Living on Borealis-9: The Story Of A Reincarnated Human

Chapter 8, Part 6: Clarity

"Sumarbrander?" I whispered. The sword glowed red, like it was angry at me. "I know, I screwed up. But I need your help. Do you think you can...You know? Make sure no more people get hurt?"

Luckily, the sword seemed to catch my drift. It glowed softly for a moment, then intensified the brightness of the glow immensely, causing a feeling of calmness and relaxation to wash over me...and hopefully my allies.

"Alright, tell me what happened." I asked them. "Did I hurt either of you?"

"No, you did not." Luna said in a dreamlike trance. Wow, what was Sumarbrander doing to them? Wicked! If we had stuff like this on Earth, pretty much every war could be solved! Hell, every conflict! Zone of truth, plus calmness!

"Then tell me what happened."

"We came to the shore after I saved Luna." Kai slurred.

"I almost drowned. I could not swim." Luna slurred also.

"I saw you beheading the creature."

"We were afraid."

"I am worried that your anger will cause great pain."

Oh. That was it?

"I...Look, guys, don't worry, ok? I'm me now. I'm...I'm really sorry." I choked out before I started crying. Then...Tyr spoke up.

"Tsk, tsk. Crocodile tears, hm? You hurt them, Matt. You struck them, I saw it with my own two eyes." He mocked.

"He did not injure us."

"FUCK!" Tyr yelled. "Worth a try."

"What...Are you still trying to manipulate us? Me?" I asked Head. "Dude, you got ousted. What if I want to throw you to the fish for lying so much, huh? Come on, we're on the same team, and you can't lie."

"We're not on the same team. You decapitated me!"

"It was part of your plan!" I yelled.

"Wh...What's going on?" Luna asked from behind me. "Matt, why...HOLY HELLS!"

"What?" I asked.

"Did you...Kill that thing?" She asked in amazement. "Dude, that's, like, way metal! Look at this!"

Now I was just...deeply confused. Am I in the matrix? Did I just have a slip-up in the brain? Why was Luna all of the sudden amazed, rather than weeping in anger and fear like earlier? Unless...

"Dude!" I yelled at Tyr. "What did you do?!"

He sighed. "What can I say? An old man always has to play one last trick before he goes. But, now that I've been exposed as a manipulative, cheating, gambler of a man, I suppose you will throw me into the water to die. Oh, dear..."

"I...I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!" I yelled at Tyr. I really hate manipulators. I especially hate when you can't tell if they are telling the truth, or egging you on in one of their plans.

"Hey, shut up about the head and look at the giant fish you killed! Like, woah! I saw you thrashing it from shore, all bloody and stuff, and it was so cool! You ripped off one of its claws and drove it into its brain! I thought you were just a weak lil' man, who didn't have the guts to actually fight!" Luna butted in, punching my arm with each syllable of 'it was so cool'.

"But...I don't like fighting..." I muttered.

"You are a barbarian, Luna. He was merciless with killing it. I saw it try to flee, and he still tried to kill it. Dishonourable...You prolonged its suffering, and you were inefficient. You did not even have the honour to kill it with a blade." Kai remarked.

"Yo, samurai, shut up. Your 'honour code' thing is weird and dumb." Luna said, turning back to me. But then...

"I believe, that I would rather live by a 'weird and dumb' honour code than have no code of ethics at all. It is strange, hearing a child of Gaia, speak of her other creations in such a way. However, I do think that, as a Dryad, you see yourself as being above all other forms of nature, and enact cruel suffering."

Wow. That was a really elegant way of saying 'No u'. Luna certainly did not take it well.

"Excuse me?" She asked. I had come to know that as a warning shot.

"Sumarbrander?" I asked again. "Think I can have some more light?"

I could have sworn the sword said 'No. I'm too tired.' to me, because it turned a deep red colour afterwards. Great...

"Hey, guys? Can we focus on Tyr for now?" I suggested. "I wasn't in control when I killed the big...Uh, Reaping Death thing. So, I technically did nothing, since I was not me. Now, Tyr."

Kai looked me up and down for a moment, then made a slow nod. Whatever, weirdo. Nod all you want, I don't really care. Anyways, we grabbed Tyr the head and placed him onto a rock, circling him in a crescent.

"Alright, Tyr. You got some explaining to do." I said, crossing my arms. I was trying to seem intimidating, that way he would talk a little easier.

"Oh? And tell me, rage machine, why should I listen to you? Either of you, actually. I don't take orders from animals."

"Fucker, I will gut you!" Luna said, transforming and letting her bone talons burst from her hand.

"Try me. I have nothing left to gut."

"Um...How about we start with the obvious? Why have you been manipulating us?"

"I wanted Sumarbrander. It's not actually a rare weapon like I said. It's a rather common sword that appears around The Divine, usually coming to those in need like a Deus Ex Machina. My hopes were that HE would get in trouble, call one up, I'd swoop in, steal it, maybe kill him or sign him over to me, and call it a day."

"WHY do you want Sumarbrander?"

Tyr sighed deeply. "You're not from here, but come on. I was planning on baptising it in Void, to get its inverted counterpart: Skyggesverd. Beautiful. Discordant. Perfect for incentivising feuds and manipulating people. And, I wished to add it to my collection. Sadly, I don't get that now. Oops..."