Chương 45: A Saviour In The Darkness

The night arrived, and Arvid was waiting in his cell for Erik the Berserker. Erik was not loyal to Askild. This revelation surprised Arvid. Although he did not mind Erik's disloyalty to King Askild, he could not forgive Erik for his role in the twisted torture game. However, now was not the time to fight him; Arvid needed to escape Kattegat as soon as possible.

Footsteps descended, and Arvid immediately got to his feet. The person approaching was none other than Erik, and Arvid heaved a loud sigh of relief.

Part of him thought this was Erik playing games with him, but the man's presence and actions proved otherwise as the door opened.

Arvid could hardly believe how relieved he was to see Erik. Erik shushed him and handed him a cloak to disguise his identity.

Arvid wore it with Tears welled up in Arvid's eyes as he put it on. He couldn't believe he was getting a second chance at life and felt comforted knowing he wasn't the only one who saw King Askild's cruelty.

"Do not make a sound, the gate has been cleared. I will guide you to the horse". Erik whispered, Arvid nodded in acknowledgment.

Erik led the way, with Arvid trailing behind. They walked for a while until they reached the horse, which had a bag of supplies attached to it, food, perhaps.

"Hurry up!" Erik urged him, glancing left and right to ensure that no one was coming, Arvid bowed his head to Erik and he mounted the horse.

He rode off but in the back of his mind, he hoped this was not a trap as it would be troublesome if it was but the chances of it were low as it would put Erik in a bad position.

"The gate…" Arvid thought. He saw the gates were cleared and opened. He had no idea how Erik managed it but he somehow did.

The moment Arvid exited Kattegat, a wave of relief washed over him.

"I—I did it! I escaped!" Arvid thought, riding at full speed toward Vestfold. However, twenty minutes into his journey, the horse abruptly stopped.

Arvid was confused as to why the horse fell on its stomach and Arvid figured it was because it was tired. It has been running for 20 minutes but Erik did say it was well-fed.

Arvid was confused as the horse collapsed to the ground. Assuming it was exhausted, he quickly reached for the bag of supplies Erik had mentioned to feed it. But when he opened the bag, what he saw made him retch in disgust.

It wasn't food.

It was the severed heads of his parents.

"Arvid…" A voice said in the darkness, and Arvid jerked his head immediately in that direction. The person that called out his name was Erik The Berserker.

An evil grin plastered on his face, The expression told Arvid everything he needed to know. This was a sick game for Erik. But Arvid wasn't going to go down without a fight, even if it meant not having the time to mourn his parents' deaths.

"There is no fun killing an already broken man, Arvid. I needed to fill you with hope, I needed to give you a new reason to live but this was also a chance at redemption. If I was truly going to betray Askild, you chose to help me instead of reporting me to him." Erik said in a mocking voice, he was having the time of his life messing with Arvid.

"YOU ARE SO FUCKING PATHETIC ARVID!" Erik laughed his ass out as he watched Arvid frantically try to get away, a downward motion of Erik's hand sent arrows flying, right into the joints of Arvid that sent him tumbling to the ground.

"You have been denied Valhalla with that action. The Valkyries will take no coward to Odin's hall! How dare you turn your back and run in battle!? Is living that important to you? Look around you Arvid, everyone you love is dead!" Erik roared, walking towards the crawling man.

Erik had never betrayed King Askild. On the contrary, Askild had given him full authority to handle Arvid as he saw fit. This was Erik's idea of justice.

Arvid wept, realizing how foolish he had been to believe there was light at the end of the tunnel. All that awaited him was darkness. Erik's laughter pierced his ears as Arvid lay there, utterly defeated. At least death would come for him now, or so he thought..

He waited for the sword of Erik to come down and take off his head but all he felt was the sharp pain in his legs and screamed in anguish.

Erik had severed his legs but he had no intention of killing him. The point of cut-off was burnt so he did not bleed out but Arvid passed out. Erik kept laughing like a maniac.

"Take him back to Kattegat! I am done with him!" Erik shouted, turning his back from the broken Man.

Arvid had clung to hope, only to have it ripped away. He had known not to trust Erik, but desperation had driven him to grasp at any chance for survival. Now, there was no coming back. Though he was alive, Arvid felt as though he were already dead.

Erik was now focused on what was ahead, and that was the war, having fun with Arvid was a way to keep his mind focused because King Askild was well aware of his warrior's darker tendencies and Arvid was the perfect scapegoat to keep his thirst under control.

But now they had all the pieces to begin the war and King Askild was finalizing preparations.