From Cinders (2)

Tap! Tap! Tap!

"Slyph, wait up!" The cloaked man was the first to catch up with the elven ranger. The yellow light released by the torch on his left, only stretching as far as the elf in front. Ahead of that, he could not see anything else.

"..." The elf kept quiet. His gaze seemed to be staring at whatever was on the ground. Seeing the dim figure of the elf, the cloaked man couldn't tell whether he was staying still, or keeping stiff. So once more, the man asked,

"Oi, I'm talking to you brat..." The man acted as though he was impatient. His intention? to push the elf to answer his question. Well, that and asserting his dominance over the group. However, what came out of the elf's mouth, was nothing like he had expected.

"I think it's better for you to see it yourself..." The elf interrupted him, before turning around and glaring at the cloaked man with sharp eyes. Then, he just leaned unto the stone wall behind him, still piercing the man sharply.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

After seeing the gaze that elf put up, he knew that it was serious. So with the torch at hand, he walked onwards. Slowly, yellow light began to consume the darkness at his way. It didn't take long for him to see what the elf saw.

"..." Upon seeing the object in question, he too was a loss for words. How in the world did this get in here? The man thought. It was simply impossible to enter these chambers, even they had to use special means to enter here.

"...Alright, who blundered this time?!?" The cloaked man turned behind and shouted as loud as he could, creating echoes for all to hear. Coincidentally, the others have arrived at the scene.

"..." The other three as well, after taking a glance of what they have seen, couldn't contain their shock. They stared at it for a good while, with eyes of disbelief. Even after being asked the man, they still kept quiet. The only observable change? All three of them were sending glares at the cloaked man.

"Don't worry, I just checked. It wasn't him..." Suddenly, the elven ranger was already inspecting the object, disappearing from the spot he was in before. This had shocked the cloaked man. Since when was he this fast? Even if he was quick, he should have been able to see something. Yet, he had seen nothing. The man thought as he stared.

"... And, it looks like... It's already dead. Judging how it died, the poor fella must've been lying here for quite some time..." After one last glance at the corpse, the elf deduced it's death. Well, technically, even if it was still alive they'd still kill it.

"...But... how did it even get here?..." Just as the heat was cooling down, what the young woman said, shattered their relief. Just how did a street bum end up in a place like this? The four thought closely, with the one other, chuckling inside.

△▼△

It happened concurrently. Two men could be seen running through the plains of ash, barefooted. The word painful, barely describing what they felt. Coupled with flames, one that surrounded their every corner, their skin had long since withered.

Their destination was just right ahead, it was a hole and not just any. 10-kilometers, roughly, it stretched. One, so deep, one couldn't help but think where it leads. However, if it were anywhere but here, the two would gladly stake their lives.

Slash! Hua!

He thought that they were going to make it to the end, together, he did. But the moment he turned his head, to see how his accomplice was faring, It found them. The thing they were so wary of, so full of intention on leaving it alone, had unexpectedly caught up with them.

"Cough! W... What?..." The ashen man coughed blood, tainting his already dirty beard, uttering his last. The Watcher's sword had penetrated through his chest, an obvious critical. In other words, the old man wasn't going to live much longer.

Cough! Cough!

"Heh, I don't... want to die... please... I don't want to die..." The old ashen man told him, coughing blood, his expression of a devastated scare. With his white beard tainted with red, his eyes began shedding tears. He was so close to freedom, so very close. Yet, against all odds, the Gods have forbidden him. If he died now if he died here, where will he go?

"...You... I'm begging you... I don..." The old ashen man mumbled, right before realization struck him. Of course, the answer was right in front of him. If even the Gods had forbidden his escape, then he just needed someone else to do it for him.

"No... no... no, you have to... leave me... go... run..." The old ashen shouted. But he didn't know what to do. He just stood there, motionless, dead frozen. It wasn't because he was petrified of the Watcher's horrors, nor was it because it was his first time seeing gore. No, he stood there unmoving, gazing inside the ashen man's, dark azure eyes.

Those eyes, it spoke of something. It was as though the man had finally given up. His unrelenting courage to keep living, obstructed by a dead end, literally.

"What... are you... waiting..." The old ashen's face bellowed downwards, his face darkened, heaving his last few breaths. Tears could be seen flowing down his face but evaporated as it reached his chin.

"...run... please..." The old ashen looked up, staring back at him. It was then, he remembered. All this time, he had never taken a good look at him. Which was quite odd, considering that the two had known each other for quite a while. Hence the ashen believed, he should take one last look at the person before him. Where he went after this, a world of darkness awaited. So at least, when he stays there, he'll have a face to remember.

"...for god sakes... don't stare at me like that... no, don't you dare..." Tears flew down the old ashen's face like a river. The two stared at one another, and both of which were weeping. As the old ashen was losing blood, the man spoke,

"...us men don't cry goddamnit... don't let me see your sorry face... no..." The man spoke, standing stiff, and doing so while weeping. Even if he wanted to get up and help the man, he couldn't.

The one who wielded that black sword, despite its thin body, was monstrously strong. Just a slap from it had the ability to decapitate others. One could only imagine what would happen if it was given a weapon.