Chapitre 39: Path Of Loneliness

The hand of the figure was painted in a black color; it had just killed Elijah, and the space it was in had disappeared into nothingness. "What did I do?" the figure asked itself.

The figure sighed then added, "I have to pass this dam trial…or else I will end up like that one, lost in a fake world….i" The figure wanted to say something, but it didn't. It kept walking, and the figure met more familiar faces.

"Elijah! Where are you going?" Selina yelled; the figure looked at her indifferently and then added in a cold tone.

"Move" Selina, however, wasn't shaken. More similar figures appeared, and they asked the same question.

The figure sighed and then launched itself towards them. The halls were filled with brutality; spines were crushed, and blood was all over the wall. There was also some intestine on the floor, but the figure avoided it.

It sighed, then kept walking.

The lantern cracked more and more. At that time, he was at the end of the hallway; a dark door was blocked. It seemed cold and empty, just like the figure. "What did I kill…" the figure sighed and then opened the door; the figure was covered with slight bruises, but it didn't seem to care for such a thing. Was it even human?

Bargi stood there clad in a black military uniform that had ribbons on the side. The figure didn't know what the ribbons meant, but it could guess it was important.

A black knight appeared. It was dawned in black armor and a rusty sword. Its feathers were unclear. "So you Killed him?" the figure lunged at Bargi, but he swiftly moved out of the way and counter-attacked at a weird angle; the black knight then joined the exchange of blows.

"Why are you even trying to stop me?' the figure inquired; it clashed with the black knight, and then the knight swung the rusted blade at the figure, but it was seen through by the figure, and with a simple move, the figure shattered the blade and crushed the knights head.

The armor continued to move. He was about to attack again but was stopped by Bargi. The figure's head was slammed into the floor, and a cracking sound was made, then a shattering sound.

It was the lantern. It was fully shattered.

"WHY!"

"Why!"

"Why?"

The voices stabbed at the figure's head, but instead of rolling in pain, the figure started to laugh and then added, "Was that it?" Bargi jabbed, but his fist was destroyed, and his fingers were crushed. This all happened in a single second. The knight rushed again, but its sword had been destroyed, but the knight reformed it again.

The figure dodged the slashes and shattered the sword again, then destroyed the red stone that was in the knight. "This entire fight was pointless." The figure looked at Bargi and then walked over. Bargi was on the floor wincing, but his eyes looked lifeless, as though he was already dead.

"The real versions are way stronger than this…that lantern.." The figure sighed and then killed Bargi. A slight tear came falling down the figure's face.

There was a moment of silence, then a white door appeared. The figure opened the door and saw….

"So you must be….Elijah, huh?" Otto asked. Elijah had a startled expression and then inquired.

"what do you know about me?" Otto had tall blonde hair that reached his cheek. He had a rich face.

"I don't know much….all I know is that after you killed…the other you, your mind started to fall apart…..so right now, you are going crazy in the real world…the others are probably wondering if they should kill you right now.

"That lantern represents your will and soul, but you destroyed it and killed all of his anchors…which were the people that were at the church….you killed all of them," Otto sighed, then continued.

"you have shattered your soul…you are dead, but…his mind somehow split, and you are that split, which is how we are still alive…exactly why did you kill them?" Otto asked, his voice cold.

Elijah glanced at his blooded hands that were filled with black. "they were in the way," Elijah answered honestly. Otto sighed and then inquired.

"Is that all there is to them? did you just kill them because they got in your way?" Elijah looked at Otto and then chuckled.

"Of course, that's not all there is to it…they were in my way…I would have been okay with letting his anchors stay, but they were in the way….this trial existed to show him that, but he didn't see that. All he saw was a future where the church was safe, and he got to live happily with them … I wouldn't have minded that future….but" Elijah paused momentarily.

His expression gave off a sad feeling, but at the same time, he looked OK with the decisions that he had made. Otto stared at him and then inquired.

"why? Why would you be ok with such a future? I thought you had some big goals you wanted to achieve. isn't that the reason why you chose to be a crusader?" Elijah glanced at him somberly, then added a faint smile.

"I wanted to become a crusader to find out more… I wanted to find out why I was here and what happened to my memories…but they seemed to be fading. I would have been willing to accept such a happy life, a life where the church wouldn't be in danger and all of us could live happily….I had thought this could come true, but….

"…..sadly they won't; I'm not an idiot to know that reality like that will never exist. This world has hidden dangers that could come out and kill us all at any moment. The church is what protects us … but what if it fails? What if all of them die?…then what? There is no guarantee that the church will always be safe. The best and safest option would be to gain an oath and improve my skills…then maybe I can think about my other goals…"

Elijah said in a somber tone. Otto listened closely; sometimes, he wanted to interrupt but didn't. Thoughts flowed in his head, yet none wanted to be formed. None of them wanted to understand what Elijah wanted and his dream. Instead, Otto was stunned at such a revelation.

Before Otto could speak again a Blinding red door appeared it shifted into many different forms. The door looked quite strange. No matter how Otto looked at it, all he knew was that the door led to the sea of consciousness, and if any of them were to open that door, then all of the Shattered shards would escape into the sea, and It would be impossible to collect them.

He Hurdley turned to Elijah, but before he could say anything, Elijah was already moving towards the door. Otto's expression grew dull…he did not care much anymore. He walked closer to Elijah. surprisingly, Elijah inquired, "Are you going to keep trying to escape?" Otto sighed, then added in a tried voice.

"what's the point? your half insane and your entire mind has been shattered taking over your body is just a death wish…..but I…I don't know Elijah…." Elijah kept the same pace and then added

"Hey, you might never know if you will die trying to take over my body if you never try, huh? There might be some mystical way for you. I mean, you are a weird one," Elijah said sarcastically.

Otto glanced at Elijah annoyedly, but he calmed down and said, "… I wish there was a way… I haven't been around much." The two kept walking, and they had now reached the door; the door kept shifting its form. It was like watching a horde of maggots eat a corpse.

Elijah's Eyes grew bright, then added, "Hey, I just realized something…the pale knight Oath is all about contracts, right? Then that means that they have to hold the loneliness of the spirit! That's their job. They have to keep spirits in check, which means, in a way, they walk the path of loneliness." Otto gave Elijah a puzzled expression.

"… That's one way to look at it…." Otto looked at the door and then sighed.

"i really hope i do find a way" he added in a mumbled breath.

Elijah was about to open the door but he stopped half way then said to Otto "Hey…do you think i will somehow make it to level 7 alive?" Otto gave the young man a puzzled expression and then inquired.

"What do you mean?" Elijah rubbed his head and then added.

"Remember when you taught me how to use spirit vision? that time when we saw the spirits, I was horrified…I felt like I was bout to die, but you said that once I reached Level 7, we needed to leave….do you think I can make it so far?" Otto sighed and then looked at Elijah with a confused expression.

"No."

"Huh? What do you mean no?" Elijah inquired in an annoyed tone.

"Who said that we will be able to survive now? who said that we will stay sane enough to reach level 8?" Elijah sighed, then opened the door

"lets see if our chances are that low..if it is then lets find away to get out of the church all together and hide form the cults…anyway see you in a bit i guess" After he finished the sentence, he left the door. Stopped changing forms, then returned to normal

After he opened his eyes, he was might with a confused gaze.

(Did something happen while I was gone?)