Free Web NovelChapter 94: Never Looking Back
Kestrel watched as Ren left, her eyes staying on him until he was gone.
In the distant sky, another flash lit up, followed by tiny specks of fire flying up. Only then did she see how big the camp was, as the battleground looked far away.
She heard a distant explosion, and the floor under her feet moved a little. She thought she heard a heartbeat from deep under the ground, like a massive heart was beating below.
Not long after, the loud knocking on the door from yesterday came again.
"Open the door. Tell Kaworu to come out and go with me," a voice slurred, and the door was hit so hard that a shadow smelling of alcohol showed up on the window’s paper grid.
Kestrel used her psychic power to drive the man away, like she had done the night before. Outside, a scream rang out, and the knocking stopped, but the man didn’t leave. He walked back and forth outside, breathing hard. His mean desire and evil feeling crept into the room like a cold wave.
His shadow on the window paper grew twisted and thick, even growing horns.
"Who is this person?" Kestrel asked, looking at the shadow that looked like a ghost.
Vanessa backed away, holding her chest, and grabbed a small fruit knife on the table. Her hand shook as she held it.
"That man used to be Kaworu’s underling," Vanessa explained, her face pale and shaking. "Now, he’s just a demon."
Kaworu was once a strong and proud warrior, but he made some enemies.
"These people always come to bother us," Vanessa said, her lip quivering.
"Why did Kaworu end up here?"
Vanessa’s voice got quiet. "There was one winter..."
That particularly cold winter, heavy snow fell, and monsters kept attacking the town. Many families died, and the Empire’s taxes were relentless. Many orphans went hungry, and a lot of children and old people died. Vanessa lost her brothers and sisters. Kaworu, using his power, gave some of the tax grain to the starving kids.
He was later found out and harshly punished. His once high position was taken away.
"That’s why I call him the moon. No matter where he falls," Vanessa said, touching a stone pendant around her neck, a charm of belief.
She stopped shaking, gritted her teeth, and held the knife tightly. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Kestrel reached out, and they held hands. Kestrel felt Vanessa’s pain, fear, and bravery to hold the knife even though she was scared.
"Don’t be afraid," Kestrel said, knowing she couldn’t protect Vanessa. Vanessa had died hundreds of years ago.
Something made Kestrel’s heart ache, a feeling of sadness and discomfort.
The paper on the window was ripped by something not human, and a long, strange tongue slid in, looking for the door latch.
Kestrel stared, her one hand holding Vanessa’s hand, and the other aimed at the tongue. It pulled back with a painful cry, followed by begging. Kestrel’s face was calm as the crying got louder, then faded away.
"What did you do to him?" Vanessa asked, looking out the window.
"I just used the feelings I got from you and put them in his mind," Kestrel said.
Outside, they saw a twisted, ugly body, twitching and then stopping.
"Some people look strong," Kestrel said, pointing to her head, "but inside, they’re really weak. He likes to torture others, but he can’t stand it when it’s done to him."
There was a sudden flash and explosion far away.
"What’s happening? What’s on fire?" Vanessa asked.
Kestrel went outside, looking at the on-and-off red light far away, showing a fierce fight. Ren hadn’t come back, and the streets were as busy as ever, as if no one saw the red light.
Kestrel thought she heard that odd heartbeat again, as if something enormous was under the ground, with golden roots like a big network controlling everyone’s feelings.
Last night, she hadn’t heard it, having fallen asleep by surprise. The next morning, everyone in the Rosarium had gone.
Thump, thump.
The strong beating was clear, like it was trying to pull everyone into its world of feelings.
Kestrel turned back to find herself further from the lit door, with Vanessa’s face now fuzzy. The floor seemed to give way, moving and twisting. The world got dark, leaving only the small, bright room behind her.
Many shadowy figures with blurry faces crawled up the stairs and moved down the hallway towards the small door glowing with bright light. Inside the room, only Kaworu, who was sick, and Vanessa, who had no weapon, were visible.
Kestrel ran towards the door. The long hallway twisted and shook. The more she ran, the further away the brightly lit door seemed to get. Her feet felt like they were stepping on something soft, and she tripped, falling to the ground.
Looking up, she saw the dark creatures crawling into the small room. Vanessa stood up, holding a small knife. She used the fruit knife to stab the heads of the black monsters, standing in front of the bed to protect Kaworu.
Kestrel realized that what she was seeing wasn’t happening now but had happened here four hundred years ago.
At that moment, Kestrel’s eyes were fixed on Vanessa in the light. Brave Vanessa, with her small and weak body, fought the strong creatures. She bit her hair and stabbed the monsters, shining as if she were glowing.
"I can’t leave her; I want to take her away from here," Kestrel thought.
When Kestrel blinked, the twisted space and dark creatures were gone. The image of Vanessa fighting the monsters vanished too. Everything became calm, and Kestrel found herself by the door, with Vanessa beside a small wooden bed, as if sleeping.
Kaworu, on the bed, sat up. His hand was so pale it looked unreal, gently touching Vanessa’s hair. A thin blanket slipped off him.
Kestrel saw that golden tree branches like the Erdtree had grown from the floor, going through the bed and into Kaworu’s body, almost becoming part of his lower half.
Half golden and half thin, Kaworu looked at Kestrel as she entered and picked up the fruit knife from the bed. He weighed the knife, then calmly cut off one of his fingers, pulling out a bloody piece of bone that turned to gold.
"Take it. Leave this place," Kaworu said, slowly being covered by the golden branches, and handed the golden bone to Kestrel.
It was the key to the exit portal of the Polluted Zone.
For a moment, Kestrel was as confused as stunned.
Then she understood that Kaworu, who had always been near her, was the real embodiment of the Erdtree. He was the strongest mutant in Polluted Zone 77, the Backbone of the whole Polluted Zone.
The golden tree slowly spread its branches and roots into Kaworu’s body. His hands were lifted, and his back was joining with the tree; his face was calm as if he was used to it.
Vanessa lay still on the golden tree roots, looking as if she were peacefully asleep.
"This is the first time I’ve willingly given the key to a human," Kaworu said, looking at the sleeping girl. "Consider it a thank you for telling her that the moon would also love a mouse."
The room’s floor began to shake, and the ground cracked open, showing a bloody gap. Inside the crack, the walls were lined with red, beating veins that looked like living things.
Everything in the room, like the bed, floor, tables, chairs, and all the messy things, started moving toward the crack in the floor.
The golden tree began to go down slowly, as if a scary force under the red ground was pulling it into a dark hole that had no bottom.
"Leave," said Kaworu calmly as he went down with the golden tree. His voice didn’t show pain but only gave a warning. "Hurry, or even I won’t be able to help you out."
"Wait," Kestrel said, trying to keep her balance on the shaky ground. She reached toward Kaworu, who was sinking. "Do you want to come with me?"
The man, slowly being covered by golden branches, looked at her, his cold face showing a little surprise.
"Get out of here, take Vanessa," Kestrel yelled, holding onto the door. "You can live at my house after. There’s another mutant like you there, and she’s doing fine."
Kaworu looked at her, his face a little confused.
Kestrel felt like she had never asked for something so strongly before.
"Really," she kept reaching, saying again and again, "My yard is big, enough for many people. You can live there with Vanessa."
The golden branches covered Kaworu’s silvery hair and crossed his forehead, covering his eyes, leaving only part of his human face. He gave a sad smile, "Vanessa is already gone, she’ll disappear when you leave."
"And I..."
Kestrel couldn’t hear his last words.
The bright golden tree fell into the bottomless crack with a loud noise.
Kestrel held onto the edge, gold leaves blowing like they were singing, coming up from far below.
She held a handkerchief around the bone, the key to the portal.
Even though she didn’t find what she was looking for, she could at least leave alive. Many trapped people, still alive and suffering, now had a chance to get out.
Kestrel clenched her teeth and began to run.
Outside, the faint half-moon seemed to fade, like morning was coming, and far away explosions kept happening.
Behind her, the scary crack began to eat everything. Rooms, hallways, streets were falling into it; the whole Rosarium was slowly being swallowed up.
As she ran, Kestrel heard a heartbeat from deep down again, clearer this time. She also heard the pain, fight, anger, and cries of many people.
There was a huge creature far below, like a god. As a beta, Kestrel felt it. Its strong heartbeat took in all the suffering, feeding on it, and cruelly not letting anyone leave alive.
Soon, she saw Ren, who had come back for her. From far away, he yelled, "Run, this place is falling apart!"
Fire was behind him as he ran towards Kestrel. For a moment, she wanted to run to him, grab his hand, take the key, and leave this crazy, scary place full of fire.
The world outside was peaceful and lovely, bathed in the holy light of the Tower. Drinks and beautiful things could make everything better, helping her forget the scary sounds and pain in her head, and forget the girl who had sung to her.
Kestrel took out the handkerchief that was wrapped around the golden bone from her pocket. She threw it to Ren from far away. Just then, a tendril came out of the ground far off, grabbed the handkerchief, and tossed it to another tendril. By the time the last tendril wrapped around the little handkerchief and put it into Ren’s pocket, Kestrel was already turning back. She ran toward the cave filled with pain, screams, and strong heartbeats.
"You go open the portal first." She waved her hand, making the sign strongly. Then she rushed forward without hesitating, not even looking back at Ren.
