And they lived happily ever after… or so he thought.
Lying on his bed, breathing his last breath with a face full of joy and pride.
'Finally, I can die in peace'.
Suddenly everything went black and in the next moment he was standing on a beautifully decorated balcony, carved out of pure emerald.
'Huh. Is this the afterlife? But why is it a copy of this world? Oh no, this cannot be.'
Shortly after, he heard a little girl calling for him. "Gramps, Gramps!"
Turning around, he saw a barely eight-year-old child. His eyes widened. He began to feel a wide mix of emotions, all of them directed at death. Death was responsible for all of it.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked softly. But he did not answer.
Clouded by feelings and the will to just die, he stepped to the railing of the balcony, climbed over it and jumped.
The kid did not know what to do in this situation, she just looked at him confused.
While he fell, he felt more and more different kinds of emotions. He hoped that death will finally take him.
He was outraged, shocked, and sad because he had to suffered so much by the hands of death, and even then, death did not take him.
He was afraid that death would never come.
He was also happy about the thought of finally dying, seeing his loved ones again.
He was disgusted of death for being so cruel.
And there were many more feelings he could not understand or describe.
____________________________
In a dark hall on a dais stood a throne, where a king covered from head to toe in expensive clothings sat.
He murmured with a deep muffled voice, "I guess they didn't let this bastard die. Hahahahaha."
It was not a kind laugh, but a cruel one that sent a shiver down your spine.
____________________________
Suddenly everything went black again, and in the next moment he found himself in a big hall with many high-ranking officials.
Around three hundred of them were standing, watching the middle of the room where twelve people sat on a roundtable, making some last decisions, about an upcoming war.
The hall had no windows. It was lit by small white rectangles which were symmetrical pinned to the two lines of pillars walls.
Everything was made of some dark stone. While the pillars appeared smooth and carved, the walls seemed roughly hewn with cracks snaking along to the ceiling.
'Where am I? This can't be what the afterlife is supposed to look like! But it also didn't happen three days ago.'
Some faces felt familiar, but also not. They seemed younger.
For example, the nearest one of the twelve people, a particularly tall and muscular man who always stood out because of that, bore a striking resemblance to Akash, the Shooting Star.
The great war hero who killed a myriad of deadly foes. He was also one of the kindest people he knew.
'But why? Why does he look so young? WHY?!'
He unconsciously walked forward and clenched his fist.
Most of the people who noticed him walking towards Akash from behind, only watched.
They didn't know what he was planning. Maybe he noticed a flaw in the strategy and just wanted to be in the middle of the hall so that everyone could hear him loud and clear, or maybe he needed to tell Akash something personally that could not wait until the meeting ended.
Though there was no danger, they failed to see that the man they called harmless was actually in a very fragile state.
Having lost all hope and all happiness.
The only things that remained were anger and sadness.
He just wanted Akash to disappear. Not because he disliked him, but because he didn't want to face the truth.
So, in front of many onlookers, he threw a punch and slammed his fist against the back of Akash's head. Akash's head moved a fraction forward, then stilled, as if nothing had happened.
It felt like hitting metal, but that didn't stop him. He tried to throw another punch.
Unfortunately, Akash already turned his head and therefore had enough time to react.
He caught the wrist of his attacker and pulled him forward to his right side.
At the same time, his other hand came from below and landed a devastating uppercut.
Akash let his hand go and he staggered two steps back.
The great warrior stood up and asked, "Why are you doing this?"
The only answer he got was a scream and an attempt to tackle him.
Akash dodged with ease.
Before the madman ran into the chair, an arm suddenly wrapped itself around his throat and he was pushed against the man's body.
Akash screamed, "Stop this nonsense! Don't you see what you are doing!? If you keep trying this you will end up dead."
But the ruthless man did not listen.
At some point, he didn't move anymore.
One of the twelve people, a red-haired woman, asked without looking at the scene: "Is he dead?"
"No, only unconscious.", Akash replied coldly.
"You should have killed him." lazily said another person from the twelve.
It was a man with long black hair which is tied back.
"He attacked me! I decide if he lives or dies" commanded Akash in a deep voice.
Then he called for the guards and ordered them to bring the men in a solitary cell.
After that, the meeting proceeded until the afternoon.
____________________________
Later, we saw a muscular, tall man with tan skin and dark brown hair, clothed in a white tunic and brown pants, walking in a dark tunnel, where the only light were some torches which were placed in irregular intervals.
The walls looked rough and uneven. After a while, some thick bars showed up to his left and right.
Each cell is separated by wide stone walls and had one white stone on the ceiling, which lit up the place.
At some point Akash stopped and looked to his right. There, through the bars,lies a man against the wall. He had short blond hair and light brown eyes. His face was wet and dirty, and his eyes were bloodshot.
As the burly man turned his body facing the adolescent, he noticed that the skin on the young man's hands was whiter than on the rest of his body.
'Vitiligo, that hadn't been in the report'
"Let's get straight to the point, Arorox. Why did you attack me, or should I say, why were you angry with me? I mean, I felt your wrath even though I didn't see you. What made you so angry that you had to walk up and throw that punch?"
Arorox muttered under his breath, "You wouldn't understand"
"Hahahahaha" It was a genuine laugh, but not a long one. With every word he spoke next, his voice became deeper and darker. "That's quite funny, because you are the one behind the bars and I have the keys. I can decide what punishment you get. No one will question it. They know you attacked me. So, if you don't answer my questions thoroughly, then I will let you participate in tomorrow's siege as a prisoner."
No answer, nothing.
After a short moment of silence Akash slammed his fist against the cell bars.
A thunderous clang rang out, echoing down the tunnel system until it faded into silence. Before, Arorox could no longer hear it, Akash began to shout,
"You'll die torn apart by the Tiremates! No one will come! Scream as loud as you want! Death is inevitable. Your name will be forgotten, never to be carved in the stone walls of Mertys, all because of one question you refuse to answer." Akash sighed and asked with a calm voice, "Is it really worth dying?"
When Akash saw that Arorox stayed quiet he grunted and said with a low voice, "At least kill 10 of those bastards. Here."
While he was talking, he pulled out a circular block tied to a loop that looked like a cheap necklace with a small clay ball as a decoration and threw it through the bars.
Shortly after, he left.
Sitting now alone in a cell, Arorox picked up the necklace and put it over his head.
Meanwhile, he was trying to forget the shocking revelation he had before Akash came by.
____________________________
Laying on the floor face down in mud, he woke up, thinking, 'Why didn't I die? Why did I go back so many years? What can I do? My bond to my affinity should have broken over time. I didn't feel anything towards death the last few years of my life, certainly not fear. Therefore, I should not be able to go back in time when I die or did I miscalculate how strong the bond grew between me and death. But still Bonds weaken over time, like a chain that gets constantly hit by a hammer. Why, why do I have feelings. Those cursed things only exist to create and repair bonds… Wait!'
His eyes widened. Suddenly Arorox remembered again what happened during his fall. 'I felt everything towards death.'
With a trembling hand he reached for his sleeve and pulled it up a little.
There on his forearm is a tattoo of a skull.
'I have it again… My second bond.'
Not able to hold back his tears he began to cry.
'I don't want this anymore. Why am I still remembering her? She is dead, gone and will never be back… or is she? I might have traveled so many years back in time that she is alive again. No, no, no! I don't want to go through this again! Fuck you, Death!'
Suddenly he heard footsteps. Someone was coming. Arorox immediately wiped his tears and stopped crying.
As Akash tried to intimidate him, Arorox screamed inside his head, 'You will never understand! If I ever tell anybody that I can travel in time, then the military will abuse my ability. Killing me over and over so that they can have the best possible outcome in war. I will no longer be a human being in their eyes, instead an object that gives them victory by destroying it. Screams, pain, emotions ignored'
Not wanting to hear anything from Akash, Arorox began to ignore him.
After a failed attempt to forget, Arorox thought on what to do next, 'Is there even something I can do? Nothing, the only thing I can do is wait and turn off my emotions. But how long does it take for the bond to be destroyed? The bond to death must have been reinforced, because of the emotional outburst. I need to become a machine, no feelings, no talking, no friends. Just waiting to die.'
____________________________
The next morning someone stood in front of Arorox's cell, holding a hand through the bars.
The person is clad in armor from head to toe.
The only part of his skin that was visible were his blue eyes, which could be seen through the narrow slit.
He was carrying a backpack and a leather belt pouch. The weapons of choice were a montante and a broadsword. He carried the giant sword on his back and the shorter one on his belt.
He also had small clay-like balls on his belt from which a small string came out. In the outstretched hand was an ocarina.
"You can't go in a battle without your lucky charm," said Bardur, who at that time was still his friend.
Arorox did not answer, he just took the ocarina and hung it over his belt that was over the tunic.
Before Bardur could ask why his friend was so passive, two guards came from the same direction Akash did.
The guards had almost the same equipment, but instead of the montante, one of them wore a long bow and the other a great shield. In addition, both had hand cuffs and a key chain attached to their belt.
As they pushed Bardur away they ordered him, "Sir, you need to go to the Iron gate. The march begins in two hours, and we do not want any friends near prisoners during that time and the march."
Bardur had no choice but to leave.
The moment he was gone one of the guards sneered, grinning obnoxiously, "Are you ready to die, cannon fodder?!"