The Hero and Beneltig went to a park to sit on a bench in a park right next to the hospital entrance. From there, the Hero was able to see that this entrance was right in front of the Upper Town Fountain: it was just a recumbent pyramid with a rectangular base made of white brick where it was written Hospital in Oli'Ane. In my humble opinion, it was made after the foundation of the hospital.
The two of them, sitting on the bench, watched the passers-by go about their daily business, unaware of the machinations taking place behind the scenes in the kingdom where he resided. And it was two children, getting dangerously close to adulthood who were about to have a discussion of state importance.
- Do you realize that these people are having fun while the kingdom is in danger of another tragedy, Beneltig said, even your presence, they have become used to it.
- At the same time, I am only passing through, replied the Hero, they should not have a timeless memory of me.
- Say the one called Blackface by the inhabitants of a human-hating kingdom," Beneltig retorted, "you're part of the furniture now. A freak on the loose. How that can annoy me...
- Just get to the point, Beneltig.
The cougar fairy relaxed, spread her arms along the back of the bench and stared at the tree branches that hid them from the daylight.
- Your coming has not and will not change the situation of this kingdom.
- I never had the pretension of it.
- This is the source of my disgust and dislike for you.
- Amazing... Wait... What?
- A man who is called a "hero of the legend" and is threatened by two three Faerie men while playing hardball in the Nether, I don't call that a savior but a buffoon.
- You know that I could break your neck like a sacrificial lamb on an altar, threatened the Hero without taking his eyes off the crowd that was marching in front of them.
- I know that and to avoid pissing myself, I took calming potions in addition to the morphine that I managed to inject at the hospital to come and talk to you.
The famous limits of courage... There must be a way to overcome them to become the hero of your own life.
Normally, this kind of sentence would have made the hero laugh, but from the serious tone of the conversation and because of their last meetings and recent events, he perceived the truth through the jokes of his interlocutor. If the situation was not critical, Beneltig would not have bothered to make all these efforts to confront the Hero in vain. So, in spite of all that the greatest of cowards could say, he would not hurt him. He could even blame him for Jacob's injuries if he wanted to.
- I can't understand you: you have all the strength in the world, you have accomplished such... ubiquitous feats in front of everyone, you have fought on equal terms against the queen, the one who they say can wipe out a mountain with a simple glance, make torrents of lightning break out over a whole region, whose mere appearance makes her opponents give up...
I didn't think that Audiselia was so well known around the world. She accomplished a lot once she got her act together.
- ... you have his favors, my fairy appreciates you, you are a champion, you have fun with my childhood friends, some girls are no longer put off by this curse that covers you, a whole population relies on you, and despite that... Your smiles remain bland, always filled with sadness, you are full of false pretenses. It disgusts me... You are treated like a prince and you always play the unfortunate one of service. Do you know at least what I endure to carry the burden of all the lives that are suppressed because of the Adepts, heroes of the legend?
- You have a choice...
- You know very well that I wasn't," Beneltig replied, "if I had been born into an Upper Town family, I could have lived carefree and wandered around happily without worrying about the strings that were being woven behind the scenes. But no, I must follow in the footsteps of my predecessors without knowing where this path will lead me, because...
- ... it's the only thing to do? finishes the Hero, because struggling with one's destiny is futile if only to cause the death of one's miserable life, eh? If I didn't know better, you'd see me smiling happily. I don't remember if I told you, but I think deep down we're not different, it's just that I'm walking through the valley of death blindly, battling with the roots of death that are dragging me inexorably down into the sludge with no way out.
- I can see that more than anyone else, because I can see that you carry death on your shoulders.
- Whose death?
- You tell me. Generally, it is his that we wear.
- And what about you? Do you carry death on your shoulders, Beneltig?
- No. I love life too much to do something like that. That's why I called you: I'm going to continue to fight with the Adepts of Marryneia.
The Hero sighed. There was nothing surprising about Beneltig's statement, he wasn't going to change because he told him to. Why had he even had an ounce of hope for him? To rally new comrades to the cause of his princess and the queen? Or maybe he just wanted to change someone? To bring a little light, he who was only made of darkness.
- Have you learned what the three great powers are that make up our world?" asked Beneltig.
- Military, Technological...
- I'm not talking about that," Beneltig corrected him, "especially since it's potentially false. I'm talking about the three Great Powers.
- Ah. That. We count the derivatives like voodoo and other bullshit...
- No.
- So: "Magic", "Genetic Attribute" and the rarest, "Miracles".
- Yes, that's right, Beneltig confirmed, so be worthy of your fame and show me a miracle.
He stood up and stretched.
- May you save the princess, the queen and the kingdom without any of them dying or being destroyed.
- Why do you continue to fight against me and the queen when the life of your princess is in danger of death?" asked the hero, "Is there something wrong with you?
Beneltig grabs the Hero by the shoulders.
- If I want you to perform a miracle, it is because I am unable to do so despite all my good will. Your chains do not hold you to this destiny so destroy everything and save us. If the Princess-Without-Wing-And-No-Name believes in you, don't disappoint her, he ordered her, I'm not going to hold you back any longer though, you look like a ball of nerves on the verge of exploding and you probably need to take it out on something or someone. And I don't really want to be that person.
Beneltig patted the Hero on the shoulder and walked away.
- Was that your last wish?
- You who read a lot should know that rats are the last to die in stories.
- It is true.
The Hero watched him go. He had been right to take those painkillers. This discussion was more interesting than it seemed. Although he was not the person he held in the highest esteem, it was the Hero that he had let into his heart. No doubt because of their so distinct resemblance. One draped in a false courage looking much more like cowardice and the other draped in a true cowardice that thanks to his honesty made it look like courage. Two sides of the same coin.
- Ah, by the way, said Beneltig, they took the bait, he informed the Hero.
At the end of this story, the rats will still be alive this time. Too bad the Hero will not witness the end of this story - nor Malalalivia for that matter.
Beneltig was right. The Hero needed to let off steam and the only person he could give his all to was about to show his face.
Features forming a blue rectangle formed in front of him before a new landscape stood before him inside that rectangle and out came the queen and her bodyguards, but for once it wasn't her who was at the head of the line, it was Sawyer.
- You seem to have recovered, Sawyer said, follow me, you and I are going to train.
Without reluctance, the Hero got up from the bench and followed them through the space door.