The other two stood motionless, looking down in uneasy silence. What happened to Shifty didn't come as a shock, but it was still a hard thing to digest. An ominous feeling settled in their hearts — seeing the broken body of their companion, it was too easy to imagine one of them sharing the same fate.
No one knew what to say.
After a minute or so, Scholar finally sighed.
"It's a good thing that you took most of the supplies he had been carrying."
'A bit heartless, but not wrong,'
Sunny thought, giving the older slave a careful look.
Scholar frowned, realizing that his mask of a kind-hearted gentleman had slipped for a second, and hurriedly added in a somber tone:
"May you rest in peace, my friend."
'Wow. What a performance what was it called again... Ahh, right oscar level performance right that.'
Actually, Sunny had not believed in his benevolent act for a second. Every kid from the outskirts knew that people who acted kind for no reason were the ones to be most wary of. They were either fools or monsters. Scholar didn't seem like a fool, so Sunny became cautious of him from the moment they met.
He got this far by being a mistrustful cynic, and there was no reason to change now.
"We have to go."
Hero said, casting one last look down.
His voice was even, but Sunny could feel a well of emotion behind it. He just couldn't tell what that emotion was.
Scholar sighed and turned away, too. Sunny stared at the bloodied rocks for a few more seconds.
'i kinda liked him... Somewhat.' he thought. 'well not exactly i liked his braindead look it was amusing.'
Just like that, they left Shifty behind and continued to climb.
At this altitude, traversing the mountain was getting harder and harder. The wind was slamming into them with enough force to throw a person off-balance if they were not careful, making every step seem like a gamble. The air was becoming too thin to breathe. Due to the lack of oxygen, Sunny was starting to feel dizzy and nauseated.
It was as though they were all slowly suffocating.
Altitude sickness was not something one could overcome with effort. It was subtle and overbearing at the same time, affecting the strong and the weak with no regard to their fitness and endurance. If his luck was bad, an elite athlete could succumb to it faster than a random passerby.
It was just a question of your body's innate aptitude and adaptability. Lucky ones were able to get over it after experiencing mild symptoms. The others were sometimes crippled for days or weeks, suffering from all kinds of torturous side effects. Some even died.
But for sunny who never faced this trouble because of his attribute [The Shadow] currently because of the many shadows surrounding the area sunny was getting the shadows to boost him the only thing that could possibly kill sunny was boredom.
As though all that wasn't bad enough, it was getting colder, too. The warm clothes and fur weren't enough to keep the chill at bay anymore. The other two scholar, and hero felt simultaneously feverish and freezing, cursing every decision they had made in their horrendous life to end up here, on the endless icy slope.
This mountain was not a place for humans.
And yet they had to go on for a couple more hours.
A few hours passed. Despite everything, the three survivors continued to struggle forward, slowly moving higher and higher. Wherever that old path Scholar had talked about was, by now, it couldn't have been far. At least that's what Sunny was hoping for.
But at some point, he started to doubt if the path even existed. Maybe the older slave lied. Maybe the path was long ago destroyed by ravages of time. Maybe they had already missed it without even noticing.
Just as he was about to fall into despair, they finally found it.
It was weathered and narrow, barely enough for two people to walk side by side. The path wasn't paved, but rather cut from the black rock by some unknown tool or magic, winding its way up the mountain like a tail of a sleeping dragon. Here and there, it was hidden beneath the snow. But most importantly, it was flat. Sunny had never been that happy to see something flat in his life.
Without saying a word, Scholar dropped his rucksack and sat down. He was deathly pale, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Despite that, there was a slight grin on his face.
"Told you."
Hero gave him a nod and looked around. A few seconds later, he turned back to the triumphant slave:
"Stand up. It's not time to rest yet."
Scholar blinked a few times, then glanced at him with pleading eyes.
"Just… just give me a few minutes."
The young soldier was going to retort, but Sunny suddenly put a hand on his shoulder. Hero turned to face him.
"What is it?"
"It's gone."
"What is gone?"
Sunny gestured down, back the way they came.
"Shifty's body. It's gone."
Hero stared at him for a few moments, clearly failing to understand what Sunny was trying to say.
'Oh, right. They don't know that Shifty's name is Shifty. Ahem. Awkward.'
He wanted to explain, but both Scholar and Hero seemed to have grasped his meaning. Simultaneously, they moved to the edge of the stone path and looked down, trying to spot the place where Shifty had met his end.
Indeed, the splattering of blood could still be seen on the jagged rocks, but the corpse itself was nowhere to be found.
Scholar flinched back and crawled as far away from the edge as he could. The young soldier also backed away, instinctively grabbing the handle of his sword. The three of them exchanged tense looks, clearly understanding the implication of Shifty's disappearance.
"It's the creature's they are following us." Scholar said, even paler than before. "Let's go."
Hero gritted his teeth.
"You are right. And if it is that close, we will inevitably be forced to fight it soon."
The idea of fighting the tyrant was as frightening as it was preposterous. He might as well have said that they will all be dead soon. The truth of it was painfully clear to both Sunny and Scholar.
But the older slave, surprisingly, did not look panicked. Instead, he lowered his gaze and quietly said:
"Not necessarily."
Hero and Sunny turned to him, all ears. The young soldier raised an eyebrow.
"Explain?"
'Here it comes.'
Scholar sighed.
"The beast had traced us this far in just a day. That means that there are two most probable possibilities. Either it is smart enough to realize where we are going, or it is following the scent of blood."
After a bit of thinking, Hero nodded, agreeing with this logic. The older slave smiled slightly and continued.
"Whether it is one or another, we can throw him off our trail and buy some time."
"How do we do that?"
Despite the urgency in Hero's voice, Scholar hesitated and remained silent.
"Why are you not answering? Speak!"
The older slave sighed again and slowly, as though against his will, answered. Sunny was waiting for this moment for a while now.
"We'll just have to… make the boy bleed. Drag him down the path, then leave him there as bait and go up instead. His sacrifice will save our lives."
'Right on time.'
If Sunny was absolutely mad — and somewhat scared because there weren't any shadows around to heal him of course — he would have smiled. His judgment, it seems, was eerily on point. Affirmation was always nice… but not in the situation where being right also meant potentially being used as monster bait.
He remembered the words Scholar had spoken back when Shifty was campaigning to have Sunny killed — "Don't be too hasty, my friend. The boy might prove useful later on." These words, which had sounded benevolent then, now turned out to hide a much more sinister meaning.
'What a bastard!'
Now it all depended on whether or not Hero would decide to follow through with Scholar's plan.
The young soldier blinked, astonished.
"What do you mean, make him bleed?"
Scholar shook his head.
"It's simple, really. If the monster knows where we are going, we have no choice but to abandon our plans to reach the mountain pass and go over the peak of the mountain instead. If the monster is following the scent of blood, we have to use one of us as bait to mislead it."
He paused.
"Only by leaving a bleeding man further down the path can we reliably avoid the pursuit no matter how it is tracking us."
Hero stood motionless, his eyes jumping between Scholar and Sunny. After a few seconds, he asked:
"How can you bring yourself to propose something so vile?"
The older slave masterfully pretended to look aggrieved and somber.
"Of course, it pains me! But if we do nothing, all three of us will die. This way, at least, the boy's death will save two lives. The gods will reward him for his sacrifice!"
'Gee, what a silver tongue. I'm almost convinced myself but keyword Almost.'
The young soldier opened his mouth, then closed it again, hesitating.
Sunny was silently watching the other two survivors, measuring his chances of coming on top in a fight. Scholar was already halfway to being a corpse, so overpowering him would not be a problem. Hero, however… Hero presented an obstacle as of right now because it wasn't night time or were there any close shadows.
Right now, that obstacle was looking down, avoiding Sunny's gaze. His hand was resting on the sword handle. As always, the young slave had no idea about what was going on inside Hero's perfectly shaped head.
The uncertainty was making him nervous.
Finally, after some time had passed, sunny spoke his voice sounding insane.
"I have only one question."
Both Hero and Scholar stared at him while holding their breaths clearly not having anticipated his sudden questions.
"Yes?"
Sunnys voice sounded more and more insane and mad his voice sounded like madness incarnate the personification and representation of madness he was grinning ear to ear.
"You said that one of us must be sacrificed to save the other two. Why me old man? Why can't it be you clearly your closer to death than any of us why can't you be the one to perish instead of me why must it be me, huh. You stupid bastard why do i have to be the one to die your old you can't possibly survive for another decade but i can i will and would survive it's not an opinion it's a fact."
Hero looked at sunny stunned by his words but in his mind he could only think of one thing.
'A great question! I was just about to ask it myself.'
But to sunnys dismay he already had an answer planned.
"Before the first attack, he was already bleeding because of your senior's whip. During the attack, he was drenched in the blood of a fellow slave. His cloak, too, was soaked in it when the previous owner died. The boy already reeks of blood. Keeping him alive will put us in danger. That's why he is the best choice."
The grin was still plastered on Sunny's face.
'Curse you and your big brain! Making my life harder but who cares ill win in the very end.'
Scholar's reasoning was appallingly solid. Hero listened, his expression growing darker with each word. Finally, he looked at Sunny, a dangerous light shining in his eyes.
"That is true."
Sunny felt his mouth getting dry. Cold sweat was running down his spine. He tensed, ready to act…
But at that moment, Hero smiled.
"Your logic is almost unassailable," he said, unsheathing the sword. "However, you failed to account for one thing."
Scholar raised an eyebrow, trying to hide his own nervousness.
"What might that be?"
The young soldier turned to face him, the smile disappearing from his face. Now, he was radiating thick, practically palpable killing intent.
"It's that I know who you are, Your Grace. I also know what you've done, and how you ended up a salve. Just one of the revolting crimes you have committed would be enough to make me want to kill you. So if there is someone among us who deserves to be sacrificed… it's you."
Scholar's eyes widened.
"But… but the smell of blood!"
"Don't worry about it. I'll make you bleed enough to overpower whatever residual scent the boy carries."
It all happened so fast that Sunny barely had time to react. Hero lunged forward with a speed that seemed almost inhuman. A moment later, Scholar was shrieking on the ground, his leg broken with one strike from the flat side of the young soldier's sword. Not giving him an opportunity to recover, Hero stomped on his other leg, and a sickening sound of shattering bones could be clearly heard. The shriek turned into a sobbing howl.
Just like that, Scholar was done for.
The brutality of Hero's actions was in such stark contrast with his usually graceful demeanor that Sunny felt blood turning to ice in his veins. This was… scary.
The soldier gave him a calm look and said in a placid tone:
"Wait for me here."
Sunny did as was told because right now [The Shadow] wasn't boosting him and which he wasn't at his best state that's probably why he felt free for the very first time.
Then he grabbed the older slave and dragged him down the path, soon disappearing behind a rock outcropping. After a few minutes, terrible screams could be heard echoing through the wind.
Sunny was left alone.
'You deserved that you stupid arrogant bitch.'
He still couldn't believe how sudden Scholar's demise came to be. And how ruthless it was.
Some time later, Hero was back, acting as though nothing had happened. But it was exactly that normalcy that unnerved Sunny the most.
After sorting through the contents of Scholar's rucksack and throwing most of the firewood out, the young soldier put it over his shoulder and nonchalantly turned to the young slave:
"Let's go. We need to hurry."
Not knowing what to say, Sunny gave him a nod and headed forward.
Now there were only two of them left.
It was sort of stupid, but Sunny suddenly felt lonesome.
Walking on the stone path was much easier than scaling the mountain wall. He even had time for unnecessary thoughts. A strange feeling of melancholy descended on Sunny… somehow, he began to feel that the end of this nightmare, whatever it might be, was not far off now.
They walked in silence for some time before Hero spoke.
"Don't feel guilty about what happened. It's not your fault. The decision was mine, and mine alone."
The young soldier was a few steps ahead, so Sunny couldn't see his face.
"Besides, if you knew this man's sins… actually, it's better that you don't. Just trust me when I say that killing him was an act of justice."
'I wonder which one of us feels guilty.'
These people… always trying to rationalize their actions, always desperate to maintain an illusion of righteousness even while doing most foul things. Sunny hated the hypocrisy.
Not getting an answer, Hero chuckled.
"You don't like to talk, do you? Well, fair enough. Silence is gold."
They didn't speak again after that, each preoccupied with their own thoughts.
The sun was setting, painting the world into a million shades of crimson. This high up, the air was clean and crisp, pierced by streams of scarlet light. Below them, a sea of maroon clouds was slowly rolling past the mountain. The stars and the moon had begun to reveal themselves in the vermillion sky.
It was quite beautiful.
However, Sunny could only think about how cold it was going to be once the sun fully disappears.
Before that happened, Hero had found them a shelter. Not far from the path, hidden behind some tall rocks, was a narrow crevice that extended into the slope of the mountain. Happy to be safe from the piercing wind, they explored the crevice and ended up in a small, well-concealed cave.
Sunny made a move to unbundle some firewood, but Hero stopped him with a shake of his head.
"Today we will camp without making a fire. The beast is too close."
Camping without the warm flames to keep them company was not going to be pleasant, but at least they weren't going to freeze to death inside the cave. In any case, the alternative was too frightening.
Sunny sat down, putting his back against the cave's wall. Hero settled opposite of him, looking downcast and thoughtful.
He was obviously in a strange mood. If nothing else, it was apparent from the fact that today, for the first time, the young soldier had failed to care for his sword after making camp.
Soon, the sun was gone, and their small cave became completely dark. Sunny, of course, could still see perfectly well; Hero, on the other hand, was now completely blind.
In the darkness, his handsome face looked noble and, for some reason, sorrowful. Sunny studied it, not willing to fall asleep.
After a while, Hero suddenly spoke in a quiet voice:
"You know, it's strange. Usually, I can feel someone's presence even in absolute darkness. But with you, there's nothing. It's like you are just one of the shadows."
With only silence to answer him, he smiled.
"Are you asleep?"
The question echoed in the darkness. Sunny, who had never spoken with Hero unless there was an urgent need to, and even then only using a few words at best, felt like there was a strange intimacy between them now. That's why he decided to talk. Maybe the darkness gave him courage.
Besides, there was an occasion.
"Why? Are you waiting for me to fall asleep before you kill me? Or will you do it in the morning?"
The smile froze on Hero's face. He lowered his head, as though in shame. After a minute or so passed, shrouded in heavy silence, he finally answered.
"Yes. I thought that if I do it when you sleep, you won't have to suffer."
Unseen to him, a mad grin appeared on Sunny's face.
A long sigh escaped from the young soldier's lips. He rested his back against the cave's wall, still not looking up.
"I don't expect you to forgive me. This sin, too, will be mine to bear. But, please, if you can… find it in your heart to understand. If things were different, I would have gladly faced that monster to let you escape. But my life… does not belong to me alone. There is an unencompassable duty I am sworn to fulfill. Until it's done, I cannot allow myself to die."
Sunny laughed.
"You people… Look at you! Planning to kill me and still insisting on having a good excuse. How very convenient! I really hate hypocrites like you the most. Why don't you be honest for once? Don't give me that crap... just say it! I'm going to kill you because it's easy. I'm going to kill you because I want to survive."
Hero closed his eyes, his face full of sadness.
"I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't be able to understand."
"What's there to understand?"
Sunny leaned forward, madness coursing through his veins.
"Tell me. Why do I have to die?"
The young soldier finally looked up. Even though he couldn't see in the dark, he turned his face in the direction of Sunny's voice.
"That man was a villain… but he was also right. The scent of blood is too heavy on you. It will attract the beast."
Sunny laughed like a maniac and spoke his voice gradually sounding more and more corrupt.
"Don't worry about it. I'll make you bleed enough to overpower whatever residual scent i carry."
Sunny leaned back, dejected. After a short while, he quietly said:
"You know… when I just came here, I was ready to die. After all, in this whole world — two worlds, actually — there's not a single soul who cares whether I live or die. When I'm gone, no one will be sad. No one will even remember that I existed."
There was a forlorn look on his face. A moment later, however, it was gone, replaced by mirth.
"But then I changed my mind. Somewhere along the way, I decided to survive. I must survive, no matter what."
Hero gave him a thoughtful look.
"To live a life worth remembering?"
Sunny grinned even wider. A dark gleam appeared in his eyes.
"No. To HATE you all, to show that i am better than everyone else, to show that i am alive and for that i must HATE. HATE. LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE EVERYONE SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE. THERE ARE SEVEN BILLION, BILLION, ATOMS INSIDE ARE BODY AND IF THE WORD HATE WERE TO BE ENGRAVED IN EVERY SINGLE HUMANS ATOMS IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-TRILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR EVERYONE AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT FOR EVERYONE. HATE. HATE."
Hero shook his head knowing he won't be able to change my mind.
… But in the next second, he staggered and fell on one knee. The young man's face turned deathly pale, and with a pained groan, he suddenly vomited blood.
A satisfied smile appeared on Sunny's face.
"Finally."
***
Hero was standing on his knees, the lower part of his face covered in blood. Astonished, he was staring at his hands, trying to understand what had happened to him.
"What… what magic is this?"
With wide eyes and a pale face, he turned to Sunny.
"Was… was that thief right? Did you put the curse of the Shadow God on us?"
Sunny sighed.
"I wish that I had the ability to throw divine curses around, but no. To tell you the truth, I don't have any abilities at all."
"Then.. how?"
The young slave shrugged.
"That's why I poisoned you all."
Hero flinched, trying to comprehend his words.
"What?"
"After those seven tyrant's first attacked, you send me to search for water. While gathering flagons from the dead soldiers, I squeezed Bloodbane juice into each one — except my own, of course. Not enough to taste it, but enough to slowly kill anyone who would drink from them."
The soldier gritted his teeth, struggling through pain. A sudden realization appeared on his face.
"So that's why… the other two were in such bad shape."
Sunny nodded.
"Shifty drank the most, so his condition worsened the fastest. Scholar was also not long for this world, but you finished him off before the poison could. Yourself, however… it was as though Bloodbane had no effect on you at all. I was really starting to get worried."
Hero's face darkened.
"I see… I understand."
He thought about something, then looked at Sunny with surprise.
"But… but back then you didn't know… that we will turn on you."
Sunny just laughed.
"Oh, please. It was obvious. Shifty was the kind of man who would kill for a pair of boots. Scholar was like a wolf in sheep's clothing. People are selfish and cruel in the best of situations — was I supposed to believe that those two weren't going to do something terrible to me when faced with certain death?"
Hero spat more blood.
"Then… what about me?"
"You?" A disdainful expression appeared on Sunny's face. "You are the worst of them."
"Why?"
Sunny looked at him and leaned forward.
"I might have not learned much in my short life, but I do know one thing," he said, all traces of humor gone from his voice.
Now there was only cold, callous contempt. Sunny's face hardened as he spat:
"There is nothing more pathetic than a slave who begins to trust his slaver."
Hearing these words, Hero lowered his head.
"I see."
Then, suddenly, he laughed.
"You… you are a wicked little shit, aren't you?"
Sunny rolled his eyes.
"There's no need to be rude."
But Hero wasn't listening to him.
"Good. This is good. My conscience will be clearer."
Hero chuckled and suddenly pierced him with a stare. Somehow, he didn't look so sick anymore.
"You see, that plan would have worked if I was a normal human. But, alas, my Soul Core has Awakened long ago. I've slain countless enemies and absorbed their power. Bloodbane poison, unpleasant as it might be, can never kill me."
"I know i just wanted you bleed more mother fucker."
Grabbing his short — sword sunny lunged and stabbed hero in the stomach twisting the knife around his stomach.
"You little piece of shit!"
Hero grabbed his sword and stabbed sunny in the back continuously but to his utter horror he just laughed his attacks off and then to his dread he healed his injuries.
"You little fucker."
Pulling the sword out of heroes stomach he gutted hero letting his guts spill out his body pushing hero to the ground sunny started stomping hero first in his hands breaking every single bone and then his legs.
"Arghhhhhhhhh!"
Sunny plunged two fingers into heroes eyes and ripped them out making hero scream it was kinda funny.
And then he ripped out heros ears and feeding it to him.
(Fun fact: did you know you only need 7 pounds! of force to rip out your ear... That's actually not a fun fact nevermind, sorry.)
And then feeling bored sunny ripped out heros head out of his neck.
'thank god [The Shadow] attribute only needs me inside shadows and it doesn't need it to be nighttime.'
Unfortunately [Fated] was a asshole and decided to spawn in the King and Queen behind sunny.
Turning around he saw the King and Queen the overlord wasn't there it was probably much further away because it ate more.
"Fuck me sideways."