The Day Kael Visited the Village
After Kael left to see the demonic beast with his own eyes, mother and daughter were left alone in the room. Both of them were thinking about Kael's words, wondering whether they could trust a noble who had appeared out of nowhere.
"What do we do, Mother? Do you think his words were true?" Kyra asked. Her trust in her mother was absolute. She knew her mother could read people better than she could, though she never understood why.
Her mother did not answer. Instead, she gestured for Kyra to bring her some warm water. Kyra did so, bringing a cup and sitting beside the bed.
Her mother took slow sips from the water, her gaze drifting toward the door where guards were heavily stationed after Kael's departure.
She took another sip, then lowered the cup. After staring at her daughter for a moment, she spoke in a careful tone.
"Truth," she said quietly, "is not always a straight thing. It can bend with lies hidden beneath it."
Kyra frowned. "But he didn't feel like a liar."
"No," her mother agreed. She then turned fully toward Kyra. "That is what troubles me."
Her mother's voice remained steady, but there was an edge beneath it.
"Because when a man chooses honesty so quickly," she said, "it is rarely kindness alone that drives him." She reached out and brushed Kyra's hair back, a habit from when she was still a child.
"Honesty is the first key people use to unlock another's heart. Once that door opens, the rest becomes easier."
Kyra's fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress. "So he wants to use us?"
"No," her mother replied, correcting her. "He wants to use you." She exhaled. "We both know I do not have much life left. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow… maybe even now. I don't know how long I can live, so I am not his purpose."
"Mother, don't say that," Kyra said, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What do I do without you? You are my everything in this world."
Her mother reached out at once, pulling Kyra into her arms despite the weakness in her body. Kyra pressed her face against her chest, her sobs muffled, her shoulders shaking.
"Hush now," her mother whispered, stroking her hair slowly and gently. "Do not cry like this."
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, steadying herself. "That is exactly why I must say these things. Because one day, whether I wish it or not, you will have to stand without me."
Kyra pulled back, shaking her head. "I can't. I don't want to."
Her mother rested her forehead against Kyra's. "Then you learn. That is all any of us do." Her grip tightened slightly. "Promise me one thing."
Kyra nodded weakly. "Anything."
"Do not give him your loyalty all at once," her mother said. "For now, simply pretend. If you find another path, one you can walk on your own then take it. You can take revenge yourself if you must.
You don't need anyone to tell you what to do. Because humans were the reason we were hunted in the first place. You have potential, and he wants to use your strength to take that revenge for you."
She placed a hand over Kyra's heart. "The moment you lose yourself to revenge is the moment you truly become powerless."
Outside, a distant howl echoed from the forest. Kyra lifted her head, resolve slowly forming behind her tear-filled eyes.
"I'll remember," she said.
Kael's eyes blinked open, the darkness clawing at his vision. The stench of rot and dust burned his nose.
Then he remembered the soft smile of Kyra before he was dragged away and muttered to himself that he had been betrayed for the second time in less than a month.
I thought my luck was not that terrible, he thought bitterly.
No, he couldn't call this a betrayal. She had known Kael for only a couple of days, and she had just agreed to take revenge; she was not at his service, and he had simply expected too much from her.
I guess I am not like a main character, one who can earn loyalty with just a smile.
But it did not change the fact that she had wished him death. And when he escaped this place, he didn't know how yet but when he manage to leave, he would kill her for sure.
Bones crunched beneath his hands as he pushed himself up. Long, brittle fragments ribs, skulls, shattered limbs lay scattered in every direction, forming a pile.
He coughed, the taste of blood and decay filling his mouth. The stone above him seemed endless, the walls closing in like the ribs of some massive beast.
Kael's mind spun. What is this?
He rose slowly, testing his limbs. The bones shifted beneath him with each step, some cracking under the weight of his boots.
Then he heard a woman's voice behind him. "Oh, new human, are you a hero candidate too?" she said excitedly.
Kael froze, every nerve on edge. The voice was soft and playful, but it made the hairs on his neck stand on end.
"Who's there?" he demanded, his voice rough as it echoed through the darkness.
He looked back and saw a ghost of a woman.
"Who are you?" Kael muttered, falling backward from sudden fear of ghosts.
He fell all the way to the bottom of the bone pile, face pressing into the broken remains, drenched with mud, blood, and something else he couldn't even identify.
He lifted his head slowly, wiping at the grime with a trembling hand, and thought bitterly, Well… I was right about luck.
The ghost hovered above him, tilting her head amused. "Oh," she whispered. "Falling already? I expected more… courage from a hero candidate."
Kael coughed, tasting the coppery blood in his mouth.
"Hero candidate?" he muttered, then quickly recovered, his instincts kicking in. "Wait—what are you? A ghost? If you're a ghost, then please… keep your distance!" His voice rose with a mixture of fear .
The ghost tilted her head, floating effortlessly above the bones. " How polite," she said. "You speak so fast when you're scared. I like that human."
"I… I'm not afraid of ghosts," he said, though his voice betrayed him. "I just… I don't like them!"
The ghost laughed, a light, eerie sound that echoed through the stone walls.
"Do you even know where you are, human?"
"No, I don't," he answered quickly, his voice firm despite the trembling in his body. "Do you know… and what is that about 'hero candidate'? I am not a hero."
The ghost paused, tilting her head as if considering him. "Not a hero?" she murmured, almost mockingly. "Then why are you here, human? Why does the maze call to you if not for… heroics?"
"Maze… what is that?" Kael demanded, his voice shaking slightly. "And how… how did it decide I'm a hero?"
The ghost's pale form flickered in the dim light, her eyes gleaming like shards of ice. She hovered closer, though still keeping just out of reach.
"Hero?" she said softly, almost teasing. "I never called you that. That… is what the maze sees in you."
"This maze is a training ground for future heroes left behind by the first hero, Galius," she said, her voice carrying pride. "And I am his legacy's protector."
"Wait… who?" Kael asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
The ghost's eyes glimmered, unwavering. "Galius. The one who defeated the darkness long ago, who shaped the world you walk in.
The maze was his creation, and I was chosen to guard it, to ensure that only those worthy may emerge."