Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

MYRIAD OF HEARTS

Faint whispers of candles’ flames lit up a squared room, giving it gentle and warm radiance . Walls surged in faint coral, their sheen cascading down the stacks . The floorboard beneath creaked slightly as Lino walked over from the corner and sat on the bed, looking at the pale Lucky lying beneath the sheets . A whole day had passed since Hannah knocked her out, and her state hadn’t changed much .

Though Lino was very much unaware at the moment of the global consequences his antics had spurred, he didn’t care much for them either; he refused to leave the room until she woke up . He’d also eventually kicked Hannah out as she had far more pressing issues to deal with than being a hand propelling him up when Lucky wakes .

Perhaps others couldn’t understand it, but to Lino Lucky represented far more than just a friend; save for Ella and Eggor, she was among the first to befriend him despite his antics . She was there through everything, and even with all her snide comments about him, he knew very well she never once thought about leaving . He’d long since stopped thinking of her as a friend and more as a little sister, a title she would certainly flare about as she was a few years older than him .

By showing her the world, he exposed her to its vultures; he promised himself he’d protect her and Felix no matter what, even at the expense of his own life, yet he’d failed -- failed so spectacularly that he was half a mind away from getting up and running away from everything, too fearful to face the reality of it all .

Following Aeala’s and others’ deaths, she barely managed to crawl back -- and now, after she’d finally rekindled the fire in her heart, it was snuffed so abruptly she didn’t even have a moment’s goodbye . Right there in front of her eyes it was cut permanently while all she could do was stand and scream . That was the thing that scared Lino the most; it wasn’t whether she would blame him or the world, but that she would beholden the whole burden onto herself .

Glancing out the window onto the empty streets, he couldn’t help but sigh audibly . For all of mankind’s simplicity, he mused, altogether it formed a complex structure that hardly ever played the tune of the ’supposed to’ . It’s that eventual uncertainty despite all his ’heart’s wisdom’ that drove dread into his soul like a cold-tipped spear .

" . . . straighten your back . " a meek and mellow voice jolted him back from his thoughts as he hurriedly turned around and met a pair of hollow eyes looking at him .

" . . . hey . " he replied, almost choking . "I compensate with other parts, don’t worry . "

" . . . disgusting fucker . " she mumbled faintly, sitting up . "I can’t believe you sent your girlfriend to knock me out . Not cool dude . "

"It was kind of hot, though," Lino smiled faintly, "She carrying you and touching places . "

" . . . " he chuckled bitterly at the stink-eye . "How long was I out?"

"About a day . " he replied .

" . . . did . . . you kill her?" she asked, lowering her gaze .

"Aye," Lino said . "And in the process pretty much declared war on the world . "

" . . . good . " she growled . "It was about time someone did . "

" . . . this moment feels eerily familiar . " he mumbled, sighing .

"Reminds you of something?" she glanced up through the distorted strands of hair falling over her face . "Ah, at least last time you didn’t have a girlfriend to knock me out, so you had to face me squarely . "

"And boy did I fuck it up, heh . "

" . . . not really," she said . "Your ten-year-promise was pretty much my fuel back then . Won’t work this time around, though, if you’ve got any funny ideas . "

" . . . I’ve failed, L’," Lino said, lowering his head as well . "Failed him, failed you . . . failed you two’s trust in me . This time," he continued, his voice cracking slightly . "I was right there . Right . . . there . I wasn’t miles away . . . but right there, right next to her . "

" . . . "

" . . . heh," he suddenly chuckled bitterly . "So many dub me a natural leader . . . so much so actually that I’ve begun believing it . But I ain’t no fucking leader . I’m at best an idiot . "

" . . . you are . " she mumbled . "But, you were right there, you said it . Right after her . I saw your legs rip, your fist scramble into a mush of bones and gore . Then, I saw the same thing happen to your heart . We tend to throw a lot of blame around," she added, looking up at him . "But, for some reason, we never blame those actually responsible . It was that cunt that decided to go after him . She didn’t go after you . Or after me . She went after him . And Annar and Scarlet . She went in knowing she would die . I don’t think we need to blame anyone else . "

" . . . funny, how easy it is to lie," he looked up and faintly smiled before scuffling over and lying next to her, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tightly . "But, I won’t let you do it, L’ . "

" . . . " Lucky said nothing, letting herself be wrapped into the muddied and bloodied arms . She didn’t even say anything of the stench, knowing full well he hadn’t washed since that day .

"You ever heard the tale of the Fox and the brave Hero?" he asked, stroking her hair gently .

" . . . no . " she replied lowly .

"It’s quite a fascinating one," he continued . "Once upon a time, far, far away, there was a village . And near the village lived a Fox who regularly stole village’s sheep, chicken, and even people, who named the fox Sneaky Fox . So, one day, the village’s Hero armed himself and decided he’d go and end the Fox’s tyranny . He marched alone toward the Fox’s den, cheered after by the villagers, and eventually entered it, meeting the evil Fox eye to an eye . The Fox, however, wasn’t as terrifying as the stories made her out to be; she was small, like a pup, cuddled up in the corner . She was sleeping, but instead of killing it right then and there, Hero waited her until the Fox woke up . "

" . . . "

"When it did, the Fox was surprised to find the Hero there and asked ’What are you doing here?’? The Hero replied, ’I came to kill you, evil Fox!’ . ’Then why didn’t you kill me when I was sleeping?’, the Fox asked . ’Because that would have been sneaky, and I would be exactly like you!’ the Hero’s reply surprised the Fox . Thinking the Hero rather foolish, the Fox said, ’Instead of fighting, why don’t we play a game? If you win, I’ll never bother your village again, but if you lose, you’ll become my slave forever . ’ Hero agreed after a short thought . ’What’s the game?’ he asked . ’It’s very simple’, the Fox said, ’You just have to catch me and you win’ . The Hero agreed and put away his sword . ’Fine,’ he said, ’I’ll catch you then!’ . The Hero then ran toward the Sneaky Fox, but the latter didn’t even move; the Hero thought that the Sneaky Fox wasn’t so sneaky after all and quickly picked it up and wrapped it in his arms . ’Hah, I win! Evil fox!’ the Hero exclaimed proudly . The Sneaky Fox, however, grinned and said ’Idiot . . . ’ before lifting its head and biting the Hero’s neck, killing him . "

" . . . "

" . . . "

" . . . eh? That’s it?" Lucky asked as she realized Lino had gone silent for a while .

"Yup . " Lino replied with a faint smile .

"Are you trying to tell me that, despite your stupidity, there are even stupider ones out there?" Lucky asked, suddenly bursting out into the laughter .

"Hey!! It’s a beautiful tale of learning, young lady! Don’t dismiss it just because of my personal agenda!"

"Oh, so there was some personal agenda involved?"

" . . . I refuse to confirm or deny that . "

" . . . ha ha ha, god you’re an idiot . . . " she mumbled, pressing her head deeper against his chest .

"Oof, that one hurt . "

" . . . he proposed to me . " Lucky spoke out, surprising Lino .

"Huh?"

"Just recently," she said, her voice cracking as Lino felt his shirt growing slightly wet . "He asked me to marry me . . . and I said yes . "

" . . . . "

"The stupid idiot nearly blew himself up trying to create some gem to give me," she chuckled through tears . "When . . . when he could have just asked . . . "

" . . . " Lino remained in stunned silence, halfway proud that he’d finally grown enough balls to ask, and halfway further broken as he realized what it all compounded to .

" . . . and now . . . now he’s . . . he’s just gone . . . " she sobbed silently, her body shaking like a boat on a wave in his arms . "Just gone . . . "

" . . . " he didn’t know what else to do but hold her as tightly as he could; his expression growing sour as he held back a curse inside his lungs . She wept freely on his chest, letting go of her inhibitions, as he held her; he couldn’t say anything, couldn’t reaffirm that things would be fine, couldn’t console her, couldn’t even encourage her . Just stay silent and hold on with all his might and accept all she had to let go . Like a house built brick by brick, her cries compounded together as she held onto him tightly, afraid to let go .