Capítulo 103: Chapter 42 - Memory from the First Floor
Aransae stood in the dark place, there was light above him and fire below. It was like standing at the crossroads of Heaven and Hell. He cocked his head to the side, seeing the man who looked just like him, just as frail, "You are…? Me?"
(For as long as I remember. Half of my body was paralysed. I belonged to no one. My parents died sometime after I was born. Or so I heard from others.)
(There were times when I had the dream. Dream about what happened that day.)
"Woah!! _____!! This is such a wonderful place," the boy with warm golden-brown hair shouted in wonder, looking at the field of flowers in front of him, grinning brightly. He turned around, looking at his two friends, their faces were hazy, but they looked a little bigger than him, both of them mischievously grinning.
(I know now. They were innocent too. They had no idea what it would do to me. Yet, whenever I remember that smile…of two children. It's my greatest nightmare.)
The child with hazel eyes looked at his friends in confusion when the flower that brushed past his arm turned into spiders, climbing on his body, and the two of them started laughing, starting all the other pink flowers, that turned into spiders, scattering in all directions, "No! Get off me!!"
They climbed up the boy's arm and legs, over his torso and inside the fur he was wearing around his waist, ragged. He ran towards them, able to get rid of them from one side, but he could feel the burning pain all over the left side of his body. He screamed, reaching out for the two children, desperately wanting their help, but the two of them ran away.
(I was lying there. In pain. Hoping that they would bring help…but no one came for me. It was only years later, one of them confessed to me, out of guilt.)
"We were too scared. You don't have parents, so you don't understand. My parents are scary! They would have beaten me if I told them that it was our fault those Spiders attacked the village!" a young boy, about a decade old apologised, but it wasn't an apology for the boy he hurt, but it was for his conscience, so he could wake up the next day, thinking, 'I apologised. So, it's fine.'
(I wondered if I should hate a person like that.)
(When I came back, a few days later…I could barely use one side of my body. I couldn't see properly, talk properly, walk properly or become stronger, let alone Hunt a Beast to become a Totem Warrior. But for a child that didn't matter, crying did nothing…all I wanted was to eat.)
The boy with burned body huddled in the corner of the tent, made from the bones and fur of the beasts his parents hunted when they were. It was one thing that his parents left him, and it was the only place in the world where he felt safe. When the sun was high and bright, he would step out of the tent to look for food. He knew a few places where he could get berries to chew on, and at times, there were people who gave him the meat.
It wasn't much, but he kept himself alive. And years passed, he grew enough to be able to feed himself properly, and he finally found something that he could do. He could repair fur, and ever since he had been injured by those spiders, they didn't attack him, their poison off in his body. He could harvest their silk, and it took some time to train to use one hand to move the thread along.
He started using his teeth along with his hand, and since the silk was stronger, people's fur also became able to take more damage.
(For a long time. I survived, and I had a semblance of satisfaction that I was able to survive. I even made friends…again…and again I was disappointed.)
(It happened when I grew up. It had been eighteen seasons since I was born and I was to celebrate it…and it filled me with so much fear. I even heard someone special was coming, and if they liked someone, they would claim them. It made me feel…less…like I had felt as a child. My body didn't move…my face was disfigured…and I knew no one would choose someone like me.)
(I was about to run away when something worse happened, the Beasts…they came for us.)
The thin body dragged his left leg, holding his left shoulder, dragging his body as he tried to run, but others were there, they were screaming, and they pushed him down.
His face hit the ground, and he still dragged himself, wanting nothing but to survive, but seeing the faces of the beasts, the monsters roaring in the distance, the roar of the forest king wanting to devour them all. For the first time in his life, he finally gave up, it was hopeless to fight against these Beasts.
'I survived for so long…but I wanted to live. Just once…I wanted to live,' Aransae looked at the sea of beasts in front of him, monsters from all shapes and sizes. His eyes were filled with tears, hearing the screams of Totem Warriors, of people who ran from the sight of the beasts, 'I still…want to live.'
He thought when he felt a palm on his arm, helping him sit up and he couldn't help widen his eyes, looking at the boy with white hair, and eyes that reminded him of the fear of Beasts. But beyond that fear, there was warmth and kindness that made his lips tremble as his tears kept coming out.
"Come on, now. Don't cry," he wiped his tear, "You are not dying today. Today is a happy day."
"Happy…?"
"Yeah, weren't you standing in the celebration earlier," the boy smiled at him, "that means you were born today. That is something to be happy about."
"But the Beasts…"
"Oh, those?" the boy looked over his shoulder like they were nothing.
(He only patted my head with a smile. I didn't see anything them…I only know…that I heard the screams…screams of not humans but beasts, their voices screeching from fear, and I sat there, my eyes closed, shivering in fear, waiting for my death, until, there was silence.)
He opened his hazel eyes, looking at the boy, who half body was covered in the blood, his crystal blue eyes were filled with joy. He had this smile on his lips, like he enjoyed the fight than anything else.
(Still, I remember thinking. Those blue eyes, they felt like the vast, clear sky on those snowy days where the warmth of sun kept the cold away.)
"Say, would you like to become mine?"
"Yours?" He widened his eyes, staring at the boy with shame in his eyes, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
"Yeah, become mine."
(Of course, I didn't agree. I was happy that he saved me. But his way of doing things was always so reckless. He was like a storm that couldn't sit in one place. I argued with him a lot. To the point he got frustrated that I would agree with him. But for me, that moment will be my most precious moment my whole life. For the first time, I felt I made a friend. He didn't give me meat out of pity, or because they didn't want to see my face. He…was just that kind of person. And when he came up with all these strange jobs that I could hold to help him…I might have held out a little longer…pretending not to be convinced. For no other reason…I was worried…if I did agree, then he would leave.)
(I wasn't expecting him to heal me. I found it impossible. Those spiders kept the illusion, they were always a group, and they could mesmerise people. None of the hunters who tried were able to kill them. And then he…)
"What happened to your hand!" the hazel eyed boy dragged his body across the tent, leaving all the repairing of the clothes he was doing to try to reach the crystal-blue-eyed boy at the entrance. There was a hollow stone in his hand, but the other one was completely burned, poisoned by the same poison that coursed through his body.
"Ah, I underestimated those spiders. I am surprised you are even alive," he casually laughed, "You really are a miracle."
"No! But why would you!"
"Shh," the white-haired boy stepped towards the stone forest, keeping the bowl filled with blood on it, and he sat down next to it with a tired expression, "Come on. On your knees, in front of me."
"NO! You are injured!"
"Shut up and sit, Aransae."
"Aransae…?"
"Yeah, I noticed that you don't have a name. Everyone calls you…you or whatnot. That why, from today onwards you will be Aransae," He smiled, "It means…He of The Spiders. Oh, and I am Aurum, Aurelius Aurum. People also know me as the White Demon."
Aransae helplessly looked at him, "That's…a name in the bad taste. Isn't it too cruel to name me that when Spiders destroyed my life."
(I didn't mind it though. I was happy. I never met my parents, but maybe…this was what it felt like to have a family. Someone who accepted me for who I am without being disgusted or frustrated of me?)
(I didn't know if it was going to work. I didn't dare hope…but I still believed in him. How could I not believe someone who was foolish enough to lose their hand for my sake…?)
Aransae knelt down in front of him, and Aurum dipped his fingers in the blood, started to draw a Totem on his burned neck, filling it with his spirit, forcing the spider on his soul.
"Their bodies, those spiders, they are full of poison, yet nothing happens to them. On some level, you have achieved the same through your will alone. I am going to force this Totem on your soul and body, in hopes that it gives you the immunity to the poison and then hope that you can take it out of my arm. So you better not lose."
"Oh…but…."
"Shh. I am drawing. Also, it might leave the burnt scars on our bodies. Let's hope we can find a way to cure those."
"No! Why wou—"
"Shhshhhshshhchhh! I am drawing. You can talk if your neck doesn't move. Or do you want to spoil all my efforts?"
(I…had never met a person as unreasonable as him. But…I also never had anyone who would go so far for me…was it too much…letting him shower me with so much care?)
(The poison that covered my whole body, that burned me, that paralysed me. I could feel it disappearing. No, it was getting sucked in towards my neck, towards that blood that he risked his own hand to get. My whole body was burning, it was crushing, my bones were getting even weaker. I thought I was going to die, like a part of me was getting scratched out of my body…and when it was over…)
Aransae was lying on the floor, covered his sweat. Though it was different from before, he could finally feel the left side of his body. He could move his finger.
"Would you look at that. You are as good as new. Other than the lack of flesh on your bones."
"Haha…I don't mind that," Aransae muttered in a hoarse voice. He looked up at the grinning boy as he lowered his eyes, "Why…did you go so far to help me…?"
Aurum raised his head, curling his lips into a smile as if he found heard something funny. He grinned, "well…you see. I don't want to tell you."
"You…"
(He…)
"Have the worst personality."
(Had the worst personality. He was my first friend…Aurelius Aurum. And for him, I became Aransae of the Spiders, Aransae Spindra.)
Aurelius watched the surroundings which turned dark again, "You are not me…are you?"
"You can say that. You and I…are the two sides of the same coin," Aransae Spindra looked into the distance, "thank you. It was because of you that I was able to survive. In turn…I only ever gave you pain that you didn't deserve. This time…let me help you."
Aransae looked at the man who was a mirror image of himself, and a bright light covered the darkness, forcing him to cover his eyes. He felt a sting on his neck, and when he opened his eyes again, he was sitting on the bed, along with numerous screens in front of him. He swiped them off without reading them as his body plopped down on the bed, "Haha…Aransae Spindra."
He turned to the side, hugging the pillow, closing his eyes, "I want to live too."
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