Death's End

Chapter 35 - Heart

He had held dear that sorely missed scent...his entire life.

His hard, weathered face and cold eyes softened in the long-faded light, as he saw a figure from afar.

He ran.

They embraced, long and hard. Then he kissed her and tightened his grip. She returned in kind, pressing against his brown leather armour. The throes of passion lasted for a long time, in sharp juxtaposition to the harsh forest.

"I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry," he finally said, coming out between raspy breaths.

His eyes were wet.

The figure's honeyed voice came back. "My dear...you have no need to apologise. You were away, and now you are back. We've waited for you."

"I've missed you," the man said.

"And I you," she said, brushing away fallen tears on the man's face with gentle strokes.

"I couldn't save you...I couldn't save her..."

"Now, now," she said in a calm, soothing voice. "Why would you say that?"

"That night..." he said, his voice breaking. "Enara, I killed them all. I castrated every single one of them. I made sure I took my time. I‒"

Smiling, Enara put a finger on his lips. "Listen. Did you hear it?"

"You know her usual game. She's hiding. She wants us to find her."

"I heard...nothing."

"Ah," Enara said, putting one hand on his wrist. "The SteelBlight scares her...remember?"

Aderis looked down, seeing his tight grip around Steelblight, the powerful blade used to fell men, beasts and demons alike. It was the finest work of Ikius the famous magus-turned-blacksmith. Before his departure to the Distant Settlement to seek a rare ingredient, Archmagus Ellydian also worked on it, delighted by how reactive the blade made from fallen meteorite was to alchemy.

It was said when Steelblight slithered out of its scabbard, the cries of those who crossed paths with its owner would ring like an endless echo.

Aderis sheathed his blade.

"Lis?" He called out.

A little figure peered out from behind one of the biggest trees. She moved with timidness in her motion. When Aderis gestured again and called her out, she scampered. They embraced, and Lisara said. "Pa...I waited too long. It's no fun anymore."

"I'm here now, Lis," Aderis said, his voice breaking again from all the emotions struggling to seep out.

"You fought off the sea thieves?" Lisara asked.

Aderis stiffened.

"Pa?"

"Our daughter is asking," Enara said from behind, in a soft voice. She had one hand on his shoulder then he shifted.

The silence reigned, almost uncomfortably long.

"Yes, yes. The sea thieves," he said, the warmth of a lover's voice fading away with every word. "That's what our little Lis would call the Yandi pirates."

"My love?" Enara called out.

He did not bother to respond.

He drew his blade faster than their eyes could follow, pirouetting so he could fell them both at the same time. As they collapsed to the ground, one was eviscerated at the waist and the other by the neck, Aderis stood up again, schooling his expressions once more in the cold sternness he previously had.