//Death – Chapter One
I was never meant to be a hero.
He should have been the hero. It was his life-long dream from the very beginning; from the time that we were children. He would be the hero, and I would be the trusty side-kick. We spent hours on end in our youth practicing sword fighting with wooden sticks. He was always better than I, but every time he knocked me down to the ground, he would always stick out a hand to help me back onto my feet.
It was no surprise that when we came of age, we enrolled in Heroic University together. The tests were hard, and sometimes downright suicidal, but none of this was a problem for him. He graduated with flying colors. I, however, did not.
Due to my carelessness, I took a crippling injury during a monster hunting evaluation and was bed-ridden for three months. My injury and absence from the university was enough for them to disqualify me as a hero.
However, this did not discourage me. As I have said, I am not meant to be a hero. My friend came to visit me when I was released. At this point, he was a full-fledged hero. Upon graduation, heroes are visited by a god or goddess who will aid them in their heroic journey. My friend was no different. His goddess would send signs to him, in which he would always excitedly show me. They were always unintelligible to me, though. Regardless, I was happy for him.
From that time onward, we traveled the continent together. We fought monsters, looted goods, and completed quests together. Some of the best moments of my life were spent in that time.
But things change.
These changes began small. He would sometimes be a little too reckless in battle. He would complain about how he wasn’t earning gold fast enough, how he always needed more gold bricks. Something strange began to consume him. There was fear and insanity in his eyes. Of what he feared, I did not know at the time. But when I realized, it was too late.
We were struggling with a boss monster.
Both of us were covered in cuts and bruises, and our health was low. We were out of health restoration items. We had attempted to escape several times, but we couldn’t escape the clutches of the monster. It knew its territory too well. The only option was to stall for time until his goddess noticed his plight and came to heal him.
“Pray to the goddess,” I shouted to him, “I’ll cover you!”
Tightening my grip on my shield, I dashed forward to deflect a blow from the monster. In the same motion, I slashed at the monster’s chest. However, its hide was too thick. If I inflicted damage, it was close to nothing. The monster swung again, and I caught the blow with my shield, barely able to hold back the force of the swing. I glanced back at my teammate to see how he was doing.
He was just standing there.
He wasn’t frozen in fear, or too scared to move. He was just staring into space, almost as if he wasn’t there. But that wasn’t it. There was something missing, something that made him look hollow. His lips moved slightly, but whatever he said was inaudible.
“What was that? I can’t hear what you’re saying!” The monster swung once more, shattering my shield and the impact sent me sliding back to my friend.
I looked up, and noticed that something was wrong with him. His eyes were reddening around the edges, and he was trembling slightly.
“Something’s wrong,” he croaked. “I can’t feel her. She’s…” He lost his voice again, but I could see the word his mouth formed. Gone. His goddess was gone. He had been abandoned, just like many fallen heroes before him.
I only had a moment to process this. In the next second, the monster came charging at us. I tackled my friend down to the ground because he refused to move. But I wasn’t fast enough. Razor sharp teeth tore through my back, making me gasp in pain as I laid on top of my friend.
Still, I dug my sword into the ground and propped myself up unsteadily. I already lost a lot of blood, and my vision was beginning to blur. But if there was even the slightest chance that I could kill the monster and save my friend, I would take it. It didn’t even matter if I lost my life in the process.
I lunged at the monster, and the monster lunged at me. I raised my shield to deflect its attack. But I had forgotten that I had already lost my shield earlier. Its claws dug into my arm, and then ripped across my body. I collapsed onto the ground, my senses fading. As everything in the world around me started to become dull and faded, I heard a voice speak to me as clear as day:
‘I, Stahe, recognize thee as my hero.’
//Resurrection – Chapter Two
Suddenly, I awoke to find myself sprawled on the ground, staring at the ceiling of a shrine.
My mind was in a haze of confusion, trying to take in what had happened. As I slowly picked myself up, a sharp flash of pain seared through my head, causing me to drop on a knee, clutching at my head. What had happened? Where am I? Did I die?
While these questions began filling my mind, I felt something placed on my shoulder. I flinched in surprise. Turning my head, I saw that a robed priest was standing next to me.
“I apologize hero, for surprising you,” the man stated, and offered a hand to help me up.
“…Hero?” I questioned; my voice sounded hoarse and weak. Was the priest referring to me? I clasped his hand and with his help, hoisted myself onto my feet. I stood a little unsteady, my head still reeling from the sudden pang of pain.
“Yes, yes, you are a hero. You must have had a rough death to forget that.” The priest chuckled slightly, and began leading me away from the altar.
“Death? When did I-” Suddenly it all came back to me. The boss monster. The look of despair on my friend’s face. The pool of blood around me, my own blood. I staggered, from the vividness of my last moments. I had to lean against a pillar to avoid collapsing again. To remember everything so clearly… So it wasn’t a dream. There really was a battle with the boss monster, and my friend… My friend! Where was he? Was he here too?
I turned expectantly towards the altar. There was a flash of light, and a figure appeared. At first, I thought it was my friend. However, it was the figure of a woman. She appeared to be in pain at first, but within a few moments, picked herself up and walked wearily out of the shrine. I was about to turn away, but there was another flash of light, and another body. Hope fluttered in my heart, but once again, it was just another hero. He also picked himself and exited the shrine.
I looked back over to the priest, and he shook his head sadly.
“Poor heroes, so many of them die that they almost constantly appear here.” There was a moment of silence between us. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I had become a hero, and that I had died. I felt like I was being overwhelmed by it all. There was another flash of light, and another hero stumbled out of the shrine.
“At any rate,” the priest began, “it’s about time you left as well. Best of luck, hero.” With that, the priest gave a curt nod and made his leave.
I stood there, dazed for a few moments. In that time, I’m sure a number of heroes had resurrected and passed by me. I recognized none of them. When I came to my senses, I too, walked out of the shrine.
//Dreaming – Chapter Three
I spent the rest of the day wandering around the city of Godville. In my weariness, my feet guided me to a tavern. There, I ordered a beer and made my way to the back to find a quiet place to think. As I settled into my booth, thoughts and questions began flooding my mind. I thought about the time I spent with my friend. I thought about the monster who had killed me. I thought about my future as a hero. Do I really want to slay monsters and participate in quests for the rest of my life? Do I really want to put my fate into the hands of some god?
I took a gulp from my beer as my emotions started to bubble up. I had felt numb all day, but now anger is burning in my mind. I didn’t ask to be thrown into all of this. I didn’t want a lousy god to make me a hero. A god who hadn’t shown up at all today, in fact. Where was he? His presence would’ve helped me straighten things out at least. I took another swig from my mug, and set it down with a loud bang.
“I didn’t ask to become a hero,” I said angrily to no one in particular.
“Most people don’t.”
I was a little surprised that someone had answered me. A man came over and I watched suspiciously as he slid into the seat across from me. He seemed familiar, yet my memories tell me that I’ve never met him before. I didn’t know who he was, but he certainly wasn’t helping my mood.
“Oh really? Then tell me, why do so many gods make heroes?” I questioned, glaring at the stranger.
“Heroes are chosen out of necessity.” The man flashed a mysterious smile. “It is apparent that you have yet to understand this fact.”
I was taken aback by the stranger’s enigmatic words. Necessity? As if! What necessity was there that needed someone like me to be a hero? I examined the smiling man in front of me. I had doubts whether this guy even knew what he was talking about. He was well-groomed, although he was wearing simple civilian clothing. Much less than a god, he wasn’t even a hero! This simple fact stopped me from blowing up in anger. This guy was only a civilian who was cocky enough to think that he could understand the will of the gods and the telos of heroes. I almost pitied him.
I drained the rest of my beer before opening my mouth:
“If you are so wise, then what is the necessity that I must fulfill as a hero?” I asked calmly. Then I stared at him, waiting for his reply. I was confident that he didn’t have the answer my question. Whatever he replied with would show that he was simply spewing false truths.
“Well, Klavix,” the man stood up, getting ready to leave, “that is for me to know, and you to find out.”
My anger flared again. What a weak response! The man simply dodged the question. I opened my mouth to raise an objection, but the man interrupted me before I could speak:
“Ah, but I will tell you this: your fate is intertwined with that of your friend’s.” The man gave me a wink, and walked out of the tavern.
I was dazed for a second, trying sluggishly to understand the man’s words. Then it hit me. The man might have actually known something important.
“Wait!” I got up and tried to get out of the booth. “I want to ask-”
I was smacked in the head. Hard.
In shock, I lifted my head from the table groggily; my eyes were only half open from my weariness. In front of me was the angry face of the barkeep.
“Git up ‘ero! The tavern’s closed!” he roared. He lifted the broom in preparation for another blow.
Huh? I looked around, and saw that the tavern was empty and silent. I could have sworn that the tavern was full of people and bubbling with lively conversations only a second ago. What had happened?
I was whacked in the back of the head again.
In fear of being hit a third time, I scrambled to grab my pack and stumbled out of the tavern.
Once I was outside, I was awake enough to comprehend what had happened. I had gone into the tavern sometime during the evening to get a drink. Now, the city was shaded in the light gray light of early morning. Sometime last night, I must have fallen asleep over my beer. But when? The more I thought about it, the more muddled my thoughts became. I vividly remember meeting the man, but was it a dream? For one, I could no longer remember what he looked like. However, I remembered the words “Heroes are chosen out of necessity”. Necessity, huh? I didn’t know what that necessity was, but now I plan on finding out.
To be continued…