Inside Umbra's Ruins ✓ [Umbra's Fate #2]

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ꜰᴏᴜʀ: ɴᴏᴀʜ

Noah was lost.

Not physically, he knew exactly where he was and it was the place he wanted to be. His path in life is what he had lost.

He didn't know where he was going, he didn't even have a clue what he wanted to achieve. Surviving became his only goal, living another day was what kept him going.

But what's the point in continuing to live without knowing why he lives? It had been so long since the war began that everything became meaningless for him. One day after another, all of them seemed the same, always fighting and killing to live a life he didn't even enjoy.

"Are you at least resting wherever you are?" He asked the tombstone in front of him. "You're not missing anything, things are exactly as you left them. Actually, they're worse. Now we have missing children, hellhounds and more than half of the village hates us for some reason."

His legs had grown numb from sitting in the same position so he stretched them out and leaned back on his hands. He turned his head to the side. No matter how many times he read the name, every time he saw Zygmunt Cheaney written on the stone he was reminded of his friend's last moment.

"Flora said you like to talk about the stars, I like them too. You could have told me something about it, perhaps we could have seen them when you were with us." Noah raised his gaze toward the night sky. "Better late than never, my dad says that all the time. I guess that's one of the few things we agree on. What do you think? Should we dedicate tonight to stargazing?"

A small breeze caressed the young man's hair. He always loved it, the soft wind that refreshes the body and soul on a hot summer night.

"To be honest, I'm not giving you a choice. Classic me, isn't it? Being rude and stubborn."

The Umbra's Cemetery never had decent lighting, anyone passing by at night wouldn't be able to make out even the large trees that surrounded the area.

Sometimes, that could be a negative aspect, especially when it comes to thieves and demons. Other times, it had its positive side, one of them being the good view that one could have of the sky.

"No clouds tonight, luck seems to be on our side."

Under the gaze of the stars, Noah's worries diminished in size. What used to be a tangle of complications with no beginning and no end, had come apart into little knots that he could work to unravel.

Lying on the ground, he began to release his fears and shared them with his friend.

"I'm not sure I can keep going. Hell, I don't even know what I'm doing. But I don't want to be like those cowards who left the group. The others are in the same shitty situation as me but they keep trying, I can't leave them behind in their worst moment."

He put his arms under his head and took a deep breath.

"At first I didn't even care about the village. I joined the Protectors to feel important, you know? I guess I wanted to be the person in charge for once, I thought somehow I could show my father that I was capable of making good decisions. Being the hero was perhaps going to make up for the fact that I chose to study astronomy instead of focusing on inheriting the family business. I was stupid, he doesn't even care about anything I do outside of his goals."

His body relaxed, it felt wonderful to voice out his confessions out loud and let them fly with the wind.

"At first we were all special, strong people doing what no one else was up for and I liked having power. I don't think I need to explain to you how arrogant I was, you did a good job putting me in my place the first time we met. I forgot it wasn't a game. Then the dead start piling up. I watched them die, I watched their families suffer, shit, I even saw innocent children slaughtered."