The sea breeze gently lashed Kenzo's face, carrying with it the sharp, salty scent of the ocean. Facing the immense stretch of shimmering water, bordered by the steep cliff, he remained motionless, absorbed by the dark revelations old William had just shared. The echo of his words still rang in his mind, like a funeral bell announcing a sealed fate.
Here, on this isolated island, lost in the middle of nowhere, he, old William, and all the prisoners were doomed. Trapped. Hunted without rest, destined to wander until the Warden or those sinister Void Creatures came to claim their lives. No escape. No way out.
Kenzo clenched his fists. An unpleasant shiver ran down his spine. They were stuck in this natural prison, a massive hidden cage.
He turned slightly toward the old man, his dark eyes shining with determination.
– « We have to move… we can't stay here doing nothing… the Void Creatures might find us. »
Old William let out a heavy sigh, his gaze lost in the endless horizon. He slowly turned toward Kenzo, his voice hoarse and exhausted.
– « Kid… I only had enough energy left to run… and now that our last hopes are gone… how do you expect us to make it? »
Those words struck painfully in Kenzo's mind. He understood perfectly what the old fisherman was feeling. After all, he too felt his body giving in, his mind weakening under the weight of the revelations. The accumulated fatigue from the chase suddenly crashed down on him, like an invisible lead blanket pressing relentlessly on his shoulders.
But even so… he refused to give up.
– « Yeah… it's hard… but no matter what… don't die without fighting. »
At those words, William spun around abruptly, brows furrowed, a spark of anger rekindled in his age-clouded eyes.
– « Since I've been locked in here, I've never given up! I endured the alchemists' vile experiments… the damp cold and the stench of those dungeons month after month… You can't understand what that's like… You've only been here for a few days! So yes, I'm giving up! »
His voice trembled, heavy with bitterness and pain. He had finally let it all out, exposing to Kenzo the raw truth of his ordeal.
A brief silence followed. Only the endless murmur of the waves filled the air.
Kenzo straightened slowly, fixing the old fisherman with an intense stare.
– « What was your life like… before you were locked in those dungeons, William? »
The old man raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden question.
– « Huh? What? What does that have to do with anything? »
– « Answer me. » Kenzo insisted, his tone darker than usual.
William hesitated, studying the young man closely. Then he lowered his shoulders and, in a weary but sincere voice, began to speak.
– « Like I told you… I lived near the coast. Close to the sea. I was a fisherman. I had a good life… In my small village, I woke up every morning to go out to sea. I fished… Sometimes, we discovered new islands… And in the evenings, after work, my coworkers and I would gather to eat and drink together. I was even about to get married… My life, before all this, was simply wonderful. »
William fell silent, lost in thought. He lifted his eyes to Kenzo… and what he saw made him shiver. In the young man's gaze, there was nothing. Nothing but an unfathomable abyss: emptiness, solitude, fear. And yet… at the same time, a fierce intensity burned deep within those dark pupils.
The old fisherman understood then. There was no point in asking about Kenzo's past. He could guess it. He realized that, despite the hell his own existence had become, some men were born in the flames of misfortune… and still clung to life.
Kenzo wasn't competing over who had suffered more. Everyone had the right to complain about their existence. After all, no one came into this world holding the same cards. Even he struggled to understand that part of life… But one thing was certain: he refused to let others give up in front of him.
– « It really was a beautiful life… Then let's help each other… so we can both go home. »
William slowly straightened, gripping his worn, completely battered spear in his trembling hand.
– « Alright… and thank you. »
– « Great! » Kenzo said with a faint smile. « Now I suggest we follow the cliff. We'll probably find something… Even if we can't escape right away, there has to be a way. After all, the Warden and the alchemists must use something to leave this place… »
– « Good idea. » William replied, his gaze once again lit by a glimmer of hope.
Without waiting any longer, the two men began running along the cliff, falling back into the familiar rhythm of the past days. For a long while, they advanced like that, battling thirst, until their exhausted bodies demanded a stop. They then decided to head back into the forest, guided by William toward a water source.
When they reached a clear spring, Kenzo and William knelt to drink, gulping greedily. That welcome pause allowed them to regain some energy, dispelling the icy grip imposed by the revelation of the island.
But suddenly, a sinister crack disturbed the silence.
In a lightning-fast leap, bursting from the forest shadows, a hideous beast lunged at them, its fangs aimed at William. Its jaws snapped violently shut on the old man's arm.
The creature looked like a monstrous dog. Half its fur was torn away, exposing rotting flesh and emaciated bones. In its eyes shone only total emptiness, a terrifying absence of soul. Its nauseating stench struck immediately, a reek of decaying death. It was one of the eight Void Creatures… an Unconscious Stain had just attacked them.
Panicked, William reflexively drove his spear into the creature's side. But the demonic animal didn't even react. It kept William's arm clamped in its jaws. Kenzo, in shock, froze for a few seconds. In that brief hesitation, the monster yanked violently on William's arm. The frail, worn limb of the former fisherman wouldn't last long under such pressure.
Kenzo snapped back to himself. He raised his own spear—just as worn and cracked as William's—and charged screaming toward the beast.
But the demonic creature suddenly released William's arm, dodged Kenzo's clumsy strike, ripped out the spear that had pierced its ribs, and leapt at the young man. Caught off guard, Kenzo hastily raised his weapon to block the putrid fangs, but he lost his balance and fell onto his back. The creature was on him now, raking his chest with its sharp claws.
Kenzo fought with all his strength. He gripped his spear with every ounce of his meager reserves, struggling against the raging beast. But he could feel it: it wasn't his body that was about to give way… it was his poor, cracked weapon.
Just as the spear threatened to snap, William, gathering his last strength, rushed in from behind. With a trembling hand, he raised his recovered spear and drove it once more into the creature's ribs. The impact forced the monster back a step, giving Kenzo the opening he needed.
Scrambling to his feet, Kenzo recovered his spear, breath ragged. This time without a scream, fully focused, he took advantage of the beast turning toward William and lunged forward, violently plunging his weapon into the creature's eye.
The howl that tore from the monster's rotting throat was shrill, inhuman, almost unbearable. The creature thrashed, refusing to die. But Kenzo and William, united in effort, did not relent. Despite his injured arm, the old man held his spear firmly, driving it into the beast's infected flesh, while Kenzo pushed his deeper into the abomination's skull.
Little by little, the creature's convulsions subsided. Its limbs buckled. Its mutilated body collapsed heavily onto the forest floor.
They had done it.
The two of them… with unbelievable difficulty… had just brought down a Void Creature.
An Unconscious Stain had been eliminated.