Reaper's Crown

Ch. 73

The Serpigo shook its head, and then pointed down, and back at itself again. The young child was scared, looking down into the lava. Each second passing only led to him sliding in further, scared, terrified.

Just like back then. Ingo was faced with a choice. The Serpigo was completely vulnerable, ready to strike, but... someone was waiting down there, etching to be saved.

How would he even make it out? It was obvious what he had to do, but... it just didn't make sense.

What was the right choice?

Through tears, he yelled again: "He's dead!" he swung forward a bit. "He's... dead..!"

The Serpigo seemed to laugh in his face, before shaking its head. The clock was ticking. The heat was getting unbearable, and Ingo had to do something.

His hands were shaky.

One more unsure second, and they'd slip down, and he'd be forced to make a choice, despite not wanting to.

Either this or that. Either life or... death, again.

"You hesitated," Koyote commented, and Ingo halted, turning back to his mentor.

He didn't answer, rather, simply stared into her one visible eye.

"You wanted to save Genni, and that's why you didn't wreck that rock because you believed she could've climbed up there. At the same time, you wanted to go back down and carry her out of the crater with your very own hands." Koyote explained.

Ingo pouted. "There's only one winner."

There isn't a world in which Ingo can meet both. It's either him or something that might not even exist.

It looked real. It felt real.

But, it wasn't.

Olala ran out from the stand. "Ingo, it's not real!"

"The wounds are real," Ingo uttered. "The pain too, it's hella bloody real!" he continued. "But no matter how hard you try, it won't ever fade away. No power, no strength. It won't change shit that was already written!" he leapt. "DAMN YOU, BASTARD!!!"

He screeched, holding onto the club. He closed his eyes, at that moment.

He didn't want to face it.

The club struck at the Serpigo, and at the same time, the figure seemed to sink into the ground and disappear.

Ingo's entire body was shaking, but he opened his eyes, nonetheless.

There was no lava, there was no crying child. There was no promise of something that couldn't be promised. He ground his teeth, before turning around and breathing in.

The sounds of the people running back and forth, as well as their silhouettes came back to reality, and he simply stared, waiting for a couple of seconds.

His shaky palm reached into his big pocket, taking the vial he bought for the prize money, but instead of drinking it, he threw it to the side, with the liquid bouncing off the wall and sinking in between cobblestones.

"Next time I'll treat you instead." he put the club over his shoulder. "Maybe even sooner than later."

...and with half-a-smile, wounds all over his body, Ingo swung forward, in the direction of Roses Alley.

***

"Mama?!" Morio ran around, desperately, swinging his hands back and forth. "Mama? Come on, stop running!"

He chased after a silhouette, in the darkness. He was sure of it. The same hair, the same Morian clothes, it was even weird how she bore such a thick outfit in Gorro, but then again, Gloria was always a strange woman.