Beep
The rhythm on the heart monitor grew weak. Every beat, slower than before. Every sound, a sign that he remained.
Julien Moreaux's blurry eyes were fixed on the IV line trickling into his vein. His whole body was weak from all the medication.
His chest rose and fell in labored motions. Breathing was as if shards of glass were inside his lungs.
Soon, very soon, it would all be over. I will be free. He thought.
He wasn't afraid anymore, but tired. Tired of all the pain.
"Jules"
That was the voice of his fourteen year old sister. Emilia sat beside him. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.
She grasped his cellphone in her tight grip, as if she held onto all his secrets.
"Hey, you ok?" he asked with a soft stammer. Reaching out with his hand towards her face.
She leaned in when his fingers traced a circle around her eyes. He wiped her tears very slowly. 'I'll be fine.' He lied.
"You're dying and you're still thinking of me?" Her lips trembled into a weak smile.
She took hold of his upstretched arm, squeezing it gently, rubbing her face slowly on his trembling hand.
On the opposite side of the room, their mother sat in her metal chair. Her face was buried in her hands. She had aged ten years in the past month.
She had some grey streaks in her hair which were not present before. Her worry over her son had advanced her age. Her muffled prayers and sobs were her way of consoling herself. The only comfort she could offer.
"Ohhhh my boy…my sweet boy" She said. Raising her face slightly to see Julien on the bed.
Julien had slaved away for them. Starting with working for the construction company and working over weekends on freelance design jobs.
He worked relentlessly. Saving every penny. Every dollar for rent, for food, and for Emilia's education. Their happiness meant relief for him.
His life revolved around them.
And for what?.
To die at twenty-four. Too weak to utter a word. But at least they were by his side. That is one thing aplastic anemia could never take from him.
"Jules."
Emilia spoke again, holding up his phone. "This is what I found. The page you have bookmarked. Your favorite."
His sight blurred. He attempted to blink. To focus on the safety of her words.
The Crimson Throne. Chapter 47
The battle scene when Auryn Ignisar. The villain had his last stand against the hero.
Julien had read this chapter more times than he could count. His love-hate relationship for the chapter was probably evident in a series of community postings of him complaining how much Auryn deserved better.
Well, there was something about Auryn that appealed to him.
The way the character refused to bend even when the story needed him to break.
The way he'd made impossible choices and carried the weight while fighting to be more.
He wasn't evil. Julien had always thought. Just a man who chose a different path. A harder one.
"You want me to read it?" Emilia asked softly.
He nodded slowly. One last time. He thought.
'Mm…hmm' Emilia cleared her throat and started reading.
> The hero stood before him, sword raised. Righteous anger in his eyes. "Surrender"
> Auryn laughed—bitter, defiant, unbroken. Spit at the hero's feet.
Emilia's voice trembled. She stopped for a moment before going on.
> The hero's sword fell. A gold line of light dividing the air.
> Auryn's blood colored the stones even as his final words echoed.
Emilia's voice changed. It grew softer. More in-depth.
> " if this world considers me a monster for protecting everything I hold dear. Then I'll die a monster who reshaped this rotten world."
Emilia stopped. Her hands shook. Nearly losing her hold on the phone.
Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her face.
"Emilia?" Julien called out inaudibly
She looked at him. Her amber eyes were soft and it all made sense.
She did not know which hurt more.
The story? The tragedy of a man who'd given everything for his people? Or perhaps it was because this man reminded her of her brother?
Everything Jules had given them. His all for them. He had worked himself to exhaustion. His health for their future and their dream over his life.
And now he was dying.
Alone in his decisions. Misunderstood by all those in their lives.
Her shoulders were trembling vigorously.
"Sorry," she muttered. "Sorry, Jules," she added.
Julien's throat constricted.
He wanted to tell her it's all right. That they were all worth the sacrifices. The sleepless nights. He wanted them to know he'd do it all over again in order to see them smile.
However, his lungs betrayed him. They failed to draw in air. Letting him down at a time when they were most needed.
Traitors. He thought.
The beeps grew slower. His mother's crying turned louder and more desperate. Prayers were still pouring out of her mouth.
Emilia grabbed his fingers, her grip tight. "I love you. Please don't go. Please—"
His lips twitched. He attempted to speak, but nothing emerged. His eyes slowly began to shut. The last thing he saw was Emilia's crying face.
His last thoughts were not of the hospital. It was not of pain or the injustice of it all.
It was simpler—it was his escape.
I would have loved to have lived in such a world.
Where strength could have been earned. Where I could have protected them better.
Where I wasn't this weak and fragile.
The ECG monitor went flat. With an extended beep sound. The screams of his mother and sister filled the atmosphere.
"Nurse…Nurse"
And then
Everything began to glow. The sharp golden glow carried a warmth that spread through him. Not pain. Not cold.
Pure light.
And in this way, for the first time in years, Julien Moreaux did not feel aches.
Suddenly a voice or was it just words. Came to life.
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[SOUL TRANSFER DETECTED ]
[TARGET: AURYN IGNISAR]
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His eyes suddenly opened.