Chapter 18

My body reacted before my brain as I scrambled to the side, scraping my knees on the coarse ground.

The golem collapsed into the spot where I had just cast the spell with an ear-shattering crash, spraying me from behind with a huge cloud of scorching dust.

I waved my hand in front of me, trying to disperse the upturned sand as I began coughing my lungs out.

Eugh, uuuuh, PTEW.

I managed to escape the rising cloud. My lungs felt like a smoker of 20 years as I hacked my lungs out, trying to spit the taste of dirt and sand out of my mouth.

It took what felt like an hour to ease my burnt lungs.

For a moment longer, I just stilled there on my hands and knees, letting the gravity of the situation wash over me.

The gash in my leg had been closed up with dust and soot, I would need to clean that sooner rather than later. The wound sent a dull throb of pain every few seconds, not too keen on being forgotten.

Beneath me, my blood-coated hands trembled. They looked so fragile, so weak. It was hard to believe that they had just taken down that behemoth.

Not that I could have done it without Bern and Hallia.

Oh... The rising sense of accomplishment in my heart flatlined.

I didn't have to heart to look for the remains of Hallia's mangled corpse, I knew deep down that there was no coming back from what happened to her. Just remembering caused the sound to echo in my head. My empty stomach churned in pain.

I looked toward the blood-streaked wall where Bern lay crumpled. It looked back, really bad, but maybe there was hope for him. I mean, he was Bern, right? The indestructible Bern. There's no way something like this could...

Tears formed in my eyes as I got close enough to make out the details.

The arm that was lodged in the golem's chest had been reduced to a charred stump. The entire front of his body had followed suit, most of it burnt to a crisp. Only a few spots remained without the telltale signs of obvious 3rd-degree burns.

I gagged, the smell was similar to some of the mummies they had fought at the beginning of their expedition. It was not a good sign.

I didn't care, I dashed towards him, ignoring the searing pain of my self-inflicted wound.

-

I reached him.

Up close, he was a sorry sight. Even past the burns, it was obvious to see that the impact hadn't done him much good either.

I put my hand on his ribcage.

It raised slightly, struggling for air.

A glimmer of hope, Bern was alive, At least, for now. It was something to hold on to.

Suddenly, Bern began coughing, hacking away as if he had years of dust caked into his throat. I leaned him forward slightly, careful not to cause him too much pain, and patted his back softly to help him get it out.

It was incredibly hard to watch, each wheeze seemed to put him into immense pain. All I could do was just sit by silently.

His violent coughs slowly faded into a labored wheeze.

...

"Hal-" He coughed again as he began to say something.

My eyes widened, Bern was aware of his surroundings.

I clamored to help him, "Bern? It's me, Hale. What do you need? I want to help you."

A small smile somehow etched its way onto his face.

"Ha... Cough cough- You did it, huh?" His voice was incredibly fragile, it was nothing like the boisterous Bern I remembered.

No, he was trying, it was evident from the smile on his face. I had to meet him halfway.

"Yeah, Bern. I beat it, I figured it out. No, we beat it, I couldn't have done it without the two of you." I replied with a sad smile.

Berns's intact left arm slowly raised from his side.

"Bern, no. Stop, you shouldn't be moving."

He placed his hand atop my head.

"You did well, Hale. We're proud of you." He smiled even wider.

No.

That's not fair, you cant- not right not.

It's not like that. If it wasn't for me this wouldn't have happened.

It was my fault.

Tears started rolling down my face.

"Why?" My voice cracked.

He just kept smiling.

"Why did she save me?" I cried, sniffling away

"We used to have a son, y'know, me an' Hallia, that is. She begged me three times not to bring you in here."

My heart froze.

"You remind me of him, just all grown up. Heh. I guess this greedy old man couldn't resist a little extra time with his son. It's all ol' Bern's fault." The man not long for this world heaved a laugh.

I couldn't bring myself to agree. "No, Bern, if I wasn-"

"I knew she would do it."

I just stared at him, but he kept that cheesy grin plastered to his face.

"From the moment I saw you, I knew that Hallia would lay down her life for you. I brought you here anyway. So, please, Hale, don't make this hard on yourself. Just take out that hate and frustration on me-AUGH," Bern broke into another coughing fit.

He reached into his pocket between coughs before pulling something out and pressing it into my palm.

"Hale, I need you to make it out of here. I... I don't have much time left. This ring, if Dulmir is out there, he will know what it means, just... Take care of yourself, boyo."

Panic struck me, "No, Bern, you cant go off saying things like that. I need your help, there's no way I can get out of here on my own."

He raised a sooty finger to my lips, "Hale, you're so much stronger..." Bern hacked again, spraying a fit of blood across his chest.

He lowered his arm and smiled at me, "Believe in yourself, you're a member of Panacea. Survive, Hale."

Bern's gaze went out of focus. I knew what that meant.

"No. No no no no, Bern, you can't go yet. I need you. Panacea needs you. Please Bern."

I rested my weary head on his wide chest.

There was nothing.

Bern was gone.