Vengeance Upon Fate - Chapter 17

The blistering sunlight and the sounds of crows occupied his consciousness as young Kurogane’s vision slowly fixated. His eyes were dry and empty, his lips chapped almost entirely. The kimono he wore followed by his skin were covered in dark, ashy stains and markings. He struggled to get up, as he felt extremely weak and dehydrated.

Several hours had already passed since his village was raided, leaving the aftermath behind with Kurogane being the only witness to all of it.

He began to walk outside his destroyed house, crossing over and ignoring any rubbled, burnt remains – his mind eroded to a shocking point of voided thought. He made his way behind his house and knelt down to take a drink from the river.

After glancing up slightly, he noticed two bodies which were floating several feet away. The corpses were slightly degraded, blood was still emitting from them. This caused some of the water to redden near the bodies.

Kurogane’s eyes swole out of sheer shock. The kind, innocent old couple that lived next door laid there, mutilated in their light green kimonos with their eyes violently gouged out.

…..!

He immediately vomited the water he drank, got up and began to run unsteadily out of fear and horror as the memories raided his mind once again.

Kurogane did not know what to do anymore. The longer he stayed around, the worse he felt. Small amounts of tears filled the corners of his eyes as he began to sob a bit, despite his body being too devastated for such a thing anymore.

He wanted to get away from it all. To somehow forget it ever happened. It was far too much for his delicate self to bear.

{Ahgh}

Having tripped over a large tree root, Kurogane bruised a part of his foot, staining himself more on his face and clothes. As painful as it was, the adrenaline that coursed through his veins didn’t let him stop in the slightest.

After running for an extensive period of time, his strength began to fade and he could not help but limp his degraded self onward.

Eventually, Kurogane reached an ongoing path. By then, he lacked the energy to merely breathe. With every ounce of energy consumed, he dropped to the floor and instantly fainted from absolute exhaustion.

A traveling carriage pulled by two horses stopped by after a while had passed. Its cargo was a wooden wagon that contained various items such as barrels, weapons, boxes and hay. It was being pulled by two horses while a tall, built coachman controlled it.

He stood about six feet tall, having a full circular black hat with an iron buckle. He gave off a country-like vibe with his dark brown trench coat and hazel toned, easy fitting trousers followed by his thick, long black hiking boots.

His face was bold and serious – his deadened, olive-green eyes absent of any true emotion. His mutton chop styled beard gave enough signs that he was someone to not be meddled with.

He got off his carriage and went over to the helpless boy. After getting a good look, he frowned slightly and picked him up, placing him on the piled-up hay within the wagon.

The coachman raised Kurogane’s head slightly while placing his hand on the back of his head, proceeding to give him some water from his water sac.

He then climbed onto his wagon and lashed his horses, moving forward while Kurogane remained fast asleep.

Time went by, and at some point in the day, Kurogane’s eyes began to open slowly as the afternoon sun beamed onto his face. Eventually, he recognized an individual looking up at him.

“Huh!?”

He slowly sat up out of confusion – his eyes still hollow of almost any life in them.

“Where.. am I?”

“You passed out in the middle of the road, so I brought you here. You’re at the city of Varsilis now.”

(This place again..?)

He immediately felt the urge to thank the coachman, as he would certainly be dead if he were left alone, since he recognized how far away he was from civilization at that time.

“Sir, Thank y-”

“Save it for later. I have to talk to the guards here so I can get in. Act normal and don’t do anything stupid. Understand?”

“Y-Yes sir.” replied Kurogane, gently nodding in a weakened manner.

The man went over to the guards to introduce himself before they’d let him in.

Kurogane pondered to himself as he glanced at the city entrance.

(Here of all places… I remember now. Mom and I moved away because I struggled so much with the people and environment. But now.. I no longer have much of a choice.)

Within a few minutes, the man returned from his business. Wuxiaworld for visiting.

“We’re going in. Sit tight.”

They continued their way to the entrance. As they went past the gates, Kurogane began to look around and observe.

He saw the guards on the left, a few of them exchanging mysterious, ambiguous glances back at him since their full helmets covered much of their faces.

Greeted by the new buildings and much more people than before, Kurogane was amazed at how much the area had developed since he left.

(It’s been six years. Things have really changed here.)

Within a mile of moving through the city, the coachman eventually parked his carriage near a restaurant and hopped off his horse.

“Come with me, kid.”

Kurogane nodded and went to the edge of the carrier, getting help from the man before stepping onto the floor.

They both made their way into the tavern. Upon walking in, many people who were eating, drinking and laughing came to a brief silence as they impaled the two with strange looks.

“Who in the hell..? That guy looks like bad news.” said a large, overweight dark skinned man.

“What is he doing with that boy? The kid looks so filthy and mentally disturbed,” said a slim, red headed, lighter skinned lady sitting on a table further away.

The coachman abruptly paused and gave a quick, piercing glare to the two who spoke. Kurogane became startled upon seeing his intense reaction.

The large man and young lady immediately got intimidated by the fierceness and looked away, no longer willing to escalate matters in the slightest.

As they proceeded to the counter, the coachman started by ordering a drink.

“Hand me your finest ale. The little one will take a kid’s meal.”

A few minutes later, a plate was placed before Kurogane. It had steamed brown rice, two baked chicken legs on one corner followed by mashed potatoes and gravy on the other.

His expression shot up as the steam kissed his little face. With the hunger nearly getting the better of him, he picked up his spork and knife and immediately started eating.

The man stared at him, noticing the discipline and manners Kurogane used while eating, despite his hunger and rather pitiful appearance.

(He must have come from a good family.)

After leaving some silver coins on the table, Kurogane tagged along as he headed out.

Upon reaching the carriage, the coachman turned around with the same void-filled expression on his face.

“I’ll be heading out now. I got a business to run, so I can’t have you getting in my way. You’re on your own from here on, kid.”

Kurogane looked down in a depressed manner, though not entirely surprised from what he just heard.

(I should have expected this. He really has no reason to take someone like me along with him.)

The coachman then proceeded to climb on the back of the wagon instead of his usual sitting area towards front, leaving Kurogane standing below in curiosity as to what he was doing.

A finely crafted, steel buckled belt and an average sized iron dagger flew out of the wagon, clinking as they landed on the floor.

“Take these. You won’t survive without them.”

Kurogane picked up both items and looked at them in amazement. Both were quite good in quality.

The man then got off the wagon and stared down onto Kurogane.

“I don’t know what happened back in the forest, and to be honest, I don’t want to know. Whatever it was, it must have been tragic, but you have no choice but to keep moving on and surviving. At the end of the day, I’m a busy man who doesn’t have time for any of this, but at least get where I’m coming from.”

“I understand, sir.”

“But know one thing… Your life will be a lot rougher from now on. I have a feeling that you’ll be having a difficult time here – as these wealthy individuals aren’t too friendly with stranded people. It was the closest place I could find from the area I picked you up from, so there’s no room to complain. All you can really do is bear with it and learn to take care of yourself. Ultimately, it’s beyond me as for what fate truly has in store for you. That is all I have to tell you.”

Kurogane’s eyes began to tear up, unsure of how to express his gratitude for a gentleman that opened up a new opportunity after losing everything.

He immediately hugged the man on his legs, closing his tearful eyes.

The man was startled at first but went back to frowning and closed his eyes as well.

“You done yet? I really don’t have all day kid.”

Kurogane let go and smiled as he looked directly at him.

“Thank you, sir. I mean it. You’re a lifesaver.”

The man nodded his head and climbed onto his carriage, his horses immediately walking their way down the city path.

Kurogane waved at the man while maintaining his rather brightened smile. The coachman raised his hand halfway to exchange his farewell as he slowly started fading away from Kurogane’s sight.

(I wish I could have at least gotten his name,) Kurogane thought as he lowered his hand – his smile shifting into a saddened expression. Deep down, he could feel the loneliness start to sting from within.

…

“Hey, you there!”