Davyd decided to leave tracking for later. First of all, he needed to figure out where he had been reborn.
"Shit... I spent all that time with that guy and still forgot to ask where I am."
He let out an annoyed sigh at his own distraction and turned to follow in the direction Derek had gone.
Davyd walked for a while before realizing something was wrong. It felt like he was going in circles.
"What the hell is going on?" he muttered, scratching his head.
He stopped and looked around. He was sure he had already passed that same tree stump.
Davyd didn't know it yet, but that stump was the Nemeton.
Only now, when he stopped to really look at the dry stump, did he feel something strange.
A pulse. As if that piece of wood were a sleeping heart.
Intrigued, he moved closer.
When he reached out and touched the rough surface, a flash tore through the air.
A spark of light burst out of the Nemeton, floating before him like an ember carried by the wind.
Davyd stepped back, startled, but the light expanded, taking the form of someone he knew well.
Datanael.
Davyd staggered, shock turning into recognition and grief.
"Datanael," Davyd whispered. "You… you died."
"Looks like the kid finally caught up to me... Took you a while, my friend," a familiar voice echoed in the night.
"What happened? How are you alive? I thought..." Davyd began.
"I'm not alive." Datanael raised a hand, cutting him off. "What's left here is only a tiny fragment of my soul. A final message I left for you."
The fragment of Datanael glimmered with effort.
"Before I died and you managed to get out of hell, I implanted a small part of my soul into yours!" Datanael said with a smile.
Davyd frowned at him. "Then how the hell did you end up in this dead stump?"
Datanael chuckled, glancing at the stump.
"This thing... it isn't normal. It doesn't think, it doesn't speak. It just... holds energy. Like an anchor."
"Whatever this stump is... it pulled me in. I don't know how, I don't know why. I just know that when you came back, I stayed here," he answered with a shrug.
"But my soul is immune. No one can just rip a piece out of it," Davyd shot back.
"It wasn't ripped," Datanael corrected, laughing quietly. "Your soul is whole. I was just a graft... a splinter you carried with you since hell."
Davyd took a deep breath, lowering his tone.
"I see... Then maybe there's a way to bring you back."
Datanael shook his head.
"There's no more time... besides, I'm already fading, and the purpose of this fragment was only to fulfill one last thing."
Datanael suddenly moved forward, his fragment condensing.
He pressed a finger against Davyd's forehead.
Davyd's mind was flooded. Images of his past life flashed at ten times the speed, crushing him with their brevity and futility.
He saw the glow of a firefighter's uniform, the smoke, the grateful faces. He saw the plaque reading "City Hero" that he never knew where to keep. He saw the tedious routine, the bills, the sleep.
A grateful hug. Then, a worn metal badge, shining like a mirror. The letters were clear:
Davyd Silver.
Then the cycle sped toward the end: the night, the siren, the wet asphalt. The fragile figure standing on the ledge.
Him, the hero, reaching out with blind confidence in his ability to save.
The girl, whom he barely knew, looked at him with a mocking smile.
She grabbed Davyd's arm and, in one final desperate act, pulled with all her strength, dragging him down with her into the darkness.
The fall was long and silent.
CRACK!
The sound of his skull hitting the cold concrete.
The vision went dark.
Davyd blinked, his expression turning into that of a "dead fish" in an instant.
Damn it... seriously? To die because of some chick who just wanted to kill herself and made sure to drag me along... Davyd thought bitterly.
That was the big secret? Datanael could've just said it, it wasn't anything special!
Before he could process the resentment, a loud, booming laugh broke out.
"HAHAHAHAH! Man, you should've seen your face! Hahahah!" Datanael nearly doubled over, laughing as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
Davyd frowned, wondering what was so funny about it.
"Erase it," Davyd said flatly. "Erase those memories. I can't carry that nonsense."
Datanael stopped laughing and wiped away imaginary tears.
"I can't do that," Datanael said, shaking his head. "To erase them, I'd have to erase the other half of your soul: the human half. And even if I wanted to, I don't have the power to do it."
"Then what the hell was the point of making me remember these memories?"
Datanael's legs began to vanish before he could respond.
"Looks like I'm running out of time..." he said with a bitter smile.
Davyd stepped forward, eyes wide.
"No! Wait! You can't just disappear again!" His voice came out louder than he meant, filled with desperation.
Datanael raised a trembling hand, trying to calm him. "Listen, Davyd... I didn't make you remember your past for nothing."
"If you hadn't seen who you were, you would've fallen apart. Your soul would've gone back to being what it was when we first met..."
"...just an empty shell, a starving predator that only knew how to devour other souls." Datanael spoke in a grave tone.
Davyd clenched his fists, swallowing hard. "You mean I could've lost myself... just by forgetting such a pathetic life?"
Datanael nodded, his voice weakening.
"You could've even been destroyed. That's why I forced the memories into you... to stabilize what was left of your essence."
His voice already sounded distant, fragmented.
"And Davyd... they say to see the future, all you have to do is look back. I know you'll think it's nonsense... but today I tell you: you can't run from the past."
Davyd frowned and, despite being shaken, let out a dry laugh.
"Man... for a demon, you're still way too soft."
"Hmph... says the hero who died playing nice. Want a medal too, champ?" Datanael waved his hand dismissively.
Davyd could hardly resist the urge to punch his smug face.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
"Okay... but tell me one thing: why the hell did I end up in hell after I died?"
Datanael frowned, the light of his fragment flickering.
"Not even I know... maybe it was a mistake of fate. Or just bad luck."
"Mistake of fate? Bad luck? Seriously? What a wonderful fortune I have... I die trying to save someone and get the full package: death and a trip to hell!"
Davyd punched the air, more to ease the tension than out of real anger.
"So you're saying there's no logic to this at all? Nothing, not even a little?"
Datanael gave a half-smile.
"If there were logic, you probably wouldn't find it funny. And laughing at your own misery... that's one of your talents."
He tried to reach out again, but only sparks danced in the air now.
"Want some advice? Don't try saving anyone with a hero's smile... nobody will thank you, they'll just send you to hell as a bonus!"
The light wavered, trembling.
"Take care of what's left of your soul... you've already burned too much to escape hell."
His voice broke, shattering along with his silhouette.
"And... and I don't think this is the same world you co—"
The rest of the sentence was lost as Datanael's light completely fragmented, vanishing like broken glass in the air.
Davyd stood frozen, silence weighing heavy on his shoulders.
"What did he mean by that?" he murmured, confused, staring at the Nemeton.
He clenched his fists and whispered to himself:
"No matter how much it hurts... I'll never go back to being that thing."
The rain stopped soon after, and the wind blew through the trees as if the world itself had heard his promise.
---
Until the next chapter... 🫡