April 17th

Year 2120

The Gap

Southern Wastes, Gartaena

Merdilen, Alvoren, and Kayline kept walking for the next day with no problems, not seeing anything strange. In fact, they hadn’t seen any untamed shadow monsters for a few days now. Usually, they could always see shadow monsters in the distance, but not anymore. It was as if they had all been taken away. As if they were being… kept somewhere.

The three of them were now having a short rest after lunch atop a small unnaturally-flat hill, with Kayline drawing something, Merdilen reading Transmutation War: Cataclysm, the book about the end of the Transmutation War, and Alvoren telling both of them one of his infinite tales about his adventures and stories.

“...And that was how I, with my broken sword, courageously defeated Slyther, king of all serpents!” Alvoren finished.

“Cool,” Merdilen said, who hadn’t really been paying attention. He had just finished a chapter of his book, and so he stood up, walking around and stretching his legs.

Suddenly, as he walked around, he spotted something far away to the north. A massive army was marching towards them in the distance. Merdilen couldn’t see how many they were, but they had to be several thousand men. And in the front… Even though he couldn’t see them, he knew they were there. The Anti-Transmutation Strike Team.

W-what?! Merdilen thought, stumbling backward. A full army… are they all after me?!

“What is it?” Kayline asked, raising an eyebrow.

Merdilen raised a finger towards the faraway soldiers. “A-an army! They’re coming this way! We’ve gotta get going.”

Kayline and Alvoren both paled visibly, and all three of them started to pack their things, preparing to leave.

“Of course,” Kayline muttered. “The ‘army’ that sieged the bandits’ lair wasn’t the whole army, it was just the vanguard. They were sieging to make time for the bulk of the army to arrive. It seems we hurried up the process, but the army still arrived eventually, and now they’re all marching towards us.”

“B-but, isn’t that way too much for a single Merdilen?” Alvoren asked.

“For them, it’s not a single Merdilen,” Kayline clarified. “For them, it’s a single Transmutator. The last descendant of the biggest mass murderer in the history of Gartaena. And Merdilen surviving this long after having an elite group of fighters chasing him all around the world only increases the danger he poses in their eyes. They want to make certain he’s wiped out.”

They had run away from the army as fast as they could, and about half an hour later, saw several immense structures rising in the distance. They were massive partially-collapsed buildings, each as tall as the House of Records. It seemed to form what had once been a city, although most of the buildings were toppled over and broken. They were ruins of a destroyed civilization. Remnants of a forgotten world.

“Whoa…” Kayline muttered. “They’re massive. Is this how the world was like before the Transmutation War?”

“Seems like it,” Alvoren replied, as amazed as she was. “But, how did this city survive the Transmutation War when most others perished?”

“I may have a theory,” Merdilen said. “From what I read, the blast that ended the Transmutation War and destroyed the world had been caused by an ignition of all fires in the world almost at once, those fires being kitchens, campfires, chimneys, and more. If this city had been abandoned because of it being in the center of a warzone, then there would have been no fire there to explode. Therefore, this city has been damaged only by time.”

“Ohh. Makes sense,” Kayline agreed. “Still, it’s impressive.”

They kept approaching it, until they saw several figures walking around in the city, agglomerating near a specific building.

“Look!” Alvoren pointed out. “There are people there.”

“Crouch!” Kayline told them, hiding behind a small ruined house. “We don’t know if they’re enemies or not. We probably don’t want to be seen.”

“True,” Merdilen agreed.

The three of them kept looking at the strange people, examining them, until they saw something terrifying. Several of them had shadow monsters with them. Tamed shadow monsters. And there were hundreds of people, with more shadow monsters than they had ever seen in a single place. They were the shadow monster culture the shadow monster tamer they captured had talked about.

“Uh oh. Let’s go,” Merdilen muttered nervously. “We can circle them. They won’t be able to see us.”

“Yeah,” Kayline agreed, nervous too. “Let’s go.”

“Wait, look!” Alvoren called out to them, pointing at the strange culture. “They’re doing something.”

They were bringing in people tied up in a straight line, like prisoners of some sort. And they weren’t just men; there were women and children too.

“What are they gonna do with them?” Merdilen asked in a whisper.

The captors took them up to a giant hole in the ground—an especially large and steep crater—and threw them in. They fell with a scream.

Merdilen, Alvoren, and Kayline winced, looking at the horrible spectacle. The men then guided their shadow monsters with a sort of veneration towards the pit, and they jumped downwards. Towards the captives. The captives screamed, helpless. The three of them couldn’t see the bottom of the pit from where they were, but their stomachs lurched all the same.

“What is wrong with them?” Kayline whispered, horrified.

The shadow monster tamer’s words came back to Merdilen’s mind. A group of men attacked us, seemingly belonging to some kind of cult, a cult that treats shadow monsters as superior beings. They were… making sacrifices to the shadow monsters.

“They’re horrible…” he muttered.

“Let’s go. Now. I don’t want to know what would happen if they saw us,” Alvoren said.

“...Yeah,” Kayline agreed, and they started to slowly and sneakily walk away from the cursed event, starting to circle the city as Merdilen had proposed.

“Guys, I… I have a dilemma,” Merdilen said when they had gotten far enough away from the city, heading south. “When I saw that culture doing that, I… I hated them. I felt like I should have killed the cultists that attacked us the other day. Should we… kill them if we come across any of them? They are truly monsters.”

“Of course not,” Kayline said immediately. “They are still human beings. If we come across any of them—which I hope doesn’t happen anytime soon—we should try to inhabilitate them somehow, as you did with my father. Not kill them. Killing is never the answer.”

“I know, but…” Merdilen hesitated. This was something that had been on his mind for a long time. Longer than he would like to admit. “Everything would be easier if we just killed our enemies. For example, if we had actually killed the Crimson Ruby bandits instead of striking a deal with them in the first place, I would have never been captured, and Kayline would never have had to face her father. I know everything turned out right in the end, but I fear we won’t always be so lucky. I fear what will happen with us letting the shadow cultists live the other day.”

That left both Kayline and Alvoren thinking, and none of them answered for a while.

“That would mean losing ourselves,” Kayline finally said. “Sure, it’d make things easier, but it would mean losing sight of our morals and ideals. Ideals are what made you want to become a hero, Merdilen. Ideals are what made Alvoren join you. Ideals are what made me spare your life and later join you too. If we stop being who we are, then what good is defeating our enemies at all?”

“...Wow,” was all Merdilen was able to say. “That was deep. But… I think you’re right. I won’t kill, at least for now. I just hope nothing bad comes out of it.”

The three of them kept walking for a few hours, until Merdilen suddenly sensed something, something big, coming up quickly behind them. He paled. They were shadow monsters. Dozens of them. Kayline felt it too, as she perked up.

“Run!” he exclaimed at Alvoren and Kayline.

The three of them started to dash through the wasteland, running south, looking for a place to hide. But there was nothing. The place they were in right now was just one plain, big valley. Soon enough, they saw them. Dozens of shadow monsters, each with a rider, approaching in the distance behind them.

How did they find us?! Merdilen wondered, terrified.

They couldn’t outrun them. There was no way. Kayline probably would be able to, using her Manipulation, but there was no way she’d be able to carry two grown men with her. Merdilen started to think of options, his mind racing.

He could Transmutate a tower for them to lock themselves up in… No, it wouldn’t be resistant enough. It would topple eventually. He could Transmutate a cave… That wouldn’t do either, as they’d have to come out eventually. He could Transmutate armor for all three of them… No, they weren’t used to it. They wouldn’t be able to fight properly. Especially considering Merdilen only had one hand. He suddenly realized.

A wall! He pressed his only hand to the ground, and concentrating hard, he Transmutated. A massive wall erupted from the ground, rising, rising, rising, until it crossed the entirety of the valley. It was the biggest Transmutation he had ever done. Merdilen stumbled backward, his head hurting like never before.

But then, he heard a ground-shaking boom. Then another, and another, and another. The shadow monsters were hitting the wall, acting as living battering rams.

“Oh, no,” Merdilen muttered, on the verge of unconsciousness. “Distraction… We need a… distraction…”

“But, what?!” Kayline asked. “What can we do?!”

Merdilen couldn’t fight anymore, and there were dozens of shadow monsters on the other side of the wall. The wall wouldn’t last long. They had to run, and for them to successfully escape, they needed a distraction. If not, they would all die, painfully trampled, cut, or eaten by dozens of shadow monsters.

“I’ll go,” Alvoren said suddenly. “I’ll go to the other side of the wall, distract them, then catch up to you.”

“You can’t!” was Kayline’s immediate reaction. “You’ll die if you do!”

“Someone needs to do it,” Alvoren stated, full of determination. “Besides, you two are more important than I am. You two are a Transmutator and a Manipulator; I’m just a man with delusions of grandeur.”

“No, you’re not. You’re a hero!” Kayline argued.

“I know. And I’m going to act like one.”

“Why?!”

“Because I…” he said, grinning, “am the great hero Axerhos.”

“Please don’t,” Merdilen whispered, almost unconscious.

“See you,” Alvoren said, still grinning. “I’ll catch up to you. They’re no match for the great hero Axerhos.”

“You’ll die if you do!” Kayline exclaimed, almost tearing up.

“Then I’ll die a hero,” he declared. With that, he unsheathed his sword, prepared his shield, and dashed towards the wall.

“Come back to us,” Merdilen whispered, still stunned.

“I will,” he replied confidently.

“Alvoren!” Kayline called out, but it was too late.

Alvoren Vandmorn dashed towards the wall, running at the top of his speed. He soon reached it, and started to climb up the mountain, getting to the wall’s top. He walked on top of it, and when he was in the middle of the wall, jumped downwards, towards the middle of the swarm of shadow monsters.

During his whole life, he had been called worthless, useless, stupid, and many other things. Even though he had later played to be the great hero Axerhos, he had never actually been a hero. Until he had met Merdilen. With him, he had actually been able to fight for something worth fighting for, for something with purpose. He had become a real hero. But not all was fun and games. A hero had to be always a hero, no matter what. Even if it meant sacrificing your life. And he was about to prove he was the greatest hero of all time. He was about to prove he was worthy of bearing the name Axerhos.

Alvoren fell in the middle of the shadow monsters in a three-point stance, his feet crouched, his fist on the ground, his sword straight to the side. He slowly looked upward. He was not afraid. He was grinning.

“This is for you, Brenkon,” he muttered.

All the shadow monsters and riders froze, surprised to see a fighter just jump fearlessly into their midst.

“You all are no match for me,” he said, grinning. “Because I… am the great hero… Axerhos.”

With that, he sprang into one of the shadow monsters, his sword ready at his side. He didn’t really have to win. He just had to make enough time for his friends to escape. The shadow monster attacked Alvoren at the same time, and he blocked with his shield, slashing at the rider atop it. The rider fell to the ground, and Alvoren kicked him unconscious.

A shadow monster slashed at his back, but he ignored the pain and kept fighting. He kept slashing wildly left and right, trying to keep all shadow monsters at bay, but soon enough, another shadow monster broke through his defenses. He bit his sword arm hard, and he screamed, not letting his sword fall. Even against the excruciating pain, he gripped his sword tight and kept fighting. He kept hacking and slashing at the shadow monsters and riders, until he had a small pile of injured riders at his feet. But he was weakened, and wouldn’t last much more. Still, he kept fighting.

But then, a shadow monster kicked his shield hard, breaking it, splinters flying everywhere. It thrust its claws at him, and he wasn’t able to block. It buried deep into his chest, and the shadow monster retracted it wildly, making him fall to the ground. But he kept fighting. Slowly, steadily, he got back up, roaring and swinging his sword at the nearest shadow monster. He slashed at the rider, cutting him across the chest, but then, another shadow monster pierced his chest.

Alvoren stumbled backward, coughing up blood, and then charged once more. He kept attacking the shadow monsters, making slow but steady progress, until, suddenly, one of them slashed upwards. It hit Alvoren’s sword out of his hand, and it lurched upwards, passing over the wall and landing on the other side. His sword and shield were now gone. His body was severely wounded, his stamina drained. His enemies were as strong and numerous as ever. But still, Alvoren took out a dagger from one of the riders’ unconscious bodies, and kept fighting. He stabbed at one of the shadow monsters, dealing no damage, but not giving up anyway.

He turned just in time to see a shadow monster stabbing at him with its claw, and raised his shield arm desperately to block. But there was no shield anymore. The claw pierced him from chest to back, and Alvoren fell once more. He pushed upwards, trying to stand, but the shadow monster stabbed him once more. The great hero Axerhos didn’t get back up.

Merdilen kept looking at the massive wall he himself had Transmutated, expecting Alvoren to appear at any moment. He had started to completely recover his consciousness shortly after Alvoren had left, and was now fully awake. Along with Kayline, they were standing in an elevated rock far away from the wall, waiting for Alvoren. They were much farther away than they would have been able to if Alvoren hadn’t served as a distraction, and were ready to quickly run away once Alvoren arrived.

“Why is he taking so long?” Merdilen asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“He’ll come,” Kayline declared confidently. “He’ll come.”

But then, they saw a long and thin object fly over the wall, falling to the ground on their side. A sword. And, even though they were far away, they recognized it. It was Alvoren’s longsword.

“Alvoren!” Merdilen called out, desperate, and Kayline gasped.

They both knew what that meant.

“We gotta save him!” Merdilen exclaimed. “We gotta defend him!”

“...We gotta go,” Kayline said, her voice trembling. “We can’t let his… sacrifice… go to waste.”

“But… we can still save him,” Merdilen muttered. “We have to go!”

“No!” Kayline exclaimed. “If we go, we’ll die too.”

“You only want to go because you didn’t know him for as long as I did,” Merdilen accused.

“Of course not, you idiot! I want to go because I don’t want you to die too!”

Merdilen seemed taken aback by the comment, but then he exclaimed, “Well, I’m going to save him! You may not care about him, but I do!”

At that, Kayline grabbed him by the shoulder, and… slapped him in the face.

“Wake up! Can’t you reason for once, for the sake of his sacrifice?!” she exploded, shouting angrily. “Do you want to die too?! Do you want to defile his sacrifice?! Do you want to make his death mean nothing?! Sure, I may have known him for a bit less than you did, but I still cared about him! But those shadow monsters are gonna break through that wall at any moment now! I won’t let you throw your life away! You hear me?! You know why he sacrificed his life and his dreams?! For us to survive! If we throw our lives away now, everything we have done so far will have meant nothing!”

Merdilen answered nothing. He didn’t argue anymore. He had noticed something. Kayline’s eyes were wet with tears, some of them streaming down her cheeks. She was crying. He realized with a start that his own face was wet. He was crying too.

“...Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s go. Goodbye, Axerhos. See you on the other side.”

Several hours of walking later, Merdilen sat on a rock, during his night guard shift, trying to process the events of the past day. Trying to process Alvoren’s death. It was strange to think he was just gone. Everything had happened so quickly. So… suddenly.

Even though he had taken it for granted, Alvoren’s happy, carefree, and optimistic attitude had always cheered up the party. Now that he was gone, everything was much more silent and gloomy. He looked sadly to the side, to a small stone monolith. Alvoren’s tomb. Merdilen had Transmutated it out of a tree, placing a Transmutated replica of Alvoren’s sword on top.

Merdilen was sad. He would truly miss him. But more than that, he was angry. Angry at himself. If he had killed the trio of shadow monster tamers they had encountered the other day, then they wouldn’t have alerted the rest that there was a Transmutator and a Manipulator nearby, that horde of the shadow culture wouldn’t have come looking for them, and Alvoren wouldn’t have had to sacrifice himself for them to escape. If only he had been hard enough…

“Damn it!” he exclaimed, punching the stone he was sitting on.

If only he had been a little harder on them, Alvoren would still be alive. He had always thought it was bad to kill, and he had never killed anyone before, but now, he thought something else. He should have killed those shadow cultists when he had the chance. The next time he saw them, he wouldn’t hesitate. He hated them.

A short time later, his chance arrived. He felt the characteristic presence of shadow monsters in the darkness. Three of them, approaching from the south. Merdilen tensed up, getting to his feet. He did not wake up Kayline. Not because he didn’t need her help. But because he didn’t want her to restrain him.

Shortly after, he saw them. Three shadow monsters in the distance, each with a rider on its back, all coming towards him. They crossed the remaining distance in a dash, roaring, and jumped towards him.

Merdilen sidestepped, dodging the charge, Transmutating his Transmutation glove into a steel sword and heating the metal to burning degrees. He slashed at one of the riders and managed to cut him in the back, making him scream, but not throwing him off the shadow monster. The shadow monsters turned around from their charge, facing him once again.

“I’m going to kill you all!” Merdilen roared, pressing his only remaining hand against the ground and Transmutating once again.

He Transmutated the ground, turning it into three massive spires that rose upward from the ground, towards the shadow monsters. Two of them managed to evade them, but it impaled a third one, crossing it from bottom to top and killing it instantly. The rider fell to the ground, his sword falling far from him, so he scrambled around, looking for a weapon. And he found one.

He dashed towards Alvoren’s tomb, heading for the longsword atop it.

“Don’t you dare get near his tomb!” Merdilen exclaimed in anger, reaching out towards him with the Transmutation.

He reached out with his feelings, visualizing his power as a golden stream flowing towards the running rider, Merdilen’s anger and determination pushing the power forward. For the first time in his life, he Transmutated at range. Mercilessly, he Transmutated the rider’s simple leather clothes into metal spikes pointing inwards. The spikes impaled the rider all around the body, killing him painfully and instantly. Merdilen didn’t regret it, turning over to face the remaining two shadow monsters and two riders.

Transmutating at range, same as last time, he turned the leather clothing of both riders into metal spikes pointing inwards, killing them both instantly. Their bodies fell from their shadow monsters, hitting the ground. Both remaining shadow monsters roared in rage, charging Merdilen. Merdilen crouched, picking up two rocks from the floor, and hurled them at the nearest shadow monster’s mouth.

The rocks entered the shadow monster’s mouth, and Merdilen then Transmutated at range, transforming them into a single, massive metallic blade. The blade cut the shadow monster from inside, killing it. He repeated the process with the second shadow monster, Transmutating the stones into blades inside its mouth, killing it.

Merdilen stood there in the middle of the battlefield for a few seconds, panting, catching his breath. He was afraid. Not because he had just killed three human beings, an act he had never committed before. But because he didn’t regret it the slightest bit.

Kayline woke up, shaken by all the commotion.

What… just happened? she wondered, rubbing her eyes. She sat up in her bedroll, looking to the side. There, she saw it. Merdilen, catching his breath, his fists clenched, standing in the middle of a corpse-littered battlefield.

“You… killed them,” she muttered, horrified. “You killed human beings.”

Merdilen looked back at her, a cold stare in his eyes.

Seeing him standing there, his blade burning, the battlefield littered with corpses, and his cold stare, he looked different. She didn’t know if it was just the pain of Alvoren’s death, the moonlight, or something else, but he looked different. For the first time in a long time, she saw him, not as a hero, but as something else. As a monster.

THE END OF PART TWO