Chapter 32: Onwards to Resolve

Rueben finished demolishing every mannequin and looked over to the woman, who was calmly drinking her tea while the maids prepared to fight.

He felt his breathing getting rough, the wounds that he got from the mannequins hurt as blood seeped from them. HE didn't know what time it was, hell, he didn't know how long he had been fighting. It was waves upon waves of mannequins with all kinds of weapons.

His cane was nowhere to be seen, his guns were lost somewhere when he fought that beast and he had no ammo even if he had those guns. All he had was a durable bone he got from that beast yet even that was broken apart, its durability crumbled from the endless fight.

Rueben was forced to use his body, his limbs and their weapons to fight back. It didn't help that he didn't have any more Ichor Siphons with him; they were already unusable back then, that was why he was drinking blood directly from the corpses of the enemies he killed.

Yet these mannequins were just that, mannequins. They didn't have any sort of flesh or even blood running through them. They might have exoskeletons to balance and help them move but those are just like bones of a human's body.

The wounds were large, he was hit with so many mannequins that Rueben didn't know what to do. His mind was already in turmoil and he felt that he couldn't even control himself anymore.

Rueben was tired.

He really was.

He even wondered if it was right to save Sara, hell, he even wondered if it was better to die because he would just be alive again somewhere. Though he would become an eternal part of the labyrinth.

'What am I doing?' He questioned himself.

'I have been fighting, for what? To get revenge for Sara, to save her? Then what about these beasts that became like this because they were trapped here? Are they not human once? Should I not save them too?'

Rueben had started questioning himself. He had already gone mad yet a little sanity was left behind.

Though, you cannot explain Insanity and Madness through words or expressions, right?

What does it mean to truly be insane? How does one know that they had gone insane? The loss of their moral values? Their reasoning? Their intelligence?

What is Insanity? What is the definition of insanity?

The woman looked at Rueben kneeling down in pure exhaustion and smiled.

"Are you questioning yourself?"

Rueben stopped his train of thoughts and looked up, his eyes almost dropping as his body demanded rest.

"Tell me, Hunter. What are you fighting for?"

Rueben looked at her, and then looked at the wounded hands that he made. He couldn't answer.

"Do pray tell, what gave you the reason to fight?" She chuckled as a butler mannequin appeared behind her, it scooped her up in his arms and walked towards Rueben, who was exhausted and was mentally unstable. "What made you think that all you had done was right? All you had done in your life was righteous?"

The woman then gasped, "Oh!" She giggled and continued, "Maybe, you do not think of yourself as righteous at all? Maybe you pity yourself, because you suffered so much? Maybe, you ask whatever god you serve this question all the time, why am I here? What is my reason for being here?"

The woman was put down and grasped his chin with her hand.

Rueben, who couldn't physically move anymore, was held down by the two maids.

"Please tell me, Oh, Hunter. What is it that truly drives you to keep living?"

***

Aria looked at the throne room, it was a mess. The pillars were brought down into pieces, the furniture's broken, the ceiling, everything. Everything was a mess.

Aria softly closed her eyes and kneeled on the ground. The man that she had been fighting for the past 12 hours was standing there, tall and proud. Neither a single wound nor a single scratch made it to his garb.

The man stood there, menacingly as he dropped his sword and softly kneeled down in front of her.

"You… won."

The man coughed up blood, then hundreds of hands came out of all his orifices' and started clawing at him, then large sharp bones started stabbing him from the inside, his whole body became like a twisted porcupine that instead of spikes, it was with hands.

Aria looked at him, and then slowly stood up. She walked towards the throne and softly sat there, the wounds on her body slowly starting to heal.

She then looked up, to the red moon above the skies and sang a soft lullaby.

The man looked at this scene and chuckled as he felt death gripping at him, 'I wish I could see the transformation of the Church that you will lead. You deserve that throne, take it as you want, lead the church and spread the gospel of the Crimson Moon. That is my only wish for you.'

He remembered his conversation with her before she managed to place a parasite inside his body.

"How…. Beautiful." He saw the night sky and its bright stars. He covered the moon with his left hand, "Red…. Does not suit….. The black starry sky…"

It was his final words. He then took his last breath. The world had lost a powerhouse and instead, a new one rose up standing on the corpse of the powerhouse.

Aria opened her eyes, she smiled benevolently and spread her arms wide, embracing the moonlight, "The time for Salvation is nigh!!"

The worshippers that followed her coup kneeled down as they prayed to the Crimson Moon with fanatic enthusiasm.

***

Rueben found himself sinking on the lake as the woman laughed.

"Dear me! You have no reason at all yet you cling to life!? You have no reason to exist yet you still cling to life? How hilarious, how hilarious!!!"

She clapped her hand.

Rueben, though very exhausted, managed to speak and ask a question, "….What is your reason to live?"

The woman seemed surprised at first, then her eyes became gentle as if she remembered something.

"Do you want to hear my secret?"

She whispered, with madness in her eyes.

Rueben looked at her veiled face and lethargically let out a soft grunt.

The woman giggled and whispered in his ears. "I have loved ones waiting for me. That is enough reason for me to do anything, unlike a pathetic person like you."

Rueben became silent as he started sinking even deeper.

His eyes becoming blank.

What she had said was true.

It was okay for him to die, yet why does he still cling to life?

It was not like anyone was waiting for him at home, hell, he didn't even have a home! His parents were already dead; the teacher he trained under was killed by him… There was literally no one who would wait for him! So why was he still clinging to life?

What is the reason?

Rueben slowly closed his eyes.

'I'm tired.'

He thought to himself.

'Let's just go to sleep.' His whole body submerged underwater. 'The type of sleep where I won't be able to wake up.'

His mind, already bruised and broken, broke even more as he realized that he has no more reason to live.

Sara? She had already become a part of this labyrinth. She cannot be saved. And soon, he would be a part of this labyrinth as well.

Then a sudden memory appeared on his head.

'Flashback?'

He thought.

…

"Hey, Rueben, What happens when a person dies?" Sara asked Rueben.

Rueben looked down to see Sara cuddling in his arms as she yawned and rubbed her eyes with her small hands.

Rueben thought for a while, then opened his mouth to answer her question, "Well, they would sleep forever. Their souls would go the Eternal Dream where they won't encounter any problems, there; they would be happy and wouldn't feel pain, distress and melancholy."

Sara nodded her head, then asked another question.

"If they are always happy, how about those who have loved ones that is still alive? Do they not worry for them? Are they just going to watch while their loved ones are suffering? Would they forget them?" Her expressions then became sad, "That is quite depressing."

She then turned her head to look at him and asked, "Then if Rueben dies. Will he forget about me and enjoy the happiness there?"

"…" Rueben didn't expect this conversation to become depressing that quick.

He then thought for a while and softly whispered, "No. I will bring myself to life if that ever happens. Trust me."

Sara looked at him, then nodded with a grin, "Then it's a promise."

Rueben smiled and nodded his head, "Promise."

…

"…" Rueben looked at that memory.

Yes, he had a reason to cling to life after all.

He can't die just yet.

Live.

He cannot die just yet.

Breathe.

He made a promise. And he intent on keeping it.

Rueben recovered his will to live and forced his body to move, no matter how exhausted. He reached his hand up.