The Redemption of the Fallen Captain

Chapter 5: His name is 791

  "Find the boy with the number: 791 engraved on his skin," Aidan, the once-valiant warrior heard Aoi's, the goddess of time's, voice.

  Aidan opened his eyes, finding himself lying under a tree near hillsides. "I suppose I made it," he mumbled, covering his eyes with the backside of his right arm in uneasiness. His head hurt immeasurably, and heavy, as though he was carrying a huge boulder, and he could hear a continuous, irritating, buzzing sound in his eyes.

  Aidan had completed the first part of his quest, making his way to the unknown Kazuo Universe, a world completely different compared to his world. Goosebumps appeared on his skin, as he thought about the possibilities of this new world—excitement rushed through him, like a mighty sea wave. Even so, Aidan couldn't just lie on the grass all day, thinking of this new world, he had to continue. He couldn't forget why he was here—and the reason stung to the point where he couldn't relax: To collect the fifteen crystals of Arcane and revive his comrades.

   With determination and guilt as his fuel, Aidan lurched to his feet, staggering while his head spun uncontrollably and quickly fell on the rough grass, his face had turned slightly green, as an odd liquid made its way through his oesophagus. "I cannot just give up," he murmured, trying to stand on his feet again. But even so, the result was the same—he fell down, feeling even more resentful towards himself.

  Just then, Aidan heard the sound of footsteps; it wasn't only one person, judging by the varied sounds of footsteps, but he could distinguish that they were approximately between two to four people. The ground suddenly started shaking as the footsteps became louder—one pair produced an ear-splitting sound, as if it was a large gong.

  Aidan remained rooted on the ground; he had relaxed his whole body, seeming like he was a corpse and hoping that whoever encountered him, would not pay any attention to him. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

  The sound of footsteps came into a halt, and Aidan instantly held his breath—he could hold his breath longer than five minutes, thanks to eating the tail of the ferocious elytra he had once fought—with the aim to distinguish himself as a corpse. It seemed like a simple plan, but it wasn't depended only on him; the ones approaching him had to complete their part as well.

  Time slowly started ticking, and so did the endurance of his lungs. Two minutes had passed since the footsteps had come to a halt, and there was no sound of them, causing Aidan to be filled with bewilderment. He could only hear the chirping of various birds, rustling leaves, and the wind gently brushing against the branches of the tree he was under.

  Why wasn't there any sign of movement? Could they have already figured that he wasn't dead? Then, he considered opening his eyes—not fully, but rather, only a few inches—he could at least be able to see their faces.

  However, after brooding on the decision a bit more, he opted not to. Three minutes had passed since the sound of footsteps were last heard. Aidan started sweating, a large amount of stress had accumulated him since he had first heard the footsteps.

  Five minutes passed at last, and the endurance of his lungs started to weaken, like a kingdom losing its strength, after ceaseless attacks by the enemy. And yet, there was sound of anything but human. Aidan's heart started to beat slower, due to the lack of oxygen, his chest started throbbing madly, his lungs started contracting, and his mind became foggy, as though fog had made it its dwelling place.

   He could not calculate how much time he had left until he would pass out, for he couldn't concentrate at all. The only choice that could—though only a little—result in his survival, was to start breathing again. Either that or to pass out and meet a fate worse than this. To add, he didn't want to be carried away by some vigilantes and possibly be cooked alive to death, like some friends of his grandfather, when they had encountered an ancient tribe.