The Horseman of Calamity

Chapter 24 - Collapse

A constant and unending ringing in his ear, the sharp pained feeling of his lost phantom limb, and the numb thought of his brains kept Hung busy. Every time he blinked, his eyes burned, every time he swallowed, his throat ached. His eyes and thoughts were completely unfocused, the only thing replaying in his mind were Shitou's and Goray's deaths. They kept coming back to life and dying, one after the other, endlessly.

"Hung, are you listening?"

He was forcefully snapped out of his haze as his eyesight refocused, looking up at Nacara, who was now covered in bandages after receiving treatment from a healer located on the walls.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm listening."

"Then tell us what happened."

"Ask Skoldo."

"No, I don't care about what he has to say, I want to hear it from you."

Hung shifted around on the ground, watching the dust in the air settle to the ground after several hours of being kicked around.

"I mean... What is there to say? They're dead."

The group continued sitting around on the parapet in silence after Hung's words, still trying to soak in all that had happened. Sobs, tears, sniffles, and cries were all that were heard, and not just with them. The city itself seemed to be crying as a light drizzle made its way down, wafting the dry ashy smell of the burnt buildings up. The mixture of the damp and earthy wood contrasted the blazing and smoky atmosphere just a mere few hours earlier.

Meo bit her tongue, stuttering as she forced the words to exit her mouth, "T-There's no way! He wouldn't- He wouldn't do that to us!"

Alberto was the only one to not audibly cry, using his hand to hide his face, remaining in silence as streams of tears flowed down his face.

Nacara cleared her throat, throwing on the most firm voice that she could in order to uplift her friends, "Well, the battle's over at least. We can get away from here, find some place safe... and come back stronger."

Still in the middle of his tears, Delly took a deep breath in order to speak, "No! No, Nacara, you don't get it! It's not as simple as getting stronger!"

"He's right, this is beyond us. I mean, even Shitou lost." Mahmoud sniffled.

Still maintaining her more optimistic views, Nacara then turned to Hung, "Hung, come on. You want to get home, right? We can't give up now, not when you're so close!"

"I can't do this, Nacara."

Her hopefulness faltered slightly at his words, "Yes, you can! We've gotten through everything together. Remember what I told you? We're supposed to go on an amazing adventure together."

"I can't... I can't. I just-", He paused as his lips trembled, "I want to go home."

"Hung, you know, the biggest mistake any person can make at any point is to give up."

Delly interjected with a pained shout, "God, Nacara! Let the guy rest! He lost his goddamn arm and watched our fucking friends die, not being able to do anything about it!"

Nacara whipped her head to Delly, "Delly, I'm just trying to help! Everyone here is sobbing their hearts out and you think I can bear to sit by and cry with you all?! It hurts, it hurts so much, but we can't stop yet!"

At the sight of their bickering, Meo began crying even harder, holding herself in a ball as she rocked on the ground.

"Let's not yell, it will only worsen things." Alberto suggested, holding Meo to comfort her.