Jacob: "d.a.m.n it!"Jacob throws his fists against the wall, angered that the guards were tricked by Lilith. Nathan tried calming him down only to almost get knocked out. Oliver was staring blankly into the ceiling, already thinking of a way to get out. I can"t believe we were arrested and taken to a prison.
Nathan: "What do we do now, Top?"
Oliver: "If we don"t want to get discharged, we escape."
Jacob: "Yeah, and if we get caught? It"ll be h.e.l.l to get through."
Nathan: "Well, it"s not like they have records on who we are or anything."
Jacob: "Records? They"ll remember us, idiot!"
Nathan: "The f.u.c.k you say?!"
Seems like even Nathan has his limits. They started shoving each other violently into the walls. Throwing small punches as if they"re play fighting. Still, they could get hurt and Oliver is just watching quietly.
Steven: "You"re not going to stop them?"
Oliver: "They"re not actually trying to hurt each other, so it"s fine."
He"s laxer than I thought. The 2 finally fall to the floor exhausted. Laughing and getting along like they always did. I"m a little relieved, I seriously thought they would get hurt.
Jacob: "Ahaha, you still have that temper of yours!"
Nathan: "And you no longer hit like a kitten."
Oliver: "Hey guys, don"t you think it"s a bit weird how there weren"t any guards around when we arrived at the chapel but there were so many when they came in?"
It didn"t take long for me to understand that he"s trying to say that the guard might be corrupt. Tagging along with Lilith to earn a few coin. I knew they were bad to begin with but to work with a demon? I refuse to believe they would do that.
Steven: "Surely, you don"t mean that they"re with Lilith."
Oliver: "That"s exactly what I"m trying to say."
Jacob: "I don"t know, Top. What if she ran into a nearby patrol?"
Oliver: "Of more than 20 guards?"
I don"t want to believe it but he has a point. The only way for those guards to be there was because Lilith had to set up some kind of trap. She seemed to be one step ahead of us at that time.
Nathan: "Now what, Top?"
Oliver: "We escape obviously."
Steven: "And how do we do that?"
Oliver: "I"m thinking…"
Nathan: "Why don"t we do our time? It can"t be any longer than a month."
When I think about it, staying in here isn"t too bad. I"ll be away and probably safe from Lilith.
Oliver: "We"ll be discharged if they find out who we are and sent to a military prison. Do you want to shovel debris from Dunkel?"
If they"re going to break out, I will too. I don"t want to stay here on my own and get some kind of record attached to me. We walked back and forth occasionally coming up with a plan only to get shot down by Oliver. The morning came and the sun shines through the barred window waking me up. When did I fall asleep?
Nathan: "Oh, you"re awake."
Steven: "Nathan? When did I fall asleep?"
Nathan: "You knocked almost as soon as you laid down."
I look to the corner and see the others fast asleep as well. Did Nathan wake up first or did he stay awake all night? He must be worried about losing his place in the military.
Steven: "Why did you join the military?"
Nathan: "Me? Oh, stupid reasons."
Steven: "Patriotism?"
Nathan: "Try love."
Steven: "You were in love?"
Nathan: "Aye."
He goes on saying he fell in love with a woman that had a boyfriend. They had a short romance and she shortly broke it off. Occasionally, she would come back and it would end the same, with her leaving. He thought it would be good if he left and ended up joining the Army against everyone"s wishes. He came back almost a year later on leave only to find that she died from a disease.
Nathan: "I left again and never looked back afterwards…"
Steven: "I"m sorry, I didn"t know that."
Nathan: "It"s fine, I brought it on myself anyway."
Oliver wakes up and moves to the gate, looking outside for any guards. He then kicks Jacob awake, irritating him. After swatting him away a guard comes with food, handing us each a tray. The food was less than appetizing.
Jacob: "The f.u.c.k is this?"
Guard: "Don"t eat if you"re not hungry!"
Nathan: "If you say so!"
Nathan throws his tray at the guard angering him. We all back away as he opens the gate with his sword drawn, quickly moving towards Nathan. Oliver comes from his side and disarms him, breaking his arm. Jacob grabs a blanket improvising it as a gag to silence him before tying him to the bedposts. What the h.e.l.l?! If another guard sees us we"ll be dead for sure!
Steven: "What are we doing?!"
Nathan: "Escaping!"
Oliver: "We need to head to 2 different places. The Warden"s Office to destroy anything they have on us and the Evidence Room to grab our outfits."
Steven: "There"s going to be guards everywhere though!"
Oliver: "That"s why we give them something to focus on!"
Jacob loots the guard for his keys and we start to open each gate one by one, telling the prisoners to wait on our cue. We opened most of the cells when the other guards came in. They noticed us instantly and Jacob shouts at the top of his lungs.
Jacob: "Riot!"
The prisoners came in droves, overwhelming the guard with ease. We were able to escape in the confusion and regrouped in an empty hallway to catch our breath. Never in my life have I pictured myself starting a prison riot and escaping.
Jacob: "That went a lot better than planned."
Steven: "You planned the riot?"
Jacob: "No, Top did."
Oliver: "It came to me after you went to sleep."
Steven: "What do we do now?"
Oliver: "We stick together and stay low. We"ll be fine as long as we don"t draw any attention to ourselves."
We move fluidly through the hallways hiding when the occasional guard comes running by before arriving at the Evidence Room. Seeing that it would be the least guarded, it was our first stop.
We rummage around looking for the outfits when I find my sword, Nikitis. I couldn"t believe it! I actually thought I lost it for good! I have to take better care of this from now on.
Nathan: "A sword?"
Steven: "It"s mine, look its name is still engraved!"
Jacob: "Settle down, it"s just a sword."
Steven: "It"s not just any sword, it"s my sword, Nikitis."
Jacob: "So it has a name?"
Steven: "And it"s enchanted."
Jacob: "Well, it must mean a lot to you."
Steven: "To me and another important person."
Kanna will be excited to know I got this sword back. She was pretty upset when I told her that I lost it. In fact, getting it back could make a good apology for me disappearing so suddenly.
Nathan: "Oh, I get it. It"s like those items 2 people make together. Did you make that sword with that Livia girl?"
Steven: "No, it"s like a symbol to us… And I didn"t make it with Livia."
Jacob: "Kids these days…"
Nathan: "What"s it doing here anyway?"
I lost it back at the estate, why is it here? They must"ve picked it up when they saw the estate was ruined or Lilith tried to set me up. Either way, I have it back and I"m not going to let it go again.
Steven: "I lost it when I was fighting Lilith. I don"t know why it"s here."
Jacob: "Let"s keep looking then. We need to find our Army-issue swords."
Oliver: "I already have them."
Jacob: "Serious? That"s amazing, Top."
Oliver: "Let"s head to the Warden"s Office and burn any file they might have on us."
Now that we have our swords back, it was time to move to the office. We moved through the deserted hallways carefully. It seemed off that there wouldn"t be any guards around because we did start a riot. When we arrived at the Warden"s Office, there were 2 guards at the door, on guard. Of course, there would be guards!
Nathan: "There"s 2 of them, we can take them on."
Oliver: "Or we can sneak around them."
Jacob: "They might hear us if we"re inside."
Nathan: "In that case, I"m sorry, forgive me, Steven!"
Steven: "Wha—"
Nathan shoves me into the open and the guards instantly run towards me. Scared, I fall and try to crawl away from them. Oliver and Jacob then come out of nowhere and quickly knock out the guards. Nathan comes and tries to help me up but I angrily slap him.
Steven: "f.u.c.kin" a.s.shole!"
Nathan: "Sorry, Steven. I really am…"
Jacob: "Not my type of confrontation, but it"ll do."
Oliver: "Come on, let"s find the files and get out of here for good. Jacob, Nathan, keep an eye out while Steven and I are inside."
When we went inside, we were quietly greeted by the Warden. A brute of a man, towering the both of us. Oliver silently walks up, accepting his challenge. I keep my composure and start going through the drawers behind us, looking for anything related to us. Oliver and the Warden begin to fight, throwing each other into the walls, punching each other really hard. I have to help him!
Steven: "Oliver!"
Oliver: "Find those files, now!"
I"m grabbing every piece of paper that I see, placing them on a nearby table. I won"t have enough time to find anything when Oliver needs my help, I"ll burn everything instead! The Warden shifts his attention to me, grabbing me by the neck and slamming me through the table. Nathan comes in to check on the noise and immediately comes to my aid. I try to stand up but can"t. I look at what might be pinning me down and I scream in horror. A large piece of the wooden table impaled me in the groin.
Nathan: "Jacob, get in here!"
Through the blur, the trio overwhelm the Warden, bringing him to his knees. Nathan grabs a bottle and finally knocks him out by smashing it over his head. They rush to me after he"s been dealt with.
Nathan: "Oh s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t!"
Oliver: "Relax! I know healing magic."
Jacob: "That won"t help with the blood he already lost!"
Oliver: "It"s better than nothing! Just carry the Warden outside and burn the office down!"
I"m dragged outside, leaving a trail of blood. My leg feels numb, and I"m cold. Oliver uses magic, his hands warm to touch. Some time pa.s.sed and I was dragged away as the fire grew before getting back on my feet.
Oliver: "You should be fine now. How do you feel?"
Steven: "Cold."
Nathan: "Yeah, you"re pale as a ghost!"
Jacob: "Enough! We have to leave, now."
Steven: "Where"s the exit?"
Jacob: "You being injured just complicates this a little."
Oliver: "We improvise, then."
Jacob: "If we run fast enough. We"re home free."
I didn"t understand what he was talking about when the ground shook. Jacob uses magic and blows away the wall. Explosion magic? I"ve heard of it, but I"ve never seen it in person. I even heard it was difficult to use as well. How strong is Jacob? It"s amazing!
With all our strength, we ran onto the street and hid by some nearby buildings. We didn"t stay in one location for too long, everyone was looking at us and we had to cut across alleyways, avoiding any guard. We"re not too far from the inn, and I already feel like I"m going to pa.s.s out. I"m already on my knees from the exhaustion.
Nathan: "Come on, get up! We"re so close, you have to keep moving!"
Steven: "I…"
Nathan: "No! I got you, get up! Get up!"
Oliver: "Get. The. f.u.c.k. Up."
They grab me by my arms and slingshot me back to my feet, relentlessly pushing me. I just want to die and finally be over with this! It wasn"t until we entered the inn that I was finally able to collapse and rest. Cynthia and Livia were frightened, running over to me.
Cynthia: "Oh my G.o.d, Steven, are you alright?!"
Livia: "Your skin is pale. What happened to you?"
Nathan: "He got impaled and lost blood."
Livia: "Not good. Move him to the room, now!"
Before anything could happen, I black out. I find myself in pitch darkness. I can"t even see my hands, no matter how close they are. I feel like I"ve been here before, a small light begins to pulsate above me. I can now see only a a few feet in front of me. I"m standing on darkness, it"s flowing between my feet like water.
I start walking around, to try to understand what"s happening. Distinct yelling in the distance. Paranoia lingering in the air. I"m starting to see figures in the corner of my eye. Desperately, I"m yelling into the abyss.
Steven: "Hey! Where are you?! Where am I?! Answer me!"
Stepping back, I b.u.mp into something, scaring me into jumping away and falling. To my horror, Lilith looks at me. With a smile of all things. It"s nothing more than an omen of bad things to come. What the h.e.l.l is happening? I thought I was at the inn!
Lilith: "h.e.l.lo!"
Steven: "Stay away!"
Lilith: "Or what?"
The darkness latches to my feet, keeping me from moving. I swing at Lilith as she tries to get close to me but I was soon glued to the floor by the darkness, unable to move.
Lilith: "What happened?"
She sits on top of me, slapping me, knowing I can"t put up a fight now. It"s useless, I"m done for.
Steven: "What do you want from me?!"
Lilith: "I already told you, you"re my trophy!"
Steven: "Why me?"
Lilith: "Huh?"
Steven: "What did I ever do to you?!"
Lilith: "Nothing, really."
Steven: "Then why? If you"re going to do it, just do it. Kill me already! I"m tired of this d.a.m.ned game of yours!"
Lilith: "Kill you? Why would I want to do that? You"d be far more useful alive."
I should"ve swung down with the sword at the chapel when I had the chance. If only I wasn"t so incompetent. I could continue hearing the distinct yelling in the distance. Where was it coming from?
At this point, fighting back is now useless. I"ve already failed and I don"t know where I am.
Steven: "Let me go."
Lilith: "Why?"
Steven: "It"s pointless. There is no escape."
Lilith: "Wow, you"re a lot more submissive than I thought you would be."
The darkness releases me but she"s still on top of me. I didn"t want to move anyway. I can"t fight back and I can"t go home. I"m lost in this infinite darkness.
Lilith: "It"s going to be a while, so don"t do anything funny."
Steven: "What are you doing?"
Lilith: "I cursed you at the chapel. Right now, we"re moving to your new home!"
The yelling in the distance becomes clearer, I recognize the voice! Nathan? It can"t be. I start hearing everyone else"s voice. Cynthia, Jacob, Livia, Nathan, and Oliver. I can hear them, yet Lilith seems oblivious. Why? I can"t understand what they"re saying, they"re all yelling in unison, like a chant.
Everyone: "Me ti dýnami ton themeliodón theón…"
A light dimly shines in the distance.
Everyone: "...Prosefchómaste na apeleftherósoume ton Steven apó tin katára tou…"
Are they trying to save me? The light is slowly getting bigger.
Everyone: "...Kai o daímonas…"
Lilith notices the light, trying to stop me. I shove her off me and make a run for it.
Lilith: "No!"
Everyone: "...na chytheí píso stin katoikía tis…"
I break into a full sprint towards the light.
Lilith: "No! You are not getting away again!"
Everyone: "...O, Theoí tou terástiou ouranoú…"
The darkness attempts to grab me but a ray of light shines through, burning it.
Everyone: "...lávete ypópsi tis klíseis mas…"
Lilith runs to catch me, but I"m already so far away. It"s useless for her.
Lilith: "No! Stop!"
Everyone: "...kai férte píso ton Steven…"
Lilith: "Wait!"
I jump into the light, consumed by it. Am I free now? It"s burning my vision but I can"t look away! It"s beautiful!
Everyone: "...Theoí, mas dínoun ti dýnamí sou kai férneis ton Steven píso!"
Everything fades, I find myself back at the inn. Back to the way I was, cold and exhausted. I don"t care, I"m home, where I belong. Livia starts to cry and Cynthia jumps on me, hugging me.
I"m so shocked that I can"t speak. I want to say "I"m fine" but I can"t get the words out. Everyone is looking at me in awe too. Almost like they weren"t expecting to save me. Jacob, Nathan, and Oliver all let out a sigh of relief and they leave the room, with just me and the girls, who are both sobbing heavily
Livia: "I"m so— I"m so glad! I thought— you weren"t coming back!"
I still can"t speak, I reach out and pat them on the head. They may not be Nekomatas, but it"s good enough. I just want them to stop crying, they"re going to make me cry!
I love them, as friends. They did so much for me when I didn"t ask. They just did it, and they ended up saving me from Lilith.
Cynthia: "I"m not— you don"t— I was so scared! You started— to fade— when we carried you!"
I don"t care if this isn"t my original world, I belong here, with everyone else. As a member of House Hisakawa, a servant to Kanna, and as a student of the Mage"s Academy. This is my new home, in Everhand, Ostroven.