The Fourteenth Night - Part 6 - But that Me may Leave Me

Renir fell asleep out of exhaustion.

It had to be considered that he fought the Water Sentinel many times, felt torture: thrice inside the pool of concentrated energy and when pulling the beads twice, and lastly, the mental strain from manipulating water energy. There should be more on the list but that three were enough to exhaust him.

So he fell into a deep sleep only to be disrupted short after when he sensed a disturbance under the water nearby.

His eyes opened and the few rays of moonlight that managed to enter made him see what it was, or who it was.

It was Sceke, Hanzee, and Veronia who appeared near the rune from nothing.

Those three seemed to forget they will be brought underwater so they hatefully drank water as they tried to breathe.

Renir was about to save them but it was deemed unnecessary since they knew how to swim, except for Hanzee who still panicked underwater and was dragged by Sceke.

It did not take long for them to see Renir and the pair of young and old's silhouettes in the darkness, so they swam towards them and passed by the vertical surface of the water.

Soaked with water, they resurfaced before they coughed out the water they drowned in.

After a moment, they sat as well as far as possible from the pair of glowing red eyes. Because of this, they become cramped.

Renir was the only one who was able to freely stretch his legs.

Old Ze looked strangely at Sceke, wanting to ask a question. Earlier, when they heard Sceke lied to Renir, they didn't reveal it. But now, what did Sceke, Hanzee, and Veronia do in the Gantlet Desert?

Although, unanswered, whatever they did, Old Ze has trust in them enough to ignore it.

None of them could see the others so Hanzee conjured fire to illuminate the cave, revealing all six of them and the demon marionette that had yet to move, except for its eyes toward Renir.

This gave them a lot of scares but after some time, they calmed down and Sceke was first to ask.

"What's the progress?", Sceke noticed Renir's weakened state so that was his question.

"Step one is completed, we are already on the final step.", Renir calmly said, neither weak nor strong. He then let the bead reflect the fire on his pinch to let them see.

Everyone immediately understood what step one Renir had said.

"You pulled one again?", Hanzee asked not needing an answer. He was just surprised as shown in his dark pupils.

Renir nodded.

"There are only two steps... You seemed to have a simple plan.", Veronia spoke, squeezed between the Hanzee and Sceke.

She does not want to get close to the demon but doesn't want to get wet any further than she was already.

"What's the final step?", she continued.

What else does he have a plan that involves the bead of revival and the demon marionette? They could only scratch their head into it.

Renir slightly raised the bead again, "The final step is to give this to the demon marionette."

Because of a new source of light, the red eyes became more unnoticeable, so not known to them, it trembled as if reacted to Renir's words.

And before anyone could react, Renir added, "In the final step, if everything goes wrong, you all needed to teleport back to the desert."

"Hm?", Sceke's forehead wrinkled as he frowned, "How dangerous is it?"

For even Renir not having the slightest confidence of protecting them, what could possibly it be? Although the only and obvious answer was just in front of them, what could the demon marionette do with chains around its neck?

Renir pointed out as a path in the water, akin to an underwater aquarium with glass surrounding it formed and connected from the passage to the rune.

"The demon marionette may escape.", Renir expressed a perplex emotion in his face while the others sat flabbergasted.

"Then... how about you?", Sceke's face darkened. Renir was twice his and his allies' savior, and currently, he was even trying to pull them out of this misery. But most importantly, he is another ally that formed the Hexix!

"I will catch up to you.", Renir forcibly smiled.

Like an arrow stabbing his heart, Sceke pained in his chest.

Could they really risk it?

"I think this is not a... good idea.", Old Ze tried controlling his fear to rationalize and weigh the risk and reward, but whatever perspective he took, it was too big of a loss if the plan resulted in failure.

Even if Renir had a hundred beads, the demon marionette will just follow him like a shadow of death.

Renir dropped his head and closed his mind to not let anything change his mind.

"Is waiting here until the thirteenth night, not an option?", Veronia suggested, "Once you gain the power to teleport, then you can come with us to escape if anything goes wrong!", she thought it was a good plan.

Even with a close mind, Renir heard it.

"Yes!", Hanzee agreed. Instead of risking all of Renir's lives, it is better to wait for him to survive the woodland, "You are strong enough to defeat the Water Sentinel. Surely, you can escape other Sentinels."

Sceke's face lightened and heavily nodded, "They're right. It's better than risking it all in one night."

Renir felt the care and worries in their words.

He couldn't believe he would get this feeling from allies that were just strangers not long ago. This was a happy surprise for him.

However, Renir turned them down by looking them by their eyes and said, "I forgot what night it was. But once, I fell into a river."

Everyone's expression changed. Renir became gloomy and so they are. He started telling a story out of the blue without giving an answer yet.

"I was still weak. Discovering what the world of Gantlet is. Not yet meeting the Giganslik. So maybe the fourth night?", he talked as if he talked to himself as he looked at the empty space in front of him, reminiscing about the recent past.

"That was one of the most dangerous places I have ever been because I was still so weak, just a little stronger than when I was first brought into here, and because it was filled with water slimes."

Sceke and the rest were taken aback. Renir was just starting and they felt where this was going.

"But before that, I once punched so hard I wrecked my bones. That scared me a lot, the thought of losing a hand. But what fear can help me when I'm still surrounded by the cause of that loss? I still punched and punched... I still remember clearly how I depended on chylefruits so much, there was always one in my mouth."

At that point, there was a click in everyone's mind. The reason why Renir accomplished so much, they understood it. Unlike them, who sneaked, hid, and only defended themselves until they can escape, Renir was out there, fighting.

"I have to wait for my broken hand to heal and use it again. It was really a dreadful scene for me, and unknowingly, when I fell into the river, It couldn't be compared.", Renir's eyes twitched, remembering what happened was the same as remembering the pain that was inflicted in that memory.

Sceke and the others, of course, experienced death and felt demise many times, but unlike Renir, these deaths were quick for they are weak.

"One water slime grabbed me by the foot, and several others came at me like bullets", Renir trembled, this was the first time he re-encountered his pain in his memories, "To escape that, I have to kill them and clasped my hands like this.", he placed his palm to each other, "Then waited for them to hit me so I can pierce them!"

Hanzee held his fingers and just the thought of it colliding with the slimes was too much for him to bear.

While Renir was telling them his story, they saw him smile, but they also saw how he forced this and saw how it trembled, wanting to collapse.

Just how much suffering had he gone through?

It wasn't just physical, just having the thought that after you have your fingers crushed but still have no way out was heart-scarring.

"So one hit me and I pierced them!", he thrust his clasped hands like a spear, "I killed one! But a few of my fingers were broken in the process..."

Sceke and the others cleared their ears, wanting to know what happened next. Was that his first death?

Was he telling the story of his first death?

In their thoughts, Renir had no escape in that river unless the bead of revival shielded him.

"But there were more left and my only plan was with the broken fingers...", Renir found it hard to find his next sentence.

Sceke and the others knew how hard it is to accept death. If they were in Renir's place, they would have accepted death already. He, using a cruel way to himself to kill one even though it was not enough was already too much.

However, they were all wrong when they heard Renir's sentence that was hard to come out of his mouth.

"After killing that one slime, I have no time to twist and suffer from the pain. I have no choice but to steel myself and prepare for the next slime. So I... clasped my hands... again.", Renir weakly said, his hands trembling as he forced them to put together.

Veronia hid her hands, just from Renir's story and reaction, she was afraid for her own hands.

Instead of accepting death, Renir chose to suffer again?

That thought was encircling everyone's head until Renir vividly added.

"I killed the second one. Blood oozing out of all my fingers. Bones shattered from the impact. Skin left my hands, but that far better than my fingers."

It was a heartwrenching story for Sceke and the others who had personal experiences each of their own in Gantlet.

But Renir still continued, "Seeing the third water slime, I joined my hands... again!"

Little Ye had heard enough for her to hide behind her grandfather and cry silently.

"And again... and again... and again...", Renir said indifferently, "But then I found that both my hands are out of fingers to pierced them.", his eyes now lifeless.

Hanzee gulped, fearing what would happen next.

"But there are still a few water slimes incoming. And luckily,", Renir smiled, but not forced this time, yet not with emotion, "I saw bones amidst the cloud of blood that covered my hands. It was sharp fingerbones..."

Their eyes widened.

'Could he feel no pain?', Hanzee asked in his head. But his mind changed when he saw Renir's lifeless expression...

"After that, I escaped the river and thought to myself, 'It was just the fourth night'", Renir looked back into empty space again.

Without making space for reaction, Renir continued, his eyes gained life as well as tears that incessantly flowed down without making a sad expression in his face, still indifferent... sadly indifferent, "I thought I would lose myself there."

Everyone understood. Renir meant was his sanity.

"Even after my soul was rejuvenated by the bead after my first death.", he glanced at the demon marionette that told another story to Sceke and the others, "I could still myself leaving me..."

"You know,", Renir now looked at them with his unwrinkled face, free from expression, a smile that was naturally lifted and tears incessantly flowing, "I am not that strong as I think I am. I can't take another night in this world...", his limbs trembled from time to time.

Sceke and the rest now understood why he was so desperate and would risk anything. They felt none of them could stop him.

"Then we will do as you say...", Sceke stood up, tears welled up from his eyes after he turned his back to hide it. He knew how hard it was for Renir and knew it would be wrong to try and change his will.

When he walked and touched the rune, he said, "Time is running out. The Wind Sentinel can travel underwater.", he spoke the reason for his hastiness.

The rest nodded and followed him. Only Sceke had his back turned around. His heart twisting in pain because of a thought that this newly-found good friend and his savior at the same time was about to risk all his lives...

Renir nodded and smiled, this time, his smile had emotion behind it.

Hanzee who had left the fire, Veronia, Old Ze, and Little Ye watched him as he stood up and reached out his hand to give the bead to the demon marionette.

"Take it.", Renir looked into it straight through the eyes. The bead the demon marionette dreamed of was in front of it.

Right after Renir said those words, a flashed temporarily blinded his eyes as well as the others.

The red eyes turned into dark purple as its hands moved passed where its boundary seemed to be.

The demon marionette took the bead...