Kyrian was farther away than Doran, so it would take him longer to arrive. His cold expression turned into anger upon seeing Doran holding Rurik.
He could see it, Rurik was already almost collapsing, his face was purple, and his breathing was irregular, but he kept fighting to survive.
’I won’t make it in time.’ Kyrian thought as he decided and did the only thing he could think of.
His hand gripped the middle of his spear, his body twisting slightly as his arm moved back.
His eyes, wide open and focused, tracked every movement of Gorrick and Doran, and then.
The wind was torn apart by a spear thrown at high speed with the greatest strength Kyrian had ever used.
All three only heard a sharp whizz when, suddenly, blood and flesh sprayed everywhere.
Doran’s shoulder and arm, the one that was squeezing Rurik, were shredded by the spear before it flew toward Gorrick, who leapt back at the last moment.
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead as he saw the spear lodged in the ground.
Doran, who had been hit, screamed in pain, his flesh and bone ripped apart. He released his grip around Rurik’s neck and tried to pull away.
But this time it was Rurik who didn’t let him escape.
Before Doran could pull his arms back, Rurik seized them, yanked them upward, and hurled him over his head to the ground with brutality.
The impact made the bandit arch his back completely, blood pouring from the wound like a waterfall, and a terrible scream burst from his mouth.
Rurik wasted no time, and, without hesitation, his hand grabbed Kyrian’s spear, which was still stuck in the ground, trying to drive it into Doran’s neck.
But Gorrick arrived again and stepped in front, his sword completely deflecting the spear.
It gave Doran just enough time to roll back despite the pain.
At that moment, Kyrian finally reached Rurik’s side. He noticed the strangulation marks on the captain’s neck, his breathing, and his colorless face. Blood and bits of flesh were still stuck to his body.
His expression turned grim as he clenched his fist.
"... I’m sorry. I let him get away and get close to you." Kyrian said, regretting not having chased Doran instantly before.
"Don’t worry, I won’t die that easily. Worry about that after the fight." Rurik said, his voice extremely hoarse. But the color was returning to his face.
"Benni, he..." Kyrian didn’t know how to say it, since he was close to the captain.
"So it was him... he got caught, didn’t he? I figured someone had been caught when I heard the scream. I just didn’t imagine it would be him." Rurik said, his voice and expression sounding calm.
"But, boy. We have to finish this quickly and then give Benni a proper burial. And finally, burn the bodies of those two bastards, so Benni’s soul will rest in peace." Rurik said with a smile to Kyrian, but Kyrian saw it. Rurik was sad.
He had never seen Rurik so sad. Yet still, he smiled. Kyrian looked ahead, resolute.
He took his spear with Rurik and stared at Doran with cold anger. Doran had not only killed Benni but had almost killed his captain.
Kyrian was angry, at Doran and at himself. He had hesitated. Even if just for a moment, when he saw Benni.
’That was... weakness.’
"Let’s end this." Rurik said.
Gorrick and Doran had retreated a few meters. Doran grabbed his axe again, his body trembling with pain, while Gorrick was worried and thinking about how to escape.
It was at that moment that Rurik and Kyrian charged together.
Their movements looked identical, only their strength and speed were different.
The spears fell, and the brothers stood side by side trying to resist.
But Gorrick was already visibly exhausted, he had to make more moves to defend his wounded brother. But if he didn’t do it, and his brother died...
He would die the moment both focused on him.
The brothers tried to hold out. But Kyrian’s speed surpassed the wounded Doran’s attempts at defense, while Rurik’s strength crushed every block.
The gap widened between the two brothers until Kyrian found the perfect opening. His spear sliced Doran’s wrist, the axe fell, and the spear...
Pierced perfectly through Doran’s open mouth.
Meanwhile, Rurik spun his spear and, with two quick moves, cut through Gorrick’s defense before brutally beheading him.
Then, the field went silent. Only the sound of two bodies falling simultaneously was heard.
’So... it’s over...’ Kyrian thought.
"No, it’s not over. Kyrian. Take their bodies, for those who were killed today by them. For everyone who was killed before by them. We will burn their bodies until nothing remains of them in this world." Rurik said.
"Only then will the souls be at peace."
Kyrian nodded.
’If I were strong enough to do the mission alone... would I feel better?’ Kyrian thought as he looked at the moon.
...
Of the fifteen who took part in the mission, only two died. The mission was considered a success.
The cave’s resources were distributed in the city, most of them to the families of the two soldiers who had perished.
Kyrian, Rurik, and the others were treated with respect by all, and the merchants returned to traveling along the road. Soon, things stabilized, and resources began to flow again into the isolated city.
But those who died never returned. Kyrian saw that Rurik had been sad for several days, Benni had been the most senior soldier besides him.
So, he also decided in his mind.
’I guess that, besides my mother, Rurik would also be sad if I died. So, I have to work even harder. Right?’
After the mission, Kyrian focused much of his time on absorbing the particles. Before, he only did this at night until he fell asleep.
Now, he spent the morning training, while in the afternoon and evening he absorbed the particles. But they were scarce here, truly few compared to when he had been in the village.
Kyrian then began leaving the city, entering the forests around it and walking far away. Then he noticed there were far more in nature.
He realized it would be best to train there. He told this to Rurik, who agreed easily, but with one condition. Kyrian would have to defeat him.
And so, two months after the bandit hunt, Kyrian stood, breathing deeply, with his spear one centimeter from Rurik’s neck.
"I lost!" Rurik said, with a huge smile on his face.
After that day, Kyrian set out into the forests, absorbing as many particles as he could find. Hunting animals, training, observing nature with curiosity. But everything was so ordinary that, little by little, he grew bored.
Until one day, he found signs in a forest with yellow leaves. There were signs showing the way to Falk City from Frosty Village.
"..."
"I’m going to visit Mom." Kyrian said, and then set off toward the village.
He remembered the path in his mind, even with snow covering the way. There were also marks the caravan chief had left at certain points to avoid getting lost.
The journey was difficult.
The cold, the snow, and the food he had quickly ran out.
The animals, which were many in the forest there, were scarce. He found few, but it was enough, Kyrian wouldn’t die for a few days without food.
To drink water, Kyrian had to break the ice that had built up on some trees. It had a strange taste, but it worked.
The journey was monotonous, just like his life during this training.
After a week walking through the snow, suddenly, something appeared that changed Kyrian’s entire understanding of the world until now.
The sky was dark. The icy wind hit his face as his feet sank into the snow. But this cold didn’t affect him much.
He approached a tree with a cut in its trunk indicating the direction.
He decided to sit and rest a little and also drink water. But at that moment...
A loud scream rang out in the sky.
A high-pitched cry, a screech that hurt his ears. Along with it, a wild cold arose, snow beginning to fall like a storm.
In the sky, Kyrian saw it pass so quickly that he only caught a shadow, but it was huge, bigger than anything he had ever seen.
’What the hell... is that?!?’ Kyrian thought before his body collapsed, his eyes in tremendous pain as if they had seen something they shouldn’t, as if they desired something they shouldn’t.
.
..
...
Kyrian woke when it was already day, the sky cloudy with the usual white clouds.
The last vision before he fainted came to his mind.
"Where... That."
"That was a bird? How is that possible?" Kyrian said out loud, pulling himself from the snow, trembling all over.
"How can something like that exist?" Kyrian shouted, thinking he might be insane, but the amount of snow around proved otherwise.
Kyrian touched them when that shadow passed for half a second... he felt as if his eyes wanted to devour something. Whatever that existence was, his eyes wanted it desperately.
And Kyrian felt instinctively, if his eyes wanted it, it would make him stronger.
His eyes... would evolve again. He was sure of it.
"I... have to find that bird. But it went toward the center of the frozen land... It’s impossible to go there, Captain Rurik said there’s no being that can survive past Frosty Village."
"As if something was preventing it... not even animals go near."
"The frozen land... is not so simple."
"I... feel like I don’t really know anything about this world. Nothing."
Kyrian clenched his fists. In truth, he was excited.
Excited about the world that awaited him.
"I’ll visit Mom... and then I’ll search for the bird. If I don’t find it... I’ll explore the world until I find more ways to grow stronger." Kyrian decided, no longer walking at a calm pace. He decided to quicken his steps toward Frosty Village.