CHAPTER 6
A few days have passed since that fateful day. Jay is having nightmares about the Saikopasu and the day his mother died. Even in his sleep, he would cry when he dreamed of her death. In those days, he preferred to be alone. He didn't want to be with anyone, even those close to him. For Jay, being alone was the best option.
'If I'm alone, I won't hurt anyone, or disappoint anyone. After all, I am disappointment itself.'
A familiar voice came to comfort him, a warm and cozy hug.
"It's okay, everything is truly okay. You are not a disappointment. You are making me proud, me and your future wife." — She says, standing in front of him. Seeing her, he blushes. She is a beautiful girl with white hair. A purple color around her blocked him from seeing the woman's true appearance. She gives him a kiss on the cheek, lies down on his bed, and calls him to lie down as well. He obeys and lies down.
'That's right, she was always with me, even in my worst moments. Does this woman really care about me?! It doesn't matter.' Jay hugs the woman, who returns the hug, kissing his forehead.
"I will always be with you, no matter the moment, my sweet Jay." — She says with a sweet voice.
This comforts Jay, who ends up falling asleep. She closes her eyes and sleeps alongside him.
While she hugs and sleeps with him, Jay walks in a dark, cold place. He steps on snow while breathing heavily, his hand on his chest, squeezing hard. He steps and hears something breaking. When he looks, it's a skull. He gets scared and falls on a floor that crumbles. He was falling into a darkness, hearing voices that were his own. Hands stroked his body and then held his shoulders and feet. One grabbed his neck.
Another voice, from the Saikopasu, appears, laughing and trying to tear a limb from the poor boy. The soldier disturbs the boy, asking why Jay had killed him.
"Why? Why? Why did you take me away from my family? Why did you kill me?"
This disturbs Jay, who could not take it anymore. Then Runa, his old love, appears and tells him the last thing she ever said to him:
"You're the worst! How could you do this? Look at what you've done. You're a monster, never appear in front of me again. Goodbye!"
Gabriel, kneeling and crying with a mix of sadness and anger, punches the wall until his fist starts to bleed.
Jay just cried and apologized for all the things he had done, but his crying was no use. He kept falling into the darkness. He began to stop feeling his body. The Saikopasu tears off his shoulder, but he feels no pain and continues to fall and fall.
"Jay." — A familiar voice called his name. He didn't know who it was. He heard it again, this time more intense, and again. This made him wake up. He looks to the side and sees his family together, all of them worried.
"Jay, are you okay?" — Mary asked, worried.
Jay just stayed silent.
"Tell me why you're crying?" — She put her hand on his face. — "Tell me, Jay, you're making me even more worried."
With a forced smile, Jay says:
"It's nothing. I just had a nightmare."
'Damn, I can't even look her in the face.'
"Jay, tell the truth. I know you're going through a tough time, but let us help you. Share this burden with us." — Poul says, hoping his son would agree with what he said.
'Do I deserve this?! This whole family that loves me?! This happiness... Do I deserve this happiness they are giving me?!' — Jay thought with an expression of doubt mixed with sadness.
"I... I don't... I don't know." — With just these words, Poul became frustrated. He walked towards Jay and, with a serious expression mixed with concern, began to speak to him:
"Stop ignoring your family and your friends. You're purposefully pushing us away because you're afraid to face us after what happened. Damn it, get up and face reality like a man! Share your burdens with me, with your father! I failed to protect you. I am a failure as a father, I admit that with certainty. So at least share and trust us, son." — Poul says with tears in his eyes.
'No, you are a great father, compared to me, who didn't act and isn't even recognized as one. I'm a failure as a father, husband, boyfriend, son, and friend. I'm a murderer, I broke my family's motto and not only hurt but also killed two people. How could a monster like me deserve this happiness?! This makes me happy to have these people by my side and a father like him, but sad that he has a reincarnated son who is, on top of that, a piece of trash as a human. Damn it, I want to stop crying!'
"I trust and love you all. I will try to overcome this with all of you, but sometimes I will want to be alone for a while, like right now, you know." — Jay spoke with a melancholic smile and an expression of happiness mixed with sadness.
Poul gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, turned, and left with Mary and Luis. The stubborn Kyrai refused to leave and decided to stay with Jay. She sat in the chair and began to "tease" Jay, who soon did the same.
"You're a little sister who only gives me trouble."
"Huh! Talking like that, you sound like an old man."
After hearing this from Kyrai, he stared at her, looked into her eyes, and then let out a genuine laugh.
"I sound like an old man? Where did you get that from?" — Even after speaking, he continued to laugh.
Without realizing it, Kyrai began to cry with happiness. Jay, seeing her cry, quickly became worried.
"What's wrong, Kyrai? What did I do?" — Jay spoke, concerned.
"It's just that I thought I had lost my brother forever. But... but you're back, Jay. I'm so glad you're okay."
With a smile, Jay gives his old friend and now sister, Kyrai, a warm hug. — "I'm back, Kyrai."
"Welcome back, brother."
'I need to take care of my little sister now, so I won't give up on living. Maybe I can redeem myself for my sins.' Jay thought softly, hugging his little sister. This is his duty now.
So, they spent the whole morning talking, catching up on news and all that, until the door opens and Noa and his parents appear. Noa's parents apologized to Jay for not having brought him home and said it was their irresponsibility. And they were right.
"Do you forgive us, Jay? Could you forgive us?" — Noa's father asked.
"Yes, I forgive you." — Jay says with a smile on his face.
Noa approached with a book in his hands and hit his friend on the head.
"Take this, you bastard! Because of your kidnapping, I... I couldn't read the new volume of The beginning, so, as a gift, I bought the new volume for you, you piece of shit."
"Oh yeah, you f*cker? Then when I get out of here, we're going to compete."
"I accept your challenge."
'Looks like everything is back to normal.' — Kyrai thought, laughing.
After that, they spent the whole afternoon like that. Meanwhile, Poul was in his office, filling out paperwork, until someone knocked on his door. He got up from his chair lazily and opened the door. It was two royal knights.
"Good evening, Captain Poul! May we come in?" — The knight asked.
"Yes, of course, come in."
So, the knights entered Poul's office. They sat in the two chairs that were available.
"First of all, before we talk, I have a doubt."
"Yes, and what is your doubt, Captain Poul?"
"Weren't you supposed to be protecting your majesty?" — Poul said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, and he is here in the city to visit your son, along with our sacred Saint."
"Wait, the new Saint is here in the forest city?!" — Poul spoke with surprise.
The royal knight just nodded his head.
"Why did they come to visit my son?" — Poul asked, already knowing what the reason might be.
"After all, you are a hero who killed an elemental giant, that is already a great thing. After your son was kidnapped, the king wants to see him to see how he is, and the Saint came to grace you with her mercy." — The royal knight answered without any reaction.
Even surprised, he looks at the knight and, with a serious expression, he says:
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"We came to warn you about a war that is about to happen. This war will be extremely important for our continent. If we lose this battle, all cities will be destroyed, except for the cities near the capital."
"Okay, then where will this battle be?" — Poul asked.
"It will be in the city of hell, the city of the wall. There will be one of the biggest battles and wars between humans and giants. Even you could die in this war. Hyou Poul, do you understand?"
Poul stood up from the chair and, placing his hand on top of his head as a sign of respect, answered the question:
"Yes, royal knight." — So, the royal knights stood up from the chair and went towards the door. Before they left, with all his confidence, Poul continued to say: — "But, I will not die. On the contrary, I will live and kill that giant who caused all that chaos. Until I kill him, I will not die." — Poul said with a look of hatred towards the royal knights.
They became excited about Poul's gaze.
"We expect that, Captain Poul, the genius of ice."
Without saying anything to them, Poul just watched them leave.
'Looks like I'm going to my hometown.'
Meanwhile, the Saint tried to get through to go to the room of whoever she wanted to see, by order of the church.
'Ah, why do I have to go through this? I'm only ten years old and I'm already treated as the most important person in the world. But what a pain in the ass. I want to be loved for who I am and not for my importance.' — She tried to get through the crowd surrounding her. She wasn't touched thanks to the soldiers. She walked to the room where Jay was, opened the door, and there was Jay, reading the new volume of The beginning. He was crying while reading it. He looked at the Saint, deep into her eyes, and said:
"Tb is peak. What a work, friends."
The Saint just looked at Jay confused, who, confused, looked to the back, where he saw that his friend was sleeping with his little sister.
"Huh? Who are you?"
The Saint composed herself and began to introduce herself. She placed her hand on her chest and began to introduce herself, with her ruby-red eye and her white hair. This made Jay's heart beat fast, a beat of worry, after all, he had just embarrassed himself.
"I am the Saint Clarice. I came to see if the son of the hero Poul was doing well, and from what I see, you are well."
'An elf! I'm seeing a white-haired elf with red eyes. I was supposed to have a meeting with an elf when I was older. Damn, I can't try to conquer her, after all, I'd feel like a pedo, shit.'
"I'm Hyou Jay. It's a pleasure to meet you, Saint Clarice." — Jay said with a fake confidence.
"Pleasure to meet you too, Jay." — She spoke with a smile.
'I don't know why, but I feel comfortable next to him.'
"Can I read this with you?" — The Saint asked, with curiosity.
Jay became animated and nodded with excitement. He didn't care about her importance and saw the Saint as a normal girl. He made space on the bed for her to sit down.
"Of course, sit here. After all, there are some lazy bums sleeping over there."
Even a little embarrassed, she sat on the bed and began to read with Jay. The royal knight closed the door and wasn't going to let anyone enter until the King of humans arrived. While they didn't arrive, Jay read more to the Saint.
"Tell me, what does 'is peak' mean?" — The Saint asked.
"It means 'is the pinnacle'." — Jay answered with his eyes closed and a smile.
"This really is 'is peak'. It's definitely 'peak'." — Said the Saint Clarice.
Jay looked at her with a look of surprise. Almost no one had the same tastes as him, only his friends and Runa.
"You really have good taste. I'm going to be discharged soon, and when I get out, I'm going to want to go buy some books! Want to come along, Saint Clarice?" — Jay asked, extending his hand to her.
"Does that mean we're friends?" — The Saint asked. Her eyes were fixed on Jay.
Jay let out a light laugh for the Saint Clarice. — "Of course, Saint. We became friends the moment you sat on the bed."
Instead of taking his hand, she hugs him and says:
"Yes! I'm going to buy books with you." — She says this with a lot of emotion. He hugs her back.
In this romantic moment of our "stud," someone, unfortunately, opens the door. It was King Valerius Adelio along with Poul. They were talking about the upcoming war.
"Poul, why didn't you tell me your son was a ladies' man from such a young age?" — The King asked.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry, but even I didn't know that." — Captain Poul replied.
Jay, looking at the situation that was being misinterpreted:
"I-it's not what it looks like." — Jay says, lowering his head to the King in front of him.
The Saint Clarice lets go of Jay and turns to the King in front of her and calls him to go to another room. She was red and embarrassed.
Poul was happy that his son had made up his mind. As they left, Jay looked to the side and saw his friends sleeping, waited for a while until he says:
"I think I might deserve a little of this happiness." — He reached out his hand to his friends who were sleeping. — "I will protect them, I promise I will protect them."
"Why? Why did you kill me!" — The soldier's voice came. Even though he gave it little importance, it still hurt his heart. Even with Jay saying he deserved a little of this happiness, his acts of murder still made him doubt whether he deserved it.
After a while, Poul, along with the king and the Saint, arrive in the room. Kyrai and Noa were talking with Jay. The Saint was going to tell him that he had been discharged by the doctor, but Poul stopped her. The King questioned Poul, but he said that he was going to give his son that news and another. He asked Kyrai and Noa to leave them alone.
"What is it, Dad? What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well, there are two things I'm going to tell you. The first is that you've been discharged, and the second is that..." — Poul sighed, looked at Jay. — "Jay, I'm going to participate in another war."
"What?!" — Jay, in disbelief, looked at his father, scared and surprised, and without a reaction.