Chapter 18: The Boss of the Swamp pt.3
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This was probably the most dangerous battle of my entire life. I've faced humanoid opponents in sparing, but never to the death; and even through the Swamp Boss was a monster, the fluency of it's movements was a clear indication of intelligence, there was no way I could win with brute force. I was lucky to have the support of Rana and Lanie, but with how limited Rana is in mana use and the monster's strength, we decided it would be better for me to actually face it while she guarded Lanie as she helped me by shooting.

Getting into attack was the tricky part, his use of the giant hook on a magic line required me make a few tumbles and jumps to avoid getting hit, and the first time I got close enough to attack, the monster intercepted my blade with the hook.

This fucker is tough. I needed to find an opening.

Taking advantage of my frustration, the Swamp Boss pushed me off. Slinging his hook at me again, I had a plan of distracting it while Lanie shot, but her mana bullets didn't do any damage. There was a confusing aspect of it's fighting as I spent more and more time battling the creature, it seemed to only focus on me and only attacked when I got away from a certain distance. The good aspect is that the girls might be safe, but I was trapped.

"What the hell are you?" I muttered out loud, clashing at it with my sword.

"... A... on..." I heard it speak, growling more like it.

It was spooky, not only did it speak, I think it responded to me. "You spoke?" I jumped back, curious but cautious. "Who are you?"

Looking closure at its face, I could make out the glow of eye holes from under the moss. "I... alone!" It got angrier, started screaming and thrashing around.

"What the fuck is this?" Taking advantage of it's mindless state, I moved in closure to the girls. "Something is bizarre about this thing. I think... I think it's sentient. It can think and speak for itself."

"How is that possible?" Rana was confused. "A monster shouldn't be capable of speaking."

Both me and Lanie knew that wasn't the case, our time on the 15th floor proved otherwise. Thinking about them reminded me of their origin, that they were originally created in the dungeon but started replenishing their population naturally. Maybe there is a connection with this thing and the Cheraneura.

"I have an idea." I ran back, possibly to my death. " 'STOP!' " I screamed in Cheraneuran. " 'Do you understand!?' ". 

The Swamp Boss looked my way, but that just made it re-focus on me. Its moves were less refined, but the added power of its rage made it more destructive. I tried using magic against the monster, but my spells couldn't do any damage. If I wanted to have any chance of defeating it, I needed to augment my body with lightning magic again. Letting the current course through my body, the increase in speed and strength allowed the fight to become more evenly matched, but I wouldn't be able to sustain it for long.

"Wh..." The monster grumbled. "Alone. I... alone."

"Alone?" It was trying to communicate, giving me an idea of what happened to the adventurers. "Is that why you didn't kill those adventurers, you were lonely?"

Looking at me, the creature grabbed for my face while my guard was lowered. I wasn't in an any pain, but I could feel an intense dread and isolation overcome my senses. Then a story began, it was like a shadow puppet theater going on in my head. 

It started as a small village, and in the village was a fisherman who was admired as the greatest fisher in the world. One day, the fisherman left on a quest to find a legendary fish to earn even more praise. After a year of searching, he turned back and found a war broke out while he was gone. Returning to his village, he found it in ruins; the home where everyone was happy and peace was everywhere, destroyed and he was alone. Unable to stand the isolation, he took his own life; but that was not the end, when he awoke he found himself in his village inside a dungeon but nobody was there. He waited for years, but nobody ever came for him. He tried to go looking for them, but a force kept him from leaving the area of his village. With no way to leave, he waited for his people to comeback. Then, one day a group of six adventurers found their way to his village; the fisherman tried to talk to them but they ran, scared of being alone he followed them around until they went inside an old shack. Believing they would run again, he waited there without ever leaving there side; time passed, and one by one they died, leaving the fisherman alone gain.

I awoke back in reality, the monster right in front of me. It was crying, devastated.

" 'You were the fisherman?' " That was his story, he was turned into a monster.

He looked at me. "I... die..." He kept attacking me. "I... DIE!"

Getting more exhausted, I realized what he was saying. He wants to die, but he can't, he's compelled to keep attacking. It was obvious, he was getting tired as well, giving me one chance to defeat him.

"You and me are a lot a like!" I spoke to my opponent. "Two men desperately trying to go home!" I was ready to put everything into a final slash. "Time to send you away!"

Focusing my mana into legs, I used the footwork Kawa taught me along with my sword training to sprint forward at lightning speed and slash trough the Swamp Boss's chest, cutting clean through his body. Out of energy, I collapsed to my knees as Rana and Lanie came running to help me. We watched the Swamp Boss corpse dissolve into the land, and to our collected surprise, we saw as thousands of firestarters began to swarm around us. Scared of an explosion, they clung to me, but as the bug monsters continued glowing, the silhouette of a man appeared where the Swamp Boss corpse once was. The phantasma looked at us, giving me a smile.

"Thank you." He spoke softly before fading.

The swarming of the bugs increased, spinning rapidly until I passed out. I awoke in a void, similar to the one before but this place was an endless sky over an endless ocean.

"Am I... dead, again?" I questioned the cause of this. "Is this how Kenny always experiences dying?"1

"You are alive." I looked around, and saw a young boy, maybe 11-12. "I am a god of this world."

"A god?" I asked. "Why have you brought me here if I died? Where is Lanie and Rana?"

"They live and are well. I am Kyu-Ra, God of Fate and Choice, I am here to congratulate you on saving Bastien."

"Bastien?" That name was new to me. "The Swamp Boss?"

"Before, he was a man named Bastien, he was a treasured follower of mine, when he lost his village, his soul could not cross into the afterlife, leaving him in constant misery for hundreds of years. I thank you for allowing him to finally cross over." He gave me a slight tilt of the head.

I bowed in response. "You are kind, but I must ask... why was he turned into a monster? What are the Cheraneura? And... what is to become of my journey home?"

Kyu-Ra had a blank expression. "Dungeons are born from an accumulation of negative energy in one area and left on blessed. When living creatures die, their mana is released into the environment; if they die in peace, their energy helps the environment but if they die in anger, fear, and vengeance, their energy poisons the land, creating monsters and dungeons." He explained to me. "When Bastien died, the accumulation of negative mana gave birth to a dungeon, turning the bodies of himself into a Dungeon Boss, and the bodies of the killed villagers were reborn as the Cheraneura."

This information was breath-taking, I was barely able to absorb it all. "How come Bastien was turned into a monster while the others... I know they're monsters as well, but they seem so evolved compared to his form?"

"The creation of a dungeon is unique for each one, the Cheraneura were turned into what they are because the who village died together, while Bastien dies alone, allowing his sorrow to intensify." The god smiled. "Truly, he lived in isolation for years, and only by being killed by you could he finally escape the hell of his own creation. Now, he can finally rest in peace." He looked at, his smile fading. "You asked, 'what is to become of your journey?'. That, I cannot answer."

"Huh, what do you mean?" His manner of speaking was puzzling.

"As a god of fate, I know what will happen, but also as a god of choice, I know what will happen with every decision. I cannot answer your question, because every choice you make will affect the outcome. If you stay, your body will continue to remain forever young, but if you return to your world, you will return to the exact moment you died and shall continue to grow old. Your fate is decided by how you act. However, I can tell you this because, for your efforts, two other gods and myself have given you three a blessing."

"A blessing?" That sounded important, but I wasn't aware what it is.

"Beings who have displayed attributes that are acknowledge by gods, are given that god's blessing as a reward. Rana, was given the Blessing of Health, protecting her from illness and improved self-healing; Lanie was given the Blessing of Sanctuary, a special gift you will learn from her later. And you, Aiden Ortega, I give the Blessing of Fortune, depending how you act, situations can be shifted into your favor no matter how impossible an outcome is."

Grateful, I got on my knees and bowed. "You are very kind, but may I ask, why do you give such favor to me?"

Kyu-Ra looked on. "Fate is absolute regardless of Choice, but Choice shifts Fate with each choice being made. It was fate for you to die, but choice gave you another chance, again and again, now choose which fate awaits you, I shall be in touch to check on you."

With that, it faded to black.

"Aiden Ortega." Kyu-Ra, alone, spoke to himself. "You shall continue to struggle, grow, and you may achieve all you wish. I only wish you could see what lies ahead. For now, grow strong... grow strong for what is to come."

 

   1. This is a reference to Kenny from South Park.

Announcement
Aiden Ortega has come far, and this marks the end of the fist leg of his journey. There is still much struggle and challenge awaiting, but he shall now face it alone. Will he return home, will he stay, only Kyu-Ra knows!

 

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