Corrupting Regrets

  ?Blade was impressed. After hearing about her life, he wondered how she could still smile so brightly. It reminded him of Ryuma. Still, he asked.

  ?“What did you do before this, then?”

  ?“Well, I stayed with the snow tribe until I heard my mother died. Afterwards, I went to the capital, where I heard the survivors were looking for my potential father. When I couldn't find him, I thought about what to do while taking a walk. I happened to end up in the slums where I saw the sad state of the girls there being mistreated by the bigger brothels. So I decided to take over.”

  ?“You took over? How?”

  ?“Power is everything, is it not? Since I was stronger, it was practically mine from the beginning.”

  The words were true, but felt partially hollow. As if Yuki was not regretting the state of the world, but rather accepting it as the somber truth and looking forward for ways to change that.

  ?“So you took over and gave the women better working conditions?”

  ?“Not only that. I never wished for anyone to have to go through a remotely similar upbringing like mine, so though the night side of our business was a brothel, our day side was a respectable orphanage which took in children without discrimination. We did not judge based on age, race, or any other meaningless thing. As long as they wished to, they would be offered a place to stay in a society that could hate them. I also took up the adventurer hobby, since the prestige could help protect my workers. The only problem is that once a month, I have to go on a mission to keep my rank.”

  ?“And I guess this just so happened to be one of them?”

  ?“Correct.”

  ?The silence that followed washed over them calmly, as they kept each other’s company for a while longer before Blade asked.

  ?“What if you die? Won’t you hold regrets for the day that happens?”

  ?“Regrets for the day I die? No, not much would change. I have left my mark on the world. Everything else is simply extra. And you?”

  ?“Don’t know.”

  ?At his simple reply, Yuki laughs, a soft sound cutting through the sadness that had been.

  ?“Sorry, it's just the first time I have heard someone so honest, yet so lost.”

  ?“I’m lost?”

  ?“Well, what else would you call it?”

  ?At the question, Blade paused. He had never really thought much about his own needs or desires. What did he want to do? The closest he had come to choosing something for himself was when he wanted to get his sword. Even then, he did not fully know why, just that he wanted it.

  ?Noticing his struggle, Yuki pulled him close to her chest, stroking his head as she said.

  ?“You shouldn't worry too much. If you're struggling now, we can do it later. We always have more time. It's just about using it.”

  ?Her words helped calm Blade's spiraling mind and refocus. After a few more moments of silence, they decided to begin walking again, having taken a long enough break.

  ?As they walked, they came across more rooms like the one they had passed, but in one room, they stopped. The room was still ruined, barely able to tell what was there, but unlike the rest, it was still, to some degree, whole.

  ?Up against the wall was a statue of a god. One Blade was pretty sure he had seen a similar one in the temple.

  ?“Hey Yuki, doesn't this one seem similar?”

  ?“How so?”

  ?“I am pretty sure there was a similar one in the church.”

  ?“What?”

  ?She says, rushing to his side and leaving the broken tablets she had tried to decipher.

  ?Examining the statue, she could recognize the similarity, but there was one more thing she wished to confirm. Taking the broken tablets, she runs back up the stairs where they came from.

  ?Coming back a few moments later with her hand full of other ruined tablets, she spread them all on the floor before them, before trying to fit them together like puzzles.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  ?Blade could only look curious about what she was doing, but decided to stay quiet and let her focus.

  ?When she finally spoke, Blade listened intently.

  ?“On the way down, I sometimes would see a glimpse of some text, but I thought nothing of it. Now, though, if these rooms truly hold gods, that puts a lot of things into question.”

  ?“What do you mean?”

  ?Yuki studied the tablets more, figuring out how to place them together.

  ?“These tablets are descriptions of the different gods…”

  ?“They are?”

  ?Yuki nodded in response.

  ?“Yes, and it seems each of these tablets are about each god.”

  ?“You can read them?”

  ?This surprised Blade, as they looked unreadable to him. Written in the same language the book Aru had shown him. It did not make sense for a genius like Aru to see it as unreadable, but for it to be so clear to Yuki. Yet at the same time it could not be Yuki who had written it. The clues did not line up, and so he decided to keep quiet. Causing unwanted trouble and chaos was not what was needed right now.

  ?Yuki laid down the pieces, having pieced together the fragments which fit.

  ?“The most confusing thing is how they are written. Though we can guess there is one for each god, would it not make sense to have statues of other gods in a corrupted one’s secret lair?”

  ?A bunch of statues about gods who are worshipped by the church. Could the church be in on this, then? No, even though he knew little of the church, by the impression Evelyn gave, that would be unlikely. So what then? Why have gods here?

  ?That is when their bracelets rang, as a message came across.

  ?“Code.… Nice!...”

  ?The words were two, with ragged breathing between them, yet Blade knew exactly what they meant. Taking Yuki’s hand, he began running back.

  ?“Where are we going?”

  ?Yuki asked, surprised. She had heard the message from Aru, too, but its meaning was unknown to her.

  ?“Yuki, what do you know about spirits?”

  ?Blade asked, running as fast as he could, half-pulling, half-dragging Yuki, who was still adjusting to the sudden speed.

  ?“What do you mean?”

  ?“Can spirits create illusions or hypnotize people?”

  ?“Some… it depends on the spirit, but there are some who fit the criteria.”

  ?Blade’s theory was proving more right with each second that passed, yet he was still unsure and needed confirmation. He also could not understand why this was so important. Had he grown closer to these people? Or was it the fact that he could actually make a difference now that spurned him on? Either way, he knew only that his body moved to stop it.

  ?Yuki was breathing heavily, already exhausted, but they were almost there, when an explosion happened in front of them.

  ?From the smoke, the ones who could be made out were Aru, who was badly injured, and Rio, who only had some light bruises and scratches.

  ?“Oh, there you are, friends. We need to stop him. He has been corrupted by the gods.”

  ?“What?”

  ?Yuki replied, nothing more than surprised at the scene in front of her, yet Blade remained calm.

  ?Yuki went to step in, but was quickly stopped by Blade, who raised his arm to block her path. Asking the singular question.

  ?“What color is corrupted blood?”

  ?“Corrupted blood? I guess a mix between the normal race’s color and the black blood of a demon.”

  ?“Good to know,”

  ?Blade said, taking out his sword and stepping in between them.

  ?“Aru, you told me you wanted to destroy everything that bound you in the past. To end your regrets. So tell me, is the code true?”

  ?Aru breathed heavily as he tried healing his wounds in this brief respite.

  ?“Of course.”

  ?“Good to know.”

  ?Blade replied, before suddenly slashing Rio’s neck, to the surprise of both Yuki and Rio.

  ?“Freeze him whole!”

  ?Blade yelled to Yuki, who took a moment, but decided to put her trust in Blade as she froze the whole side of the cave holding Rio, before running over to them.

  ?“What is happening?”

  ?“So—”

  ?Blade does not get time to tell her, as Rio breaks out of the ice, and tries to smash his head in, only for earth pillars to send him and Yuki out of the way, as Rio opens a crater through the wall where they had been moments before.

  ?“I would suggest the two of you run.”

  ?Aru says as he gets up, having been able to save them in time.

  ?“And you?”

  ?Blade asked, brushing himself and helping Yuki up, as she brushed herself.

  ?“Like you said, my revenge is mine to fulfill.”

  ?“Fine then, try not to die,”

  ?Blade said as he and Yuki continued upward, running off.

  ?“Why did you send them off? Think you can take me on alone?”

  ?Rio said, as the cuts that scattered his body from the ice were not healing, but rather being stitched together by dark threads. As if stitching together a costume.

  ?“Well, no need to show the others the ugliness of your true form.”

  ?“My true form for you? Don’t need it. But I must say I am a bit sad that you ruined this vessel. The amount of regret it carried, oh so delicious.”

  ?He said, licking his lips.

  ?“Well, I must say I'm impressed by all the charades you have put on. For the church and now for us.”

  ?Aru commented, preparing his spells. This was all underground, yet his magic was being interfered with by the divinity that lay here.

  ?“What can I say? I am the embodiment of divinity.”

  ?“No, what you are is a faker. An alien masquerading as the gods.”

  ?“How can I be a fake, when the original never existed?”

  ?Rio laughed, before going on the offense. The moment he did, though, the wall closed in, immediately crushing him.

  ?“Don’t think this will be an easy fight for you. I have prepared countless spells all with your name on it. You're the final piece of my revenge.”

  ?The wall cracked, as they were pushed apart, revealing the bloodied body being stitched together again. His right eye had been squeezed out of its socket, his arms bent all the wrong ways so that his bones could be seen through, yet the smile plastered on his face would make one believe he was having the time of his life.

  ?Lunging at him, he was quickly sidestepped, as earth pillars, he swiftly dodged.

  ?Trying to break his face, he continued on the chase. Aru knew he could not match him physically, so he used the advantage that he could control the room itself, forcing Rio, or whatever he truly was, to adapt.

  ?“For a so-called divinity, you sure aren't durable.”

  ?Aru said, though he had practically mangled Rio’s body by now, it didn’t seem to slow him down at all. And his voice remained as strong as ever. A screeching sound that made sound seem too quiet, and silence seemed too loud. A voice that clawed its way up your spine, lurking. Only waiting to rip you apart.

  ?“So-called divinity? No, no, no. I. Am. All the divinities!”