back to the real world: Hunter part III

-yesterday on the real world-

inside of a temple is Hunter praying for the well-being of his friend and companions on this dangerous journey that is leading to a dark and cruel path. it has been so long since the last time that Hunter was inside of a temple. he can feel some sort of power protecting him or maybe that is just part of his imagination trying to find a salvation on times of condemnation.

Hunter opens his eyes to see that nothing has change. Hunter stands up and he leaves and at the entrance of the temple the Ferryman is awaiting for him. Hunter ignores the presence of the Ferryman and he keep walking away until he is stop by the Ferryman who seems to be angry. Hunter doesn't know why but he has an idea of why the Ferryman would be angry.

"you can't enter inside of temples nor any other type of holly ground, am I right?"

said Hunter with a cold gaze.

"that is right. Divine or Cursed beings from a culture can't enter in territory that belongs to another culture.... it would be basically like declaring war and after the last war the Deities decided to avoid any other Divine Total War. the last one was so brutal that some Gods died, well they might have reincarnated by now but a war like that in this times and age means not only the end of the world, but the universe and beyond."

said the Ferryman looking nervously at the temple.

"when you say cursed beings does that also include me? am I a risk by just praying inside of a temple?"

"kind of, but not really. you are just a mortal with a curse to make your mortality shorter. in a few words you are no danger but the curse on you might bring trouble among curious people who can use that as a pretext for another Divine Total War. when I say Cursed beings I mean something like Medusa or a Cyclops, I know Cyclops are not cursed but they fit in the category for not being Divine beings."

"so every creature that isn't human or a God is put in the Cursed category."

"yes, that is right."

Hunter walks towards his home and he is follow by the Ferryman who is staring at him. Hunter asks him why is that he keeps appearing in front of him more and more frequently and why is he staring at him like that. the Ferryman confesses that he is running out of time and that his death is getting closer. the Ferryman admits that there is nothing that he can do to prolong his death. all that he can do is stay close to him, so he can reclaim his soul once he dies.

the Ferryman asks him if he is afraid of dying and after a few minutes Hunter admits that he isn't afraid of dying but he is afraid of dying while being alone. he wants to have someone at his side to say goodbye before dying. the idea of being alone in his last breath sounds scary for him.

Hunter arrives at his home and he receives a call from Martha. she informs him that Principal Helen Green has been arrested by the authorities for fraud among other crimes. Hunter doesn't know if he should feel relief or anxious. who else can help him now with Stewart. how can make sure that his student is going to be save?

he didn't say anything but Martha knew that he was worry for Stewart and she told him that she is at this moment trying to help Stewart. Hunter felt relief and he laugh with joy. it doesn't matter if the Principal is present or not, he is going to keep fighting and he won't give up on saving either Stewart nor Beau.

the Ferryman sits in the sofa and he looks at Hunter trying to understand him. Hunter hangs up. he turns around to face the Ferryman and he tries to think with a calm mind. the Ferryman stands up and he takes a calendar out of his pockets. Hunter understands what he is trying to say but he doesn't say anything expecting for the Ferryman to explain himself.

"you know that in the Virtual World the time is different from the time in the real world. it can be slower at times and also faster. a day in the virtual world is sometimes equal to one hour, but it can also be equal to three weeks.... of course that understanding of time only applies for those who are "Offerings" the time is normal for normal players but you are playing among "Offerings" so you are technically considered as an "Offering" in the virtual world."

said the Ferryman with an emotionless tone of voice.

"I know. for them it has been like a month..... but in reality it has been six months since the day of their death. six long months in which I had been doing the impossible to find a logical explanation or a way to save Beau with no solution. I am running out of ideas and every time that I find a lead, it takes me to a dead end."

said Hunter feeling choking in despair.

Hunter asked the Ferryman for the date of his death no so long ago. the Ferryman didn't gave him the exact date but he told him more or less how many months he has left. Hunter is running out of time and he has less than a year to live. he has been thinking about finding someone to keep the investigation once he is dead. for him is clear that he won't live long enough to see Beau ever again in the real world.

Hunter laughs silently and slowly he starts to laugh loudly. he isn't laughing because he is feeling joy, but he is laughing out of despair and anxiety to think that his attempts to save Beau would be in vain. once he is dead there won't be meaning in his fight, his whole struggle would be a meaningless attempt to defy destiny. he asks to himself, why the struggle if I am dying? no matter how much he struggles at the end of the day the resolution is the same.

a man who feels despair is a man with a dark destiny that can't be broken, but there is no reason to emphasized the obvious. the point is that Hunter is going to fight harder and feel a stronger despair until his last breath. not because he has to, but because that is what he choose. that night in which he accepted the deal of the Ferryman, was the day that he sealed his soul with an endless suffering.

six months ago when the Ferryman offer that deal to Hunter he didn't expected Hunter to accept it so easily. the real reason why he offered that deal was to stop him from interrupt Beau's death. the truth is that Hunter wasn't meant to be there that night and Beau might be no warrior or Hero, but he has a great destiny to fulfill in Immoral Punishment of the Immortals and the Ferryman is a man that respects people with greater faiths than their own existence.

Hunter goes to the kitchen to grab something to eat. the Ferryman asks for chamomile tea with two of sugar. while Hunter is getting his dinner ready the Ferryman is watching some news in the TV. Hunter asks the Ferryman if he collects every soul from the living and the Ferryman is in silence for a moment thinking if he should be honest with him or not.

the Ferryman explains to Hunter that there are many like him depending of the Cultures. he also explains that they divided the territories based on culture, folklore and power. at the moment his greatest form of income (souls) is the Virtual World by trapping the souls of the "Offerings" outside of the Virtual World he haven't been that active. the Ferryman explains that at this moment he is in a phase of struggle to keep his head on its place.

the Ferryman makes sure that there is no one around of them spying on their conversation. he stands up and walks slowly towards Hunter. he whispers in Hunter's ears. he tells him that there was a struggle in the past for power which led to the situation in which most Deities are right now. he also warned him about a future war that might happen, not now. but is going to happen in the future and there is no one who can stop that war from happening.

Hunter is nervous, he is unable to speak at the moment. he is trying to accept this reality even when he knows so well that this affects Beau who isn't a fighter nor a Hero. Hunter asks the Ferryman if this war is related to them. the Ferryman avoids the question by saying that he can't saved his friend and no one can because that is the path that he is walking, a path that leads to one single destination and it isn't pretty what Beau would find in the end of the road.

"so in how many years do you calculate that said war would be unleash?"

asks Hunter afraid of the answer.

"in about five-hundred-thousand years, more or less. don't worry you won't be alive to suffer at the sight of such horrors, even so I can't picture how horrendous can be that feeling of impotence that you can feel by the though of acknowledging that you can't do anything to stop said outcome, you might feel like a little fly trying to fly against the air stream that is faith."

said the Ferryman feeling pity for that mortal even if he doesn't show it in his words.

"then Beau isn't going to be part of said War, at least I can die at peace."

"that is right, but he has a minor role in all of this. there are Deities that want said war to happen sooner and your friend can be drag in all of this inside of dark bubble to accomplish the satisfaction of some Deities with serious superiority complexes."

"how do you know so much about this destiny? or faith? aren't you just in charge of taking the souls of the dead to the underworld?"

"let's just say that my real master isn't Hades or Zeus but someone else, and I have connections with many people including three sisters that are in charge of the strings of fate. that is all I can reveal at the moment."

"one last question, why are you telling me all of this about the future Divine Total War II? I am not sure if I can ever understand you or the place in which your interest are established. why telling all this to a nobody who is going to die soon?"

"probably I wanted to take off the guilt of knowing that you mortals are not guilty of any crime that your ancestors had committed and even so you are the ones paying the price by the blood-lust of the Deities that your ancestors once served."

there is no denial the world is a dark place full of evil, doesn't matter if you are a mortal or Immortal being there is light or darkness in either side. there is going to be blood not because either side is full of savages but because both sides are full of intellectual beings capable of comprehending that death is meant to happen for there to be a new beginning or to end a phase, at the end death is inevitable.

mortals slaughtering and doing damage to their own kind unaware of the presence of superior beings. mortals blindly walking ignoring the truth, that their origin and end were writing by divine hands of divine beings. Deities fighting over for the control of the mortals and power, Deities fighting to protect the mortals, and Deities fighting to end the mortals. the world has always been in war for dominance or survival instincts, yes that is right the wrath that creates war is nothing more than a survival instinct.

Hunter was able to sleep peacefully that night. he knew that no one in the world can demand an explanation at his failure to save his friend. when he fought with all his strength, there was no soul that could denied that Hunter has done beyond the impossible to save the soul of his friend. no one can say that he didn't fought, jet he feels like it wasn't enough and there is guilt in his heart for not been capable of changing anything at all.

time is running out and the more time that passes the more defeated Hunter feels, there is no grain of doubt that Hunter is a man with a fighting spirit equal to the one of a warrior, but sometimes that is not enough to not feel defeated by the tricks and cruel pranks that life can put on your way. even the mightiest warrior can be defeated easily by a simple cruel joke delivered by life.