Chapter 4: Deception; Part 3

  The figure of the injured man was soon gone. The world around him slowed down. He was mid-air atop a sea of forest, nothing else could be seen below, with a decelerating momentum. Overhead, there was an azure celestial object which had thick layers of cloud shrouding it; and on the far-right end of his sight, he saw a colossal tree casting a huge shadow on the side of the forest. Lenticular clouds surrounded it, including the uppermost part where it acted as the cap. He was amazed and awed by the austere grandeur presented by those immense wonders.

  A gunshot rang through his ears. Karkus turned, finding another array of magic circle, firing a bullet at him. The bullet dashed toward his face. Death was coming for him, and even if he did live, without any mouth, he would have to resort to — he stopped thinking. He ought to worry about it later. He can’t dodge, thus he immediately forced himself to generate a kick. The air resistance adjusted his body just a moment before the bullet closed in. It hit him squarely on his right upper leg, and he plummeted to the ground, and spun violently to the forest. His perception of time returned to normal.

  The branches cushioned his fall, and shredded through his cloth. He landed back-first to a protruding trunk. He hollered with all the air he had left. He rolled to the side, and groaned. Lacerated, shot, broken and dislocated bones — crippled. But it was fine. Yes, this was fine. The Ethereal Threads began to show themselves again. Karkus could just take a few, and heal all the life-threatening injuries, and hopefully the curse would be weaker as it punish him. Again, and again.

  He leaned his jaws closer to the thread. But should he risk it? All of his muscles were throbbing in pain. What else can I do? Karkus thought. He attempted to roll, however, his body gave up on him as he was about to turn, and was paralyzed sideways.

  Karkus sighed, and closed his eyes. In this darkness, there were endless rows of torn threads. Doing this kind of self-healing was time consuming, but he had no other choice. Then he felt something move from his clothing. He opened his eyes, and saw an open scroll floating; the thing Trakun gave him earlier. He read the content.

  Oh Deity, who watches over us humans, I humble myself to beg you. Bless me with your generosity. I implore you to alter my doom.

  When Karkus looked up, his cheeks became wet. He was suddenly deluged with grief and desolation. In just a short period of time, he was placed in a situation where he was helpless. This kind of feeling was common for him, however, his magic would easily calm his mind; he never had the time to think about the pain or muse about his life. For years, he didn’t have any time to even give a moment for his thoughts. He would always act non-stop. But, today, he had all the time to think.

  “Memento mori, young man,” Trakun greeted while materializing in front of Karkus. “Remember that you must die. Quite unpleasant of a phrase, don’t you think? The sin of immortality had embraced you for a long time, after all."

  Karkus tried to speak, but it was too painful to do so. Trakun snapped his fingers. Karkus recovered back to full health as if every injury in his body was just built from a castle of sand. He then rested his back on a tree nearby.

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  “Could you stop this?” Karkus asked, pointing at the tears striking his cheeks.

  “You noticed?” Trakun snapped his fingers, and the tears stopped from flowing.

  “I don’t want to talk right now, I feel tired. I’d like to sleep for a while.”

  “That’s fine, I can do the talking myself.”

  The trunk Karkus was resting on shook; then it shapeshifted into a twin-sized bed bent forward, and a bed tray appeared beside with slices of bread and a coffee on it. The coffee’s aroma wafted to him; his stomach made rumbling noises.

  “Eat those,” Trakun requested, “so you’ll have enough strength to get out of this forest. You don’t have to say anything, just eat and listen.”

  Karkus nodded and took a sip of the coffee.

  “Remember that you will die,” Trakun repeated. “Since we’ve met, you chose many bad choices. Look what happened to you — you were fatally injured. You could’ve avoided it by being passive, and wait for a better opportunity. Instead, you tried to trick that man from the cave, and took the risk against the curse. When an opportunity presents itself, you have to think first. Choose which is better, take your time. However, earlier, you instantly ate those threads, and would be in a coma again. Avoid perilous situations. Cherish your life like how you cherish the lives of others.

  “I could save you from those dangers since it’s my duty to keep you alive. But that doesn’t mean I will always do save you whenever you are in danger. Keep your head above your shoulders without that magic. Vigilance, don’t get involved in risk. Until you can protect yourself alone in this world, you may start doing risky things. After all, treacherous enemies may come for you. Rely not on your magic, but acquire one from this place and practice that. This place is full magic, I’m sure you can find one that you can use.

  “One last thing, Karkus. Relapse is the other curse I’ve placed on you, remember that? It’ll attack you arbitrarily, and sometimes, you’ll find yourself uncontrollable after experiencing it. I’ll give you five tablets which you can use if you can’t rationalize properly. It’d help you a lot. I wouldn’t have placed it on you, but when you were recovering, I thought you had a memory loss. I’m afraid that’s not the case, though, it’s just the last thing you recover in that weird healing process of yours. Also, remember to get a permission before you take in other’s threads, or it’ll amplify if you used it again without one.

  “That’s all I have to say. Be careful out there, and as a bonus gift, I’ll put a protective barrier so monsters here won’t be able to sniff you. Good luck and don’t forget that it is more likely that you’ll die here.” Trakun disappeared instantly.

  Karkus continued on eating. The meal was rather delicious, as if made by prestigious chef, albeit a simple dish. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief beside, and looked above. He wanted to see the tree and the planet. However, slumber began to lullaby him to sleep. It gently caressed his hair, and closed his eyes. Before he slept, a question lingered on his mind, why did Trakun compelled him to lament?

  Chapter 4 End.