Through the narrowed arrow slits, the night wind wailed like a lost girl who was searching for her mother amidst the darkness. Her voice made a haunting presence within Fearless’ consciousness. Furthermore, the red moonlight of autumn paid a visit to the room and set a heavy mood for the stage Fearless has created.

Fearless had thought about it before but Escana had nine moons in total, each represented a spirit plane. That phenomenon was somewhat ridiculous, if not really.

What substance was the devs on when they were making the lore?

At times, Fearless could not help but ask that question. Usually, the fantasy worlds that people created had two or three moons and sometimes fours. Nine moons were a bit too much of a stretch. It’s hard to believe that. An unbelievable detail like that would break the immersive experience of the audiences in the game.

However, despite having nine moons orbiting their world, the people of Escana can only see three moons at most of the time.

The nine moons of Escana appeared in four different sets of three to represent each season of the world base on their combination.

That made no sense at all.

Fearless was sure that the developers were drunk or high on weed when they implanted that detail into the lore.

At some point, even the most devout fans like Misery could not help but ask if Escana had only three moons and those three moons changed their color depended on the seasons.

However, no, the developers persisted. Each of the nine moons represented a spirit plane and the moons did not change color according to the season.

That was a ridiculous claim. Some physics and math lovers among the fans of the Escana series immediately jumped at that claim.

They used all the details and data that the game provided in the lore to work out the circumference of the planet Escana, its rotational speed around the sun and even its orbital path. They also worked out the size of each of the nine moons. Their conclusion: physically impossible. Since, the nine moons of Escana became something of a meme among the fan-base because the developers insistence and their effort to explain that unique phenomenon with a single word “Magic”.

Fearless sighed, missing the time when he could still mock this world of Escana base on its ridiculous settings. He was still waiting for the other man to wake up. The stage has been completed, yet the main actor has yet to arrive.

As Fearless quietly added the firewood into the old and dusty hearth, he rhythmically stroke Erinys’ head in the same gentle and soothing manner that Mrs. Hạ Đông used to do for him. Erinys was snoring quietly, resting her head against Fearless’ laps.

Watching Erinys’ sleeping face, Fearless thought of the short but blissful time he spent with Mrs. Hạ Đông. He dearly missed her gentle voice, her ripe and warm scent, and especially her caressing healing touch. Even after losing her for over a decade, Fearless could remember everything about Mrs. Hạ Đông like it was yesterday.

Mrs. Hạ Đông was his first love, that, Fearless could never forget, ever.

She was his protective haven, his gentle and experienced lover, his warm hearth, and his most beloved for a moment in his life. She came to his life in one of his most desperate moments and she loved him unconditionally.

She was there when music was pain and grief. She was there when he was most confused about the world. She was there for him when nobody did.

Music flowed in his blood, it was his gift and everything. The day that gift became a curse that haunted Fearless, nobody was there for him but Mrs. Hạ Đông. She was there when nobody did.

As a boy, Fearless has thought that Mrs. Hạ Đông replaced the music that flown in his blood and that she made him forget music for a time. But no, Mrs. Hạ Đông was music, just very different from the usual kind of music. Her voice was music, loving, sweet as honey, passionate as a thousand suns. Her touch was music, caressing, warm and soothing, rhythmic. Even now when she has gone, Fearless could still feel Mrs. Hạ Đông’s presence within himself. She left behind a world of special music.

Fearless could vividly remembered Mrs. Hạ Đông like it was only yesterday, especially her soothing strokes. When Mrs. Hạ Đông hugged him and stroked his head, it was a special kind of music. It removed pain from his world.

That music, it had its own special chords and notes. It was slow and guiding, but never felt like it was draining. It was poppy, encouraging. It told him that “there would be tomorrow,” and “tomorrow would definitely come without a doubt,” and “everything would be all right.”

Thus, Fearless played that special kind of music into Erinys’ dream world. He might not possess the healing hand that only unique to Mrs. Hạ Đông but he was a musician before he was a boy. He can reproduce Mrs. Hạ Đông’s healing presence to a certain extent. He played that soothing music that he inherited from Mrs. Hạ Đông, affirming to the sleeping Erinys that her tomorrow will come and she will be okay.

Erinys has reclaimed her once stripped identity, but that was only the first step, her first step to become human once again. She had to face the demon of Ekar inside her memory. She had to find the courage to beat that demon. She will learn how to be human again on her own. And Fearless can only assist her. He can do no more than that. He can never walk the walk for her. He can only cheer and support her, but ultimately, Erinys had to rise on her own feet.

Fearless stroke Erinys’ head, trying to imagine what Mrs. Hạ Đông was thinking at the time when she was stroking his head. He imagined that she must have thought that he was pitiful. He smiled a faint smile as he found Bob Marley’s “Everythings gonna be alright” swelling from within his throat.

That song came out of nowhere. Fearless was singing The Carpenter’s “Yesterday” for a while now, before that was John Denver’s “Take me home, country road”, Fearless did not even realize when “Yesterday” became “Everything’s gonna be alright.” He decided to humor himself with the new song. He wondered if he was singing this song for Erinys and these women or himself instead. He wanted to laugh at that idea. Was he so weak of a man that he had to reassure himself in that roundabout manner? That is not possible.

Then, carefully, without waking Erinys from her deep slumber, Fearless rolled a piece of wood into the hearth. It sizzled, crackling up a thick white vapor when it entered the red hearth. Fearless was careful not to let the straws of his bedding caught fire ever since he decided to light the hearth. The night on the guard tower was colder than he has thought. While Fearless and Erinys had Iliva’s SSR rank blanket to fight the cold, the other women and that man had only their skimpy clothes to weather through the nipping winds. Without that red fire in the hearth, there was nothing to make sure that they would last until morning.

Fearless continued to stroke Erinys’ head while freeing the music within him.

His father being the musician that he was would have scolded Fearless for that. Music should be bidding and controlled, to be played with discipline. The notes and the chords should be played as they were designed. Every crescendo and decrescendo must be played according to the sheet with discipline to show the respect to the original composer. That was what it meant to be a professional musician.

And yet, Fearless has never found himself agreeing with his father on this matter ever since he was a boy.

Music is music. Music is freedom. It means to be free.

Therefore, Fearless removed his hands from the reins and let his inner music to be whatever it wanted to be.

The notes were a flock of birds soaring in the sky. The chords were the school of fishes swimming in the ocean. Only when they were sick of being birds and fishes, they became something else.

Music was those sleeping women, without a sense of identity, closer to broken beasts than human. Music was a slumbering girl who was only learning to be human again. Music was a sarcastic question, full of mockery, directing at a clown who believed that nothing could faze him.

Music was home, a place never to be seen again. Music was broken bonds and broken promises. Music was dreams that can never be realized again.

Music was unspoken fury that could never be expressed otherwise.

Music was unimaginably close, within the grasp of a hand but distant and unreachable at the same time.

Music was everything that was pure and honest, untainted, un-perverted, uncorrupted.

Then, music came to a sudden stop. Fearless thought that it was about the time he welcomed the main actor of this stage.

“How do you like my songs, Mister? You have listened to my songs for a while now. What’s your opinion?” Fearless asked, smiling at the recently awakened man.

The man has woken up for a while, around the time when Fearless began to free his music. Fearless has noticed that but he just carried on with his songs.

The first thing the man did was to pat his body, checking his arms and legs, face and torso, while observing Fearless and the women with listless eyes. He reminded Fearless of the worm who participated in his morning demonstration. However, this man did that with a calm and quiet acceptance, slow and unhurried, just like a bear that just woke up from a long period of hibernation. He then looked underneath his clothes as if searching for something. After that, he just sighed and resigned himself to Fearless’ songs.

“I have imagined that the hall of Mistress Death was more of a cold, dark and quiet place. I did not expect this. This is quite comfortable, a fire to warm myself and a great bard to do away with my sorrow and loneliness.”

The man’s reply was more chilled than Fearless has expected. His calm acceptance despite believing that he was dead intrigued Fearless. It’s hard to believe that he was inside the abomination that was Ekar’s abode until this morning. Fearless totally did not expect the man to be so calm. He even prepared the to subdue the man if necessary.

The reason that Fearless sung his songs was also due to the concern for the man’s psyche. Music can affect a person’s mentality in many ways. Calming is one of them.

Fearless has expected the man to be anything but calm. However, he was wrong. The man did not have a look of a man who was captured and tortured by a worm like Ekar. He did not have a look of a man who has seen hell. Instead, he looked like a person who has just attained Nirvana. He looked like someone who has found peace with himself.

Fearless found the man’s case to be strange, in both ways, good and bad.

Intrigued, Fearless played along. “Not yet, however, Mistress Death will greet us eventually, all of us. It’s only the matter of time. Until then, let’s enjoy what we are having at the moment.”

“I see. That’s very comforting to know. Though, I don’t know if a foolish sinner like me deserved this little solace.” The man chuckled a bit.

“Deserving or not deserving, we are not the one to judge ourselves, aren’t we?”

“That’s true, mister bard. That’s true,” the man snickered again, with sarcasm in his voice this time. However, that sarcasm was unmistakably directed at himself, not Fearless.

“Shushss, let them sleep some more. They’re exhausted,” Fearless shushed.

“You are right. They look exhaust. You are kind, aren’t you mister bard? How did a man like you get here?” The man nodded his head, asking in a lower volume this time.

“Being drunk,” Fearless shrugged his shoulders with a smile. He could not help but admitted being a complete moron for being drunk in the middle of his journey and captured by Bloodbeard.

The man had a stunned look on his face for a moment. He then put a hand on his mouth to stifle his laughter.

“Sorry, I did not mean to make fun of you. That was unexpected. However, that was the funniest thing I have ever heard. I’m sure a man like you must have a reason to do that.”

It’s hard to imagine that this man was a victim of Ekar from the way he behaved. Fearless has expected that he would resemble Erinys, broken and damaged, not like this.

“I don’t mind. How about you? How did you end up here?” Fearless asked.

“Stupid,” The man mimicked Fearless, shrugging his shoulders while wearing a sardonic smile.

“That is never a good reason to find yourself waiting to be received by Mistress Death, isn’t it?”

“I agree. I forget to introduce myself. I’m Narik, what’s your name, mister bard?”

“I am Fearless. It’s good to know you, Narik.”

“My pleasure, your songs are beautiful. Are most elves great at singing as you Fearless?”

Fearless pondered on that strange question for a while then nodded his head. “I imagine that they all do.” For whatever reason, the people of this world other than Iliva and Clariciel had the tendency to mistake him for being an elf.

“You speak like you are not an elf.”

Fearless asked. “Do I really look like one?”

“Aren’t you? I have heard that the elves are beautiful and great at singing. And dark elf has black hair.”

Fearless combed his bang to reveal the tip of his ears.

“So you are a half-elf. I see. No offense, I have only thought that your kind is a creation of the bards.” Narik apologized.

“No offense taken,” Fearless just casually nodded his head while thinking why Narik was so adamant about him being an elf even after seeing his round ears.

“This is a coincident. People call my brother a round ear elf.”

“Why?”

“He’s very fast on his feet. Also, he’s one of the greatest swordsmen I have ever seen. The only time he was bested in a sword fight, his opponent was the late little lord Fobãa… You won’t believe me but the little lord can do everything. He is an unprecedented genius. He has even beaten Hyrios in a duel with the bow at the king’s birthday party when he was young. The king even called the little lord “The young dragon”. And my brother can fight with our lord on an equal term until the end of their duel. But you won’t believe it. If only you have met the late little lord…”

Fearless nodded his head, smiling, encouraging Narik to speak more. “You must be very proud being his brother. What’s his name?”

“Narse.”

Fearless paused to process Narik’s latest reply. That name clicked. Narik’s reply made Fearless remembered the existence of a one-arm swordsman who served Hyrios in the game.

Holyshit

Narse, the Hound of Hyrios, that was the title of that swordsman. He was famous for saying “I live a dog of Hyrios. I die the dog of Hyrios,” in his final moment when he was being recruited into the rank of the Empire.

He was also the originator of the quote “Wonten is justice. He’s blind, thus justice must be blinded.” Fearless only rephrased this man’s quote when he was playing Dr. Reality in that special episode on Misery’s channel.

Hyrios liberated this swordsman from Bloodbeard’s captivity after he defeated Bloodbeard. Since, this swordsman followed Hyrios to all of his campaigns and battles, even to the grave after most of Hyrios’ men had but betrayed him, an extremely loyal man to a fault. He was one of the few extremely capable generals in the game who possessed a solid Loyalty rating of 100 in the game.

When ROC was still a game, Loyalty was an invisible stat, but it existed. According to the developers of the Escana series, the main reason that they made Loyalty an invisible stat was to add more complexity to the game… as though their game was still very simple with all the rules, lore and everything.

When managing a faction, a player must keep track of the allegiance of his generals, strategists, commanders, and officers at all time. If the players thought that it was a major pain in their ass to manage this allegiance system, they can only hope to play only a few warlords who started out with a great amount of Charisma and Leadership in their character sheet.

If a character’s allegiance was toward power, the players must continually elevate the rank of that character within their faction. If the character’s allegiance was fame, players must allow this character to win battles or skirmishes no matter the scale around the clock to avoid losing the Loyalty of this character. If the character’s allegiance was wealth, player had to pay him more gold to keep him satisfied.

Some characters’ allegiance is more specific. They require the players to fulfill a certain specific conditions for them to be loyal to the players’ faction, for instance, to be the lord of a city, or complete a vendetta against a specific target, or achieving a monumental task, or allowing them to discharge a every now and then within a time limit. These characters are usually the best of game characters among the gargantuan character roster of ROC in term of attributes, perks and skills.

Then, there are characters like Narse, extremely loyal to a cause or a faction without asking for anything else in return. There is nothing in the game could sway their allegiance to their faction, not even after their warlord and faction was wiped out. They can be captured as prisoners of war but they cannot be recruited by the factions that defeated them.

In the single campaign mode, every player has the responsibility to keep track on his or her characters’ allegiance at all time. However, in the multiplayer mode, the player playing the positions of Supporter and Manager was responsible for this task. In The Alliance, this responsibility was held accounted on Misery and FY. However, after Misery changed his position to Ender 02, this responsibility fell on FY alone.

The Hound of Hyrios was only a second rank commander, possessing average Charisma, Leadership, and Intelligence. He also possessed a couple of negative perks, making him a potential liability at times.

However, he was famous for having a unique perk that would induce him into an advanced state whenever he’s around any unit that associated with the Empire of White Winter, raising his attack rating to 175% at the cost of taking triple the damage from his enemies.

Despite his many handicaps, he was one of Hyrios’ best generals. He made an effective general with his decent Might attribute and was a great general killer due to the nature of his special skill which he would unlock when he reached Level 10.

is a similar to in the aspect that the two of them permanently add Might points into the existing Might attribute of the skill owners.

At Level 1, they give an additional 10 Might points. At Level 2, it becomes 20 Might points. At Level 5, the highest possible level of these skills, they grant the skill owners a whopping 50 Might points.

The differences between and were their passive additional effects.

grants additional movement and attacking speed along with critical rate to the skill owners.

On the other hand, grants bonus armor rating and the status to the normal attack of skill owners, giving them the ability to siege fortifications even without Siege Engine or Siege magic. Also, makes all normal attacks of the skill owners dealing AOE damage.

Fearless has entirely forgotten the existence of the hound of Hyrios until Narik mentioned his name. This character appeared in the multiplayer mode as a general of Hyrios despite his original affiliation with Madukat. In the single mode, he only appeared in Hyrios’ campaign as a secret unlockable general if the player managed to wipe out Bloodbeard’s force before the fifteen-minute mark.

It was one pleasant surprise after another.

Fearless thought. However, before that, he had to confirm his facts.

“… I have heard a skilled swordsman lives in Madukat city having the same name from my friends. He is without a right arm. Is your brother missing a right arm?”

“No, both of his arms are intact.” Narik shook his head.

“For a moment, I have thought that he was the same person.”

“That’s a crazy coincidence. However, I have lived in Madukat for my entire life. I have never heard of the swordsman you have described. If he was a skilled swordsman and having only one arm, I supposed that he would be very famous. Are you sure his name is Narse?”

“I see… Talking about crazy coincidence. His name is Narse, that, I’m sure. Are you sure you have never heard of him?”

“Yes”

“I see. A friend of mine, a bard, he traveled to Madukat in the past. He told me a story of a one-handed swordsman. I was quite fond of that story.”

“I’m sorry to say this. But your friend probably invented that story to fool you.”

“…probably…” Fearless nodded his head, “Speaking of which, is your brother still alive?”

“No, my stupidity killed him. I have to apologize to him when we reunite at the hall of Mistress Death.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Fearless customarily apologized while fighting his urge to celebrate. The background story matched. It was the same person. That Narse in both of their versions despite the differences was without a doubt the same person.

This is a pleasant surprise. That trip into Ekar’s tent was not a waste after all.

According to the text on the character sheet, the Hound of Hyrios had a brother while he was living in Madukat. However, that person was killed during the time Bloodbeard sieged Madukat. The grief of losing his brother made him unable to live in Madukat, thus one of his few negative perks.

Narik darkly looked down, keeping his gaze on the floor. “Thank you for your kindness…To be honest, I think I am conflicted about meeting my brothers again. I’m eager to meet them again. But I should not be. I killed them with my stupidity. I am ashamed of myself.”

I see. No wonder…

Finally, Fearless understood the reason behind that mask of calm acceptance of Narik.

Fearless originally had two different plans for Narik. However, now, when he knew Narik was the supposed lost brother of the hound of Hyrios, Fearless changed his plan accordingly.

“Narik, have you ever thought about redemption?” Fearless somberly asked.

“What?” Narik immediately removed his gaze from the floor and beamed it at Fearless. On his face, a shocked look, the exact expression that Fearless has expected.

Fearless continued to stroke Erinys’ head, showing no change in his face, “You told me that you have done something stupid and that something stupid killed your brothers, correct?”

“…Yes, I should not have done that.”

“How about correcting that mistake?”

“That’s impossible!” Narik growled.

“Why?”

“My brothers are dead. I’m already dead. You are already dead. We are already dead, mister bard. Or are you mocking me?”

This man lies so much that he believed his own lies.

“No, I’m not mocking you. I apologize for making it looks like that.”

“No, I’m sorry. I misunderstood your words...”

“So how about redeeming your mistake?”

“Are you trying to anger me on purpose?”

“Swear fealty to me,” said Fearless. He adopted a lower and more commanding voice this time.

“What?”

“I will give you a chance to correct your stupidity and redeem yourself.”

Narik hit his fist against the wall. “That’s impossible.” He stood up from his corner and daggered a glare at Fearless.

“Listen very carefully, you have a chance to correct your mistake. However, swear fealty to me first. Then, I will give you that chance.”

For the first time, Narik looked at Fearless with cautious eyes. “Who are you?” He backed off to the wall.

“I am Fearless. I have already introduced myself to you. This place is my humble room. I have brought you here before Mistress Death could claim your soul.”

“Are… are you a Demon Lord?”

“No, hell no. Do I look like a Demon Lord to you?” Fearless could not help but stifle his snicker at the question Narik posed. He casually stroked Erinys’ head and kissed her without caring about Narik. “However, your intuition is applaudable. I am similar to a Demon Lord in the way that I offered you my pact. Yes, if you wanted to have a chance to redeem your mistake, it would cost you everything.”

Narik was silent. He darted his eyes around the room, stopping at the termite- eaten door while keeping a close tap on Fearless.

“It’s fine to be cautious and afraid.” Fearless smiled.

“Who’s afraid?”

Fearless waved his hand.

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not mocking you for being afraid. Fear spares nobody, not the rich, not the strong, not the invincible, not the gods, not even the demons, not even me. Fear will come and hit anybody at the most unexpected time. Fearless is my name, Fearless is who I am. The word might not mean anything to you. However, in my tongue, it means to be without fear. Even for a man like me, with a title like Fearless, fear will find its way to me when I let my guard down. Therefore, it is nothing shameful to admit that you are afraid of something.”

“I do not fear you,” Narik gritted his teeth.

“No, you are not. Not me from what I can tell.” Fearless beamed an innocent smile, “Ekar, was it?”

Nash wore a surprise look on his face for a moment, his eyes widened. Unsurprisingly, he immediately denied Fearless’ claim. “I do not fear that devil.” His high-pitched shaken voice and pale countenance betrayed his claim.

“I see. That explains it.” Fearless nodded his head, muttered to himself, and finally understood the reason behind the man’s calm acceptance. With this, he has already had all the pieces to complete the jigsaw that was Narik. He told himself that he should have seen through this much earlier. Fearless scoffed, “Devil? Ekar was no devil. Make no mistake. He was a worm at best, not yet a devil, not yet.”

“You knew him?” Narik breathed out.

“I killed him.” Fearless firmly stated.

“Lies…”

Narik’s reply confirmed to Fearless regarding his judgment. He was correct. A careless chuckle escaped his throat, which Fearless stifled it almost immediately. “Why do you think that it is a lie?”

Ekar’s tortures did have an effect on Narik, of course, they would, considering how Ekar was thorough with his jobs. However, the tortures on Narik had a different effect compare to Erinys and the women.

“I do not fear you.” Narik gritted his teeth, giving an answer that completely disconnected to Fearless’ question.

“He tortured you, did he? He showed you his tent, did he? He showed you what he did to his victims and did the same things on you.”

“He…I…he…”

“I commended you for being able to go through all of that and still came out almost intact your sanity. These women could not. Ekar broke them and made them believed that they were his dogs. And they did.” Fearless nudged his chin toward the sleeping women while combing Erinys’ hair with his fingers.

“I…they…”

“It’s not shameful to be afraid of a worm like Ekar.”

“I do not fear you.” Narik bellowed.

Fearless smiled, rising from his straw bedding while doing his best to not disturb Erinys from her slumber. “You have to speak that line with more conviction. Like this,” He wore the smile of a demon on his lips, “I do not fear you,” and corrected the intonation in Narik’s claim.

At the end of Narik’s sentence, he went upward with the intonation, making his claim sounded very weak and betraying a sense of insecurity. It sounded defensive, like it came out of reflex instead of belief. However, with a downward intonation, that line became a statement, a truth that born from a firm belief. “Then, you have to repeat that line until it became real. That’s how you should fight that worm’s manipulation and tactics, Narik. The reason your mind was not broken like these women was because you kept on repeating that line, was it?”

“I do not fear you,” Narik incoherently replied, probably out of the effect of Ekar’s conditioning like those women and Erinys. Fearless imagined that Ekar has pulled out some tricks to make Narik and the women could not help but reply whenever they were asked a question. However, unlike the women who would reply with their barks, Narik was conditioned to give reply in human tongue.

Fearless suspected that Ekar was trying to get some kind of information out of Narik under Bloodbeard’s order. Yet, a single statement, a lie that Narik continually spoke to himself, has foiled all of Ekar’s effort.

Fearless immediately put his theory to the test for the last time, “You are not afraid of Ekar, aren’t you?”

“I do not fear you.”

Narik’s insistent reply confirmed Fearless’ theory. Narik kept speaking that lie like a mantra until it became a shield to protect him from Ekar’s torture.

“Amazing. I have nothing but respect for you now. To foil Ekar’s conditioning like that, I imagine that not many people can do that.”

“I do not fear you.” Narik repeated his lie like a broken radio.

Fearless imagined that with that lie, Narik has fought off Ekar’s conditioning. With that lie, Narik has prevented Ekar from extracting the information he wanted. With that lie, he protected himself from being completely broken by Ekar’s ploys. Narik has repeated that lie until it became the truth, at least, for him.

This was the power of the words. With words, Ekar turned those women and Erinys into dogs. With words, Narik was able to fight off Ekar’s tortures. Ekar must have felt very frustrated while trying to pry the information from Narik.

“However, you are lucky Narik, very lucky.” Fearless cackled, spreading his arms, speaking in a theatrical manner. “Because it was an insignificant worm like Ekar that you have met, not something far worse. Don’t you agree?”

“I do not fear you,” Narik backed to the wall, cornering himself from Fearless’ strange theatrical behavior.

“You have forfeited your life. You have expected Ekar to do the worst on you like he did to his victims. That confused him. He tried all sort of methods on you and yet you were not broken. You clung to that lie to protect you sanity. That frustrated him even more, I can imagine.”

Fearless laughed, secretly readying the in his palms.

“You were lucky. Ekar does not know how to break a man who has forfeited his life. I imagine that worm must have asked himself that if you, Narik, my friend, was not afraid of death and immune to the pain of his tortures, what else could break you?”

It was that moment that Narik sprinted for the door. Fearless has anticipated that, swinging his fist while activating . His palm connected and smashed the half-emptied clay jar into Narik’s face.

Narik fell on his back, his nose bloodied and broken. The purple mist clung to his body.

Fearless immediately backed away from the mist to avoid its numbing effect, “Sorry, I cannot let you do that just yet. I’m very sorry. Until you hear me out, I can’t let you go yet.”

Narik could not make a coherent sound. He could not stand up. He could not move a muscle. He could only lay down on the spot where he fell and listen. Fearless knew that after he has experiment the mist on the sleeping women and himself.

“Ekar could understand the primordial fears of a person. Yet, he lacked the capacity for empathy. That’s why he was no demon or devil. He’s merely a worm. He could not comprehend just how terrible you must have felt when you are responsible for the death of your brothers. That, my friend, is the source of your fear. That is what you are truly afraid of, the guilt and conscience of a survivor.”

Fearless continued to speak why watching the expression on Narik’s face turned dark with remorse and denial.

“You fear meeting your brothers. You fear meeting them in the hall of Mistress Death, not knowing how to apologize to them for killing them with your mistake. You fear that despite killing your brothers due to your stupidity, you alone would survive. I’m sure you must have told yourself that Ekar’s tortures were your punishment and you deserved them. Ekar must have gone insane when he heard that. You intended to wear those terrible wounds Ekar inflicted on your body like armor when you reunite with your brothers in the hall of Mistress Death. Am I correct?”

“….….i….e…ssss”

Despite being enveloped in the purple mist, Narik tried to deny Fearless’ words against the odds. That made Fearless admired the man’s tenacity even more.

“Lies? No, you know that, don’t you? They are truths. You welcome the pain. You welcome the death. Every wound that Ekar inflicted on your body lessens your guilty conscience. They were not punishments. They are reliefs. They made you feel better about yourself.”

“ …..i…esssss”

Narik denied with his frozen jaws. He was desperate to deny Fearless’ words of judgment. Tears traced two separate paths, streaming from his eyes. Now, he looked like a man who was possessed by fear. The expression that Narik wore at the moment made more sense than that calm and acceptance façade that he showed to Fearless.

“Yet, there is not a single wound on your body at the moment. Where are they? How are you going to meet your brothers now, being unharmed and unwounded like that?”

“…..s…..oppppp”

“What you fear is life, not death, not physical punishment or any tortures that Ekar can give you. That was why no amount of pain could break you. Ekar lacked the emotional capacity to understand that, being a mere worm, no more, no less. He did not address the source of your fear correctly. Was he a demon, he would have known and you would be in no better shape than these women.”

“S…..o…..ppppp….esssse….”

“You fear that you would arrive at the hall of Mistress Death, not knowing what became of the family of your deceased brothers. Were they captured and tortured by Ekar and Bloodbeard? Did they die suffered or in peace? Or they would live as the broken dogs of Ekar like these women? Or worse?”

“…op…. op… I e…gggg…..u.”

Narik miserably cried, sobbing on the spot.

“I imagine that you would be very much afraid of meeting them, and they would forgive you for your mistake instead of lynching you with curses and fists. You don’t want that forgiveness, do you? You are afraid of meeting your brothers, unable to avenge them or protecting the families they left behind. If I was in your position, I would have felt the same.”

“op….opp… l…e…a…s…e.”

Narik’s current state of being resembled Fearless’ expectation at the beginning, broken and damaged. His miserable look made Fearless felt bad for doing this.

Empathy was a sword and a shield, weapon and armor. It was a familiar tool of Fearless ever since he was but a boy. If he wanted to be loved and protected, he would wear it like armor. However, sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. Empathy would be wielded as a sword at times like this.

Fearless thought that Narik was lucky that Ekar lacked the ability to comprehend empathy. Had Ekar possessed the ability to empathize with people like Fearless, Narik would have been a broken mess, in worse shape than Erinys and the women.

“I’m truly sorry for making you going through this. However, I don’t like that façade of yours. You look like you are completely at peace when you have yet to atone for your mistakes. You understood that you have made a mistake and yet, you don’t even look like you wanted to correct that mistake. I don’t like that.” Fearless sternly said.

Narik just wasted himself on the spot, resigned and broken, sobbing and begging in incoherent words. His snot mixed with his blood and tears, drenched his face and the ground.

Surprisingly, even when his words were incoherent mutters, Fearless could still understand what he was trying to say.

“But you know what, Narik, my friend? I can forgive you for that. However, the fact that you, a coward, a loser, an unrepentant fool got to be freed from your guilt by lying to yourself while making yourself look good at the same time. I don’t like that. Do you really believe that you are brave for withstanding Ekar’s tortures? No, no, no, no, no… stop lying to yourself. You want that pain. You want Ekar to inflict the maximum amount of pain on you. You wanted that to run away from your guilty conscience.” Fearless carried on his verbal beat down with the same theatrical voice, “Coward!” he yelled. “You did not bother confronting your guilty conscience. You did not bother to ask the most important question until I mentioned it to you. Shouldn’t you be glad that I have addressed that question for you?”

“Can I redeem my mistake, truly?” Fearless mimicked Narik’s voice.

“Yes, you can.” He immediately returned to his established theatrical voice, “It’s not easy. It’s going to be difficult. It will be unbearable. It’s going to be more painful than Ekar’s tortures. Why? Because that is your true punishment. Because you are going to confront the result of your stupidity, your mistake. Because, that is not the easy way out. Dead is the easy way. Dead is an escape and atoning for your mistake is not. I can give you that. I, alone, is the only person in this world can give you the chance to do that, to redeem yourself. That, I promise.”

“However, the biggest questions now are: Do you have the balls to accept your atonement, knowing that it would cost you everything? Do you want that chance badly enough to swear your allegiance to a being like myself? I am a million times worse than the like of Ekar and his worms. I am a million times worse than any demon or demon lord in your myth and fables. Of course, I am. Otherwise, how can I exterminate or break them without being more terrible and worse than them? Would you still consider making a pact with a being like me? Are you that desperate?”

A person does not need to be a demon to break a demon. He does not need to be stronger than a demon to do that. He only needs to be worse than the demon or in another word, better than the demon at what it does. He only needs to empathize with the demon to understand its mentality, why it did what it did. He only needs to understand the demon, its strength and weakness, its like and dislike, its thought process and behaviors, how and why it was born. He only needs to dissect a demon on an atomic level. He only needs the ability to strip the demon of everything that makes it a demon. Once that happen, a demon would be no demon. A broken demon is no demon to anybody.

A good worm is a dead worm. A good demon is a broken demon.

“I have told you everything I want to say. I’m done here. Now, you are going to make a choice. It’s your choice. I’m not going to do anything to force that choice on you. “

Fearless activated

A golden orb of light escaped his palm and swirled around Narik’s body, dispelling the effect of the purple mist had on Narik’s body. The orb then broke into tiny fireflies of light, traversing around the immobilized frames of the women, removing the effect of the mist on them as well.

“Stand! You are fine now.” Fearless commanded.

Narik touched his body and stood. His hair disheveled, his face a mess, his eyes wariness and distrust.

“Yes, doubt. I want you to doubt my words. Be a smart and doubtful man, don’t be a stupid and trusting man. Ask yourself, can I really give you that? Do I have the ability to deliver what I have promised? Yes, be doubtful my friend. But, before that, DO yourself a favor and ask yourself a question. Should you trust me, knowing that I am far worse than any demon in your fables and myths? DO understand that making a pact with me would cost you everything. And when I said everything, I meant everything, your allegiance, your soul, your fear, your emotions and everything else. I will determine how and when you can arrive at the hall of Mistress Death. Even knowing that, would you wager yourself for but a chance of redeeming your mistake? I am a liar, a much better liar than any demon has ever existed. The like of Flóki, Sanguine or Envy are beneath me. DO understand that my words, all of them are built upon a mountain of lies. Even knowing that, would you make that choice? Would you make a pact with me for all but a chance? Even if that chance was but an empty promise, would you make that choice?”

Fearless cackled, moistening his words with the sweet nectar of deceits and threats. He doubted that even the like of Flóki, Sanguine and Envy, the worst of the Fifty-one Demon Lords, would make a better scammer than him. He imagined that those liars would beg him to be their teacher in this craft.

Fearless quietly counted to ten within his head.

“Also, make it quick for me. I don’t have all the time in the world to wait for your answer. There are a lot stupid fools in this world that are desperate for all but a chance.”

That was the final nail in the coffin.

Fearless told himself that if this world were a chessboard, Narik would make his very first piece. A man who withstood Ekar’s conditioning with all but a single lie, a man like that is definitely worthy of being his first piece. Being the brother of the hound of Hyrios also elevated Narik’s position on the scales of usefulness.

A pawn, no less, but a very valuable pawn. Not all pawns are made equal, after all.

Are you watching this Clariciel? Oh wait, I must sleep first for you to see this event through my dream. Too bad, Clariciel, too bad for you and whoever you are, the moron who think you can use me for your gain.

Fearless quietly cackled like a demon. He’s enjoying the situation. His foul mood has been lifted just by having a pawn like Narik on his side. Erinys has given him the reason to take part in the game but Narik was a different between being eligible for the game and not. No chess player can play a chessboard without a piece on his or her side. Even if Fearless gambled his life, turning it into the king piece to play the board, a king alone could not end the game with a checkmate.

Pieces that are readily handed to you are never your pieces. We have to earn our pieces with our abilities, always.

Fearless laughed. The majority sources of his headache have disappeared. He’s enjoying the disappearance of his many sources of headache.

Narik, my friend, you who should have been dead by now, yet you are reborn a pawn of mine instead. Be glad. Be very glad that you have run into me and not a real demon instead.

Ashtorá, I have found my qualifications and earned them, have you?