Moving Forward

Miko

I paid my friends no mind as they found me. Sitting amongst the wasteland, I stared into the barren landscape as the screams filled my mind.

If I had just handed control of my body over from the start...

The demon was right. It was entirely illogical to fear him killing Aruna. In fact, my actions did that already.

If I hadn't lied to her, she would've never arrived as the corpses awakened. Roan and her would've never been in danger.

I was the very peak of weakness.

Why did I think that fact would change?

"Hey! Are you sleeping, you little sleepy dolt! We've been searching for you for hours!"

Tensing up at the sound of her voice, I felt tears forming in my eyes—tears I didn't deserve to have.

As I felt a hand on my shoulder, I did my best to stare forward.

"Hey, hey. What's wrong Miko?"

I closed my eyes as she sat next to me. Nothing changed. Feeling my body begin to shake, I dug my fingers into the ground to steady myself. I wasn't going to cry. I don't deserve to cry.

"Miko, we won. Y-you killed the big giant beast-thing so, why are you crying?"

Her compassion broke me. The reassuring chuckle as she described the beast I hid from her, the beast that almost killed her. She even said we won.

"We didn't win. Farvakhin... his, his whole civilization is dead. The leviathan killed thousands in its rampage. I- I heard the screams. Even all the way up in the sky, I still heard them. That's how loud it was. The screams of widows and orphans overpowered even the Leviathan's roars. We lost. Aru- princess, we lost. Because of me."

I jolted as I felt a sharp jab in my side. Looking at the princess, I saw her forcing back her own tears.

"Miko, what are you talking about? Look around you, I survived, Roan survived, Farvakhin survived, because of you."

"You were only in danger because of me. Everyone was only in danger because of me. I- I woke up the Leviathan to complete a stupid quest. I killed all of Farvakhin's people. I ki-..."

My voice faltered as the tears ran their course down my face. I never grew stronger. I'm still the weak kid that almost died to Vakash.

I felt someone sit down to my right. He tapped me 3 times on my shoulder. Farvakhin.

Lowering my head in grief, I screamed "I'm sorry! Farv-"

"You didn't kill my people. I did."

Digging my hand into the sand, I looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

His face showed no emotions besides pursed lips. "I... helped create the Necropic Virus. I- I think my memories are coming back. A little at a time. And it's- it's horrible. I'm horrible. I- I killed my son!"

He pulled my shoulders towards him, forcing me to look at him. His face contorted with so many emotions as his eyes remained dry, cold. "So don't sit there all miserable like you've committed some grave crime. I killed my people, my wife! I killed my son with my own hands! I know what monsters look like, and it's not you!"

Quivering, I whispered, "I'm sorry I told you that nonsense. That we carry the dead's memories and will with us."

Pulling from his grasp, I paid no mind to his defiance. Continuing I whispered, "There's no way we can be expected to do that. It's too much."

All 3 of us sat in silence. I had no idea where Roan was. Maybe he finally got tired of my company. Same with the demon.

Farvakhin was the first to break the silence. "I- I was going to propose to Terra. I remember that much. That book that she kept with her all that time... was going to be my gift. I think it was a cultural thing we did, finding a gift that symbolized all of our love. I- I gave it to her right before we entered those machines. I still don't know what they're called. But, well, you know how much that book meant to her after she woke up. Even after she turned into a monster of my own creation, she still held on to it. Even after all of her memories and emotions were gone, her love remained. And I, I betrayed that love."

I felt the princess get up from her spot. As her armor clinked behind me, I realized she was going over to Farvakhin.

I looked over to see her sit down and hug him. As he laid his head on her shoulder, I could see her tear-filled eyes staring at mine.

"I killed them all..."

He broke into an outburst of tears.

But he didn't mean to kill them... I could tell it was the opposite. He went through all of those efforts to save them, I couldn't imagine that virus being anything other than such an attempt.

Yet he still blamed himself.

That sound like someone else, kid?

I guess.

You should probably go collect your quest reward by the way. You have a bad habit of allowing them to expire.

A marker appeared on my map, like the one that led me to the...

The pain in my heart would probably never fade away.

But looking at Farvakhin, who was already calming down in the princess's embrace, I realized something.

We've made similar mistakes. If he can continue to move forward, to live for the ones he's lost, then I can as well.

I think.

Forcing myself to my feet, every movement felt heavy. The weight of thousands of lost souls lay on my shoulders. A weight that I'd have to bear for the rest of my life. A weight that would only increase.

The princess looked up at me as I began walking away. "Where are you going?"

Keeping my head forward, I said "The system wants me to collect my reward, princess."

"I told you my name's Aruna."

I turned my head back in surprise. I didn't deserve to say her-

Seeing her smile through her tears, I nearly crumbled back to the ground. She- still believes in me.

After all of my failures.

Then I have no option but to believe in myself.

"Sorry."

She waved a hand to signal goodbye, saying "It's ok. Go get your quest reward. Just don't summon any more monsters ok."

I waved back, unable to return the smile.

Marching forward, it took little time to reach my destination. Speckles of light remained from when the Leviathan had exploded. Roan was crouching by these speckles, studying them. As I got closer, he glanced up from his observations, gave a quick acknowledgment of my presence, and promptly returned his attention to the light.

What was he so interested in?

The system's interface interrupted my confusion.

Quest complete: Kill Leviathan

1/1

I was hoping for a solid reward, anything to make the pain of this much sacrifice lessen.

Accept reward?

Yes.

All of the light condensed around me, coalescing into a single ball. Roan and I watched this transformation with wonder. The air around us began brimming with power. After all the light was condensed into that ball, it flew into me, filling me with a surge of energy.

Roan whispered to himself "Interesting." while maintaining his trademark emotionless stare.

Rewards obtained:

Sword level +1

Annihilation magic +1

Upgraded skill: The Lord's Touch to level 2.

The spell now only costs 2 mp and can affect objects up to 200 pounds.

Hp+3, Hp is now 46

Mp+2, Mp is now 27

Sta+2, Sta is now 27

Obtained sword skill:

Leviathan's Aura

At the cost of 10 souls, you can cloak your sword in the aura of a Leviathan.

This gives your sword the ability to steal a target's mana.

The buff lasts for 10 seconds.

Obtained Artifact: Moon's Crescent.

Ability unknown.

Moon's Crescent?

Amongst a list of powerful upgrades, it seemed as if that artifact was just a footnote.

Then why did I feel a familiar, warm, powerful presence as it materialized in my hand? Studying it for answers, I ran my fingers across its porous surface. As its name suggests, it was shaped like a moon, like the dreamwork's logo. It felt rocky, so I surmised that it was probably some kind of moon rock.

But what made it special?

Pondering over it some more, nothing was standing out. Except for its ominously warm aura. I smiled, as it reminded me of Aruna.

"What's that?"

Roan's voice shook me from my thoughts. Good question though.

Sighing, I said, "I'm not sure honestly. You want to check it out?"

I held the artifact out for Roan, inviting him to inspect it, but he just raised his hands saying "I'm good."

There was something weird about how quick he was to deny the artifact. He was probably just curious about the new object appearing in my hand, but not enough to spend time observing it. It looked like he was busy surveying the land anyway.

I think his almost dying made him more paranoid of lurking threats.

I took another look at the inconspicuous rock. Why did it feel important?

What's that you got in your hand, kid?