I awoke to a burning pain in my throat and a foreign floral scent. I tried to open my eyes, but found that why my eyelids opened, there seemed to be another layer on top of them that prevented me from seeing. A bandage, presumably.

I tried to turn my head and found that even the slightest motion made my muscles flare with a punishing pain. It took everything I had to refrain from wincing. Which would have caused a chain reaction of little explosions across my body.

“Awake?” A soft voice said.

I didn’t say anything.

“Yes, that is correct. Do not move, or answer.”

“...”

The voice continued. “You were a real wreck when I found you. Your limbs were practically balls of bashed meat. Your heart was also pierced. Thankfully, your regenerative properties were kicking in and you did show some signs of life. I brought you back here and used the best balms and medicines I had.

A hand gently pinched off the bandage across my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the bright flare of light.

The first thing that I saw was that I was in a sort of cavern. A warm, well-lit dry cavern. I was laying on a mat cushioned by a couple blankets.

The voice began again. “Don’t try to turn your head to see anything. You will have the chance to do so in the future. You were really messed up. That cut to your waist was the most troublesome of all. I was barely able to keep your organs from spilling across the forest as I carried you back here. Twenty broken bones. Twelve cuts longer and wider than your arm. About a couple hundred more smaller ones. Plus a ruptured heart and absolutely mutilated appendages.”

I saw the face of my savior for the first time. Jet-black hair framed a pale face with delicate features. A carefully sculpted nose, and cherry-blossom lips. And shocking eyes the color of jade. It was the Medusa from before. She had saved me.

“Surprised? I know. I helped you for three reasons. One, I pitied you. Really. It's not the first time that I’ve seen this happen. Two. I can’t just sit there and watch a fellow Ancient die.Three. I wanted to dissuade your prejudices about us Ancients. I know that you are human turned Ancient. We are not your enemy. Like the Conqueror’s Waste, we too, can be evil and can be kind. Race has nothing to do with it.

I looked at her with wonder and an unexplainable helplessness. I didn’t want to come back. I just wanted it to end.

Forcing my dry mouth open, I croaked out a single word out of my drought stricken throat. “W…hy?”

The Medusa looked at me. “Why? And I told you not to talk too. I assume you mean either why did you turn into an Ancient, why you were betrayed, or why I brought you back when you clearly didn’t want to live anymore. “

I blinked slowly.

“For why you turned into an Ancient, it was because of Deseray’s death. The dark dragon that I assume your party set out to murder. Deseray is, or rather, was,” she began with a sorrowful expression, “a very, very powerful Ancient. The power contained in his core is enough to wipe out this forest and everything within it. That should have been the effect when he died, but Deseray obviously did not wipe out the forest. Instead, the pulse of energy that he would have left off seemed to have been carefully controlled - probably with his last shred of energy - and then absorbed by you. Which is unheard of by the way. Why you are not in a million little pieces now, I have no idea.

I’m sure you already know why you were betrayed. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

Why I chose to take you back even though you wanted to die…this ones pretty complex. Firstly, Deseray’s power went into you. I don’t want the last trace of his existence on this world to fully dissipate. Secondly, you deserve a new life. “

The corners of my mouth twitch up mockingly.

“I mean it. You’ve never lived life. You’ve never learned to live for yourself. Only to live for someone else. While remarkably selfless, it's also remarkably foolish. Or you’re just brainwashed and stupid.”

I closed my eyes on her words. I didn’t need to hear any more of it. I had killed my siblings. No. They wanted to kill me, and I killed them after losing control. What point was there for me to remain alive? There was nothing left in me anymore. Nothing. I had never liked to brandish a sword. I had never liked to fight. Yet I showed extreme potential for magic and the sword. What a wasted potential. When my teacher took me to the Sword Saint’s Mansion, I had found a purpose learning the blade to protect my siblings.

It was a false purpose. It was never real. They never needed me to protect them. They needed me to die. I…should have just served my purpose…and died.

I kept my eyes closed, but sleep did not come. The Medusa also left after a while.

For the first time, my mind was completely blank. There was nothing. I was just…so empty. There was only me, a husk, and the small sounds of the world around me.

I wasn’t too sure how long it was until the Medusa came back. When she did, I opened my eyes again.

“Here.” She held out a small bottle and poured a bit of its contents onto a silver spoon. I kept my mouth closed. Apart from not really wanting to get better, it was pretty embarrassing to be fed by someone else…

The Medusa only sighed and pinched my nose closed until I opened my mouth for air. She dribbled the liquid into my mouth. The liquid was cool and sweet, and it seemed to quell the desert in my throat. I caught some into the wrong duct as I was inhaling for air, and I began to cough and hack as my lungs tried to repulse the liquid.

The Medusa quickly placed the bottle on the ground and held my shoulders down to prevent my whole body from convulsing. Just coughing was painful enough; it seemed to set my whole torso on fire.

When I calmed down, she produced a small cloth and wiped the covers of my mouth.

“See?” she said smiling. “You do want to live. Otherwise you wouldn’t have opened your mouth to inhale. “

I opened my mouth to speak, and my voice came out as a barely audible rasp. “That’s …that’s…a…normal…reflex…” I fell into another fit of coughing. The Medusa held my shoulder down again, steadying me. She poured another spoonful of the liquid and fed me it. I didn’t try to resist this time.

“I know that. But those who have truly given up…they do not open their mouths again. You have legs and arms. You have a body much much stronger than before. You are filled with a power much much stronger than before. Don’t waste it. If not for yourself…then for me. Like I said, I don't want to see Deseray completely disappear. “

I did not speak again. I only closed my eyes. She did not try to feed me any more of the liquid either. Setting the bottle down with a clink, she stood and walked out of the cavern.

“Stronger? Why is it that the stronger I grow, the more useless I am?”