Light

Noorh heard Kiran's gasp before he felt the movement from his right. He quickly crouched, dodging the attack of the black serpent. He then leaped into the air to jump to the next nest. As luck would have it, he found himself staring over a nest filled with wriggling newly hatched snakes greedily fighting each other for mangled corpses splayed on the ground.

Noorh cursed under his breath as his feet landed on one of the snake hatchlings' slippery back. A round of angry hisses erupted around him, their burning amber eyes turning their hungry sights toward him. Just as the snake hatchlings pounced their gaping mouths toward him, he casted a spell under his feet that could propel him upward. It pushed him high enough to reach a stone step above them. Before he could properly land on the step, however, he felt a wave of energy drain away from his body making the world spin around him.

The poisonous miasma emanating from the decaying debris and the toxic wood from which the winged serpents' nests were built had affected his body.

Noorh quickly maneuvered his arms which held Kiran close to him so that he could release one of them and grasp the edge of the step before they fell straight into the gaping mouths of the famished hatchlings below them. He muttered a spell to keep his hand securely latched on the side of the stone step while his other arm tightly held Kiran close to him by the waist.

"Kiran!" he anxiously called out. He needed her to hold onto him because his arm wouldn't be strong enough to keep her from falling. But she didn't respond. She instead had become a dead weight slowly slipping from his grasp. The pair of foggy glasses perched on her the bridge of her nose slipped slightly with Noorh's attempt at pulling her up, until it ultimately tumbled and fell down the nest below them.

Noorh stared wide-eyed at the spectacles as it disappeared into the tangled bodies of the hungry winged-serpents, reminding him of what could happen if her dropped Kiran's unconscious form. He forced his arm to pull Kiran up in a grunt, letting her head drape against his shoulder. It was then that he noticed how extremely cold her skin was. One glance at her exposed skin showed him how much paler she had become.

That was the first time he realized what else had been off the entire time he had been trying to escape the snake hatchlings.

Noorh couldn't feel a heartbeat from Kiran's chest.

The image of a pale young man lying unmoving on a four-post bed flashed in his mind. The young man's face was hidden underneath a white cloth as Noorh stood frozen next to the bed. His heart ached as the words that came with the memory echoed in his ears.

"Everyone he touches dies."

***

Everything was black.

That was what Kiran noticed when she opened her eyes. It was as if someone had turned off the lights and abandoned her in the arms of despair. She couldn't move. She couldn't hear or smell anything. She couldn't

Everything was just…dark. It was neither cold, nor warm but she felt an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety. How did she end up in that place anyway?

Kiran tried to remember what happened before she woke up but the more she asked herself about the past, the more she came up empty-handed. What did her body even look like? Why was she afraid of the darkness? What was she feeling anxious for?

Nothing made sense but it didn't seem to matter. Nothing mattered.

The admission brought Kiran a wave of calm, contentment and lethargy. She soon felt an urge to surrender into the darkness - whatever that meant. She closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her, knowing that dreams may not be there to welcome her.

Light suddenly flickered in front of her. Kiran gasped as she watched it morph into an orb floating curiously toward her. She winced as its warm glow stood out from the calming darkness that had filled her vision.

"What is your name?" A voice echoed in the darkness. It sounded youthful and crisp, and it seemingly came from the orb floating close to Kiran's face. The calm tone of the voice resonated a feeling of comfort and safety that encouraged Kiran to speak.

"My name?" Kiran asked, realizing that she couldn't remember the answer to the question. What was her name? Why couldn't she remember it? Did she even have one? Who was she anyway? And why was a ball of light talking to her?

"Stay with me," the voice said as the orb flickered. A gust of warmth reached out to Kiran. "Giving up now would be a waste. You've already come a long way."

"I…have?" Kiran asked, wondering what the voice meant. Hazy images of stone steps protruding from a cliff surfaced in her thoughts. It looked eerily familiar. It also evoked feelings of fear and relief.

"That's it," the voice encouraged. "Just follow the trail…"

Trail? The images were a trail? Sure enough, the images shifted into that of a cave followed by a glowing pair of amber eyes. Kiran gasped in panic as the eyes morphed into the face of a giant snake. A person's silhouette suddenly jumped in front of her, shielding her from the gaping mouth of the furious serpent. The silhouette had a dark mop of hair that seemed to dance in the breeze. Somehow, the sight of the silhouette made Kiran feel worried and safe at the same time.

Blue…midnight blue…She saw midnight blue hair fluttering in the wind against a vibrant blue sky. With it came the sense of strong arms holding her close against a sturdy body of warmth.

"Noorh?" Kiran asked, the name surfacing in her mind.

"Noorh," the voice curiously acknowledged. "Is that your name?"

"No!" Kiran quickly replied, her own name echoing in her thoughts. "Kiran. It's Kiran Wedella," she answered, remembering how she anxiously said her name in front of an ominous stranger in the middle of a meadow that was littered with white flowers.

"Kiran," the voice said. Somehow, Kiran could imagine that the orb was smirking. "That's a beautiful name. Are you in any pain?"

"No," Kiran answered, feeling slightly sluggish as if she had just woken up from sleep. "But I feel warm." Remembering her name and Noorh's brought forth a sense of warmth that seemed to bloom from her chest.

"Warm is good," the voice replied. "Focus on that warmth, Kiran. Everything will be alright, I promise."

Kiran wasn't sure what the orb meant by "focus on the warmth" but she did feel the warmth grow and spread around her. It seemed to trace her body which she thought she had lost in the dark.

"What's the last thing you remember, Kiran?" the voice asked, seemingly trying to maintain her attention.

"The last thing I remember..?" The image of Noorh in her mind morphed into a bright blue sky. The feeling of leaping into the air left her breathless until a rancid stench of rotten flesh assaulted her nose. The image of the blue sky was replaced by giant bird nests made of massive pitch black twigs, piles of mangled carcass, and decaying human corpses.

She especially remembered a rotting corpse that almost made her gag while she was holding her breath. Its torso was torn open as if its insides had been brutally gouged out. A big obsidian snake emerged from the empty space and pounced toward her with blazing amber eyes.

It opened its mouth wide, baring its sharp fangs for a swift kill.

"NOORH!" Kiran anxiously exclaimed, recalling how the snake had aimed for Noorh's head. She remembered how she gasped in panic, inadvertently welcoming the toxic fumes that drew flames down her air passage and throat. The poison devoured her senses with a stench that burned her insides, triggered an intense migraine, and stung her eyes all at the same time.

Then everything went black.

Was that it then? Did she die after being devoured by the snake? Did Noorh die with her? Was he somewhere in the darkness with her? After all his efforts to save his people…after all that he did to save and help Kiran, even when she caused him to fail in his mission…

"NO! Please! This can't be the end," Kiran pleaded, not ready to accept the possibility of death. "We can't just die like this!"

She knew that things could end differently in the real world. While heroes and lead characters ended journeys to new worlds with a string of triumphs, she could easily lose her life. She wasn't as powerful as any of them after all. She couldn't use magic. She didn't have any special skill that could help her become an overpowered character. She was just an ordinary human being who got in the way of summoning the real hero of the isekai story.

But she wanted to live. She wanted Noorh to live. She wanted them to be able to fix things, probably even show Noorh that he could properly talk to Alessa instead of kidnapping her. She wanted to return home to her family. She wanted to let them know exactly how much she missed them after living the past few days with the possibility of never seeing them again.

She and Noorh had to live. They couldn't just die that easily.

A bright light suddenly burst from a distance.

"Kiran?" the voice asked, suddenly anxious. "Kiran, what happened? What do you see?"

"A light," Kiran answered, flinching against the blinding glow behind the orb. "A very bright white light."

"Interesting," the voice muttered, as if it was in deep thought.

"Interesting?" Kiran asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Follow the light," the voice instructed, ignoring her question. "Let it guide you to where you need to be."

"Light? Wait-are you telling me that I'm dead? Like really dead?!" Kiran frantically exclaimed. Characters who died and had to be exorcised or had to move on to the next life in stories she read were always instructed to "follow the light." "I can't go yet! I can't die yet! I mean I technically can but can't I stay longer? I have unfinished business! Noorh and I have unfinished business! We will haunt the world of the living if we die now, Mr. Orb! And you won't like us haunting people! We'll be frighteningly devastating ghosts, Mr. Orb!"

The voice snickered. "You're really interesting. Just relax and let the light cradle you in its arms. Oh and do me a favor," it said. "When you wake up, don't tell Noorh about me."

That stumped Kiran. Wake up? Was she just dreaming the entire time? Was she in a comatose state? And the orb mentioned Noorh! Did it know him personally? Was he a friend of his?

The orb of light then floated away, disappearing into the growing bright light that was slowly pushing the darkness away.

"Wait! What do you mean?!" Kiran protested. "Mr. Orb! Come back! Tell me-!"

The voice chuckled, its snickers fading into the distance as the light ultimately devoured the darkness.

***

Noorh cursed under his breath as a wave of dizziness hit him. His heart was racing at the thought that he had led Kiran to her death, proving the prophecy that had been tied to his birth true. His rapid heartbeat had likely spread the miasma's poison throughout his body.

Then he felt Kiran's body slip slightly from his arm, threatening to fall onto the nests below them.

Noorh gasped as he desperately tightened his hold on Kiran. The best solution to his predicament was to let her lifeless body go and allow the snakes to devour her corpse. But Noorh couldn't bear to see the monsters feast on her, not when she didn't deserve such ill and unfortunate treatment.

Kiran was a kind soul underneath her, at times, annoying chatters and frustratingly futile attempts at appearing strong and collected in the face of danger. She didn't deserve to be summoned into his world to carry a terrible burden, let alone die at an early age and become a feast for monsters.

Noorh could sense the darkness creeping into his vision. If he didn't let her go, he would also fall lifeless into the nest. Determined to at least give Kiran's corpse a proper burial, he looked up at the step where his other hand held on to for dear life and tried to come up with a plan.

Part of him entertained the idea that Kiran could still be alive. She could just be cold and unmoving in his arms because she was in a comatose state. Yes, he had to focus on the possibility that this was not the end for her - for both of them. Once they were safe, he would properly examine her. She would be alive and they would both survive.

The thought helped Noorh gather his remaining strength to cast a spell strong enough to get them to safety and deplete his energy. His dark eyes turned into a pair of brightly glowing sapphires. He felt his grip on the stone step weaken and his body slip further down as magic flowed and hummed around him, stripping him of much needed energy. Noorh saw the darkness creep into his vision. It clouded his senses as a bluish silver circle of flickering symbols appeared underneath his feet and supported his weight. It then propelled him upward, allowing him to climb over the step with Kiran still safely secured in his arms.

Noorh gasped in relief as he rested his back against the icy cliff wall; Kiran's unmoving form lying on his chest. His lungs painfully protested with his every breath, and his heart pounded against the walls of his chest in a desperate attempt to keep him alive. Bullets of sweat littered his forehead. A chill had seeped into his bones and drew an icy line down his spine, telling him how must he had lost in choosing to cast the spell amidst his weakened state.

It was a miscalculation.

Noorh sadly glanced down at Kiran. His vision had gone blurry. Whether it was due to sweat, tears, or mere dizziness was already a mystery to him. His thoughts had becoming as hazy as his vision.

He slowly lifted his trembling right hand to touch Kiran's cheek.

"K-iran," he choked in between deep gasps for air. The poison had rendered his lower limbs useless and soon, he would have no use for his arms. Kiran, on the other hand, was already pallid and cold against his fingertips. Her lips had also turned a deathly shade of purple.

"I think it's really beautiful," he remembered Kiran say about his hair. Noorh felt his heart ache even more.

His hair was a curse. It isolated him from everyone since he was a child. While it may have demanded reverence from people, it also reminded them of the thing they dreaded the most: the sin they kept ignoring throughout generations in favor of their selfish pursuit for survival.

Kiran was one of only two people who honestly told him that his hair was beautiful. Her reaction might have been out of naivety since she wasn't from his world. Blue hair like his could simply be a palatable fashion trend in her world, but he appreciated her truthful words nonetheless.

Kiran was also far different from the previous Lahnthean Arias that had been recorded in their chronicles. She didn't even act like the previous Lahnthean Aria who only tried to get on his good side. Kiran argued with him and did her best to survive on her own, frustratingly not trusting Noorh to save her in times of need.

Was it pity for how Kiran's life that had been cut short? Was it regret about how he stripped her of her family, strung her around over false hopes, and ultimately led her to her death? Or was it both?

Regardless of what it was, it urged Noorh to use his remaining ounce of energy to lean his head closer to Kiran's and plant a lingering parting kiss on her hair as he drew his last breath.