His voice hadn’t sounded louder than the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, and yet that lonely murmur was enough to stop ZaiWin1Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos).’s heart and freeze him in place, pain flooding his chest.
He must have heard it wrong, he immediately decided, forcing himself to turn his mind to more urgent, pressing matters.
Holding Snow’s listless body in his arms, his soft warm breath tickling his neck, ZaiWin closed his eyes and focused on absorbing as much of the darkness circulating inside him as he could. This was hardly the first time he did such a thing. He’d done so at least four other times, to save ZenTar2Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind).’s life when they had roamed Nox3Literally nox (night). Nox is the name of the Clan (family name), also the name of a Province. ZaiWin uses it because he is the Governor of Nox’s lands, fighting and killing feimao4Literally fei (raging / furious) + mao (beast / monster). Raving beasts that appear in unbalanced, ungoverned lands. They possess destructive markings that in turn corrupt the land even further. Hard to explain in just 2 lines -_-; Anyway. Bad, vicious things that need to be killed. left and right. However, ZenTar had never been so completely overtaken by darkness as Snow was now, the corruption distorting the nature of his inner energy. And ZaiWin had never been so tired and spent in any of the other occasions. And so there was only so much he could do in one single attempt, he realized moments later, the dark energy now circling inside him exciting his own daitai, making him feel as if he could lose control over them at any moment. Which simply could not happen! He needed time, he quickly concluded. Time to rest and cleanse what he’d just absorbed, before he could take in any more. But they couldn’t stay in that place.
He didn’t know when Snow would wake up. In fact it was probably best if he would only wake up once he was done. As for himself … he knew that the moment he closed his eyes he’d be out cold, completely vulnerable and defenseless for a long time. From what he’d been able to observe, there had only been the old man in that cavern, but he doubted that all this had been his doing alone. Someone had led Snow to that place. Back at Woodbridge, ZaiWin had been sure that he had been talking with more than one person, even though they were apparently experts in erasing their energetic footprints. In any case, nothing could guarantee him that someone else wouldn’t suddenly show up, and then they would both be caught in a very disadvantageous situation.
Allowing Snow listless body to lean against his chest, ZaiWin wrapped him in his own cloak, fastening it around his neck. It was too cold in there, but he doubted that the cold was a mere result of Snow’s ability.
Grabbing him by one arm, ZaiWin turned around and pulled him over his back. Leaning forward, he grabbed his legs, so his listless body wouldn’t slide down when he stood up. At least all the pain was gone, he realized when his knee didn’t hurt anymore.
The brush of soft hair against the back of his neck immediately erased part of his anxiety. He had managed to get him back. The rest he could deal with, in time. As long as he was able to take them both out of that place.
Crossing the sharp forest of ice, ZaiWin made his way back to where he’d left the old man, nailed to the wall.
Breathing heavily, a dark pool of blood at his feet, ZaiWin was surprised to find him still alive. He had thought that he had died in the meanwhile, since all the crying and sobbing had eventually stopped.
Raising his shaky head, the old man made an effort to look up at him, and a twisted smile took over his wan face.
“Are you … going to die … in his stead …? Won’t that … kill him anyway …? You silly child …”
“You mean the corruption in his daitai5Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power.? Well, yeah. He’ll probably be sick for a while, now that we are bound again. But I’m confident I can deal with it in due time.”
“Confident …?” The man laughed roughly, but that only made him wince in pain, forcing him to urgently gasp for air. “Do you know … how many times … I’ve heard that? I can handle it … It’s just for a few days … I can still cleanse it … She’ll just be sick for a bit … and then … I’ll be able to heal her … All excuses. All unfit to be … a Chosen One,” the man breathed and ZaiWin smiled, making sure Snow remained securely leaning against his back. Even though he normally hated the sensation of other people touching his back, he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. And it most certainly felt much better than when he had jumped all over the place, uncertain that he would ever be able to see him again.
“Well, I’m a bit different from all those useless bastards,” he openly declared. “And Snow is completely different from those mindless golden-hair dolls that you call Tien’Elhar6Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power..”
The old man’s small eyes widened in realization.
“All that darkness … it was real …” he whispered in fear and ZaiWin tilted his head to one side with a light frown.
“You thought it wasn’t? Just some artistic effect or something?” He couldn’t help laugh.
It was true that some nobles did that, embellishing the visual effects of their markings just so they would look more powerful than they really were. But to think that someone might think that he’d ever waste time on something like that was plainly ridiculous.
“What are you …? Are you even … Human …?”
“Now, that’s a good question. But who cares about the answer? I am what I am.”
“You will … kill him … What you did … was a cruel thing. If you had just left him … he might have survived. If he had died … he would have had a peaceful death. By your side … he’ll only know hardship … and pain …”
ZaiWin’s smile immediately faded away.
“Well, I’ve always been known to be a cruel man. But he still chose me, twice now. I am not letting go of what is righteously mine anymore.”
“You’re … as much of an arrogant, … conceited … barbarian … as the rest of them …”
“Yeah, so I've been told. It’s hard not to take after your damned family in some aspects.” ZaiWin sighed with a cold smirk. “Now, about you. I really wish I could take you with me. I have the feeling that there are a lot of important questions that you might just be able to answer. But, as things stand, carrying Snow is as far as I can go. I could leave you here, in hopes my friends might find you. But I’m afraid they will take too long. Your friends will probably arrive before mine, and I’m sure you can easily see how that would be an inconvenience. You would have a lot of answers for them as well, answers that I would much rather they remain unspoken. And so you can see that I really don’t have any other choice.”
The old man dropped his head and smiled ironically.
“A Chosen One … that kills without … a second thought …”
“Now, isn’t that a bit unfair? I just carefully thought it through out loud. Weren't you listening?”
The old man peered up at him and took a deep, ragged breath.
“It’s fine … you can kill me … I’m just a speckle of dust … anyway … Others will … take my place … We will never … give up … We will free all Tien’Elhar … from the hands of … ungrateful bastards like you …”
ZaiWin nodded in approval and commanded one of the four swords still pinning him to the wall to fly backwards, freeing it from the man’s body. The old man simply groaned in pain, obviously too weak to scream like he’d done before.
“That’s good to know. It’s never nice to have to die full of regrets,” he declared, pointing the sword at man’s chest, and swiftly commanded it to pierce the old man’s heart. His expression was one of pure shock for a brief moment, and then he was dead.
With a sigh, ZaiWin called back his swords, allowing them to fuse with his own body and the man’s corpse fell heavily on the ground.
Carrying Snow on his back, ZaiWin tried to make his way back to the place where he had first arrived.
*Sigh*
It'll be okay Snow. *pats*