Chapter 2 - A Naked Savior

The older guard, with dark circles under his eyes as black as his long and oily hair tied in a ponytail, gave him a shoulder bump. 

The metal sound echoed in the temple. 

<> He said, in a deep tone, looking around the temple. 

Even if the light was faint and weak, the yellowish, dusty stones reflected it, illuminating the interior better. 

Dark and thick tree roots passed through the cracks of the ancient stones as if they wanted to repair them. Descending from above and disappearing into the dark corners of the temple. 

The naked Savior looked at both guards from behind a cracked piece of yellowish stone, without dust. There were four in total, all different from one another, placed on the side in two rows near huge pillars enveloped by roots. 

Apparently, the roots passed over what was a pattern carved into the columns. Now, the roots made it impossible to recognise it. 

The older guard slowly walked near the pillar, away from the naked boy. 

There were four pillars on each side, dividing the temple into three parts: the central and bigger part where they were, and two smaller, darker, and dustier parts on the side. 

<> Said the younger guard, lowering his shield and sword even more. 

Both moved forward, but while the long-haired guard was cautious, with his entire torso covered with his wooden shield, the other short-haired guard was walking normally towards the naked boy. 

"SHI-SHIT-SHIT." His arms were trembling, both from terror and weakness. Blood was entering his open mouth, coloring his white and perfect teeth red. 

They both passed the large, clean stones, and finally, he could see them more clearly. 

<> Shout out the distant guard as glanced back to where the other guard should have been. 

He stopped short, looked back quickly, and made a grimace of disapproval. Then, he shook his head and, with long strides, reached the pillar far away from the giant doors. He was carefully checking the dark angles of that temple's part. 

He had quite a large torso. The naked boy couldn't tell if it was an illusion of the black cuirass and spaulders he was wearing or if he was that large. Even his sword was black, in sharp contrast to his leather gloves with white metal knuckles. 

The armor for his arms and legs was all made of white metal that highlighted all the scratches. 

He finished checking just as the immense shadow of the other guard swallowed The Savior up. 

The white sword, full of scratches, was a few centimeters away from touching the ground, next to the heavily worn leather boots. 

Hesitantly, he raised his head. 

The white, worn armour protecting his shin and outer thighs, and the sword, seemed like they would never end. 

Finally, he saw pieces of thick leather sewn together that covered the entire belly. Both hands firmly held the hilt of the sword and the shield. 

Pieces of armor covered his chest and back, forearms and arms separately, leaving elbows and shoulders naked. 

His deadly, brown eyes were piercing his soul. 

The blood was mixing with sweat. Instinctively, he tried to back away, yet the outcome was the same. A single arm wasn't strong enough to hold up his weight and fell. 

His narrow elbow hit the hard stone. 

<> He talked slowly, pronouncing each word clearly. His sharp jaw made his face look like a square. 

He was frightening, but the most terrifying thing was his terrible breath. 

The naked boy, despite the terror, tried to recall his memories, the memories of his name. But, besides the encounter with God, there was nothing. 

"I... I don't know my name? No. No. No-no-no-no, I had one, I know I had." 

Apparently, he took too long to answer, so the guard lowered himself to his level. 

<> Said as he swung the white and scratched sword in little circles. 

The blue eyes of the Savior looked at the white double-bladed sword, and then to his little jewel. 

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" 

Terrorized that he would have lost himself in his thought, he hesitantly answered the question. 

<> He found it really difficult to speak because of his dry mouth, and it seemed to him that he was not used to making certain sounds. 

<> The older guard, who had passed them and had the time to check even the other side of the temple, couldn't hide his surprise. 

The guard in front of him opened his mouth to speak, but the older one was faster. 

<> 

The Savior let out a faint laugh of relief and turned his head to his left. Between his black hair, he could see him walking towards him, sheathing the black sword. 

<> A sharp pain rose quickly from his left ribs. It was so excruciatingly painful that he just fell face-first to the ground and felt nothing. 

He couldn't breathe, and when he tried to, it hurt even more. 

It took the Savior a moment to realize that the older guard kicked him, and the foot armor made everything worse. 

As he was agonizing on the floor, the younger guard's laugh echoed several times before vanishing. 

<> He said as he wiped a tear. 

The Savior had his forehead glued to the ground, and tears were flowing through his temples. With his right hand, he was covering the painful spot, checking if there was something broken. On it, there was even that small thing inside his body. 

Indeed, that area was warmer than the rest. 

"FUCK YOU, GOD. WHERE THE HELL AM I?" 

More tears wet his hair. With an enormous effort, he slightly turned his head and looked up. 

That bastard was towering over him. It seemed to be as tall as the ceiling. His short beard covered almost half of his neck. 

<<...ll lives.>> The voice of the old guard was faint, as if the words had slipped out of his mouth. The Savior couldn't quite understand. 

The Bastard looked at the younger guard. 

<> Said firmly, as he passed over him and sat down on the cracked stone. 

Jest immediately followed the order. 

<> he shouted just before Jest left. 

"Holy shit. Holy shit. That useless God really brought me into the enemy territory?! How am I supposed to survive here?" 

A brilliant idea just crossed his mind. It was risky, but it was worth a try. 

<> He said, crying. <> He coughed as dust entered his mouth. 

Every cough was more painful than the last. 

<> The older man lingered a moment before continuing. <> His voice was calm and bored. 

"WHAT? NO. NO-NO-NO-" 

<<-NO. PLEASE. HE SAID I WAS THE SAVIOR OF HIS PEOPLE. I... I WON'T DO ANYTHING->> Soon after, the hopelessness overwhelmed him. With his fragile arms and legs, he tried to crawl away. 

He crawled so slowly that the Bastard merely observed him, a little surprised. 

<> He asked, as confused as the naked boy. <> 

The Bastard rubbed the entire left side of his beard, looking at him with distant eyes, maybe waiting for an answer. But everything he got was just labored breaths. 

The Savior just gave up and was lying less than two meters away, enjoying the dusty air he was inhaling. 

His fragile rib cage was expanding and decompressing at an alarming rate. Every time it expanded, the details of every rib emerged. 

He could not understand how much time had passed. But finally, he found the strength to answer. 

<> He said faintly. 

Apparently, those words flew with the wind as the man was still watching him with distant eyes. 

<> A powerful voice spoke outside the temple. 

The man stood up slowly, while minor orders entered the temple and got lost in its dark angles. 

The temple, once again, was filled with quick steps that crossed the distance in mere seconds. 

The Savior found the strength to turn his head to the central path and saw two horrible feet with hair on his toes as long as his hair. 

The man with hairy feet wore well-made but equally worn leather sandals. He looked up and saw that the lower part of his legs was covered with similar dark hair, but some of it was white like the tight tunic he wore. 

It covered him from head to mid-shin, while it seemed to be tightened by something inside, just above the pelvis. It was stained with dirt and faded blood, but the Savior could clearly see that it had once been as white as the stones of the temple had been. 

<> The older guard said respectfully. 

The nameless boy's blue eyes met Greth's dark brown eyes, which were looking down at him with almost unparalleled authority.