Guiding Light

A boy without a surname and not a penny to his name opened his eyes and revealed the drowsiness within. Knowing that the old man downstairs would have his head if he was late, he forced himself out of bed. As always, the bed creaked under the pressure of the slightest movements he made.

'I wish I had the money for a new bed. One that doesn't smell of sweat and blood.' He grimaced in disgust as the very familiar, and yet unpleasant smell penetrated his nose. There were many disadvantages to not having any money to your name, but one of the biggest for Micah was cleanliness. At heart, he was a very clean person, but as of yet, that was one of those things he just couldn't have. Although, he had dreamed up a palace in his mind where he could go and escape the troubles and sorrows of reality. In that place, there was no smell of sewer, there were no bullies beating him black and blue during the cover of darkness on his way home with groceries. None of that. In there, he was king. He had loyal and kind friends with a home welcoming to all. But, he had long since dropped the idea of that ever happening. he wasn't that naive to think he had a chance to be anything more than he was now.

After dressing himself in his usual rags, he washed his face quickly and ran downstairs to begin yet another day doing this dead-end job that offered him nothing but barely enough food to survive. But, he would never complain out loud, in fact, he already felt guilty for not fully appreciating what he had. Without Old man Rufus and his bakery, he doubted that he would even be alive. He had no right to wish for more since Rufus put all his effort and earnings into his and Micah's comfort. Still, late at night to early in the mornings, he couldn't help but dream himself away, wondering if there was something more for him to do in the world than this. Did he not have a higher calling, something he was born to do. Or was he destined to be a broke baker all his life?

"Mornin to ya, sleepy-head. We just received a large order of dream cakes. Get to it before I knock some sense into ya," Rufus acted and looked like a real hardass. This was all a facade moulded over the years he was stuck in this village. In truth, he was the kindest man Micah had ever met. And the more Rufus insulted you the more he actually liked and respected you. It was his own twisted way of complimenting someone. Of course, not always, sometimes he could just curse you because he hated your guts.

"Your words make no sense as usual. How can you knock sense into someone when you don't even know the meaning of the word. Why don't you just die already and leave me the shop? You're driving our business into the ground." Micah refuted in annoyance.

To outsiders, the words they used would sound very harsh and mean-spirited, but to this duo, it was the same as saying good morning or goodnight. They were quite socially distant from the village because of their way of speaking.

"Over my dead body that I would let you inherit my treasure!" Rufus brought down the bagel of justice on Micah's head.

"Damn it, old man! That's exactly what I said. Go die already, I'm tired of seeing your face!" Micah raised his arms and protected himself from Rufus furious assault with his bagel. "And stop hitting me with a bagel, you zombie!" Among the hundreds of insults they had for each other, this one was Micah's favourite. Rufus hated his wrinkles and overall old-man appearance, so comparing him to a zombie always got him riled up.

"Come here you little bastard, this requires another beating!" This was a standard morning for the duo, and despite what was said, Rufus had never during the years since he took in the boy beaten him with anything other than a soft piece of bread. Very soon after the screaming contest was over and done with, they both released a hearty laugh before they started working on today's orders.

As the day went on, the sun made its way across the sky, as it did every day. When the day started to get dark, the last expected customer stepped into the shop. It was a man dressed in a well-kept suit, but even Micah could see that the suit was incredibly cheap and that the man probably didn't have the amount of money he wanted people to believe he had.

"Hey, you bastard, you're two hours late!" Rufus called out from the back, somehow knowing exactly who just stepped into his shop. He came walking out with an exhausted-looking Micah following behind dragging his feet.

"I was busy, and before you ask, it doesn't concern you what I was attending to. Is my order ready?" The man said arrogantly, sort of expecting some form of admiration or awe.

"I don't give a flying crap where the hell you were. What matters is that this is the third time you are late for a pick-up. We do our job with passion and care, and in turn, I expect my customers to show up when I tell them to. It's no longer fresh, but it'll taste good still, so hand over the money and get the hell out of my shop." He threw a box at the man which he caught but almost dropped.

"You expect me to pay after you curse me out and give me an expired order? Ridiculous, consider yourself lucky that I don't report you to the town council for this." The man turned around, opened the door to walk out of the shop but an arrow came flying and pierced his chest, killing him instantly.

Rufus's eyes shot up and he immediately reacted by grabbing Micah and diving behind the counter, just in time to avoid a volley of arrows tearing into the shop. Only a few seconds later, the door was kicked open and two men walked in. They were dressed in just slightly nicer-looking rags then Micah had on. "Micah, stay here and when I give the signal, run for the backdoor," Rufus said in a whisper, Micah's heart was in his throat so he hadn't heard what Rufus said. At the moment, everything looked like one big blur and Rufus's voice became nothing but static noise. All he could see was that obnoxious fake nobleman getting hit with the arrow. The blood had now passed the counter so Micah could see it, and combined with the image of the last moments of the man's life, he felt like vomiting. He had seen blood before, his own. But he had never seen someone die before. One moment he was talking, acting all high and mighty, and the next he was just a corpse. The deeper in this rabbit hole he sunk, the sicker he felt. And finally, he couldn't take it anymore, his dinner resurfaced and he threw up while his body was trembling from fear.

"Hahaha! What do we have here?" The arrogance and lack of remorse in the voice made Micah feel even more dread. 'How can someone kill another man and laugh! LAUGH!?' He was trapped in the spiral of fear of his own mind.

"Micah, RUN!" Rufus, realising there was no longer a point to try and hide jumped out from the counter, his fatherly instincts screamed at him to protect Micah.

"He's just a boy. Do with me what you will, you bastards, but leave him be! You won't kill a child!"

"Nah, we won't! Do you take us for monsters?" Grinned one of the men. "Although, we are running low on good men, after some training I'm sure he'll fit right into our little group." Said the other one as the first one nodded along. Rufus had stumbled upon bandits before so he knew there was no point in trying to reason. Not after they made their intentions clear. All that mattered to him now was Micah, and how to keep him safe.

Rufus took on a sloppy fighting stance against the men. There was no fear in his eyes, only determination. "I don't care what happens to my old bones, I'm almost dead anyway. But I won't let them lay a finger on you, Micah. Believe that I will protect you until the end. It's you and me against the world, as it has always been." He didn't have to look back to tell that Micah hadn't moved at all. "Defiant until the end, you little bastard!"

"Hope you're happy leaving him with those parting words, old man. This is the last time you'll see him ever again." One of them unsheathed his sword while the other pulled out a sharp-looking knife. Even though he was resolute, Rufus couldn't help but take a step back.

"Not so brave now, are ya?! Hahahaha!" With a savage smile on his face, the sword-wielding bandit stepped up to Rufus. It became immediately clear he had no idea how to wield a sword because Rufus who had never trained in any fighting art in his life managed to dodge every swing coming for him. After a miss and the sword got stuck on the wooden counter, Rufus with all of his adrenaline pumping through him lept forward and punched the man in the face.

"GODDAMIT! STAND STILL YOU OLD FUCKER!" The man's lip was cracked and blood was dripping down his chin.

"Not so brave now, are ya?" Rufus repeated with some of his confidence restored.

"HEY, OLD MAN, GIVE UP OR YOUR KID GETS IT!" The knife-wielding bandit had in all the commotion snuck passed Rufus and grabbed ahold of Micah. Now he had his knife placed firmly against his neck.

"MICAH!!" Rufus was about to leap against him out of pure instinct and rage when he suddenly felt an intense pain around his abdomen. The sword-wielding bandit had taken the chance to stab Rufus in the stomach.

"RUFUS!!" Micah now seeing Rufus stabbed with a sword properly jolted awake. "RUFUS!" He started to viciously struggle against the man and in doing so he surprised the amateur bandit and out of reflex, he sliced Micah's throat open.

"M-MICAH!!" Now it was Rufus turn to panic, with no regard for his life or the fact that he was bleeding out he started to crawl. "YOU CAN'T DIE! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS!" Rufus with maddening willpower crawled towards Micah. "SOMEONE SAVE MY SON!" Suddenly everything stopped. Time itself had stopped, Rufus was frozen on the floor with his mad expression, the two bandits standing in slight shock and amusement. But they were all frozen, except for Micah, who was seconds away from death.

In the middle of the room now stood the personification of beauty. A woman in a dark-blue gown and light-blue hair. Her azure-coloured aura embracing her body closely and warming everything around her, and Micah's wound slowly started to close.

The woman lifted her gaze from Rufus and onto Micah. She walked over gracefully and bent down in front of him. She looked him in the eyes and spoke slowly with a voice that could soothe even the wildest beast. "You now have a choice, Micah. You have been chosen as the host for the Concept Of Faith. If you want the chance to save the man known as Rufus Baker, all you have to do is accept me." She offered him her hand and without delay, he took it. When nothing happened, the look of panic increased and he stared at her in desperation.

With a smile that could melt kingdoms, she said. "You have to accept me, silly. I am known as blue. The Concept of Faith." When she said it, he immediately started to try and get the words out. His wound was healed but for him, it was uncomfortable and very difficult to speak.

"I...I accept you Blue." He said, hoping it would be enough and that Rufus would be safe now.

"You have been heard, Micah, the new host for the Concept of Faith." With that, she transformed into blue light particles and seeped into Micah's body. It was a very comforting feeling and he felt this sudden warmth come over him and he received brand new information in his mind and he had no idea what to make of it. But now was not the time for that. Time continued again and Rufus continued his screaming, followed by the chuckles heard by the bandits. One kick from the bandit and Rufus was stopped in his tracks and coughed out a mouth-full of dark-red blood.

Rage instantly filled him up and Micah stood up so fast and with so much force that the floor cracked below him. He turned around and pushed the bandit behind him with both hands and that made him fly and crash against the wall, completely knocking him out.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" There was no time to stay shocked, Micah arrived very quickly in front of the other bandit and knocked him out with a punch.

"M-Micah... Is that you?" Rufus laid still on the ground now with his eyes barely open. He only saw blurs, but he was sure that the one now sitting next to him was Micah.

"Rufus, please. Don't die! Please, please, please! I can't lose you."

"Micah, I'm happy you're safe. I don't know how, but you are and it's all that matters." His voice was getting weaker and it became harder for him to speak. "No father should have to see their son die. You made the last years of my life infinitely more enjoyable, and I'm sorry I couldn't provide you with more."

"Stop talking, you're wasting your energy, stupid!" Micah was pressuring the wound with tears streaming down his face. He was so angry, that woman said he could save him but he was still dying.

"WHY CAN'T I SAVE YOU!?" Micah screamed and it was then that an azure-coloured aura appeared around his hands and he felt the wounds on Rufus start to close, really slowly. "I-I did it! I DID IT!!" He yelled between tears.

"Rufus, I did it. I promise I won't call you stupid again, just come on. Open your eyes, damn it! OPEN YOUR EYES!" The intensity of his aura rose but Micah saw it. Life had left him and the only thing remaining in his sight was the smile on the old man's face.

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End