Good, Wrong, Life, and Death

Druchess and Hubrid continued walking along the purple grass as Druchess lead the way and the land slowly became barren.

"How long will it take?" Hubrid asks as they continue walking as the still air began to move.

"The longer, the better," Druchess continues moving forward as the wind begins to blow against his robe.

"I thought that you'd forgotten about your people. I thought that you would have no connection with them, I'm sorry for what I've done," Druchess refuses to look at Hubrid as he speaks. The wind muffles out his speech.

"Huh?" Hubrid says as the two of them continue towards their destination on the rough terrain. The color of the grass had changed from purple to green, its natural color in this world.

"Nothing," Druchess begins walking faster.

"How far away is the meat? I don't see any animals around…" Hubrid says as he looks over the terrain only to see green lakes and barren land with small amounts of green grass sticking out of them.

"It's good that you remembered where meat comes from Hubrid, I'm proud of you," Druchess says with enthusiasm while inside, he dreaded the truth he was leading Hubrid to.

"Do you remember the word morals?" Druchess asks hubrid as his beard shrinks little by little with each step.

"Yes, it means being good right?" Hubrid says with wavering confidence.

"That's a good answer. How about forgiveness?" Druchess says as tears trickle down his face and are blown into the wind as it carries the viscous water into the face of hubrid.

"Hmm, it means to not hold grudges?" Hubrid asks as he feels water slap his skin.

"Another good answer Hubrid! However, those words bear much more weight than that. Forgiveness is hard to receive and hard to give. Morals are even trickier than forgiveness, what decides what is good and what is wrong?"

"... People?" Hubrid says with a pause as he racked his brain in search of an answer.

"Smart answer, but it goes deeper than that. Give it another try."

"The King?" Hubrid asks in a questioning tone.

"It goes further than even that, Hubrid," Druchess says as he looks up into the sky.

"The Goddesses?"

"Deeper," Druchess says a cloud begins to cover the sun.

"The Creator?" Hubrid says as his frustration grows.

"I believe it is deeper than even that. I once had a friend who could probably answer that question. But, because of his morals, he no longer lives. Druchess says as he hesitates to turn his head and face Hubrid.

"He died? Why?" Hubrid asks with curiosity.

"Because of his morals."

"Was he good?"

"I cannot decide that, but I do think he was," Druchess says as he continues to walk as he uses his staff like a cane while his beard falls only to his knees.

"Who knows the answer?" Hubrid says despondently as the water on his body finally dried and the sun begins to reveal itself from the behind clouds.

"Anyone can answer it, but they're all liars. Only you can find that answer inside of yourself. I once thought of myself as an upstanding man. Morals change and alter as you experience life and near death. I was nearly boiled alive for my ideals, I had to run from the sky to the ground and live in exile to escape.

"... What were your ideals?" Hubrid asks with curiosity as the sun is covered up once again, Arupio stood above them, floating in the sky whilst blocking the sun off as the two continued. Druches's beard began to shrink even more as the two found themselves feeling cold without the warm embrace of the sun.

"I… I believed that everyone was born equal. That we all had the right to fight for the life we wanted to live. I saw the world in black and white, good and evil. Hubrid, those ideas were wrong.

Druchess turns around as tears leak down his face and he falters to his knees as he stared at hubrid as his beard fell only to his chest.

"I was wrong! We are not equal, this world was not made for me or you! This world is not good and evil, it's all evil, Hubrid! The strong eat the weak and grow stronger and the weak only grows weaker. Look Hubrid!" Druchess cries out as he points in the direction they'd been heading. The place that was once filled with healthy grass was barren and dead.

A repugnant smell dispersed over the terrain, worse than anything Hubrid had ever smelt before despite his rough childhood.

On the ground were people littered the land underneath Arupio. Upon closer inspection, the dirt was red and small bits of vegetation sprouted out of red blotted areas.

"Wh...at is this?" Hubrid aks as Druchess continues weeping as his beard only falls down a small bit underneath his neck.

"They're dead. All of them Hubrid. Your friends, your family are all in the next world. They're what we've been eating these past couple of months. The knights of Arupio placed magic on them so their corpses wouldn't rot. They did it as a reminder to show the people who were in control. They poisoned the air so that no one could live on the ground any longer so that if anyone had survived by even the smallest chance they'd have nowhere to run! Rain can no longer even fall onto this barren land!"

Druchess's beard grows even shorter, it was nearly a stub. Druchess looked on at the bodies and saw bloodstains all over the dirt. Unlike the rest of the terrain, there was a single patch of grass that grew healthily, flowers that Hubrid had never seen before sprouted before his eyes in the desolate land.

"What are you saying Druchess?" Hubrid shouts out in anger as he stares at him.

"Hubrid I'm sorry. I will pay for my sins in time, but, before I do I must tell you something. You have to free Haaura from her chains. You have to free her!"

"Where are they?" Hubrid says as he falls to the cold ground as tears leak from his face and snot falls.

"The Godd-." For the first time, Hubrid interrupts Druchess.

"My family…"

"... They crossed over into a better world. A world that won't judge them as harshly as this one did."

"Where is it?" Hubrid asks as he closes his eyes to stop the tears only for them to break free.

Druchess points to the sky.

"Arupio?" Hubrid asks as he wipes away the tears as they continue falling.

"No, even further than that," Druchess points up as his beard becomes so small it's nearly invisible, underneath the beard he'd had was symbols.

"If I help that lady, will she let me see… them again?" Hubrid says with a sniffle as he looks up at the sky only for Arupio to snuff it out.

"I… I don't know Hubrid," Druchess says with a smile as his beard fades away, only a single piece of hair remains and his voice becomes weary.

"I'll go so high into the sky, that… my family will have to look up to see me!" Hubrid shouts with determination as Druchess begins to cough.

"What a stupid goal... Take my robe and staff Hubrid, educate yourself and then cross the bridge to enter Arupio," Druchess jests as his beard fades completely.

"What happened to your beard, Druchess?" Hubrid asks with concern as his tears flow even more.

"This air and land are infected Hubrid, life can no longer live on the ground. I cleared away… most of the contaminated air with my books at a cost. Just like your family, my body won't rot or decay. I'll be here with your people if you don't mind, if you ever need someone to talk to just visit…" Druchess coughs up a purple liquid and closes his eyes.

"Druchess? Druchess… What's… happening to you?..."

Druchess lays on the ground unresponsive.

Hubrid drops his book to free his hands and begins shaking Druchess violently.

"...Druchess, I never saw you as an emotional guy, when you were alive you were always so serious…" A voice calls out to Druchess as he lays unmoving on the ground.

A purple aura emanates from Druchess as a small light leaves his body and begins to move upward.

"Omaegius?… I'm so-."

"Don't mention it,"

"Bu-,"

"It doesn't matter now, does it? Hey, you remember those talks we'd have about right and wrong?" A yellow aura speaks out to Druchess in the darkness.

"..."

"I think we were both wrong in the end. Do you think that everyone and everything is evil? Look over there," The yellow aura gestures to Hubrid as it views him carrying Druchess's body to the only green grass in the land.

Hubrid begins shoveling away at the patch of dirt and gas with his hands to dig a hole. Dirt enters the crevices of his hands and blood spills as he hits a sharp rock in the soil. He continues digging with vigor as he cries.

"What is that boy doing?" The purple aura asks as both of them spectate Hubrid digging away at the dirt.

Hubrid continues shoveling the dirt away as the soil begins to refuse to give way. Hubrid stops shoveling and with his muddied hands, he took the robe off of Druchess along with his staff and began stabbing away at the dirt. The robe changed colors from purple to yellow, the symbols changed as well from crescent moons to stars.

"It's obvious Druchess, he's digging a grave for you," The yellow aura says to the purple aura.

"I'm not worthy as such a luxury…" The purple aura says as liquid leaks from its being into the dark abyss.

"Strong Holders don't usually know how to give burials… did you teach the boy how to do that?"

"No…"

Hubrid stabs away at the dirt taking grain after grain to make space. In frustration, Hubrid screams out to the sky and stabs the staff into the dirt with both hands.

"He's special…" Maybe he'll be the one to strike fear into that good for nothing king…" The yellow aura says as it begins to fade.

The staff in Hubrid's hands bends as it hits the cold hard dirt.

Hubrid lets out another blood-curdling scream then, as he began to try and stab it again a book fell out of his robe.

"Mourning," was what the cover of the book read as Hubrid pauses his stab mid-air and picks up the book. As he touches it, he begins to feel numb.

"When all seems lost, just look at the sun and smile,"

Hubrid looks up at the sky to see Arupio once again and frowns at its sight.

"What do you think? Druchess?" The yellow aura asks as it nearly becomes invisible.

"I think… He'll be the one to free Haaura and topple those power-hungry Gods."

"Well, instead of discussing it, why don't we just watch it together?"

The yellow aura fades completely as the purple aura sits in dismay.

"That'd be nice…" The purple says as it fades away.

Hubrid throws the book to the ground in a rage and the hole deepens and his emotions once again ensue.

"When you cannot see the sun, smile anyways." The book reads as it glows inside of the hole.

Hubrid's vision is blinded from his tears as he drags Druchess into the hole. He began to toss the dirt back on top of the hole, but as he turned to move the dirt, it had already been filled and a red flower was placed on top along with a marking. Hubrid grabs the book "True Kings," and places it on top of the grave on its back. He opens it and the last page is visible. A tear falls onto it and causes the ink to smear.

"May The True Goddess Forever Be in Your Favor and May Your People Forever Know Peace…" The last lines of the book were written in a dark bold crimson color.

Hubrid looks at the rose and remembers who he once was. A slave boy who lived his life with no emotion, always so far away from the heavens. Now, the heavens looked closer than they ever had before.

Hubrid walks slowly and exhaustively to where his family had been massacred and begins to dig more holes as he takes out more books.