Black eyes with azure irises shining like a blue moon radiating light in a pitch-black night. The eyes were cold, with a slight frown from bearing a heavy weight, and hair with a single small braid at the center of the back of his head, while the rest of his hair hung loose without a tie.
The hunter wore the same clothes Arisu had worn the night before—those black clothes, but with slight differences.
The thick tail scraped harshly against the spear, whose blade glowed with azure light—but without emitting that smoky blue aura like Arisu's had. Then the tail stopped and returned to its original size.
The hunter twirled his spear in his hand with a skilled, showy motion, suggesting a fighter well-acquainted with his weapon, then placed the spear over his shoulder the same way Arisu had carried the wide sword.
The hunter looked at Azure, collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, then gestured with his eyes for her to move away.
Azure didn't speak. She simply looked at the hunter, then gave Sol one last glance before standing and limping away.
The hunter gave a cold, sharp look at Sol, who was breathing with difficulty—loud gurgling sounds, with a hole in his stomach and broken ribs. The hunter stared at Sol with those cold eyes, as if disgusted by what he saw, then finally spoke:
"Hey... Sky Dweller." His tone was sharp. "I don't know if you understand me or not, but unfortunately, I need help from people like you."
The two fell silent, staring at each other for a few seconds, before the hunter said sharply:
"If you understand me, nod your head, make a sound, or something."
Sol couldn't speak or make any sound—his throat was completely full of blood. So he simply nodded his head in agreement.
When Sol tried to nod, his ribs shifted inside him, beginning the slow, painful, disgusting regeneration process. This caused the bones deeply embedded in his intestines to pull out, scraping against each other, producing a sound like breaking wood in a sticky mud pit—a disgusting sound.
Sol suddenly bent forward from the burning pain inside him, and a rush of blood flowed through his windpipe and throat, spewing forcefully onto the ground before the hunter.
The hunter looked at Sol with contemptuous eyes, then said:
"Damn you, and damn your disgusting disrespect."
The effects of blood loss were beginning to show on Sol—his face growing paler, dark circles prominent, his eyes struggling intensely to stay open. But not for long. Those worm-like parts of his flesh appeared to close the hole in his stomach—a disgusting and intensely painful process.
[Bad timing for regeneration to kick in.]
Sol nodded his head while bent forward, gritting his teeth hard, teeth soaked in blood. The hunter understood.
"So you do understand me... Those guards won't interfere, so they won't help me, and certainly won't help you."
The hunter said sharply, glancing briefly at the astonished guards standing at a distance.
"So help me if you want to protect the Disaster Prophecy girl."
Sol stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded.
"I'll attract the attention of Triotel and his tails. Go and kill him. Charge your Yorkana's weapon..it will help you"
[I think he means the dagger in your hand...make it show that blue aura like the aura of Arisu's sword.]
Sol stared at the dagger in his hand with difficulty due to the regeneration pain, then returned his gaze to the hunter with a questioning look.
"Wait!.. Don't tell me you can't charge the Yorkana weapon." The young hunter sighed, then said sharply: "Tsk... you're truly useless...Go and try something else until the other hunters arrive."
Meanwhile, the red worm-like flesh parts in his stomach had closed the outer layer of skin, leaving only a little inside. In his head, Sol had regained enough consciousness to think of a way to kill the Treotil. He stared intently at the beast.
[Why is he so angry? ...Anyway, what's going through your mind right now? How are you going to get rid of it?]
Sol looked at his fist—at the dagger specifically—for a few seconds. He'd come up with a quick idea.
He wanted to tell the young hunter his plan, but immediately remembered the strange injection and this even stranger way of speaking. So Sol decided he would just do it, and the hunter would have to keep up.
Sol took off his white coat and held it a certain way. He stood and ran toward the Treotil in a straight line. He wasn't fast because of his not-yet-healed injuries, but that wouldn't affect his little plan.
Something gleaming in the sunlight approached, cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound at tremendous speed. One of the sharp tails, nearing Sol's head, almost striking him. But the hunter's spear intercepted it—a clang followed by a sharp screech, enough to fool anyone into thinking the spear's handle was made of metal or the same obsidian stone, but that wasn't true.
The spear was made of three parts: expertly carved obsidian stone, a dark black wooden handle containing glowing blue parts, and at the bottom, a curved obsidian stone forming two hooks pointing in opposite directions.
Sol barely got close to the beast to attack when the other tail—the sharp one—he dodged, but he was forced to retreat immediately; he'd seen the thick tail rising to the sky, and that tail couldn't be blocked or dodged easily.
The two retreated together, catching their breath. One's breathing was normal, while the other's was full of gurgling sounds, accompanied by a strange hot feeling intensifying inside him.
The tribe members watched from a distance without intervening, and it seemed some had regained their smiles, perhaps due to the soldiers' whispers moments ago.
Azure hid behind one of the tents, watching.
Sol and the hunter tried attacking again, but to no avail. All their attempts failed due to lack of communication between them. No cooperation could succeed without communication—it was like a foundation stone.
During their failed attempts, Sol gritted his teeth, enduring the pain of regeneration and moving with his injuries. Finally, his body had completely regenerated from all injuries, but blood remained in his lungs and stomach. Also, regeneration had completely drained his energy, so his body felt as heavy as if it weighed tons, his vision foggy, his breathing weak.
[You can't go on like this... You're exhausted, barely breathing. Your body is recovering, but it's draining your Stamina. You need a different approach.]
Sol panted with gurgling sounds, then thought to himself:
"A different... approach."
Easier said than done in Sol's current state. He glanced from the corner of his eye at the hunter beside him. He was tired too, also wounded. Despite his skill, he was fighting three dangerous, fast weapons moving with a single mind. Such coordination could never be overcome, while the hunter had only one spear, having to cover Sol without knowing his thoughts.
Sol made his decision. He fixed his gaze on the Treotil, bit his lip so hard blood ran down his chin. He regained a bit of awareness and ran toward the Treotil again—but this time, differently.
Sol had memorized the Treotil's new attack pattern, and he'd noticed something like a gap or glitch in the pattern: although the tails were connected to a single mind directing them with amazing coordination, their weakness was that they were connected to a single mind, so the tail attacks would be limited to repeating movements.
Sol charged forward confidently, despite his slow speed, dodging all three tails with great skill. It was as if Sol could see the future, seeing exactly the direction of each attack.
The hunter was astonished by what he saw, his sharp features shifting slightly. But he noticed something in Sol that made him tighten his grip on the spear and look with sharper eyes—like a wild predator knowing something was about to happen.
On the other side, Sol jumped over the sharp tail and threw the coat he'd removed moments ago. The coat flew directly in front of the Treotil, blocking its view.
The sharp tail moved like a sword cutting through the air, slicing the coat in midair. Then Sol disappeared from the Treotil's sight. The beast shifted its gaze, but was surprised by a black shadow appearing directly before it.
Sol, his hand raised, gripping the dagger's hilt tightly, brought it down toward the beast's eye. No escape—the tails were too far away. By the time they reached Sol, it would be over. Or so it would have been.
Sol stopped suddenly, his hand losing its momentum in the air. His vision became completely foggy, his breathing stopped, and he began losing feeling in his limbs. He was completely drained.
[Not much left, Sol. Just one final push.]
The system's voice spoke to Sol, understanding his condition.
Sol tightened his grip on the hilt, but his hand was weak—barely holding the dagger. He brought it down toward the beast's eye—too slow.
Slash!
The sharp tail cut off the hand holding the dagger. Sol's legs no longer had any strength to support him, so he fell before the Treotil, motionless on his knees, his hand bleeding heavily. Regeneration was weak.
The sharp tail returned to finish Sol, but the hunter had other plans.
The hunter spun his spear in his hand, cutting the air in a circular motion, then placed the spear over his shoulder again and tightened his grip.
The hunter's eyes lit up with azure light, then the entire spear glowed, and that smoky blue aura emerged from the head and the hooks. Not as large as Arisu's aura, but it was refined, wrapped spirally around the head and the two hooks.
The hunter ran fast and spun the spear around his neck, pointing the head forward while the hook end was behind. Then he reversed his grip on the spear, holding it by the head, and sent the hooked part flying through the air, trailing the aura behind it, before hooking the sharp tail and pulling it toward him.
The hunter pushed the spear forward to release the tail from the hook, then changed his grip. In a fraction of a second, the spear moved sideways like a light sword, cutting through the air, then through the Treotil's sharp tail.
The beast roared loudly, its tail trembling on the ground, leaking azure blood.
Meanwhile, Sol was on the verge of losing consciousness. The system's voice called to him, but in vain. Then suddenly, everything around Sol vanished.
The hunter vanished. The beast vanished. The guards and tribe members vanished. Even the system's voice vanished, along with all other sounds. But the pain remained. Pain of what? Sol didn't know—just a strange pain he felt, not from his severed hand, but a different place. He couldn't tell where.
"Look at your pathetic state."
A voice said, sarcastic and malicious, making Sol startle and lift his head with wide eyes. He found another version of himself, identical but different. This one had completely white hair—unlike Luka, and unlike Sol, whose hair was a mix of white and black.
"You're always so worn out."
He said with a smile and strange, calm eyes.
Sol looked at him with complete bewilderment. Perhaps this was the first time Sol's features had changed this much since falling on this planet. Then his tired, gloomy features returned, and he said dryly:
"So they've closed the awakening Flame."
"Yes, that's right. Your brothers did it. Truly, what a brothers... Those brothers are truly harsh."
Said the person with soft white hair and smiling eyes, his voice carrying something strange and gentle.
"Don't bother trying to make me hate them... Their hatred for me is enough for you, isn't it?"
Sol said, unaffected.
"No, no... You misunderstand. I don't want to do that. I'm just surprised you don't hate them for what they did..This is all."
He said without changing his smile.
"Why would I hate them?.. What's the point of hating them?... Nothing, I suppose."
The person's expression shifted.
"You're still as miserable and pathetic as I remember... It seems time truly can't change a person's nature—it only makes them live it longer. Perhaps it changes the environment around them so they can live their truth in different ways."
"Yes, it seems you're right."
Sol replied, his eyes on the ground.
The corners of the white-haired copy's mouth rose with cunning, unseen by Sol for a while. Then he heard distorted noise, making him lower his smile. His expression shifted to sharpness and irritation, but he brought back his malicious smile and said:
"It seems our time is up now. But don't worry—I'm still with you. I'll reappear as I always have. And now, farewell."
He turned and walked a few steps, before the noise grew louder and clearer. It was the system's voice shouting, along with the clang of the hunter's spear deflecting the beast's attacks.
"What happened?"
[What are you doing? Why did you space out like that?]
With the system's voice shouting, Sol regained consciousness and understood what was happening. He was sitting before the Treotil. He looked at his hand, which still hadn't fully regenerated, then remembered something that made him look at the beast's face.
The dagger he'd thrown earlier was still embedded in the beast's eye.
Sol bit his lip again, then forced himself to stand. The beast was startled by him standing directly before it.
Sol raised his severed hand upward, then brought it down on the dagger, hearing a sticky sound—the sound of tearing flesh and fibers. Blood gushed from the eye. The beast roared in pain and anger.
Sol raised his hand again, then brought it down once more on the beast's eye. The roaring grew louder, the blood increased, but the beast still stood.
The two remaining tails came to attack Sol from behind, but the hunter intercepted them.
"End this, now"
Sol didn't hear him—he was completely focused on the dagger, hitting it again, with the same weak strikes.
[Hit harder, Sol.]
Sol raised his hand again and brought it down—faster this time, forcing blood from Sol's hand to spray onto the beast's back.
The dagger pierced the eye with force, then stopped. The beast fell to the ground with it, and its tails too.
"It's over."
The hunter said, sighing and catching his breath, turning to Sol standing motionless, his hand bleeding a waterfall of blood.
[Wait... something's wrong.]
"Well done, Sky Dweller."
The hunter said, but his tone wasn't friendly.
Sol turned his eyes and head back toward the hunter.
"You're not weak..."
The hunter said, then his expression shifted completely.
[Sol, watch out!]
The system's voice shouted to Sol, but it was too late. The thick tail was right beside his head, striking him and crushing him completely, turning Sol's head into fragments. The remains of his skull, brain, eyes, blood, and hair scattered across the ground, creating chaos on the black soil.
Sol's corpse stood for a few seconds, then fell before the stunned hunter.