Cristofer, feeling his life slowly slipping away, felt the need to tell his truth, even if it was to just one person, so he could rest in peace.
"I… I'm not part of the Cult of Promises," the boy said to the blonde who was supporting his head on her legs.
Ebony didn't know how to react to that information, but she knew she couldn't let her companion close his eyes.
"What do you mean? You were with them when they attacked us. You were even being controlled by their leader," the blonde questioned him, both to keep him conscious and out of curiosity about what he was hiding.
"Well… the cult's temples take in thousands of orphans every year… Sometimes abandoned by their own parents to be raised by them…" Cristofer said as he struggled against the heat of his body, which was clouding his thoughts.
"But there are also times when the orphans themselves knock on the cult's door so they don't starve… That was the case for my twin brother… Cristofer…" the boy mentioned.
"Cristofer?… I see, I get it. Your name isn't Cristofer, is it?" Ebony asked, but when she didn't get an answer, she lightly slapped her companion's face. "Hey, hey, come on… don't leave me hanging in the middle of the gossip… Please keep going…"
"Yes… yes… I'm Daniel… My brother joined the cult when he was eight years old… He couldn't take the beatings our father gave us, so… well…" the boy said, forcing a faint smile.
"Trading your life for a plate of food and some peace probably seemed like a good deal, at least for the first seven years… I didn't hear anything from him until a few months ago, when I received a letter…" His eyes were about to close.
But Ebony didn't waste a second and slapped him hard to wake him up. At that point, she didn't want to lose her companion and started shouting, losing her composure "Hey, idiot, keep going, keep talking!"
"He… he sent me a letter using a spiritual summoning… In the letter he said he was going to die soon and that he needed my help to escape the cult…" His gaze filled with sadness with every word.
"I didn't know whether to get involved in someone else's story, especially someone who had abandoned me with our father… But… heh… what the hell, he's my brother." A faint laugh escaped Daniel's lips.
Ebony didn't fully understand that feeling—she'd never had siblings—but she did understand what it was like to be cornered by reality with an abusive father.
"Please go on, I want to hear everything," the blonde said with a faint smile as she took the boy's hand to calm his anxiety.
"Well… you see," Daniel, despite the heat and the weakness in his voice, continued telling his story, sharing every detail he could remember.
/ / / / / /
/ / / / / /
/ / / / / /
Almost seven months ago, within the Kingdom of Lithany, deep inside a dense forest, there stood a wooden cabin.
Its walls were solid and well built, the result of years of effort by more than one person. It was the house Daniel had inherited from his now-deceased father.
Within those walls, he and his brother had screamed in pain until their voices broke more than once, but now silence reigned, as the home belonged to only one of the brothers.
Daniel was cooking on a metal stove, fire crystals burning inside it, making life in the forest easier. At that moment, he was humming a song cheerfully.
While he was making scrambled eggs, someone knocked on the door. But when Daniel went to see who it was, he found only a glowing, greenish squirrel made of magic.
"What the hell? Are you the new mailman?" the boy asked, noticing the squirrel had a rolled-up piece of paper tied to its back.
When he took the message, the squirrel vanished instantly, and as Daniel looked at the paper, the smile vanished from his face and all his peace faded away.
- - - - Letter - - - -
Dear brother, I write to you from the Southern Temple of the cult that welcomed me with patience so many years ago. I don't know how to express the pain and weight I've carried for years after abandoning my only brother in that horrible place, but unfortunately, as much as I would like to write an apology, there is something I must ask of you, even if it's shameless.
- - - - Letter - - - -
Each word of the letter reopened the wound Daniel thought had already healed. He had no idea whether his brother was even still alive, but gathering his courage, he kept reading.
- - - - Letter - - - -
I need you to get me out of this place. I need you to save my life, because in a few days the cult leader will make me his vessel, and I'll lose my freedom for ten years or more. Normally, no vessel lasts until the end of this privileged time, because our leader is careless with his vessels and always ends up killing them.
- - - - Letter - - - -
"(Don't screw with me… You idiot… You… how dare you ask me for help…)" Cristofer clenched the paper, furious at his brother's request.
- - - - Letter - - - -
I know I don't deserve your help, but if there is any love left for your brother, I beg you to come to the forest behind the temple where I reside in three days. I will be there at noon, waiting for your help. With affection, Cristofer.
- - - - Letter - - - -
After finishing the letter, Daniel stood there thinking. One warning to the cult about having received that letter would be enough to get revenge on his brother.
Who knew what they would do to him, but at that moment, Daniel didn't care. He wanted revenge—or at least, that's what he felt.
But after a few minutes of silence, he let out a long sigh, walked over to the stove where the fire burned thanks to the magical crystals, and burned the letter.
"(I'll help you… yes, I will… but only so I can kill you with my own hands… damn idiot…)" the boy thought, his face twisted with rage and his eyes filled with murderous intent.
.
.
.
Days passed, and when the agreed time arrived, Sunday noon came. Behind the Southern Temple of the Cult of Promises stood Daniel, hooded in a black robe, with two axes strapped to his back.
They were small, but they had been sharpened with the clear intention of being used against his brother.
He waited there for a few minutes until Cristofer, his twin brother, arrived at the spot, dressed in a black robe that shadowed his face but revealed just enough to confirm his identity.
"We're too close… It's dangerous… We need to move farther away…" Cristofer said in a low voice as he started walking away from the place.
"(So that's how it is, idiot… Not even a damn hello… Whatever… you're going to die anyway…)" Daniel thought as he followed his brother's steps.
After a few minutes, they reached deeper into the forest. There, Cristofer removed his hood and revealed his face—well kept and without a single scar.
But when Daniel did the same, he revealed a face marked by multiple cuts and aged by years of hard labor.
"I see… Father didn't change much…" Cristofer said sadly as he looked at his brother's face.
"You have no idea…" Daniel replied, hiding his hands inside his robe as he searched for the axes concealed there.