(This chapter depicts a lot of bad imagery, so a bit of a warning ahead of time)
I opened my eyes slowly.
'How long was I asleep for…?'
My body feels a bit off, but it doesn't hurt or anything.
I lean up and glance around.
The same scenery greeted my vision as last night.
The rubble that was once Tenna, and the planes of grass to the other side, away from the destroyed town.
"Huu…"
I sigh and stand up.
The ashes are gone, completely dissipated in the wind. A soft morning breeze cools down my face, at least the parts that aren't covered by the silk. The sun is beginning to rise from one side of the horizon to my left.
I look down and see Hale, still slumped against the ruined wall we slept on the night before.
It made me think a bit, as I stood alone.
'What caused all of this to happen…?'
I gently feel the silk wrapped around my head. It's baffling how much Abyss Wyrm silk Trinity gave me.
I need to keep this like my life depended on it.
Since it literally did.
...
I find myself walking toward the ruins.
Slowly, carefully. Measured steps as I ease my way back into my old home.
I feel… apathetic.
I should be more distraught. My home, my housemates, the people who took care of me.
All gone.
Even I didn't understand why my chest felt so much lighter than before, either.
I don't feel particularly alone, either. I went through this with Hale.
I turn in the direction of where he's still asleep, still walking.
'I need to protect him.'
Hell or high water. After the previous night, he's my younger brother.
I regard him no less than that.
If I were alone, I probably would have lost my mind…
…especially during that.
What happened to Cronus.
I swallowed thinking about it, quickly shaking my head to avoid any thoughts of it.
So, I just kept walking through the ashes and ruined buildings. I used a bit of the silk that fluttered down my back to cover my mouth. The ash is still strong here.
I held the tanto on my waist as well, carefully stepping through the dismantled buildings, the craters in the road, and the fallen foundations.
It's much easier to traverse through here than I recall. This was probably due to the new body I gained.
Pillars fell over with ease as I pushed them.
Heavier looking stones, I could easily lift with a bit of force.
Even my feet pushing against the ground felt like I could leave a mark if I wished.
It felt… powerful.
Then, I made it.
The destroyed tavern.
The Den.
I shakily take a deep breath as I begin moving the rubble.
The broken pieces of wood. The shattered stone.
I see the crater in the middle of where the building once stood.
"..."
I stared at it for a moment, then continued to clear out the ruins.
Piece by piece.
With each piece of the tavern I picked up and placed to the side, away from the rest.
It revealed more and more of the terrible truth.
Corpse. Corpse. Corpse.
Smaller pieces that I had to look away from. I couldn't bear to see it.
I cleared out more and more.
'One… two… three, four…'
I could only count twelve bodies.
Excluding Hale and I, that's four more that are destroyed beyond recognition.
…I couldn't look at them. Much less hold them.
I made the crater in the center a bit deeper, and gathered all of the corpses of the other kids I could find.
I felt my chest tighten. A strain in my gut, too.
I buried them.
One by one.
I only knew a few of their names, but definitely not all of them.
I couldn't find Lilly's body.
Or Garret's.
I finished burying the last one.
I felt my expression crumble as I stared at the mounds I made for each one, even the ones that had little remaining of them.
I didn't know all of their names, but I knew their faces.
Reduced to this.
Mounds of dirt under a tavern in a destroyed town.
I couldn't tell if I was more enraged or saddened. A mix of both, probably.
I stood still over the graves I made for the others.
"Kh…"
I slowly raise my hands and look at the dried blood and dirt covering them.
Biting my lip, I clench my hands into fists.
Though my mouth was still covered by the silk, I could still smell the metallic blood mixing with the dust and ash in the air.
It made my eyes water.
Yeah. It was the ash.
I tilt my head further down and stay silent for a bit longer.
'Rest well, guys.'
I take a deep breath.
"...I'm sorry."
….
I did the same for any other parts I could find. I spent most of the day cleaning up ruins, discarding broken stones, and breaking apart pillars.
Hale's still asleep.
Though I think I'd prefer it this way.
A majority of the ruins are distributed in piles now, the foundations of buildings now nothing but unearthed dirt and mounds.
A half-assed burial is all I could give the bodies I could find.
It made me sigh as I headed back to the place where Hale was still sleeping.
These people didn't deserve this type of end.I walk the slight uphill level and find Hale, still nodded off against the wall.
I bend down and pick him up, hoisting him on my back with relative ease.
'I doubt I'd find him that heavy now, anyway.'
I adjust my hands under him and just carry him on my back as I begin walking.
Following along the ruined walls of Tenna, I counted how many gates I walked past until I found the northeast one.
Tenna should be in the southwestern side of things, so if I head northeast, I should eventually find Gate City.
I remember Elder Grant talking about a friend he had up here…
Maybe if I head that way, I can find some refuge for Hale and I.
So, I just simply began to walk. No real destination was in my mind except for this direction, and Gate City.
There's a bit of a trail to follow, it resembles a road, too. If I just follow this, I should make it.
I wasn't really tired, I hadn't felt tired since I woke up.
Hearing Hale's breathing was also calming me down, too. It told me that he was still alive.
'There really isn't much outside of Tenna, huh?'
I turn my head to my right, where I could see only planes of grass for a while. At least until where the Slash was located.
A monument. The divider of the two continents is over there.
And it's huge.
Then, to my left was the Forest of Beasts. One of the main reasons why Tenna was a decently supplied and fortified settlement despite being located outside the royal domains.
Mithril, and stray beasts.
Where chasers go to die, or wash up on Tenna's shores. Literally and figuratively.
Not that I was going to enter there, though.
I don't have a death wish, especially not after what me and Hale just went through to survive.
So, I just kept walking.
…
The sun soon passed its halfway point, now beginning its descent from the middle of the day.
How long have I been putting one foot in front of the other?
It didn't matter that much.
I find myself staring off into space as I continued walking. Absent-mindedly looking off to where the Slash was.
I stared at it, and found myself thinking about how Trinity got me this Abyss Wyrm silk. I'm well aware he's a god, but…
…even a majority of them didn't jump into the abyss.
The Slash made it, just as it split the continents, it made something horrific with its concentration of mana.
We weren't told much about it other than its existence in school.
Most of it was just basic math, reading and writing, and infusion prep.
I blinked and decided not to think about it anymore.
'Just a week ago everyone was…'
I take a deep breath and just focus on walking.
Walking.
Stepping.
One foot after another.
Hours passed.
Afternoon transitioned to evening, the sky soon turning a softer pink color along the edges of the horizon I could see.
The ground was leveled, and I was still following the little trail left from many carriages passing through over time.
I could feel myself beginning to think quite a lot.
It made me almost wake up Hale to at least have someone to talk to other than my groaning feet.
That is… until I looked up from my tattered boots.
A carriage.
"...?"
I blanked as I stared at it for a moment, trying to process what a carriage was doing out here.
It had two horses coaching it, both of them were huge, the muscles along their shoulders were a bit too large as well.
Some dark blue stripes were located from the knees down to the hooves.
'Blue rank… horses?'
I swallowed as I stood up properly, adjusting Hale on my back as I prepared for whoever was in front of me.