LOOP "does the death end?"

BLOOD

I am one to make jokes in serious situations, but I couldn't utter a word. The sight of dismembered children made me nauseous and enraged at the same time. I had no idea if I should run or go find the animals that did this.

I looked at Dillion. He was quiet. Not a single tear dropped from his eyes but you could feel his rage from a mile away, literally speaking. He stood up and started gathering the body parts of his siblings.

"Stay here, I'll be back soon. I have something to do once I finish here" Dillion said

"Stay? Here? What if the animal comes back?" I asked

"It was no animal. It cannot be" he replied

"And you know this how?" I asked

"Animals can't enter Ara. Ara is the Avala and is the center of Baldia, but the outskirt of Ara is also considered part of the Avala. The outskirts is where the animals stay" he replied

"Why can't they come into the forest?" I asked

He picked up a white cloth and used it to cover what was left of his siblings.

"The forest rejects the animals, nobody knows why. But if they enter the forest, it attacks them" he said

Explains why that crystal beast stopped chasing when we entered the forest

"You may be right, but you are not going to leave me behind" I said

"Get your weapon, let's go" he said

"Uhm, I haven't killed before, and I don't have a weapon" I said

"Do you think this is a joke? Or do you think I have the time to waste? "he said

"Easy, just get me something to use" I said

He reached into his bag and pulled out a dagger. It was beautiful. I really do not know how to describe it

"You can use this" he said

Before I could reply, he tossed the dagger at me and it almost cut me. I was a little bit scared and that made me realise what I had just agreed to do. We can both die, and even if we don't, am I really ready to kill? I started to reconsider if my act of boldness was truly worth it. Then I thought of what I would have done if I were in his shoes, coming home to a pool of blood, with a family member dismembered. I surely would kill without hesitation, and with that, I became a lot calmer.

"Which way?" I asked

"Just stay by my side. I'd track them with a spell. They shouldn't be too far out" He said

"I still haven't wrapped my head round the fact that magic is real. I barely believed you, but I do now" I said

"I would appreciate it if you stayed quiet for a while" he said.

"Whatever you say" I responded

It was a boring search, and I was starting to get bored out of my wits, especially considering the fact that I was told to stay mute till we got to where we were going.

I started counting trees and rocks as we passed by them. Then I started to think about Catherine. What would have happened if she was in a land where magical beasts stay, and from the look of things, humans aren't exactly hospitable. We kept walking to where the culprits might be. I held my dagger tight instinctively because I started to feel a killing intent that wasn't from Dillion.

"We are here" Dillion said

"You sure? Because it's empty" I said

I looked around and tried my best not to panic or show any signs of fear. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the hand in which I held the dagger. The dagger fell, and I looked down to see an arrow sticking out from my right shoulder. I screamed and, for some reason, the pain became much more intense after noticing the arrow. Dillion pulled me by my right hand {which, by the way, felt horrible} behind a large tree. It kept raining arrows and regret started to fill me up. Dillion helped break the arrow head and pulled out the arrow from the shaft.

I got a little dizzy because of the amount of blood I had lost since I arrived at Vildom. First my head, next my shoulder, all because of my bravado. Dillion tore a piece of his clothing and placed it aside. He placed his hand on the wounded part of my shoulder and kept chanting something. It sounded something like 'Ri nahi'. I had no idea what it meant, but the more he said it, the more I felt better. The blood stopped, and the wound started closing. He took the piece of clothing and tied the wound with it.

"It is just temporary, after a while it will open up again" he said

"That is not exactly reassuring, but it's something. Thank you" I said

"Thank me after we are done killing these monsters in human skin " he said

"Sure, but what do we do now that we are in an arrow storm?" I asked

"I have a plan" he said

The arrow stopped, and the entire forest became quiet, way too quiet. Dillion signaled me to stay cautious. We both walked out from behind the tree to check it out. We saw 4 people standing with their eyes locked on us, like an eagle to its prey. Among them was a relatively young child, no less than 15 years of age. All holding weapons.

"I am surprised they aren't dead yet" the kid said.

Those were pretty shocking words to hear from a child

"At least one is injured" man 1 said

"There is still the other one to watch out for" man 2 said

"They may be young, but do not take them lightly. One of them came with enough weapons" man 3 said, looking at Dillion

I took a look at Dillion and I noticed his hand became tighter around his bow, he looked like a wild animal ready to pounce

"Who are you people?" I asked

"Just regular people with a certain hatred for sorcerers" man 3 replied

"You speak like you aren't one too" I said

"Well that wasn't so hard for you to figure out" the kid replied

"You can't be non-sorcerers, you can speak" Dillion said, as calmly as he could

"Oh you don't know the joy I get when you sorcerers look dumb" man 2 said

"Do you even know the origin of the curse? The reason why non-sorcerers can't speak?" man 1 said

I was really curious, because it seemed unfair for people to not be able to talk because they have no magic. Talk about fundamental human rights.

"There was a time when things were normal, no disparities between sorcerers and non-sorcerers, a time filled with happiness and no hatred. Then a couple had a fight. The woman was a sorcerer and the man wasn't. The woman was the most skilled sorcerer Vildom had ever known. She was so powerful the sky trembled at her might, while the man was an extremely skilled fighter, he had no magic. But he was the best at taming beasts and the best with every weapon you could possibly think of. They loved each other so much they became role models for every early marriage, but one day they stopped meeting eye to eye. Arguments upon arguments, time past and it remained the same. One day, it got physical, and the man slapped the woman. This filled her with rage, so she burnt the hand he used to hit her with fire magic. When the people found out about this, they blamed her for misusing her powers, so the non-sorcerers of the four continents begged for her to be killed, for she posed too much threat. When no action was taken towards her, they decided to kill her themselves by poisoning her. She took the poison mistakenly and in her dying breath she cursed the non-sorcerers to never being able to speak since they dared speak against her." the kid said

"You know alot for a kid" I said

"You know too little for a sorc-"

In a blink of the eye, I saw an arrow go through the head of the kid before he could finish his sentence. I looked to my side and I saw Dillion aiming his bow at the direction of the kid

"You talk too much for a non-sorcerer" Dillion said

The two men got angry and charged at us. The first man kept walking toward me while the second charged at Dillion. I honestly didn't believe anyone my age could fight like that, but Dillion moved in ways I couldn't imagine ever doing. I was shocked at how he moved with his bow and a short sword. The way he kept switching them was simply artistic. I could watch all day, but I had my own battle in front of me.

The man attacking me was strong and he had a long sword. All I could do was run. As I ran, I stumbled over a rock and I hit the ground. The man closed the gap between us and looked down on me with a smile. He raised his sword high and just as he struck me, I instinctively closed my eyes and raised my hand up. I said my last prayers, but I didn't feel anything, and I was certainly not dead yet.

I opened my eyes and I saw the head of the man next to me on the floor, with Dillion's blade covered with blood. Dillion stretched his hand towards me to lift me up

"We should get going. We have to get you treated" Dillion said

I looked around and saw the dead bodies everywhere. Dillion lifted me up from the ground and I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that a kid around my age could kill this much.

We kept walking back to Dillions camp to gather his belongings and what remains of his siblings. After walking for a while I started to see the camp. Suddenly, an arrow struck Dillion between his eyes and he fell to the ground. Another arrow came flying towards me but luckily it missed. I ran behind a tree, trying to wrap my head around the fact that Dillion had just died.

"Why run darling? You are cute when you act brave" a woman said from afar

"Who is there?" I asked

A tall woman with black hair dropped right in front of me with a bow strung on her back. She touched my face and smiled

"So eager to see me?" she said

"Why did you attack us?" I asked

"For starters, you just killed my brothers. Secondly, you are sorcerers. It's too bad I have to kill you now" She said

She unsheathed a sword, the one she intended to use to kill me. As she swung the sword to strike me, I knew I had to think fast. I used my least affected body part. I kicked her down and she fell to her side. Her sword left her hand and I had to seize that opportunity. I took out the dagger Dillion gave me and just as she was about to reach for the sword I jumped on her, stabbing her back as many times as possible till she stopped moving.

I felt a wave of emotions and I had no idea what to feel. I had just killed somebody. I really didn't want to think too much about it, so I decided on finding a way out of Ara first. My chest began to tighten, my wounds reopened, my eyes became dizzy from the loss of blood, I tried my best to stay up, but I passed out in the middle of Ara, bleeding to my death.