The fire crackled with a vibrant vermillion as I spit-roasted bits of beef I'd bought in preparation for the journey.
Though I could, in theory, make it there in less than a day, that was at full power running without stop. Obviously, that was impossible, even by my standards.
"Hey, accompany me won't ya?" I called out to the skies.
Feeling lonely are we?
"Tch. As if," I snorted, rolling my eyes,"I was simply inviting you to join me in experiencing the beauty of nature."
Hah! That's a new one from you. For someone who kills without batting an eyelid , I don't think you're even qualified to wax philosophical on the beauty of nature.
"Even a monster can enjoy beauty. Look at the Beast from Beauty and the Beast," I retorted, leaning back on a log I felled,"Everyone can appreciate quiet moments, can't they? A moment to reflect and such."
It is rather poetic, I suppose. Though I seem to underestimate you at every turn.
"Oh? How so?"
Our dear Arakan is currently wide awake in the woods and on high alert. If this continues, the man's going to die from sleep depravation. And yet, you're here casually sitting by a fire as if you're on an outing or something.
I chortled at his praise,"I suppose you don't know much about my history, huh?"
Your past? No. I suppose I don't. My powers only hold in this world. Getting the two of you here was the limit, to be honest.
"There are weapons on Earth. Weapons that could obliterate the entirety of its planet in a matter of hours. It would be rather similar to this Quarvantcoatl mentioned. I was solider fighting on the Versailles Front. Right in the heart of the enemy. We were the ones tasked with getting rid of those weapons. After all, who wants the world to end when they were living in it? You know, fighting a war without magic and all, where you're just one of many, many other soldiers. You life's rather insignificant. One of you won't matter in the grand scheme of things. So trying not to die was a rather big objective."
Weapons of mass destruction, you say?
"Aye. Made with human ingenuity. I'd wager to say that if the humans on earth were to go all out, this world wouldn't be able to survive such a devastating attack. So in such conditions, having to eat, sleep and fight under the constant threat of death, there's only three outcomes. One, you die. Two, you get traumatised. Three, you come out stronger."
I'm guessing you came out stronger?
"Not to toot my own horn, but yes. Life is beautiful. But you don't appreciate it until you nearly lose it."
Ironic words for a murderer.
I laughed at his words, agreeing that this was rather hypocritical of me,"Ah, such is the nature of my humanity, right? I sin despite knowing the value of life. It's almost as if it's in my blood to rebel against my thoughts. Hehe."
So how did the this fight turn out?
I shrugged,"No idea. I got shot in the abdomen and chest, honourably discharged from the war and went on to kill. The war was still ongoing when you brought me over. Hell, I'd wager that if they haven't blown the whole fucking thing up yet, they'd still be fighting. Why don't you check?"
You know what, I will. I'll be back in a few moments.
After five minutes or so, he returned with a single sentence that I didn't expect to hear.
It seems you were right.
"Hm? So they're still fighting, eh? Ah I told you—"
No. About the weapon of mass destruction thing. I saw about a few thousand remaining organisms left and a hundred or so humans remaining. Tons of craters and some weird energy floating around. The world's caked in snow.
I knew immediately what caked in snow meant.
Nuclear winter.
I let out a shaky breath. I'd narrowly avoided it.
Hard to imagine, wasn't it? That in just the span of a month, things could go from armed conflict to mutually assured destruction.
"Heh," I shook my head,"So now, even if I wanted to go back, I wouldn't be able to. I wonder what Arakan would think if he knew."
You don't appear to be affected much by the news?
"I'm rather relieved to be honest," I answered,"Oh, beef's cooked. To have been picked out from the billions of people and to have evaded this nasty little fate where I would've probably died anyway, it's rather relieving. Besides, I'm no longer part of Earth. I'm now a part of Ussovar. I'm not an earthling anymore. I'm an ussovarian. Ussovar, this world, is my new home."
What a clichéd line.
"Ah shut it, let me have my feel good moment." I replied jokingly as our banter continued into the night, the chirping of crickets joining us as twilight ended and sank into dusk.
It was rather enjoyable, a night in the woods.
———
Crickets chirping.
Low howls.
Ghastly winds.
Pelting snow.
I couldn't sleep. I was wide awake, eyes opened to their largest as I leaned on a tree.
"Hey, Arakan. Still awake?" The soft voice of Yue snapped me out of my blanked out state.
"Y-Yeah. Can't sleep." I answered softly, not wanting to wake up the soldiers who accompanied me on my training.
Yue sat down next to me, her hand resting on top of mine as our shoulders touched, staring up at the luminous moon.
"Are you still hung up on that?"
"How can I compare to her? Look at her, she's more powerful than all of us combined. How can we—"
"Arakan," She interrupted me before I fell into this rabbit hole of which I would never climb out of,"Do you know what evil's greatest downfall is?"
"What?"
"Them being alone. By working alone, they can do things no one individual can. They wield great power revered and feared by all. But us righteous ones? We work together. The Darleen empire wasn't built on the strength of one man. It was built on the blood, sweat and tears of hundreds of thousands of magisters working in harmony to bring about a glorious empire. The good triumphs over evil because we understand the value of teamwork. One man cannot do what a million can, working together. So we must gather allies and friends. People we can trust and depend on to look out for each others' sixths."
"But I'm weak," I answered softly,"I have barely any power. I don't even know if I can depend on myself if the need arises."
"The journey of a million steps begins with one. Even the strongest of heroes start out as mortals. The most monstrous of beasts begins as mere children. You may be weak now, but what say ten or twenty years down the line? You may not be able to convince others, but I'll always believe in you. So depend on me when you need to. I'll always be by your side, no matter the circumstance."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Giving me a reality check I needed."
It was rather comforting, a night in the woods.