Chapter 268: Scream of Agony

The afternoon breeze blew through a small crack in the window and filtered into the bedroom. The breeze swept past the bed covers and gently tickled Stryg’s face. His eyes and nose scrunched tight and his left ear twitched. With a slow grumble, he opened his bleary eyes.

His lilac irises darted around the unfamiliar room, it was small and made of pale lumber from floor to ceiling. The room was fairly unfurnished, save for a candle stand to the left of the bed, and a wooden chair to the right of the bed, where a young curly-haired woman sat with an amused smile.

“Hello, Stryg,” Holo said with a pleasant voice.

“Captain? W-where am I?” Stryg mumbled. His mouth was dry and he struggled to form the words.

His slit pupils suddenly widened to ovals, “Plum! Where is she!”

He tried to sit up but Holo gently pushed him back down on the bed.

“Relax, she’s fine, they’re all fine,” Holo said soothingly. “You, on the other hand, should probably take it easy for a little while longer. Your 2nd Challenge begins tomorrow, best not push yourself.”

He reluctantly nodded and laid his head back, “...What happened?”

“Heh,” Holo smiled to herself. “Where to begin? What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Um, I was in the canoe, next to the ruin’s walkway. A guard showed up and was going to kill Plum… So I killed him first… My chest started hurting, it was already hurting before, but this was so much worse. Then… then… I don’t remember what happened after that.”

Holo patted his forearm, “I can answer that. You almost died, little one.”

A shiver ran down his back. “What?” his voice cracked. “H-how?”

Holo poked his chest, “Your heart was overwhelmed by the chaos mana in Shadow Lake, it was threatening to give out and shut down the rest of your organs, including your other heart.”

“Wait? Other heart? What do you mean other heart?”

“Well, you have two, didn’t you know that?”

“Why would I know that? Why do I have two hearts!?” he asked incredulously.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anything like it. My best guess is that it’s some sort of mutation,” Holo admitted with a sigh. “One of your hearts seems to be acting as the reservoir for your chromatic mana. While the other heart seems… infantile? As if it's struggling to keep up with the rest of your body.”

With slow movements Stryg placed his hand over his chest. He could feel his steady heartbeat, “...Is the infantile heart the one that almost gave out?”

“...Yes, it absorbed way too much chaos mana, it couldn’t handle the excess.”

Stryg shook his head with a frown, “Chaos mana? You’re saying I absorbed chaos mana?”

“And almost died from the excess, yes.”

He looked himself over cautiously, “I didn’t know anyone could absorb chaos mana…”

“And I didn’t know people could have two hearts but here we are, little one. Fortunately for you, your second heart seems to have adapted incredibly quickly to the large amount of chaos mana it absorbed. Your second heart healed itself and your body in just a short few hours, no white magic required.”

“I healed myself?” Stryg gently pressed his fingers against his ribcage.

The ribs he had broken after the Dark Blood’s attack were healed, he didn’t even feel the twinge of a bruise.

“Surprised?” she asked.

“My body usually heals faster than others, but this is… I broke my leg and several other bones two years ago from a fall, it took me weeks to recover and that was after healing magic.”

Holo smiled, “I think you’ll find that your body’s regenerative capabilities are far more potent now.”

He couldn’t help smiling back.

“...Stryg, I need to ask you something. Do you remember anything of our talk about Maeve?”

He furrowed his brow, “So that really did happen? I wasn’t certain…”

“So you do remember?” her eyes lit with hope.

“Mm,” he slowly nodded. “I remember bits and pieces, something about warning Maeve not to use True Red’s synchrony spells. I wasn’t sure if I had just dreamed it, but I did warn her about it.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Holo sighed with relief.

“How did you do that? The ‘dream thing’ I mean.”

“That’s a secret, maybe I’ll teach you about it one day,” she winked.

“Fair enough,” he nodded. “...You said Plum was fine. Where is she?”

“I saved Plum and her friends from the Thorns’ pesky soldiers, you need not worry about them. They’re probably already back home, pretending last night never happened.”

His tense muscles relaxed and he breathed out a shaky breath of relief, “So Plum’s fine, that’s good…”

“You really care for that drow girl, huh?” Holo asked quietly.

“She’s the first real friend I ever had… and the one I lost. One of the main reasons I came to Undergrowth was because I wanted to see her and see if she was okay… And I wanted to prove her wrong.”

“About what?”

“...That I wasn’t broken,” he smiled half-heartedly. “That I wasn’t just some monster rejected by the world. But she still thinks I’m the same… And now I find out I have a second heart?” He chuckled grimly, “Maybe I really am a monster…”

“How lucky for you.”

“Lucky? How is this lucky?” Stryg frowned.

“We’re in the Ebon Realm, the Realm of Monsters, what better place to live for Stryg of Ebon Hollow? You fit right in,” she smiled. “Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed for who you are. Keep your chin up, you’re Stryg of Ebon Hollow.”

“Stryg of Ebon Hollow, huh?” he muttered. “I’m not even sure what that means anymore.”

“You will. Life has a strange way of making us all face our true selves, one way or another the truth always comes. But I think when that time comes, you'll find you’re fine just as you are.”

“How do you know?”

“I have a hunch,” she smirked.

“Is that right?” he smiled lopsidedly. “By the way, how did you ever find us last night?”

“...I spoke to Lysaila.”

“Lysaila?”

“I met her on the street by coincidence. She really is a good girl, I pity her, but it’d be wise if you stay away from her.”

“What? Why?”

“Beast-kin aren’t like us, any of us,” Holo said grimly. “They are weapons and they can easily be used to hurt others, even the ones they love.”

“Lysaila has her problems, just like me, but she is a good person… I think,” Stryg said uncertainly. “She’s just angry that she’s a prisoner of Hollow Shade, who wouldn’t be? I’ve also trained with her day after day and even if she hates me, she’d never hurt me.”

“Stryg… I once held similar beliefs, I had friends who were lamias, they were good people… And then I saw them and a battalion of lamias decimate entire villages without hesitation. They murdered men, women, children. Innocents, all of them. Thousands dead…” Holo smiled sadly, “All because I couldn’t kill my ‘friends.’”

“What?” Stryg mumbled weakly. “When? How…?”

“It doesn’t matter, there is nothing I can do to bring those lives back,” Holo muttered. “You think Lysaila won’t hurt others? For now the Prime Edict in her body is stopping her, but that magic is very volatile. The same magic stopping her from hurting you could make Lysaila try to kill you. It doesn’t matter how good of a person she is, Lysaila has no choice in the matter because she really isn’t a person, just an organic weapon.”

Stryg shook his head, “You never said anything like that when you met Rhian.”

“That’s because Rhiannon is a centaur. Lysaila is a lamia.”

“And that’s worse somehow?”

“For you, yes.”

“Why? How do you know so much anyway?” he asked warily.

“I’ve lived a very long time,” Holo spoke in a slow and concise manner. “I’ve learned many things and I’ve lost so much… Believe me, I wouldn’t tell you any of this if I genuinely wasn’t worried about you, that’s all I can say about the matter.”

“You can’t say anything more because you don’t know my true name, is that it?” he glared at her. “I already told you, Stryg is the only name I have.”

“I believe you, but if you don’t know anything else, then that means someone went to great lengths to deliberately make sure you stayed ignorant. And if that’s the case, I’m not sure I should tell you.”

“Because you don’t trust me?” he frowned.

“Because I care what happens to you, as hard as that may be for you to understand,” she smiled sympathetically.

Stryg blinked, he didn’t know what to say.

Holo stood up and dusted off her pants, “I should get going, time is a resource I have very little of right now.”

“You’re leaving? Already?”

“I’ve already stayed way too long in Undergrowth. There are many things that require my attention, including finding a way to help Lysaila.”

“You’d help her?”

“She’s your friend and we made a deal, I intend to keep my end of the bargain.”

“...Thank you, for everything,” Stryg bowed his head. “I’ll repay your kindness someday, I promise.”

Holo smiled and ruffled his silver hair, “Just try and be happy, yeah? At least one of us should try to be.”

Stryg wasn’t a fan of the ruffling, but he took it with grace. “...I’ll try.”

“Good,” Holo nodded and headed for the door. “If you get hungry there is a tavern right below us, I’ve already paid for your room and board. The tavern is known for two things; having very strong brews and being very discreet, so no one will ask any questions.”

“I guess I could use a drink.”

“Oh, yeah, drinking probably won’t work,” she said apologetically. “Your body’s healing abilities have increased significantly. Most poisons will have very little effect on you, including alcohol.”

“What?” Stryg sat up. “What if I drink a lot of the really strong stuff? Dwarven brews?”

“I don’t think your stomach is large enough to hold the amount of alcohol you’d need to feel its effects. Sorry, little one,” she winced.

“...Lucky me,” he grumbled. “I guess I’ll just sleep the rest of the afternoon.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” Holo opened the bedroom door and paused in her step, “Oh, before I forget, I noticed one of your Hollow Shader friends downstairs. I didn’t tell him you were here, but I just wanted to let you know.”

“Who is it?”

“You tell me,” Holo shrugged and walked out.

~~~

After an hour awake in bed, Stryg’s rumbling stomach forced him to get up and head downstairs for some food. The scent of roasted chicken and alcohol wafted into his nostrils even before he reached the last steps.

Stryg took a deep breath and sighed in contentment, the tavern reminded him of the Merry Crescent back in Hollow Shade.

The tavern was fairly empty during the daylight hours, the few patrons were huddled around different tables in the room, drinking and eating by themselves.

Stryg spotted a familiar face in a dark corner of the room. He wrinkled his brow, “Professor Glaz?”

Stryg walked over, his confusion growing with each step.

Vayu rested his arms and chin on the table, half a dozen empty bottles of hard liquor scattered on the floor. The drow’s eyes and nose were red from crying. He didn’t even seem to notice Stryg until he poked him in the arm.

“Professor Glaz? What are you doing here?” he asked in a worried tone.

Vayu’s dazed teal eyes slowly looked up. “Stryyyg…?” he slurred.

“You’re drunk,” Stryg said, unsurprised. “I thought you didn’t drink, not since you were in the military.”

Vayu chuckled, “What’s the point anymore?” He broke down in tears and buried his face in the table.

“Oh, you’re one of those sad drunks,” Stryg guessed wryly. He glanced around the empty tavern, “There aren’t many better places to drink and cry I suppose.”

Stryg shook his teacher’s shoulders, “Come on, I think you’ve had enough. Let’s get you to a bed upstairs.”

Vayu shook his head, his entire body swaying back and forth. “You don’t understand. I don’t understand… I did everything I could. I was loyal, I was a good friend, I loved her.”

Stryg cocked his head to the side, “Are you talking about Master Loh?”

Vayu smiled bitterly, “In the end, none of it mattered… She’s leaving me behind… she’s moving on.” Vayu gripped his trembling hands, “But I can’t move on… I can’t forget what happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

Vayu looked at him, a deranged glint in his eye, “I see his face... I lie awake at night, running from my nightmares… But I see… I see Aizel screaming over and over, crying out for help…” Vayu whimpered, “And I did nothing.”

“Aizel…?”

Vayu swallowed hastily, “I… I didn’t want to… I wanted to help… But Loh, she wanted… she didn’t want her brother to… she didn’t want Aizel to…”

“Aizel? Loh’s brother?” Stryg furrowed his brow.

“It’s my fault,” he sobbed. “It’s my fault, I didn’t stop her.”

“Stop her from doing what exactly?”

“Loh, we… we let… Aizel needed our help, he needed us…” Vayu sniveled. “But we let him… go… The Cairn killed him… and we just let him go... We just let him go!”

“What? You couldn’t save Aizel?” Was that why Loh had never mentioned him? Stryg didn’t understand.

Vayu bit his lip until it drew blood, “S-she, she wanted him to… she wanted him… dead. Aizel needed us but… we let him…we let him go.”

“You let Aizel die?” Stryg frowned. “No, that doesn’t make sense. How drunk are you?”

Vayu looked away in shame, “I let him… I let my friend… die.”

Stryg laughed, “Loh would never let her brother die. Especially not to the Cairn. Come on, you really need to get some sleep.”

“You’re wrong… We all have our ‘secrets’... hiding in the shadows…” Vayu muttered darkly. “Loh tried to kill hers…”

The cold tone in Vayu’s voice gave Stryg pause. “Kill…? Kill her secrets? What are you even talking about now? Professor, seriously, come on, let’s get you to a bed.”

Vayu buried his face in the table and muttered to himself,“...She wanted to kill Marek... I said no… but she didn’t care… she never cared about what I said… But I followed her anyway,” he laughed tearfully, a sad broken sound. “I said… protect the students… but she didn’t want to… She wanted to kill Marek…”

A cold sickening feeling crept over Stryg.

It couldn’t be, it wasn’t possible.

Stryg swallowed the lump in his throat, “W-when? When did Loh try to kill Marek?”

Vayu shivered, his eyes were glazed over, his mind somewhere else, a distant memory, “...Widow’s Crag…”

The words echoed in Stryg’s ears, but they made no sense. None of it made sense. Stryg felt a painful chill, a frigid feeling seeped out from his chest and into his veins as if his blood had been replaced with cold rage.

The air groaned with a deep dissonance. The bottles across the tavern’s shelves began to quiver until they shook from side to side and fell over and shattered on the floor.

“I didn’t choose the wrong cliff…” Stryg muttered. “Did I?”

Vayu mumbled incoherently and reached for another bottle of hard liquor.

Stryg lifted him into the air and shook him by the shoulders, “I DIDN’T CHOOSE THE WRONG CLIFF, DID I!?”

“...I’m so sorry,” Vayu cried.

Stryg stiffened, Vayu slipped from his fingers and collapsed unceremoniously on the wooden floor.

Stryg stumbled back and fell to his knees. The world spun around him. He began hyperventilating, gasping for breath.

If I didn’t choose the wrong cliff, then all those rumors, all those people that blamed me… were wrong…

If I didn’t choose the wrong cliff, then the deaths of my classmates and all those innocent commoners, their families, their children… they weren’t my fault…

If I didn’t choose the wrong cliff, then… Clypeus… died for nothing…

Stryg screamed a wretched broken sound of agony.