A Cynical Shadow's Return

Chapter 10

     Minutes passed by since Reko regained consciousness, and Agnus has yet to show even the slightest sign of consciousness. Back at camp, Rai and Elias sat outside conversing with one another about random topics. Kinsa, who should have been resting his body, came out of the house, walking over to the two with a worried look on his face. Rai and Elias then paused their conversation and looked up at Kinsa.
        “Is everything alright, bro?” Rai asked, and Kinsa sighed before answering.
        “It’s Agnus and Sitha that I’m worried about,” he said. “It’s been hours and we can’t even tell if Agnus is alive or not, and Sitha hasn’t come out of Agnus’ room ever since we got here.” Elias scratched the back of his head and looked over at the house.
        “Not to worry, Kinsa. When Tasaloo is in its desperate time of need, a new hero will rise and take the torch that our beloved fallen heroes have--”
        “Elias, we’ve been through this already,” Rai interrupted, “you can’t take the captain’s title of being Tasaloo’s hero. Igneous can, though.” Elias shot a glare over at Rai and stood up.
        “That title can’t stick with a dead man and a kid who won’t even wake up! I can be just as good a hero as Captain Reko!”
        “Elias, calm down,” Kinsa said. “It’s not that Rai doesn’t believe in you being a hero, but Captain Reko and Igneous have done things we could only dream of doing. I understand you want to help people, but trying to be better than either of them is like chasing your tail. It’s best that the three of us work together as a team if we want to survive.” Elias turned away with a discouraged look on his face. His primary goal in life was to be as great of a hero as Reko was but now feels that he will never become the hero that he envisions himself as. He would then reminisce over his battle with Reko, and made an angry fist. Even after that, Elias thought to himself, I wasn’t even a worthy challenge for him. I was nothing more than a grain of sand to him. Why is there such a large gap between him and me? What does he have that I don’t? Elias growled and stormed off. Rai looked over at Elias and laughed.
        “Hey, Kinsa, wanna know what Elias’ feelings are saying?” He asked, snickering.
        “Rai, please--”
        “Aoooowwwwww! Get it? Because his feelings are hurt! Haha! I’m the best.”
        “You know, it’s crazy that your jokes are so bad that it made a demon walk away.”
     Inside of the house, Sitha was in Agnus’ room, watching over the large, unconscious man. Agnus laid on the floor, since he had no bed, and was barely breathing. When Sitha would place a hand on his forehead, his body temperature would be as cold as a dead body, and it would worry her tremendously, which would then make her cry. Now she laid beside him, cuddled up with his large, muscular arm, trying to warm him up, and trying to keep him alive. If Agnus were to die, Sitha knew she would never forgive herself, though she could hardly forgive herself now after the terrible death Red had suffered. She blamed herself for everything that had happened for being so weak and useless. Nursing Agnus back to health was the least she could do but felt like it wasn’t enough; that there was something more she could do to help him. She had already wrapped Agnus’ wounds up with bandages and made sure that he was comfortable while resting, but she wondered what more she could do.
     After a few minutes, Agnus began groaning, and Sitha instantly raised up, happy to know that Agnus was still alive. She would start to hug him but stopped herself from doing so. Agnus opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around his room with heavy eyes, then looked at himself. Sitha was slightly worried if the Gift would reactivate itself, but Agnus showed no emotions for the moment. She thought it would be best if she were to try and talk to him.
        “A-Agnus,” she said with worry in her voice, “h-how are you f--”
        “Where’s Red?” He asked, catching her off guard. She did not know how to tell him, even if he did forget, but she knew she could not lie to him and sighed.
        “Agnus,” she said softly, looking away from him, “you do remember what happened, right?” She would then hear a sniffle from Agnus and turned her whole body to him, placing her small, soft hand on his large, rough one. Small droplets of water hit the floor as Agnus sniffled again.
        “I-I r-remember,” he said with his voice cracking. “I-I just th-thought that it w-wasn’t real. I-I thought I was s-seeing things. Pl-Please Sitha, t-tell me my cub is okay and that it w-wasn’t real. Please tell me it was a dream.” Sitha did not answer; she could not answer, and at that moment, Agnus knew that it was all real and he broke down crying. Sitha now looked up at Agnus and gave him a comforting hug, and he hugged her back tightly, still crying.
        “Wh-Why would they hurt him?” Agnus asked amongst his crying. “R-Red never did anything bad to anyone. Wh-Who would ever w-want to h-hurt him?”
        “It’s okay, Agnus,” Sitha said, softly petting him. “Let it all out...”
        “I-I miss him, Sitha. I-I want him back.”
        “I’m sorry, Agnus...Listen, Red is up there with the Spirits, watching over you. You know he wouldn’t want to see you like this. You’ve already avenged him, and now all he would want is for you to survive. Will you do it? For me?” Agnus sniffled and rubbed his teary eyes, now feeling his anger building up as the black markings from before returned. He let go of Sitha and pushed her off of him.
        “Don't you act like you know what it’s like,” He said, standing up. “You couldn’t understand how I feel! No one does!”
        “Agnus, you’re not the only one who’s been through this. Other Tasoolians have lost their kids back when Zubelon was alive, but they’re well and fine now.” Sitha knew that Agnus was grieving, but also knew that he must understand that he cannot stay unhappy over what happened forever. He would die of a broken heart if he kept going at that route. Agnus had growled louder as the black markings grew more and more, now being visible on the right side of his face, and Sitha’s heart sank when she saw this. It’s making him aggressive, she thought, referring to the shadow’s gift.
        “Stop acting like you know everything!” Agnus said to her. “Red meant so much to me, and now he’s gone! No one could ever understand! Just go! Get out!” Sitha fought back her tears as she got up, and started to leave Agnus’ room. She had never seen this side of him, and it terrified her to know what the Gift was transforming Agnus into. When she left the room, tears fell from her cheeks as she closed the door and sat against the wall, hugging her knees. All she could hear next was Agnus crying yet again. The Gift could not take control of him again, since his body was still exhausted from the previous battle, so the markings on Agnus vanished. He fell down to his hands and knees, panting heavily and coughing out blood. His tears fell from his cheeks, mixing in with the specks of blood he coughed out. He blamed himself for Red’s death since he did not have the strength to fight off Chordon, but only acquired it when it was too late.
        “Where was it when I needed it the most,” he yelled as he punch the floor angrily, his fist going through the wood and making the entire house shake violently. Sitha whimpered with fear as she hugged her knees tighter, starting to cry as well.
        “I-It’s all my fault…” She said quietly.
     Somewhere in the forest, and not far from the house, Elias was throwing punches and kicks in the air, training himself. His mind was stuck on the doubts that Kinsa and Rai put on him, and growled as his punches and kicks were fueled with anger. He looked at a tree and charged at it, giving it his hardest punch, which only resulted in blood splatting on his face. Blood dripped down on the tree from his knuckles, but he did not give two shakes of a dog’s tail about the blood, nor did he care about the pain he caused himself. He thought back to when he was controlled by the shadow; specifically when Reko considered him as a waste of time, and this angered him even more.
        “No,” Elias said, growling, “I’ll prove him wrong. I’ll become Tasaloo’s hero at any cost!” At that moment, Elias heard a sickening, demonic chuckle that sounded like it came from all directions. Elias instantly felt a chill slide down his spine and looked around the forest for anyone near, but saw nothing.
        “At any cost, you say?” The voice asked, then chuckled again. Elias recognized this chuckle and growled when he knew who it was.
        “Shadow Reko!” He exclaimed.
        “Don’t ever compare me to that pathetic mortal. We may look the same, but there’s a vast difference between the two of us.” Elias gulped and prepared himself for a battle as the shadow came into view, but was transparent. The shadow chuckled when he saw how defensive Elias got. “Not to worry,” he continued, “I’m not looking to kill you. At least...not now.” Elias was practically shaking with fear as his palms were getting sweaty; his breathing grew rapid; and had a great urge to run away, but soon found out that he was standing there, frozen with fear.
        “W-Well wh-what do you want then?” He responded nervously.
        “What I want is a number of things, but there are steps that I must take to achieve those goals. What you said earlier has piqued my interest, Elias. You and I are similar, in a way: you will do anything to surpass Reko and become the new hero of Tasaloo, and I, however, want to eliminate the true monsters of Tasaloo.”
        “You’re nothing like me! You’re a monster just like that snake demon! Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you both did to Red!”
        “On the contrary, Elias, Red’s death was necessary for bringing out the true, terrifying power of Agnus. I am not the bad guy, here, Elias. I want to keep you away from those monsters. Think about it: Reko abandoned his team; allowed Kinsa to be nearly killed; insulted you; and did not hesitate to dispose of you. Agnus is the real monster who would kill anyone that gets in his way. He does whatever he wants and whenever he wants to with no one to stop him. Kinsa and Rai, however, don’t believe that you have what it takes to be the hero that you desire to be.” Elias looked away, now seeing through the shadow’s perspective. The shadow’s accusations made complete sense since he witnessed all of the others’ actions towards him. They stomped on his hopes and dreams, then burned them to ashes right in his face. This angered, and hurt Elias as his eyes were starting to water. The shadow put a hand on his shoulder, acting like he was being sympathetic to him.
        “I don’t understand,” Elias said, looking at the shadow, “what made them want to treat me this way? All I wanted was to be like them and be a hero.”
        “I can’t say that I’m shocked, Elias. That’s just how some mortals are. You think you know them until you see how they truly are. Tell me, what is your definition of strength?”
        “Strength?” Elias inquired, rubbing his eyes now. “Strength is having the power to break down any obstacle that gets in your way. I can and will break down any obstacle that stands in my path of becoming a hero.” The shadow chuckled as he released his hand from Elias’ shoulder.
        “I see. Such an interesting thing to say, Elias, but you do not possess a sufficient amount of strength yet to achieve your goal.”
        “Wh-What?! Why don’t I!?”
        “That answer is quite simple, you dimwitted mortal. You are not strong enough to defeat Agnus, and yet you believe you can get stronger by anger and the power of your will? You’re living a fantasy, and fantasies have not a chance in hell of becoming realities just because you want them to. However, if you are willing to cooperate with me, and follow my commands, I can easily grant you power much greater than the shards of the Artifact. It will be the only way that you can become stronger and be that hero that you dream of being so much.” Elias thought long and hard about the decision he would make. Just a few hours ago, the shadow wanted to kill him, but then again, Elias felt that he was not even worthy of the shadow’s time during that moment. He remembered sitting there, watching Agnus make short work of two opponents that he would not last ten seconds against. Now he made up his mind as he clenched his fists. No longer will I be second to anyone! I will become stronger and I will eliminate all of Tasaloo’s enemies!
        “Okay,” Elias spoke with a firmness in his voice, “I will do your bidding only if you are to keep your end of the bargain.” The shadow grinned as he took a step back from Elias.
        “What a wise choice, Elias. When I return to Tasaloo in my physical form, I will be sure to keep my promise. In the meantime, do not make any hasty moves. Every good hunter knows that you must wait until the time is right to attack your prey. Finally, avoid Agnus at all costs. Do you understand?”
        “Yes, sir. I will not let you down. I will bring all of Tasaloo’s enemies to justice.”
        “Oh, I’m quite sure you will.” The shadow let out a sinister chuckle as he was starting to vanish right before Elias’ eyes. When he was gone, Elias couldn’t help but feel guilty. In his mind, he knew what he was doing the right thing and working to achieve his goal, but his heart said otherwise. He looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds, and let out a deep sigh.
        “Have I chosen the wrong path?” He asked himself.