I woke up with a terrible headache; I couldn't move, I just felt pain all over my body, from my muscles to my bones, but even in that situation, new questions popped into my mind: What was that voice I had heard? It was a female voice, one that spoke as if it were… as if it were a being without emotion. I wouldn't know the best way to describe it; it wasn't robotic, but it wasn't completely human either. besides that, what did "increase the malice" mean? What did she mean by that? A reward? Should I take it literally? But above all, the most important thing in my situation…
"Why are we hanging from a tree?"
"Ask your animal"
"Say that again and I'll make you swallow your tongue"
— After the grueling battle Oberion fought on the hanging platform against that huge beast, he could no longer move and fell unconscious. Luckily, Krax had already recovered enough to carry him; unfortunately, he couldn't also carry the children, who had been scattered God knows where. in the end, with Kaelen's help to climb up, they crossed the portal, appearing seven meters above the ground, and plummeted into a tree —
"I'm sorry, in the end we couldn't bring them all back"
I was saddened by the fact that in the end I couldn't help fulfill Kaelen's wish, especially since that wish was so noble. I was even rethinking my actions; it made me realize that maybe what I did wasn't the right way—the fact that I had used children's corpses to survive… Strangely, it only made me feel bad and nothing more; my joy at having survived was greater than the guilt I felt.
"It's no use sacrificing yourself for the dead; there was no other choice. At least one of them will have a decent grave."
We climbed down from the tree—or rather, they carried me down like a dirty rag. It was impossible for me to move; my muscles wouldn't respond, and I had broken bones or worse. Even so, I wanted to help build the grave for the remaining child before Krax stopped me.
"Did you know this child when he was alive?
I lowered my head in disdain.
"No"
"Well, we'd better leave them alone"
We walked away a bit in search of something to eat and drink; Krax had said he'd seen a lake not too far away while he was up in the tree.
I have to point out that he had become strangely familiar to me, perhaps because we'd fought together in a life-or-death situation.
"It's impressive that you beat him"
"Huh? Is that a compliment? At least do it right…"
Before he could finish speaking, he threw me into the lake right in front of him. I was struggling not to drown until he—the one who'd thrown me in—pulled me out.
"Are you crazy?"
I said angrily.
"Sorry, the impulse made me forget that you couldn't move"
I changed my mind; I'll never get along with this bipolar guy.
"Still, it was impressive how you came up with several plans in such a short time. How did you know how to defeat it?"
"So, you're interested, huh?"
We started discussing everything that had happened—how I discovered how the Carbovoros hunted, how I used the children as bait, and how I ended up defeating the beast. the only thing I didn't tell him about was the voice I heard when I passed out. Krax listened to every word of my explanation without interrupting; he even shared other information to fill in the gaps in my story. It was a situation that put me at ease, and I didn't want to ruin that moment of calm with more questions.
"Come to think of it, is this water at least drinkable?"
"It is"
Kaelen replied, coming up behind us.
"I finished what I was doing and even brought some fruit I found along the way"
"Ohhh yesss!!!, thanks, finally food and drinking water, this is definitely the best day of the week"
Kaelen sat down next to us, tossing the fruit at me so it landed on my face.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot you couldn't move"
"This is on purpose"
I said in a low voice; I could tell I was already getting used to life as a sack of potatoes.
"Krax—I've never heard your last name in any tribe I know, and it doesn't sound like the names of the children I've met either.
"You probably don't come from where I used to live either; your last name is very old-fashioned."
"And now you're attacking my last name?"
He said, looking at me with a weary expression, fed up with my comments.
"I'm from Fantasis, one of the eight worlds that form the base of the tower's twenty-two floors. My world is in chaos right now; I advise you to avoid going there."
"Did you leave because of those same problems?"
Krax looked at me again, but this time it was different; his gaze conveyed another expression that was somewhat difficult to describe—a mix of disgust and… determination?
"Let's just say there is a correlation; after all, it's only been a few months since I started my life as a mercenary."
"And how has it gone for you so far?"
Kaelen said to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, tell us about your best missions"
Krax started telling us his best stories; it was kind of funny to realize he was actually a pretty normal guy for where he was.
The atmosphere was calm; we talked about things we liked and ended up sleeping together.