Chapter 34: I made a vow!

Mike POV:

Nate was staring at a hole in the ground. As far as I could see, there was nothing inside. Yet, he just stared at it so, as if it would bite him. Jean was as pale as a ghost. 

They could see something I couldn't. Of that much, I was certain.

"Nate, if it costs you your life, then I won't let you do it," I spoke with conviction, even when I knew that my words were wasted. Nate barely knew me. He had known my father, but that was in the past.

Now he was fighting with his own demons. Whatever was in the hole was robbing him of his bravery. Me as well, even if I couldn't see what was inside.

"You don't understand, Mike. If we leave the things as they are now, we will all die," Nate said. I narrowed my eyes. And was it really better, if he died right here and now? Didn't he want to survive? Or, did he really think my words were empty?

Just me making wind, empty and light?

"I said no," I said, moving towards the hole. No, he couldn't die. He was the hope of Lergo. My father had always called him that.

I was a nobody in comparison. And a sacrificial circle was easy to recognize.

"Mike, you don't understand..." he said, but I was already near the hole. I smiled, picked him by the collar of his shirt, and threw him away. Well-muscled he may be, but he was not expecting it. 

"It was an honor serving you, my King," then I jumped inside. The screams of the damned ringing in my ears.

0000

I fell. I fell for so long, that I even got bored. My body was still in one piece, but the laws of gravity would soon turn me into mincemeat. Now that I was in the hole, a hole which had closed itself, I could see them.

Thousands of demons. Some with horns, some with hoofs. All of them with empty gazes. No, these demons had not been born as such.

The Queen had built herself an army from the thorn in her backside. It was only through the combined efforts of Arkano and Naschestan that she didn't get the chance to use it.

I was dead, my heart didn't beat anymore. How could it be? No one could survive in the demon realm, if they weren't already a demon. A realm which the Queen had merged with the human realm.

It was no mystery why she had died so soon after the downfall of Boran. She had deserved it. That didn't stop me from believing in Nate. He was young and idealistic. I could see it in his gaze, that he wanted to jump in.

How could I let him, though? I was his knight, my father had always spoken of him so, as if he was born my brother, and not my prince. Some things just couldn't be allowed to pass.

"Well, Mike, it was not like you could have done something with your life," I murmured to myself, as my horns grew silently on my head. At least it didn't hurt. "And Jean will surely find someone else to pester him with dumb jokes." 

Which could very well be the case, I was not sure about that. Jean was someone who wanted to be with me, but if the opportunity presented itself for him to find joy elsewhere, he should take it.

I looked down into the abyss. No, he wouldn't do it. The hole was closed. There was no going back.

"Hey, new guy," something caught me mid-fall, the flapping of wings my only warning. "What are you doing here? No one has fallen in the past ten years."

The demon's voice was pleasant. And what was more, he did land, without letting me turn into a pancake. Small mercies.

"I closed the hole. I mean, I activated the sacrifice circle," at least I thought I did that. Since I was just a gladiator, I had no idea whether what I did was wrong or not. 

Which spoke volumes about my mental state and my readiness to throw my life away.

"That you did. Let us just get you back up, ok?" He asked. I started blinking. What did he mean? Get me back up? The hole was closed, right?

"Wait, did I actually achieve something?" I asked the demon. He sighed.

"Well, you are a nymph, and the Queen made it so that only someone with a nature spirit background can stop the curse. The most of them hate humans, so the chance of them sacrificing their pretty faces was slim to none. But, hey, you did good, kid. Darn that bitch," a part of me wanted to argue, but I kept my mouth shut. There was a way for me to get out! And... I was a nymph? That was just strange. 

Was anyone in our party normal? Not even Lars, with his druid ancestry, could fit the bill anymore. I chuckled, found it funny.

Hope did strange things to people.

"So, I can live again?" Which was a strange question, since I didn't feel dead.

My heart didn't beat anymore, and my horns were now curled up and massive. Also, my skin was now bright red, and my teeth felt sharp like blades. Still, I never suffered an actual death. Just a slight modification.

"Well, it is not like you turned into a demon. It is just that the spell which hid your real form is now gone," which made sense, now that I thought about it. 

"And what am I supposed to do?" It was silly that I believed the words of a demon, but, honestly, he had the nice guy vibe going for him, and I was just 15. So, honestly, things could have been worse.

"Well, what do you mean? Don't you know? Just tug at your soul connection, and you will teleport," it sounded easy, I tried it, and then...

"Mike!" Jean's arms were around me; his tears were soaked up by my shirt. 

But that was not the strangest thing, no. The magma and fire were gone. Boran was now green and healthy. The people were gone forever, yes, but the country was restored to that, which it was once.

"Jean?" I asked, as he wept in my arms. No, he didn't do it, did he? I should have been there for him. I should have stopped him.

Jean had torn out a piece of himself in his grief. A piece which made him who he was.