Dakyres of Ardor | BoyxBoy ✓

29 | His Beloved Champion

EREN

He knelt there, wailing and squeezing the cold dead hands of his beloved champion. That was the tipping point for him, he just wanted to die as well.

"We've to go now, Eren," Ursa placed a compassionate hand on his shoulder.

"No! There's no future for me anywhere without Faldrey. Wherever he goes I go! I'll lay here with his dead body until death comes for me as well," he continued crying into Faldrey's bloody night shirt.

Ursa quickly got down on his knees, placing both of his hands on his shoulders.

"If you kill yourself you won't find peace in the Otherrealm because you still haven't fulfilled your destiny. Faldrey has fulfilled his," Ursa spoke encouragingly, but Eren turned a deaf ear to his words.

"I don't have a future without Faldrey," Eren answered with a flat, icy-cold tone.

"Yes you do, yes you do!" Ursa turned him away from Faldrey's body and urged him to look at him, squeezing his arms gently he spoke, "You're the only one left in the royal family, and you're the only one who can lead the new Red Stoichi Tribe down the right path. That's your future and that's your destiny," Ursa spoke firmly.

Eren had a vague expression on his face, he had totally given up on trying.

"I really don't care about what you're saying." His voice was devoid of every emotion, he couldn't even feel the pain at the back of his head anymore.

Ursa sighed and bent his head downwards, trying to find the right words to get his once lover's son to accept life and hold on to one last string of hope.

"Faldrey promised to come back to you, didn't he?" Ursa started but Eren didn't even blink. "What happens when he comes back and finds out you're in the fiery pits of the Otherrealm because you failed to fulfil your destiny? What do you think will happen to him? It will break him for the second time," Ursa shook Eren to get him agile.

He shifted his hollow, dark eyes to meet Ursa's which was filled with light and hope.

"You really think he'll come back?"

"I've seen the both of you do impossible things. Things that I'm still baffled about up till this day, so yes. Yes I really think he's going to come back, if he promised you that then that's exactly what he's going to do," Ursa continued with his attempts to exhilarate Eren's mind.

"I love him so much," he broke into another series of sobs.

"And you trust him to keep his word, don't you?"

"I do," Eren answered almost instantly.

"Perfect, so carry your beloved and make that great leap towards a brighter future," Ursa nudged his arm before shooting up.

Eren felt a thrill travel down his spine which jolted him right into action. shooting up from the floor, he gently ran his hands over Faldrey's still opened eyes—which revealed only his sclera—closing them.

While squatting he gently slid his hands under Faldrey. Springing up from the floor he lifted him up in one swoop, holding Faldrey's cold body—which still bled—in his arms. They sped all the way to the end of the tunnel.

On getting to the exit of the tunnel, there was a portcullis standing firm and strong.

"How're we going to get through?" Eren wondered how long the barrier had been standing. "I doubt the pulley and winch mechanisms still work."

"I doubt there's a pulley and winch mechanism," Ursa clucked his tongue, scanning the barrier before them. "Step back," he motioned at Eren with his hands before walking up to the portcullis.

He held and felt the metal it was made of, realising it was just iron he let out a sigh of relief.

"It's regular iron," he informed Eren, before holding the iron railings so tightly.

Eren watched as the iron coating started melting off, leaving only the heavy wood which eventually caught on fire under Ursa's burning hands.

The wood burnt, giving off a crackling sound and an unpleasant stench of moss and fungi. When the burning wood gave enough way for them to pass, Ursa crossed out of first, then helped Eren who was still carrying Faldrey in his arms.

They were immediately greeted by the hotness of the sea of lava metres away from them. Eren looked around, scanning the environment. There were over three volcanic mountains with lava flowing down their creaks and right into the streaming sea of lava.

"How are we going to get past that? If you tell me you've a dragon I'll lose my mind," Eren mentioned, wondering how Ursa knew so much that his father did not have even the slightest idea about.

"I don't have a dragon," Ursa heaved as he jumped over a rock that nearly blocked the exit of tunnel, assisting Eren over the same large sized rock in the way. "We're leaving in that."

They'd made it through the rocky path and Ursa pointed at their escape medium. It was one of the Westian floating metal crafts.

Eren furrowed his brows at the craft in front of him.

"How did you get that?"

"Your grandfather demanded that the Westies give us one of their floating crafts, which they did," Ursa gestured at the craft, "but Goliath messed with everyone's head, making them think the craft was just a useless hunk of metal. I knew it wasn't, and he wasn't aware I knew of the craft's existence." Ursa proceeded to explain.

"Eren!"

They'd almost gotten to the craft when Eren heard someone wail his name with such acerbity in their tone. They both snapped their heads around to the source of the noise, and the person standing right there made Eren's heart skip.

"Can you ride this thing?" He muttered to Ursa.

"Of course I can. It runs on hot air produced by a coal chamber built in it, then a wheel to steer it in the direction you desire," Ursa explained all at once, "Don't underestimate me," he finished.

"Good, because we're going to need your expertise," Eren swallowed thickly.

(Please make sure to play the song.)

AN: I know, I'm not heartless. I'm crying too and I mean it. I had to take a few minutes to myself before proofreading the rest of this chapter.

I hope you enjoy... Maybe.