Eyes lowered, head sunken. Vera walked with a muted expression. Renta's yammering received half-hearted responses.
"Vera..."
"Hmm..."
"Are you mad that I bought the mountain god robe without asking you if you wanted it?"
"No..."
"Do you not like our mountain god?..." Renta's usual prideful speech turned apologetic.
Renta's expressions didn't try to hide anything.
When he felt joy, a smile would break open. When he felt fear, he would tremble. When he felt sorry, his eyes would fall.
Is this the cost of my ambition?
Nails dug into Vera's palms, his eyebrows creased.
"No, I think he's pretty cool." Some life came back to Vera's voice, his eyes still unable to meet Renta's.
"He's pretty cool, isn't he? From the day he was born till now, he has always protected us. That's almost five centuries!"
"He really is an amazing man." Vera's teeth were gritted, their grinding engulfing Vera's mind.
His head finally rose, his usual expression plastered onto his face, only now, it was hollow.
Renta's joyful and secure expression crushed his consciousness.
***
Water sloshed over a bucket as Linda washed clothes.
Standing to her right, Vera thrashed the washed clothes with a wooden paddle. Each roll resounded through the backyard.
"Vera, Could you ease up? You're hurting my ears."
Vera's eyes widened immediately.
"Sorry... I didn't realise I was going so hard."
"Don't worry about it. If anything, it's a good sign. You're getting better. Our village's medicine is pretty good, isn't it?"
"Yeah. It's working wonders." A forced smile morphed onto Vera's face.
The sloshing of water halted.
"Vera... You seem down? Is everything alright?"
"I'm alright, ma'am. I just space out sometimes."
"Ok. Do tell me if anything is on your mind." A subtle, warm smile emerged on her face.
"A mother can't help being a mother, huh?"
"Flattery won't get you more food, Vera."
"Hahaha."
"How's Mister Ken doing? He didn't come home for dinner yesterday."
"Don't worry, he came home a bit after dinner. The council was busy yesterday; something about nearby hordes getting more active recently."
"Is it serious?"
"According to Ken, the hordes aren't too strong. Nothing the village guard can't handle. Still, as a mother, it scares me a little."
"Well, if Mister Ken said it'd be alright, I'm sure there isn't anything to worry about."
The slooshing of water started again; the paddle thrashed the clothes gently.
***
Days passed as always.
Its noise turned white. In times like this, Vera could forget.
But the silence of night...
Sweat shocked into mist, Vera's fist moved through the air. The air that used to rip in his wake now winced.
Each movement stabbed the air. The wind failed at following him.
The body of a peak-grade demon apparated in his mind.
He dashed to the demon, his fist hurtling towards its skull. The moment before the clash, he tried to fortify his joints.
A blinding pain rampaged through his body; his stance shattered open. A mouthful of blood seeped through his lips.
"Fuck..."
"How am I going to help with a peak grade when I can't even use fucking qi?" Nails ripped against his nape.
His breathing deepened, calm soon returning.
His intuition told him something was coming. But, with his crippled state, he couldn't even sense a commoner's presence.
Can I only run away? If push comes to shove.
Frustration built up again, soon to be swallowed by his hollow expression.
Arms raised, legs tensed, his foot pressed into the ground. Deep imprints formed as he transitioned into different stances, dragging ahead more than they used to.
Stances were exhausted and repeated again. The imprints in the ground melded back into smooth earth.
Cold wind barely soothing his exertion.
The flurry of silent movements turned to still.
"It's still a bit off... Why am I overreaching?"
"Tch... Again."
Stances ran through and repeated again.
His movements soon replaced the numbness of day.
Light footsteps pattered through the backyard.
"That's some tremendous power you've got there."
The trance wore off.
"Mister Ken, when did you get back home?"
"I just got back; work has been really hectic as of late. And just call me Ken." Ken spoke as he rested against the door to the backyard. His usual joyful expression was dampened by his exhaustion. His glistening yellow teeth nowhere to be seen.
"Oh... I thought you got back a bit earlier."
"I wish. My dear wife's cooking has run cold already."
"Hahaha. I'm sure she understands."
"I'm sure too; she has always understood. "Well then, Vera, I think I'll hit the sack now."
"Sure, Mister... Ken, rest well."
After nodding at Vera, Ken opened the door and took a step into the house, but the door didn't shut.
His back turned to Vera, he spoke, his voice wavering.
"Vera... Don't be so down. The lord would want to fight you as well."
Before Vera could utter a single word in response, the door shut.
Answers that he couldn't find in the silence were replaced by white noise.
Exhaustive repetition, stance after stance.
Night after night.
***
Tonight was the third dinner in a row that Ken had missed.
The jovial chatter of the dinner table was replaced by the slow clanking of forks against a plate.
Vera's gaze touched on Linda and Renta's expressions. Their hearts never held back.
Their heads hung low, eyes fixed onto their plates.
Ken's empty chair being the cause.
Tonight was the third time the village was attacked by demon hordes.
"Ma... Will Pa come home for dinner tonight?" Renta's lips quivered as he asked, eyes latched onto Linda.
"I don't think he can make it to dinner tonight." Linda replied, her tone low and heavy.
Renta's head dropped down again. His eyes lingered on the food that lay untouched.
"Don't be so sad. Pa is the lord's closest advisor; in the mountain god's absence, he must lead the guard."
"Will he be alright?" Eyes reddened, a subtle mist beaded around them. The grip around his fork weakened.
"Your father is strong; he'll be alright—" Linda's ever-calm, reassuring voice broke down. More than a mist, less than a tear, her eyes welled up.
A silence ensued. The sound of forks clacking against plates returned. Its monotony struggled to numb.
The warm light of the oil lamp was snuffed, its aroma still lingering in the air. It was time to sleep.
Vera's thoughts ran deep in the silence.
Is this my fault?
A cold breeze slipped through the wooden grill in Renta's room. The air that soothed Vera to sleep was now stale.
Renta's puffery and scheming was a dream, one that'd long passed. Under the night's silence, all sound was exacerbated. Soft whimpers broke through Renta's bedsheet.
Too close to ignore, too far to reach.
Vera no longer had the heart to leave Renta alone at night. The addictive numbness of training called to Vera, his eyes wide open, staring at the blank ceiling.
The whimpers soon weakened.
Has he finally gone to sleep?
Slowly, silently, Vera took off his blanket and sneaked into the hallway.
His steps moved lightly so as to not wake anyone.
But despite all his efforts, a loud sound boomed through the hallway. The door crashed into the wall.
"Vera!"
"Thank god you're here." Ken's calm smile was nowhere to be seen. His eyes darted across Vera's face.
"Ken?" Before he could ask Ken what had happened, he was cut off. Ken's arm firmly gripped Vera's shoulder, faint tremors engulfing his grip.
His darting eyes held no focus.
"Vera, I need you to take Linda and Renta away from the village immediately." His veins throbbed; cold sweat misted on his palms.
"Ken, calm down; tell me what happened." Vera tried to raise his voice, but his body felt drained.
"They are here." Ken's breaths turned heavy, with no rhythm left in them.
"Who is here, Ken?" Vera's hands clasped Ken's. Its firmness calmed Ken.
"The peak-grade demons found the village." His tone steadied a bit.
Before Vera could respond, Renta's door opened.
"Pa?"
Grip loosened, Ken's hand slipped away from Vera's. His uneven steps echoed through the house as he ran to his son.
Palms cupped Renta's face, eye to eye. Ken was on his knees.
"Renta, I need you to leave the village with Vera and Ma."
"Pa?" The last thing he wanted to hear struck him. Disbelief rendered him senseless.
"Renta, I need you to be strong." A painful wetness seeped onto his palms.
"Pa?" Tears rolled down his cheeks; pain and disbelief soaked his voice.
The door to the master bedroom opened.
Vera knew that she was already awake. Her ears pressed against the door, she listened to everything.
Linda walked through the door. Tears streaming down her face, she walked.
Her embrace engulfed Ken and Renta.
The absence of words said enough.
"Promise me you won't look back." His back turned to his wife, his face hidden from his son.
Linda's embrace tightened, her nails digging into the back of her palm.
The stale wind of night suffocated Vera.
Linda walked towards Vera, her hand gripped Renta's, dragging him away from his father's final embrace.
The heavy, dull thud of their steps.
Renta wails.
Ken's once towering visage.
This was the monotony that let Vera not think.
Even so...
Is this what I wanted?
In the moment of stillness, Renta's wails turned to something.
Something more...
The wails of hundreds of families being ripped apart.
A white noise so loud, Vera's mask of hollowness shattered.
Recover?... Guilt?... Shame?...
He could no longer be held by trivial things.
His back was turned away from Ken.
"Stay put!"
Vera screamed. The emotion he'd held back for so long came flooding out. His tone ran hoarse.
Slow steps, each digging a hole through the stone floor.
He walked towards the door.
Each step grew faster, cracks forming in their trail.
He stood outside the doorway. The radiance of the stars cast a shadow through him.
His wide shoulders conveyed hope.
Light flooded into the house. His visage was no longer there.
Wind rushed into the house, its ferocity enough to push Linda and Renta back.
Cracks shaped in the pattern of thunder.
Dust rose through the air. Under the radiance of night, they shimmered, not a mark of night's beauty. Rather, the sigil of a protector.