Old Gatherer(2)

Cain's eyes flashed with rage, his grip tightening on his maul before he reined in his fury. "Damn geezer, why the hell are you fighting back? You wanted this!" he yelled through gritted teeth.

"I know, but I don't want to die! I can't die! I...I..."

"Enough! I will end this quickly!" He dropped his maul and reached for his daggers.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy."

The metal behind the man rattled as his immobile body was surrounded by pots, pans, and other metal scraps. The elder seemed to be protecting himself instead of attacking; he couldn't move because of the infection, so it was his best bet at survival.

Cain was peeved by the current events. He walked around the rock encased in metal and bashed his hands against it. Dents were the best he could do, but new metal would reinforce wherever he attacked, making his progress worthless.

"Damn old man! Don't ask me to kill you and then defend yourself! Now I'm going to give you a painful death, bastard!" His jarring voice roared in frustration.

Cain then quietly assessed the situation 'He's hiding in metal, my maul is still in the air... seems I can't attack him by conventional means.'

His hand pressed up against the shield of iron and steel as his hand seemed to turn immaterial and phased through the cracks.

Muffled screams came from the other side as the barrier collapsed, converging on the haze that invaded it.

With the wall down, he saw the elder scurrying along the rock with a haunted expression. The little red wisps he sent through were dogpiled by the mountain of scraps.

"Old man, just accept death. It isn't something you should be afraid of," Cain glared at the sullen geezer, his robes and hat covering his face were becoming loose.

"You tell that to yourself; death is the end! I don't want it to end, I don't want it... I don't..."

He stared with pity. "You fear the end? But how do you know death is the end?"

"I... I..."

"See, you don't know" Cain gave the man a wry smile.

"No... No! I can't, I won't! I'm scared, I... I'm afraid."

He scoffed. "Everyone's afraid. All fear comes from the unknown, and you don't know death, do you? Instead, let me give you a chance at life. How about it?"

"What? How could you do that, boy? Hehe! How could you defy death?!"

Cain licked his lips. "I have once transcended death, but leaving my home reduced its effects, and now my lifespan is finite. However, that is not what I'll give you. Instead, I will give you true immortality. Through my mist, I can grant you this."

The old man's eyes shone with watery hope. "Truly... I can live forever?"

Like a shepherd herding its sheep, Cain was like a shepherd for humans. He spoke with words that seemed as sweet as candy, yet they were hollow.

"Of course, I have many people living in my mist. As long as you're willing to be accepted by it, I can house your mind in it forever."

Losing strength, the man fell on his chest. Yet he forced his arms to prop him up with fierce determination. "Do it!"

Like a signed pact, Cain smiled as red smog rose and spread all around the man.

He felt indescribable pain and his vision collapsed.

...

Opening his eyes, the cold sting of metal met his skin. He found himself in a space of pure silver and metal, so polished he could see his stunned reflection in the ground.

Cubes and metallic balls floated in the air, each slowly turning on their own invisible axes.

A voice came from every direction "Is it because you're a gatherer? No, I've seen unique spaces like this before, though this one is highly... personalized."

He stood far away from the man, yet he also seemed so close.

Staring at Cain meaningfully, the man spoke in astonishment. "This is... how are we in my soul?"

In an instant, Cain appeared before the elder, eyes alight with curiosity.

"Soul? Isn't this place the inner mind? I didn't think souls existed.... interesting"

Backing away from him, the man explained "It is similar; this place is called the soul because it houses my consciousness. It would also be accurate to call it the inner mind or inner palace, though it's usually just called the soul."

"How do you know this?"

"My teacher," he muttered. "What are you? You can enter another soul, yet you are not a gatherer."

He gleamed with arrogance. "I suppose I am just special. But let's not talk about that; now is the time for research!"

The steel surface of the ground cracked, and the floating objects in the air fell one by one, creating craters in the floor. Red seemed to dye the sky as the floor turned dark like a dark fissure.

"What is this? How can you affect the soul? You aren't even a high-level gatherer. Are you specialized in souls?"

Cain's laugh ricocheted through the soul space, a maniacal pressure bearing down on the old man.

"That does seem like a good idea, especially since it seems I'm not weakened here one bit! Now I am curious to see what you would be as a mist puppet. However, you're old, and your ability isn't useful. So instead, let's see what happens when I devour you!"

Trepidation seemed to send the man into a panic. He was at his last defense, and now death was closer than ever before. "You aren't human! You're a monster!"

Through the cracks in the metallic surface, red gas burst out and surrounded Cain like a tempest.

"Thank you, I am talented, hahaha!"

The only thing the man could do was fight back; he tried to take control of his mind and use the metallic objects around him, but he only succeeded in throwing one, which was caught by the gale of red and pushed to the side with ease.

By now, the old man's stress and fear peaked; his heart raced, and his breathing became erratic as the smell of blood invaded his nose. In front of Cain, all he could do was run.

The geezer's legs burned as he scrambled over the jagged metal floor. Each step felt heavier than the last as the crimson liquid clung to his feet, threatening to root him in place.

He stole a glance back - the crimson fog was closing in, tendrils reaching out hungrily. "Please!" he cried out in desperation. "I don't want to die!" His cries echoed through the desolate soulscape.

"Too late."

The acrid smell of blood hung thick in the air. With each step, the old man's boots squelched into the viscous red liquid flooding across the once pristine metal floor.

The ichor seemed alive, snaking up his legs, pulsing and throbbing with malevolent energy. In the distance, Cain's laughter reverberated against the cold steel walls, sending a chill down the old man's spine.

Cain chased, covered in red as the mist moved like extra limbs. The fog seemed alive as it moved, similar to serpent-like appendages.

Blood coiled through the ground; the man's every step would be slowed as he had to use more and more strength to escape the sticky and thick ichor that sprouted.

Soon, hands without flesh broke through the cracks and held him down, and Cain drifted closer, shrouded in a veil of scarlet miasma. It writhed around him with a life of its own, slithering tendrils hungry for the elder's soul.

Shaking uncontrollably, the old man collapsed under the boney limb's force. Tears streamed down his weathered cheeks as he pleaded once more for mercy.

Cain spoke quietly and toneless, emotionless like death himself. "Are you ready to accept death?"

He couldn't control himself anymore; tears streamed down the geezer's rough face. They dripped into the thick blood that held him, and he looked at Cain with indignation.

"Why? I don't want to die, I'm scared. Please... I don't want to become nothing, I don't want to disappear! I want to live! I want to experience more! I didn't live enough! I can still do more! PLEASE!"

He pleaded desperately, no one wanted to die but they always seemed to in the end. The man continued to beg Cain for what seemed like an eternity.

The mist dissipated, and Cain stepped closer to the geezer, the viscous liquid up to his ankles, sticking to him like it did to the man, even trying to devour him even more than him.

"Done?

I am sorry to say, but it has been decided. You will die and experience something new, whether it is good or bad doesn't matter. Death is eventual even if you extend it; everything ends. It is called a cycle: you live, and you die, then life begins again. Even... even I will experience death eventually."

When Cain realized he lost his immortality, he had thought long and hard about how he would spend his remaining years if he couldn't extend it.

During this time, he tried to understand life and death and found that it is a cycle. Everything was a cycle; knowing this fact helped him in some way.

Somehow, knowing that even if he died, he would become something else made him feel good.

Balance was needed; to live too long would deprive death of its meaning, and would make life gray and worthless. Balance and understanding were needed, and Cain realized this one day when he woke up from a nap.

Sleep, in itself, was like death. If one didn't dream, it was the same as being dead; they couldn't think, they weren't there, it was just a dark void where they were absent, gone.

The old man didn't respond to Cain; it seemed his mind collapsed in fear and terror.

Truthfully, Cain didn't like tormenting the elder; deep down, it made him uneasy. But he had to die, and so he did.

The old man's passionate pleas forced Cain to confront the value of a single human life. Who was he to arbitrarily end it? This man feared oblivion, and yearned for continued experience. Could Cain callously dismiss the gift of existence?

For the first time, he questioned killing him. But he did what he had to and kept true to himself.

'At least he doesn't have to feel pain anymore.'

Exiting the man's soul, the fog receded before a skeleton wearing some clothes. Cain looked down absently at the dead man until it became day again, and the moons brightened enough to become suns.

At this moment, another new emotion found itself in Cain. He couldn't tell you what it was, but what it was, was remorse. Even so, Cain didn't spend a second more before the dead; all he did to honor the geezer was move all the geezer's belongings next to the rock he sat on.

Cain then left, heading for the center of this wasteland to investigate. He felt traces of the odd energy, and it was coming from where he was told the tribals were located.