Chapter 148 - The Sunset

"Can't argue with that logic."

Rynold was tired. And, even though he wanted to stay quiet and clear his head for a little while, Rynold wasn't sure if the Emissary of Order would let him do just that.

Registering what Rynold had just said as an agreement to speaking to her, Lumie moved closer and sat next to him.

The air between them was a bit awkward, but not to the point of tension. Truthfully, Rynold was just unfamiliar with how things like this would go.

With a deep sigh, Rynold decidedly broke the silence with a much rather straightforward question.

"You used to be human? How come you never told me?"

In hindsight, Rynold maybe should've gone for a much simpler question. He quickly wanted to refute the words as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"We haven't met each other for long, and I've long rescinded that time. My humanity has long been lost through time."

Contrary to Rynold's expectations, Lumie answered without holding back. The two stared into the open space filled with nothingness.

However, Rynold wasn't able to completely accept her answer.

"Cut the bull," Rynold said without hesitation. "If you've lost your humanity, you wouldn't take an interest in what I have to say. So, can we actually be honest here?"

Rynold immediately caught on. It was a stretch to see the Emissary of Order accept Rynold's sudden and brutal approach. Rynold was too tired for whatever social protocols when it comes to talking to deities and omnipotent beings.

The Emissary of Order, in response, blinked with wide eyes. She didn't really expect this young man to be so direct with her. It was actually a nice change of pace.

Giggling, Lumie gave an answer that was even a surprise to Rynold.

"My humanity was something that I have long given up. It was a burden to be human. All the ability in the world while consistently doing the same thing every day. Humans are creatures that consistently find problems for themselves. I just got tired of it."

Shaking his head, Rynold chuckled lightly. He couldn't really believe that the Emissary of Order had a bad impression of humanity. But then again...

"I feel the same way. Still, that doesn't explain why you became an Emissary of Order."

Rynold spoke without really elaborating on his thoughts.

"I... don't really know what happened. How I became an Emissary of Order is a mystery that even I can't figure out. However, I do think that we are very much alike. Willing to do good in the direst of consequences. Being an Emissary of Order... I could do that on a much greater scale."

Rynold scoffed as he heard Lumie's answer.

Admittedly, he was rather skeptical of the Emissary of Order. Moreso, the two of them weren't alike. In any means.

He was no goody-two-shoes that would jump into danger when he sees somebody hurt. No, he always did what he felt was right. It was just a coincidence that they usually aligned with the general definition of "good."

"What's the point of being able to do good on a much larger scale? When you always focus on the big things, the little ones would still suffer. Lives would still have been lost..."

Those words were rather immature for Rynold to say.

He knew full well that he wouldn't be able to save everyone. Hell, it was idealistic to think that he would be able to do just that. Rynold himself even thought so.

But, he couldn't help but feel like he could've done more to save at least one more life.

"Throughout the many years of watching this world, I realized that it was inevitable. Lives would always be lost. Souls would always shatter at the mere implication of something bad happening. Don't be too hard on yourself."

Lumie tried to comfort Rynold, even though he didn't look like he needed it. His eyes were filled with determination, strive to do something more.

Rynold was currently itching to get back into the world. To do something to help people. The only thing that was stopping him was what. What could he possibly do to those lives that have been lost?

"I'm not," Rynold let out another deep sigh. "I know it better than anyone that I'm talking like a child. Saving everyone... it's really nothing more than a pipe dream. I'm not insane. I'm just a little frustrated, is all."

Rynold was lying. He was being eaten alive by his own guilt. The dead bodies that he had come across previously were popping up in his head. Rynold truly wished he could go back in time and stop all of this from happening.

But, alas, that was impossible. He had no other choice but to deal with it now.

"Well, nothing we could do about it now," Rynold added with a dismissing tone to his voice. "I need to go and check on my friends. None of this is how I expected things to turn out, but at least they're okay."

He turned to face Lumie, who had a surprisingly sad look on her face. Rynold felt slightly guilty for bumming her out, but it was the Emissary of Order that wanted to listen to Rynold's thoughts.

"I was hoping that you'd tell me more. But, perhaps that would be best for some other time."

With a snap of her fingers, a doorframe appeared. Before leaving, though, Rynold hesitated for a second and looked at the Emissary of Order.

He was bewildered at how the Emissary of Order had suddenly become invested in him. Really, Rynold acted completely abrasive and rude. If he were to do this to anybody else, Rynold would've been hated by now.

"Thanks," Rynold spoke a few words before leaving. "I appreciate you listening to a mortal's pointless ramblings. I have to admit it did help. I'm sorry for being so rude to you before. This is just a lot to take in. Besides, I shouldn't keep you from your job, right? Thanks for everything, Lumie."

With that said, Rynold stepped past the doorframe and left. From there, he woke up back in the throne room.

Turning around, Rynold laid on his back. He looked around the room to spot anything out of the ordinary, but nothing much has changed since he last saw it, apart from the sun setting outside.

As the sunlight passing through the mosaic windows slowly darkened, Rynold sat up. He could still feel the injuries from within the Arena of Order, most of which were seemingly in his arms. His shoulder was no better. The gigantic bite mark from his fight with the Soul Doll was still there.

Rynold took a look at his arms which were bloodied to the point of disgust. The blood, consequently, had dried up during the time that Rynold had spent unconscious, which made Rynold feel a little uncomfortable to be covered with it.

Moving his hands back down to the side, Rynold raised a knee. He couldn't help but feel sluggish in every move he made. Truthfully, it was rather expected.

The amount of shit that Rynold had gone through would put a normal person out of commission.

"Damn."

Rynold let out a curse as he tried to stand up. He felt exhausted. Rynold contemplated sleeping for a few more hours before finding Leo and the rest. However, Rynold decidedly didn't give in to his temptations.

"What a mess."

From where he was standing, Rynold had a good look at the entire throne room.

The castle guards-turned-Undead had long disappeared, leaving loot in their wake. The Soul Doll was gone too, disappearing into dust. The only things that were left in the room were the signs of a fight and...

'The King.'

In the corner, the King's corpse was the only thing that was left in the room. From a glance, Rynold could tell that the Duke had gotten to him. The telltale signs of cursed magic were all there.

For a brief moment, Rynold felt bad for the guy. If he didn't know any better, Rynold would've probably shed tears for the King. Although, he couldn't help that a particular thought popped up in his head.

'This wasn't your fight.'

The Duke had killed the King in an extremely one-sided fight. Even though Rynold didn't really see it, he was sure that that was what happened.

Rynold's eyes then shifted to the middle of the throne room and stopped directly at where the woman was standing.

'That was the Queen, huh? But she seemed sort of different... Don't tell me.'

He quickly shifted his eyes to where he had last seen the Soul Doll, only to find a small crater that had been the aftermath of the battle.

'Shit.'

He won't be getting answers out of anybody. But, his guesses were as close as they could get. The only question in his mind right now was why?

The Soul Orb had the power to bring back whoever they wanted. The King was dead, and the Queen looked and seemed entirely different, thus reaching the logical explanation that the Duke's plan had worked.

'Who the hell was the Skeem guy?'

That was the only unexplained thing out of all of this. Despite Rynold's best efforts, however, he wouldn't be able to confirm anything unless he finds the ogre and asked him some questions.

But, who knows when that'll be.

With a heavy heart, Rynold headed towards the door. He struggled just to move but eventually managed to get out of the throne room.

From there, Rynold made his way out of the castle with much difficulty. There were times when he felt like he would pass out, but Rynold knew he doesn't have the luxury to sleep.

'Well, this seems familiar.'

Rynold stood at the castle gates, looking over the entirety of the residential district. When he was asleep, Rynold held out hope that nothing bad would happen to anybody else that had survived.

From where he was standing, though, he couldn't believe how wrong he was.

It was much more chaotic than before. Compared to the Duke's raid over the residential district, the current state of things was much, much worse.

Out over the horizon, Rynold caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure. Naturally, Rynold couldn't directly take note of what it was, seeing at how far away the thing actually was.

But it didn't stop there.

Another figure came running towards the first one, this time much larger in size and shape. Following this was another, bigger figure. Then another. Then another.

Soon, the entire hill was turned to black as these figures started running towards the residential district in waves.

'No fucking way...'

Rynold's mouth was agape. He couldn't really spot what the hell was running towards the residential district, but he knew that it couldn't be anything good.

"Hey! Rynold! Did you take care of my uncle yet?!"

Running up the stairs, Leo soon met up with Rynold once again, with the Mech Knight not far behind.

"Why the long face, man? Something happened in there?"

Leo tried not to point his attention towards Rynold's bloodied arms. However, the guy seemed to have gone through a very difficult fight to be walking around in this condition.

"Shut up a sec and look at that."

Rynold pointed at the horizon. The sun was setting behind the wave of shadowy figures on their way towards the residential district. With a simple glance, Leo immediately had a serious look on his face.

"What the hell is that?"

"No idea. Listen. Find your sister and leave. You still have your teleportation stones right? Use that to get the hell out of here."

"On it. What are you gonna do?"

"Don't worry about me, I've got a job to do. Besides, whatever that thing is, the two of us won't be enough to handle it. Can I have my hoverboard back?"

"Right. I'll see you back at the tree. And, you better tell me what the fuck happened in there." Leo threw the Miniature Floating Platform back to Rynold before leaving.

"Yeah, see you then."

As soon as Rynold and Leo said their goodbyes, the two of them went their separate ways.