That day, the beautiful rays of the setting sun illuminated the great black castle lost among the branches of a dense forest. Not far from the castle, in the said forest, several trees were collapsing one after another, raising a large cloud of dust all around, echoing like a wave beneath the trees.
And within this frightening cloud of dust stood two men. The first was an old man with a bald head and a long gray beard. He held a katana in his hand, and blood was flowing from his chest, staining his beautiful black kimono. The second was a young man; he was half-naked and gripped an old, dulled sword.
He was on his knees on the ground in front of the old man, his head lowered like a dirty loser, and laughter echoed around them like a satiated vulture.
Ha ha ha hahaha! At last, it's mine. Your legendary sword skills of heaven and earth are now mine. He proclaimed before straightening up on his legs, arms spread wide, laughing out loud.
The old man stared at him with a persistent gaze before spitting the bloody bile that rose in his throat.
Indeed, he replied while observing the damage to his body, my techniques and skills are now yours. When you arrived here, you were only 16 years old, and in just 3 years you managed to master an art that took me 100 years to develop. As a master, I am proud of you. The condition for your departure from here with my art was to succeed in killing or injuring me with that very art I taught you, and when I look at this wound on my chest… it's good, you are free. Finished the old man as he closed his eyes with a resigned air.
It seems you cling to life more than you let on, master. Commented the young boy with a small mocking smile.
Little arrogant brat… still, it's not wrong. Replied the old man. I've had my time, so it's time for me to take my leave and make way for the new generation, more fiery, more arrogant. It would be foolish to let myself be killed by a little idiot like you. He said as he turned his back on his young disciple. You had a sword with you that I took because you were not worthy of it… it is on the hill. Take it and go far away from here. Added the old master in a nostalgic voice. But never forget the condition for which I took you as a disciple. If you do not keep your word…
Then you will kill me! Finished the boy with a much more serious and almost dark expression.
If you understand that, then go! Said the old man as he headed back toward the castle.
The young boy watched his back, the lotus crest drawn on his kimono moving farther and farther away from him and perhaps forever. Even though the old man was a real bastard as a master, that he behaved like a tyrant toward him and mistreated him without mercy for three years, he was nonetheless the one and only person who had taken him under his wing in this world. That thought tightened his heart despite everything and forced him to bow to the man who had not earned his respect but rather imposed it.
Thank you for everything, old master! He muttered under his breath before leaving on his side, in the opposite direction of the castle.
Bare-chested, wearing only half of what one could call armor, he walked to the top of a hill on which he found a sword planted in the ground. A long, magnificent sword, made of gold and silver. He pulled it from the ground before pointing it toward the sky and shouting loudly his determination:
From now on, I will live as a strong and free man. I will only do what I want. I swear it!! He shouted at the top of the hill. So, let the adventure begin.
After that, the young boy put the sword back into its scabbard, which was buried in a pile of dust at his feet. Then he descended the hill and began to walk straight ahead, crossing the forest. With an inquisitive look, he questioned his memory about the geography of the place and his new direction.
Well, if my memories are up to date, there is a village a few kilometers from here. There I might be able to find medical help as well as clothes and food, counting on my good luck. I shouldn't get my hopes up either. I've already been fooled several times. In this world as in the old one, good luck is synonymous with money, and since I don't have any, I'll have to work hard for a while before I can really set out on an adventure as I desire.
It was with these good words that he continued on his path until he left the forest. Then he walked across rocky land as the shadow of night was already eclipsing the sun. Under the glow of the moon, he continued his journey and walked for quite some time before taking a break beneath a large rock.
It's good to have willpower, but if the body is tired, it is tired. Besides, it's dangerous to travel at night in these regions.
He planted his two swords into the ground, the dulled sword he had used in his fight against his master and the gold and silver sword he had taken from the hill. He then lay down on his back near his swords and lifted his eyes toward a night sky filled with stars and dreams, of poetic beauty.
It's incredible how beautiful the stars can be. Over there too, you could admire this sight, but strangely, it's only here that I manage to think about this kind of thing.
He then closed his eyes and thought of people he imagined in his mind. The silhouette of a woman wearing glasses and a dress with an angry expression, the silhouette of a man with his back turned to him, the looks of many girls and boys who seemed to mock him, and the silhouette of a young boy reaching out his hand to him. It was after these visions that he suddenly opened his eyes as if to prevent himself from sinking into an endless and pointless nightmare.
Think about your average, behave properly, don't bring shame upon us, what would others say if ever… he began to repeat to himself with a blasé expression, as if these words were printed by his brain into his memory, and then one sentence rose from the rubble: "class trash." It was more striking and distorted the young man's face, who masked his anger with a fake smile.
Hmm, it's been 3 years now since I've heard that kind of talk. Well, all the better! Even if it sometimes makes me wonder how they're all doing, I still have no regrets. He thought while still admiring the beauty of the sky.
A fantastic beauty that seemed able to sweep away all the torments of his nights and offer him a few moments of rest in a well-deserved sleep that he desperately needed. And without realizing it, he fell asleep under the rocks, fists clenched, until the first rays of the sun illuminating the horizon came to pull him from the arms of Morpheus.
He got up and stretched while yawning before picking up his two weapons, taking a short moment of rest, and continuing his journey since he had nothing to put under his teeth.
He walked for hours in the desert. A time that seemed infinite to him as he painfully reached his limits. And he walked again and again for hours and hours and hours under the scorching heat of the sun and the fatigue due to the lack of food and water that was painfully making itself felt. He walked for another half day without ever getting discouraged until he spotted a small village in the distance.
Bingo! He uttered with his dried lips, hurrying toward the small village even though his gait was more that of a thirsty walking corpse than that of a human.
But when he finally arrived at the gate of the village, a macabre spectacle made him shiver from head to toe. The closer he got, the more the hairs on his body stood on end, even in the darkest corners. Each of his steps was slower than the previous one, as if his reason urged him to turn back while his starving body pushed him forward. And when he finally reached the village gate, he stood there, mouth agape.
His completely empty stomach twisted in his belly as he clutched his chest to keep from vomiting what he had not eaten for a day and a half. But the sight seemed to push him to his limits, forcing him to cover his mouth to stop the little bit that had risen. A spectacle of bad taste, he thought as he looked around him.
The village was hidden behind a wall long enough to discourage a child but not long enough to keep an adult away. In front of what looked like a gate stood a small cluster of burned trees on an ashen ground from which emanated a horrible and foul smell.
In the middle of these blackened woods stood several pike-shaped pillars planted in the ground, on which hung the corpses of monsters suspended in the air, their bodies pierced by the pillars that ran from their buttocks up to their mouths.
The blood flowed and mixed with the ash to spread a terrible and nauseating smell that almost overcame the young man's sense of smell. At first he was surprised, then horrified.
What an ignominy, even for monsters! He uttered before a second wave of odor, lifted by a passing breeze, tore into his nostrils.
He crouched down on the ground for a moment as if to vomit, but nothing came. He then raised his head and saw several men masked with scarves and armed with axes and rakes in front of him. They were numerous and armed to the teeth, but above all, they were ready to fight. Gabriel immediately thought that they were the ones responsible for this macabre spectacle. And surely, he was the next on the list, judging by the animosity emanating from the group.
That did not reassure him. He was hungry, he was thirsty, he was injured, but more than anything, by all the gods, he was hungry. And that did not reassure him at all.