Echoes of Cain
I watched the sun shining bright as I laid at the top of a tree branch strong enough to support me while covering me from the sun's rays, we stopped waiting for it to set, we have been marching for nine days now. Everybody was exhausted.
"Cain! Where are you? I know you hear me come on!"
Everybody except Roshan apparently. When he let, his guards down giving me his back, I jump from behind him grabbing him by his shoulders. The scream he let out was enough to make me turn deaf.
Kais came rushing to us still half asleep with messy hair, not even knowing what was happening, holding in one hand his sword and in the other his shoe.
"What's happening? Who attacked us?" Kais looked at us completely lost.
Amused, Roshan glanced at me, and soon, we erupted into laughter. He clutched my shoulder, his legs no longer able to support him, and I struggled to stand on my own before we both collapsed to the ground, facing the sky.
After our laughter subsided, the three of us lay on the grass, enjoying a peaceful, silent doze, synchronized with the rhythmic beat of our hearts. I wished those moments could last forever as I drove further into the serene tranquility.
I couldn't stop thinking that if it weren't for them, I would never have made it this far.
I couldn't stop thinking about what waited for us ahead.
The demon in black armor was fighting in the battlefield that we were headed to. I looked at my friends, my soldiers like it was the last time. And couldn't help my frightened heart from shaking. I couldn't let it show because I had to lead them, I had to be strong for us, for them all.
Once we arrived, the soldiers' faces that greeted us, were petrified in front of the chaos on the battlefield, it painted a grim picture of the human cost of war.
On the battlefield, every moment became a struggle for survival in the face of relentless turmoil.
We couldn't turn back now; we all knew it.
He promised us. We all could remember the moment our fate was sealed.
Standing tall before his assembled troops, the king, clad in regal armor, addressed his warriors with a voice that carried both authority and reassurance. The battlefield stretched out before them, a landscape of uncertainty and looming conflict.
The king, spoke with a sense of conviction like he was merciful with us.
"With hearts unwavering, my valiant soldiers, I stand before you to make a solemn promise," the king declared, his words cutting through the tension. "Today, as you embark upon this battlefield, know that your sacrifice and valor will not be in vain. If you emerge victorious, if you weather the storm and emerge triumphant, I pledge that you shall be spared the shackles of war."
His eyes, reflecting determination, met the gaze of each soldier.
"Return from this field of strife, my loyal warriors, to the embrace of your homes and loved ones. Your bravery shall not be forgotten, and the spoils of peace will be yours to savor."
He looked at me like he knew I could see right through his lie. I had no one to come back to.
The king, devoid of paternal warmth, molded his sole heir into a war machine, neglecting any semblance of a father-son bond. Relentlessly driven, he pushed his son without a trace of concern for his well-being. Now, the young prince found himself compelled to demonstrate his value on the unforgiving battlefield.
I once yearned to earn a place in the eyes of the heartless ruler who had raised me as a mere instrument of war. It wasn't the case anymore. Even if I wanted to disappear from this nightmare, I couldn't, it wasn't only my life that was on the line.
Now that I look at it, they all rely on me, I couldn't be selfish they all had someone to come back to, as for Roshan and Kais they deserve to live peacefully.
One last battle, on the main front and it would be over. Whether we meet our end or emerge triumphant, remains ungrateful, offering no solace or favor. What hurts me more was that I couldn't do anything about it.
I stroke my sword like a madman eager to end it all the fastest possible. The war had consumed me, I wanted it to be over. Not caring anymore for who was in front of me. Roshan and Kais were injured right behind me. I couldn't allow anyone to breach my defenses; the thought of losing them was inconceivable.
Time seemed to halt, and in the midst of the chaos, a soldier in gleaming armor and red cloak emerged before me. He looked few years older than me. his gaze held an unexpected warmth, he looked at me with pity as I tried to protect my only family, resembling a radiant sun standing in stark contrast to the battlefield's darkness.
Whether it was his presence or the tears, that I couldn't stop anymore, welling in my eyes, my vision blurred, once I heard his words calling out for peace I was struck by indescribable sadness and anger. My blade was already launched right through his heart, it was already too late, I did not realize it until blood came out his mouth stopping him from saying another word. He still looked at me with a warm gaze, his hand reaches out to my shaking ones before collapsing.
I didn't have time to realize what had happened, a shadow rushed to me. There was no mistake, it was him. The black death, the demon of the battlefield. His scream pierced the air, a lamentation echoing with an unspoken ache, as if his entire world had crumbled before him looking at the radiant sun falling in front of me.
A cry tinged with the echoes of despair.
Petrified, I could no longer move. When his gaze met mine with a murderous aura, I felt the weight of an irreversible mistake, trapped in the moment, I couldn't escape. I was frozen before death itself.
A firm grip seized my arm abruptly, and I was forcefully pulled to the ground just as two soldiers, that I recognize as Kais and Roshan, stand facing him. Urgent screams pierced the chaos, compelling me to flee. It was evident they had no chance fighting him; the blood streaming from their wounds served as a chilling testament to their impending defeat in the face of an adversary they couldn't withstand.
I couldn't let Roshan and Kais die protecting me, I was the one they relied on it was my role to protect them, to protect them all. Not the other way around.
I stood up, I couldn't be weak in front of them.