บท 44: Final Introductions
This is a joke, right?
My body refused to move, my mind refused to think.
Was I going to lose everyone?
I trudged over towards the girl, my feet barely even responding. My hands let go of the weapons I was holding, a massive clash of metal ringing throughout the now-silent graveyard.
I kneeled down, gently picking up the girl's head into my arms. I looked at the wound at her side, noticing that the few seconds of smoke had allowed the Fury to get a direct hit on Katherine, causing internal damage.
The girl smiled, finally realizing she was being supported.
"Sorry, Darck," she whispered quietly. Her words, her voice, her occasional grunt of pain, all of it was identical to Rom. I shook my head, trying to forget what had happened to the healer that had mimicked her exact actions.
"For what?" I responded weakly. I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't show weakness. There was only one thing I wanted to do for the partner I had come to love like a sister: be a supporting rock for her to lean on until the very end.
"For making you feel what you're feeling right now."
I didn't answer.
"Take off your mask," she asked softly. I obeyed, immediately removing the facemask from my face. My long brown hair fell over my face, but the girl just smiled and reached up, touching my cheek.
"What's your name?"
My eyes widened. These last three years, Katherine had never known my name? I had always thought she knew, but I guess I had never explicitly told her.
"Jay. Jay Cadmium."
The girl's smile widened even further, tears starting to stream down her face as she realized her time was slowly approaching, the seconds counting down.
"Jay? It's a pretty name. How old are you?"
My body didn't even react, the utter disgust in myself surging forth as I tried to pronounce the simple number.
"Ten."
Katherine chuckled, a laugh that engraved itself within my memory. I never wanted that expression to leave me, never wanted the girl in front of me to disappear.
"Only ten, huh? And to think I was relying on you for everything."
"I'm not from this world," I suddenly said, the words escaping my mouth. I didn't care, I didn't want to stop, I wanted to tell this girl everything about myself, everything that I had wanted to say for the last ten years since I had been born on this continent. She merely sighed, nodding.
"I'm not surprised. But I'm sure you were just as extraordinary in your other world," she said finally, accepting the absurd sentence I had just told her.
No, I wasn't. I was someone who killed others to survive, ignored others for my own gain. There was nothing good about me, the only thing present within me was a cold-blooded killer who knew how to survive.
"Kath, I'm so sorry. You knew nothing, and yet you stuck by me for so long," I muttered, my voice cracking ever so slightly. I concentrated, regaining my composure.
"Well, you didn't know much about me neither," she responded truthfully. I smiled, realizing she was right. "But did we really need to?"
"No," I said, shaking my head slowly, "no, we didn't."
Katherine winced ever so slightly, her condition worsening by the second.
"Jay, can you do me one last favor?" she asked. I looked into her eyes, waiting for her request. It didn't matter what it was, I didn't care how impossible it was, I would accomplish it. I would dedicate my life, my entire existence towards her one wish.
"Live."
I think living means treasuring what we have in life, whether that be a place, a person, or our relationships. Katherine's words echoed in my mind, her request suddenly making sense to me.
She didn't want me to survive. She wanted me to live.
To continue treasuring those that I had, to mourn her, and move on, to continue finding happiness. A smile was all I was able to do, I could feel my hands starting to tremble.
"I will, Kath."
She nodded, satisfied.
"Thank you, Jay."
The entire world slowed down, time coming to a stop. I watched, centimel by centimel, Katherine's eyes closing. Those brown eyes that would never open themselves again, that hair that would never flutter in the wind again, that warm voice that would never speak again.
Her eyes finally came to a close. I felt the slight breeze from her last breath, a fluttering warmth that I could never feel again.
I brought the girl closer, embracing her body. My entire body trembled, my soul shattering as I lost a piece of myself. I didn't break down, containing the emotions that were flooding my mind, blocking my voice with a knot in my throat.
"Why."
"What did I do to deserve this?"
I gripped the back of the girl's head, my hands refusing to let go. I felt her hair intertangled with my fingers, her scent filling the air.
Was it wrong for me to exist? Was it wrong for me to grow attached to people?
I equipped my mask slowly, adjusting my arms to cradle Katherine's entire body and standing up. I looked back at the three bodies remaining in the graveyard.
"I failed you all," I croaked, not knowing what else to say, "please forgive me."
I walked out of the cathedral, my mind unconsciously clearing the passageway with bind. A bright light shone in the distance, the exit drawing me closer and closer.
The fluorescent rays blinded my eyes, the outside world welcoming me back. I walked onwards, not knowing when to stop, not knowing when to think.
I still had people out there I needed to protect, people I needed to support, but I didn't know if I had it in me. I felt broken.
I looked at the girl who had singlehandedly supported me throughout my entire journey as an adventurer. The person who had stuck by me, had fought with me, had comforted me when I was in doubt. I gave off one final smile.
"Thank you for everything, Kath."
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