving ... maybe we should stay close to them ... there is only one way, maybe we should follow them".

I went towards Conrad, In hopes of carrying him on my back, But Elkdrack said,

"Never mind.. I got him".

That being said, he promptly proceeded to hitch him onto his back, and together we forged ahead within the cavern, diligently tracing the paths left by Keira and the others. Meanwhile, Kyle silently accompanied us.

As we went deeper, the air grew heavy with a sweet musky scent that tickled my nose.

The walls of the cavern were lined with intricate tunnels.

Patrick Commented,

"astounding ... they resemble veins of bloods ... how intriguing".

The dim light casted eerie shadows, that creates an otherworldly ambiance.

Then our gaze fell upon a really gruesome sight. A vast expanse of dead ants sprawled across the ground.

I said,

"It must be their work .... I think we are on the right track".

Elkdrack showing sympathy for the ants said,

"Look at those poor creatures ... we really shouldn't forget that we are the one wrecking their homes".

Patrick replied,

"Since, when did you started caring for ants".

"Last time I saw ... you were putting oil on them".

I didn't cared what they talked about, just that,

"Elkdrack better hold Conrad properly".

"He better not drop him".

Elkdrack replied,

"What else would I have done ... those guys were swarming my house".

Upon closer look, amidst the fallen ants, I noticed remnants of discarded honeycombs, their round yet seemingly circular pattern, with six edges that were still visible.

Some of them were cracked, realising a stinky golden residue that coated the ground.

Patrick said,

"Watch out ... don't step on them".

Elkdrack asked,

"Are these feces ...".

Patrick replied,

"I don't know".

I cautiously avoided them, and pressed on forward.

As we navigated deeper into the Cavern, we saw more bodies of dead ants.

And other insects, as huge as those ants, who seemed to have ripped apart peice by peice.

Something did that, but what?.

we didn't knew.

Maybe, it were those ants or something else entirely.

"Eek ... those don't look like something ... done by Emilia and the others ... I have a bad inkling about this".