Arc 7. Death to what came before

  Road to a Hero:

  Three Chances in Another World

  Chapter 22. A trembling closet

  Outside Vargas’ home, the old man spends his morning splitting logs in two. On this crisp morning the cool April breeze along with the smell of spirit beasts. While the Ever-bog was more swamp-like than a bog, the Ever-forest is a real, enormous forest. The trees are skyscrapers, spanning over his small humble home while he wipes his brow without a thought. This silent old man looks exactly like his brother but seems to have let himself go just a bit. His eyes are sagging, his skin is wrinkling, and his beard is growing. On the other hand, his brother Rick is a little lighter in tone, but still a groggily old man with a chip welded onto his shoulder. Now inside his humble abode up the stairs and onto the left is the room of a sleeping beast sleeping beside an also sleeping fairy. Edward sways side to side while leaving the bed covered in sweat. Intense burning memories are flash-flooding his brain, sending him images of his horrific time in Eclis. This wakes up the young fairy, leading to her trying to ease his mind. But doing so Poppy is sent into this warrior mind-scape, seeing this hellish scene from his eyes.

  The pain of his arm exploding, the shame of being picked up by the fear-inducing figure of Prometheus, and the biblical scenery all create a primordial fear within such a young being. This sudden influx of panic sends Poppy screaming and falling, slamming on the ground from such an intense experience. Edward is awoken by her sudden fall, trying to help her up with his right arm, one that’s no longer there. A wave of nothing floods through Edward while he stares at this missing part of himself. One that was stripped from him, torn to pieces in a blood-filled mess of pain and torture. But the soft glow that emanates off of this small creature takes his attention from his lone eye, causing a smile to make its way onto his face.

  Poppy: “That dream was super scary! It was so real!”

  Edward: “....Yeah…it was…”

  Edward lifts the small one onto his shoulder with his scared, but working hand, leading her out of the cold room while letting her rest on his neck. Now it’s time to start Edwards morning. One filled with the basics, a quick washing of the body (Without Poppy of course), a tall glass of cold water, and straight to his sword.

  Poppy watches from afar, atop a shelf, while Vagress assists Edward with his armor.

  Vargas: “He’s shit with anything that has an edge, but I’ll give it to him, my brother can make a hell of a chest plate. The ridges are all in the right place, it’s holding this nice black color…sorry I’m rambling.”

  Edward: “It’s alright. Alright, I’m off to help Poppy find her way back to him. Got any ideas as to where I could find the Helsing Armor while I’m out?”

  Vargas: “Look. Musashi hid that thing a long time ago, and because he knew I was living here he told me to keep the area safe. He knew if I knew its location, I’d be hunted, and I’d be killed. So look all you want, I can’t help ya. And don’t die on your little trip. Oh, don’t get into fights either! I’m tired of cleaning blood off your armor!”

  With a last sigh from Edward, he steps out of the house and onto the front step, about to walk into the unknown that is the Ever-forest. But just as Edward goes to leave without Poppy, she whines while floating onto his shoulder.

  Edward: “It’s okay, it was just a joke.”

  Poppy, squinting with a smirk, causes Edward to sign once more. So they’re both off, having Poppy point the way while Edward slicks back his black hair, though it droops back into his normal middle part right after.

  Poppy: “OHHHH! I KNOW WHERE WE ARE! We should be there in a bit!”

  Edward: “Oh really, like an hour or so?”

  Poppy: “Um…more like twelve?”

  Edward’s eyes close, but with a heavy breath, he opens them up to find Poppy looking at him with a puffed-up face.

  Edward: “Welp, guess I gotta get ready for this twenty-four-hour walk.”

  While he’d love to get in the vehicle Peter made, and the one he rode all the herein, he simply cannot. The engine had survived the entire ride, and just as he rolled up in front of Vargas’ home, it died. With no way to fix it or even learn what the problem is, they simply had to leave it. So as the hours go by, the sun fully rises and begins to set. The forest’s enormous trees block the already cloudy sky of Valatrocitus, leaving the area permanently covered in shadows. Luckily, due to the order coming from the slowly emerging bite mark on his neck, Edward along with Poppy is safe from any spirit beasts. They would have still been safe, as the hundreds of constantly flowing seals on the trees create a safe barrier around parts of the forest. While being without any mana-infused crystals, they somehow continue to stay alive, without corrupting or burning away. This great mystery has spread through the forest, creating the strange air around Vargas' existence. The great blacksmith who came to protect the Ever-forest and all that reside there. But while they walk, Edward being as quiet as he always is, Poppy is forced to spring up a conversation after hours of waiting. But the conversation's context left Edward more than distraught.

  Poppy: “SO! Who are you?”

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  Edward: “Edward, just Edward.”

  Poppy: “UGH! THAT’S NOT A COOL BACKSTORY!”

  She couldn’t say it, swelling up trying to. But she finally did, letting it all fall out in a burst.

  Poppy: “SORRY!”

  Edward: “What?”

  Poppy: “FOR THIS WALK!”

  Edward: “It’s okay! I’m happy to help.”

  Poppy: “NO! IT’S JUST…JUST…”

  Edward: “Yeah?”

  Poppy: “WE’VE BEEN WALKING IN A CIRCLE! I CAN SENSE MY HOME BUT SOMETHIN’S MESSED UP! SO WE’RE NOT EVEN HALFWAY THERE!”

  Edward felt a bit broken in his heart for just a second. Swallowing any anger or annoyance he had and breathed. Punching a tree before continuing to walk.

  Edward: “It’s fine. Do you know where to go?”

  Poppy: “Just follow me! I think so!”

  Edward sighed once more before beginning to follow her once more. However he was starting to feel strain. This was surprising to him since he had been able to endure so much more prior, but his broken body was starting to cause problems. Edward bites the inside of his cheek, staring at the weapon in place of his arm, along with his awkward, squeaking, and stumbling walk due to his prosthetic leg, would tell most that he’s just a lost soldier. Edward takes this as his backstory; he understands what most would assume.

  Edward: “And my cool backstory is that I’m a soldier. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Poppy: “You like saying that don’t you?”

  Edward, back to being quiet, decides to return his gaze to the forest. Birds blast over the tree line while Edward’s forced to stay on the ground, wobbling around. Heavy armor, heavier burdens, but the childish little fairy couldn’t tell a thing. Her boredness sent her back to playing with smaller spirits while Edward moved forward. He’s forced to stay off of the main roads as Poppy's directions point elsewhere; he can feel the seal's powers fading. But after hours of boring, drowning, long hours, the sun has set and they’ve arrived in a dead zone. All of the seals have burnt away, but the beasts are nowhere to be found. What is to be found in Edward comforting the scared Poppy, trying to shield her from the fear of what’s hiding in the dark.

  Edward: “Don’t worry, high or low level I can beat the beast. Might be a little difficult, but I think I can manage.”

  Edward’s tumbling words don’t help the shaking Poppy, but the sight of a possible village does raise morale. But the further they walk the more dystopian it seems, as all of the tree's leaves have died and fallen, while the trees themselves have died as well. And then for the village itself? It’s dead as well.

  Edward: “What happened here?”

  Poppy: “....Something scary…”

  The village, or what used to be one, now seems abandoned, a graveyard of memories. The small, cozy homes have fallen. Large holes in the buildings seem like things crashed into them. The dried blood mixed with the kicked-up dirt creates a scene of struggle, and fear. And lastly, the broken windows, kicked-open doors, holes in the ceilings, and no sign of life left, help Edward get the full picture. So he tries to explain it to the quite foolish Poppy while he digs through the homes, trying to find something. But all he finds is more struggle, broken walls, rotten food left on tables, and further destroyed interiors is a common finding through the houses.

  Poppy: “Everything’s all messed up…CAN WE LEAVE THE MURDER TOWN!?”

  Edward: “Oh sorry, I got sidetracked. I’ll come back later.”

  Just as Edward leaves the home, wanting to protect the young spirit creature, but is quickly distracted in the center of the village. Right by the well that holds the middle of this circular domain, he feels a strange rumbling on the ground, one Poppy can’t seem to understand. He makes his way over to one of the many houses.

  Poppy: “NO! NO! GO AWAY FROM THE WEIRD FEELING!”

  Edward, lost in a trance, makes his way into the home, finding it quite okay. While there are difference-sized claw marks scratched into the walls, the only real damage is near the front kitchen window, which was smashed through from the inside.

  Edward: “All of the windows on the other houses were broken through the outside. It seems whatever happened in this village started here.”

  Poppy: “So a monster made all of these people run away?”

  Edward: “I hope so. Because there aren’t any bodies or bones, but the blood is plentiful. Dark, old. But not that old, you can still smell it.”

  Poppy: “You can smell the blood?”

  Before Edward can get to Poppy's questions Edward’s head flicks to the side, focusing on the smashed opened door at the end of the wall. And inside, was a children's room. Crushed along with ripped-open dolls, a smashed-in Cribb, and a large closet. This large closet was rumbling from the inside, so as Edward slowly goes to open it, Poppy floats far from it, watching from afar. And just as he opens it with his weapon, with his hands on the hilt of his blade, he swings open the wooden door. And inside, covered in a thick blanket, are two small Demi-human children, holding each other tightly. They cry, kick, and whimper, but Edward remains still and diligent. As he pulls the cover off of them, he finds them traumatized. The older one begins to point toward the wall, trembling and crying.

  “WATCH OUT!”

  The sudden scream from the young wolven girl is matched with a monster bursting from the wall, tackling Edward through the other wall. He lies on the cold dark, blood-covered dirt, while a massive decaying, human-like wolf snarls and bites at him. His mouth foamed with blood, while his exposed muscle pulsed, oozing pink slime. All of the action causes Poppy and the other children to scream in fear, while something strange happens within Edward's mind. A feeling he had almost forgotten pulled his mind away, string by string, leaving him nothing but a man more monstrous than this mutated beast that holds him down, claws saved from piercing Edward due to the thick armor surrounding him. Edward, engulfed by the warrior spirit, and starving for blood, slams the prosthetic into the wolf's head. While the wolf is staggered Edward uses his working hand to smash into the beast's face, breaking it’s jaw and sending it tumbling away. As it jumps up, ripping its torn shirt from its aching body, the two girls slowly come out of the house while Poppy pulls at their dresses to get them to leave.

  “DON’T HURT HIM, HE’S OUR DAD!”

  Edward, about to go on a full rampage, is taken out of the moment by children's words, giving the beast just enough time to break into a full sprint. It quickly turns to moving on all fours, leaping at Edward, basking in the moonlight. Its claws shine in the wind as they drug down on Edward’s face. His instincts kick in, slamming the dull sword right into the beast's chest, crushing it. As the wolf wheezes on the ground, it turns to the children, looking into their eyes. A light within the beast's own eyes shines brightly, the sign of life within the monster. Right after, it stands up and runs away, leaving them all alone.

  Edward: “The hell was that? A werewolf? No…those are only made from curses unless this is a curse.”

  “DON’T KILL HIM!”

  The oldest screams at him, so he doesn't chase after him, but he does try and comfort him. Though the aura he exudes is one of murderous power, a scary sense to say the least.

  Edward: “I won’t kill him, but I will help you. Can you lead me to the nearest village?”

  With a nod of the oldest head, already patting her younger sister's trembling head, she leads them to the nearest town while Poppy follows behind.

  Edward: “Oh yeah, we need to get you to your home.”

  Poppy: “WHAT!? This is a mystery! One we can’t walk away from young Edward! THE OF THE WEREWOLF! And I’m coming with you!”

  Edward: “Fine, but as long as you’re the detective.”

  The children around them felt a flutter of joy from Edwards sudden kind and soft demenor, but the terror was still consuming they’re being.

  Edward: “ But I’m pretty sure it’s not a werewolf. The only one of those I know of is Zhao. Seems more like the Lycan disease, and if that spreads. This forest is going to collapse..”

  End of Chapter Twenty-Two