33 Risen#re - Chapter 357

The screams never stopped, even after hours had passed and the night returned with thick swashes of mist wrapping around the city in its entirety.

Lirian lay strewn across the ground and unmoving, even now he continued to gaze beyond the sky in search of answers.

Lirian heard a shout in the alley, it wasn’t the first he had heard since he arrived, for a long time now the alleys had become the focal point of the slaughter.

The alleys were like a maze that spanned across the city, the refugees fled to the twisting and narrow roads, in the hopes to evade their pursuers, it was what kept them alive so far.

The mist only served to aid the refugees in their attempts to escape it cloaked them in its veil and hid them from those who would hunt them down and made the tasks of the nobles that much harder.

Lirian heard footsteps in the alley, it wasn’t far from him this time, but he paid it no mind, then more footsteps echoed in the narrow alley, suddenly there were dozens of them.

The sound grew so loud that Lirian was no longer able to ignore it, for it was heading directly for him.

Air was being sucked in and exhaled rapidly by the person being chased, they were puffing so hard that the mist was being deformed by their very breath.

With every step the person took, those that followed were gaining ground, Lirian judged the pace and realised that they would catch up exactly where he lay, lost in his thoughts.

“Mercy is not apart of who I am,” Lirian said to the night, “But for her, I will try to learn its meaning, if only just a little,” Lirian spoke into the mists.

Lirian climbed up from the ground, and even in the night shrouded by mist, his long silver hair sparkled like a beacon as the torch flames reflected of it’s surface.

The person running quickly noticed the movement ahead and froze, thinking that they had been cornered, the boy was young, close to coming of age as a man, but still he was merely a boy.

He had been running for so long it felt like his lungs would explode, the moment he froze, all the exhaustion caught up and he fell to the ground with burning lungs and aching muscles.

He vaguely saw the group closing in, they seemed almost as tired as him, some fell to their knees when they caught up, the more fit ones simple bent over to catch their breath.

“You… sure know… how to run,” a man said between gasps, the boy hand been running for long before he started chasing.

Several had passed out in their pursuit, even a novice was forced to keel over as the boy continued to run and evade capture, dozens had come, and even more had given up, they were already the sixth party to pursue the boy, but finally he was at his end.

The man pulled his sword from its sheath, “You gave us a good work out boy,” he gasped and went forward to end the boy’s life.

He swung his sword, but suddenly a powerful wind gushed forward, it made the peoples clothes flutter and the torches all went out.

The sword came down fast, but the noble realised that something was wrong, he felt no resistance at all, when suddenly, clank, the blade struck the cobblestones.

The nobles all climbed back to their feet and scrunched up in a huddle, without the torches light, they couldn’t see through the mist and their missing victim, told them that something was awry.

“How about you show the boy some… mercy,” a voice said from within their midst.

“Screw you,” the man shouted and swung his sword towards the source of the voice, the man smiled when he felt he made contact, then his blade carried through and a body fell to the ground.

The head rolled to the mans feet and he looked down smugly, this was something he could brag about, taking of a head with a single swing.

He bent down to take a look at the fool’s face, but as he drew closer his eyes widened in horror, that was the head of his nephew.

“I offered you my mercy,” the voice said once more, but this time the man stayed his hand, his last impromptu act took his nephews life, “You chose it not,” the voice sighed.

Then there was silence, no one would be able to explain what happened next, as those who ventured within the alley seized to be.

The boy was finally able to get his breathing under control, he didn’t know how he survived, but he somehow knew that he was safe.

All he remembered was that flash of silver, then suddenly a fire blossomed in the mist and as he looked at the source he saw that silver once again, and whom it belonged to.

The boy had been hearing stories about the Silver-Haired god, and The god of cultivation, since he was able to enter the city.

The people spoke his name with reverence and praised him every second of the day, he didn’t get to see the silver haired god when he entered the city, he was too far back in the crowds.

The boy felt anger toward the god, for doing nothing as those who entered the city were slaughtered, but as he looked upon the gods figure, he found himself incapable of anger.

He watched as the gods noble figure came closer, with flames hovering above his head, and the god reached out a hand.

The boy looked on in confusion as the gods hand was filled with a white light, he heard the people speak of a white light filled with wisdom and knowledge that the god gave them, but he couldn’t be certain if it was the same.

“What is it?” he asked hesitantly.

“It’s… my mercy,” the god answered back, “Or at least I think it is, I’m only starting to understand, or maybe I’ve got it wrong,” the god answered with uncertainty.

‘How can a god show uncertainty,’ the boy thought to himself, ‘That’s unbecoming of a god,’ he thought and looked at up at the gods face, yet he was surprised.

It was the most beautiful face he had ever seen, not even that noble’s daughter he had once seen in his village could compare, yet it seemed oddly human, oddly familiar.

“Are god’s just like all of us?” he couldn’t help but ask, it was a question that no mortal should ask a god, he knew that it was wrong but he had to ask.

He expected anger from the god as soon as the question slipped from his tongue, but he couldn’t stop himself, yet the god only smiled as he found his question intriguing, the light in the gods hand grew in power and expanded a dozen times.

“Why don’t you try becoming one and find the answer for yourself,” the god gave him a most unexpected answer, and offered his hand once more.

This time the boy reached out and let the white light enter his mind, it was knowledge and things he knew nothing off that started to fill all the empty space in his mind.

“The road will be hard, but there are others… like you out there, find them… it might help you… to survive,” the silver haired god left those words and vanished before the boy’s eyes.