Inside a blizzard, a figure was running—undeterred by the raging winds and the rock-hard snow. On his back was a much smaller figure wrapped in cloth, and a lot of it. The man began to struggle as the snow piled up, now several inches tall.
As if fate itself gave him a bit of reprieve, a light shone in the distance—no, rather, it was many lights. Using the last of his strength, he made his way toward them, finding a village where everyone was hiding from Mother Nature's wrath in their homes.
Banging on one of the doors, he begged to be let in. No answer arrived.
Going door to door, with hope decreasing with every knock, eventually one did open. A little boy stood there, his parents right by his side, their faces tense. The young man's eyes filled with hope as he took the miniature figure off his back—the one wrapped in cloth.
"Please… help her…"
Inside the cloth was a black-haired girl, her face deathly pale.
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It took a week for the blizzard to end. Sunny never left Talia's side. After he took her to the cave, they had ended up staying together for around two months, but then she got sick.
At first, he thought it would go away, but as time went on and her condition worsened, he couldn't keep putting it off and hoping time would improve it. By the time he finally set out to find help, a blizzard struck—as if fate was taunting him.
He had a love-hate relationship with fate. After all, without fate, he wouldn't have found his way to this village, and he wouldn't have been able to get her help. Looking at her now, lying by the makeshift bedside, her skin had once more returned to its normal tanned color.
He also supposed fate had helped him in another way. Looking back at the family who had let him into their home, he was grateful. The husband and wife were both herbalists, able to identify what was wrong with Talia and prescribe the right treatment. The young boy, their son, looked after her—periodically changing the warm rags on her head.
The snow outside was still inches deep, but the blizzard had ended, allowing villagers to finally come outside. Though it had only been a week, they already welcomed him as part of their little village.
Due to the blizzard, the crops had been destroyed, causing a food shortage in such desperate times. Even though many had refused him entry when he first arrived, he still felt the need to repay them. So, he set out into the snow-ridden forest, in the freezing cold, alone—bringing home bushes of berries, rabbits buried in the ground, and more.
Because of this, he essentially became a saving grace for them. Those who had once refused his pleas deeply apologized. Despite him saying it was fine, since everything had worked out, they still felt guilty and vowed to make him as comfortable as possible for as long as he stayed in the village.
The old him—or perhaps another version of him—would have held a grudge. He might have even left the village immediately after receiving help. But now, he could feel it within himself. He had changed, in more ways than one. Perhaps it was the way he looked at human life in this world after meeting Talia… or perhaps it was something else he couldn't explain at the moment.
Either way, he could say for certain that he had changed—mentally, but also physically.
His body was strange in more ways than one. A lot of it had been replaced by parts that did not belong to him… or rather, parts that did not belong to Auro of the Nine. It was becoming harder and harder to separate the two identities as time went on. The memories that belonged to Sunless were like sand slipping through his fingers.
Yet, he wasn't Auro either. He had none of Auro's memories—he hadn't even known the man's name was Auro. In fact, the only reason he had learned it at all was because of the bounty on his head.
So, with that said—Sunny… Auro… no… nobody could say who he truly was. He was, in the end, Nobody.
He didn't know who he was in the slightest anymore.
But he did know one thing.
Seeing the girl laying on the bed, her hair spread out like a river and the curls in it perhaps mimicking waves, he knew something with absolute certainty.
For her, he had to be something he was not.
He knew he had to be a hero.