CHAPTER 26: PREDATORS AND PREYS (3)

A huge shadow engulfed Aerith and his companions, the moment of relief he had enjoyed only briefly now seemed to crumbled into helplessness.

The boulder stood on two legs of its own, it’s form humanoid but also incongruous, rock hard exterior shifting like flesh in an unnatural jagged way. It spoke with a hint of disinterest at them, "You don’t seem like worthy opponent."

For a brief moment Aerith thought the boulder monster would leave them and be on its way but it seemed the tower would never let him rest or keep his sanity. The huge boulder monster gave a low bellow, a cross between a grunt and a deep, dark chuckle. "It’s been a long time since I last had human flesh."

Aerith swallowed hard and looked back at Emilia standing right next to Nasha, they both stared at him not expecting him to save them or take the lead.

He had witnessed that look in their eyes firsthand and what they had brought with it. They were ready to sacrifice their lives with him just as they had done many times before, regardless of whatever why lost to keep him safe.

He looked down at his hands now seeing for the first time that they were tembreling his side. He scoffed, his voice cracked and words slipped out barely. "What are you guys doing anyway. It should be my responsibility to keep you two ladies safe."

He looked up at the rock monster, his eyes more frightened than they had ever been but still he had to stand and fight. No, he chose to fight.

Thinking about the blade the white prince had given to him he tried to summon it and thought hard. A second later a long silver rapier was born was a massive of shimmering silver light, it was his grasp. He gripped it tighter, its pommel felt very comfortable and cool between his fingertips.

He questioned himself if what he was doing was sane or whether he was being influenced by the maniacs around. "I’ll get myself killed. But even at that I won’t let them die." He said with a determination that was borrowed from them.

Aerith took a step forward, it felt like pulling a anvil on both legs. It was a torturous thing for him to get through both physically and mentally.

"Hey bastard, your right is with me." He boomed.

He the looked over to his comrades seeing them getting ready to jump in at any moment. He have them a smile and said to himself. "Thank you for borrowing me your strength, I’ll need it."

There was a line between sanity and sense, and it was a very thin line. Or perhaps his line had been stretched so long that it had grown to the point of snapping.

They had sacrificed literally everything for him, even as he charged forward at the huge rock abberation his mind asked him the question. "Would you really die to save them? Was there a reason to?"

If he really thought about this he should have been home on his bed reading a book, but then again— that was how he actually ended up in this situation to begin with.

"Stop having such foolish thoughts when you could die anytime, you bastard! That life is long gone, accept it." He screamed at himself, veins bulging and growing from his temples.

He hissed in deep seethed rage, his grip tightened on the pommel of the White plague. His feet tore through the blades of grass like a torrent, the wind threatened to blind him but he resisted the urge to blink— knowing fully well that a second was the difference between life and death in the tower. At least he had grasped this much, so he could give himself a pat on the back.

He clenched his jaw and hissed out. "What pat on the back, stop thinking dammit!"

His footwork was nothing special, it was a simple forward movement caused by the momentum of his legs exploding in quick burst. This caused him to use much energy that he normally should have, but this was something entirely new to him so how could he know?

Aerith let out a loud roar or rather was something supposed to resemble one. It sounded more like a crying baby going into a frenzy, the distance between him and the rock creature was now very little considering that there was not much distance between them to begin with.

Aerith’s plan was simple, find a blind spot and hack at it till it died. It sounded simple in his head and he believed so, since the sword the angel gave him was shiny so also it should be powerful, right?

Oh, boy was he so, so wrong.

It all happened so fast, the huge boulder like monster suddenly exploded off the ground with an insane level of momentum that betrayed it’s size. It was more than two times Aerith’s current speed, it charged forward and threw a gigantic rock fist at him.

Aerith blocked it perfectly in his mind and leaves to the side, or more appropriately his mind. He saw the blow coming too fast for him to react, perhaps it was fear or shock his body refused to move.

There was a sound like an a explosion from the impact, the first of the boulder beast devoured his momentum like an anvil smashing into stone, it crushed him. He felt his ribs crack, his body jerked then he was sent flying upwards into the air.

Aerith spun through the air like a misguided frisbee, it was a violent reaction. His head also spun and his senses were nonexistent. He could barely think, even if he did the only think that his body screamed was, "PAIN!"

It devoured if very being and crushed him, he had lost track of how high he was up in the air. But barely three seconds had passed and everything was a blur, or maybe he was just dizzy from spinning so much.

No matter how had he tried to think about it, he knew he would die very soon. Somehow he had managed to delay it for a while due to the fact that he had his comrades by him but without two women to hide behind he was cannon fodder, an expendable shit.

Soon the momentum that carried him several feet in the air ceased and his body stopped it’s accent, he soon started to plummet to the earth below. And something unexpected happened in the millisecond his body froze before the fall.

His eyes widened reflecting the world slowing down before him seeing the endless forest of Calquin from such a height was truly a beauty and a horror at the same time. The tall blades of grass seemed to shine brighter, and there was a stream to thick red fluid flowing through the blades of grass, moving and converging on a massive tree somewhere afar off. This was no normal tree, it was the size of a mountain.

Aerith shifted to the sky above him, the sky was still blue and endless as it had been. No cloud in the sky, the man in the sky still there observing in a sense. But this time there was another figure, a woman and she seemed to be hovering there.

He could not help but wonder what they were, angels or demons? Whatever they were,he could tell they were something supreme and magnificent.

His eyes watered for some reason, not because he was moved by the scene but because of how long they had been open. He thought, "So majestic, I wonder what the view is like from the top."

As he fell the winds blew in his ears violently, his descent came rather quicker than he had expected. The feeling of flying above all of his troubles had been... What was the word? Majestic!

When he hit the ground it was massive, there was an explosion and he let out a pained shriek that he doubted was humanely possible. The white plague slipped from his hand and unto the ground, he could not even feel his back, he even doubted if it was still there anymore.

The rock monster was over him in no time, raising it’s huge leg to stomp on him. Aerith simply looked up, he could hear someone screaming, and knew it was Emilia.

"Emil— I’m sorry but my life has been determined from start. I’m not cut out for this?" Tears rolled out of his eyes, "Why are you crying bastard, you always wanted to live in a fantasy world and have adventures with loyal comrades by your side. Now look at you, like a whimpering fool."

The arguement was very one-sided and it filled him with a moment of solace but that did not last long. Seeing the feet raised above him, he felt something indescribable. It was not pain, neither was it fear or anguish but hunger.

Hunger to be in the sky like he had just been, he had flown for a few seconds and had seen the world beneath him as a beautiful scenery, full of tranquility.

"Will I ever be able to go that high if I was just as strong?" He did not know why but questions began to grow from his final moment. "I don’t want to be killed by a rock."

He whimpered and tried to move but he could only raise an arm in his defence. But what could that do?

"If only my hands were strong enough to smash rocks...

"If I had been stronger, I could have saved Nasha...

"All the times we lost something, it was because of me."

Perhaps dying was not such a bad enough prospect now.

He reached for the pommel of the white plague and gripped on it tight with all he had.

"I won’t be prey so you will live for me, I’ll kill anyone who dares think to hurt me." He screamed, coughing blood in the process.

He had had enough suffering for one day, "I don’t know if a god exists out there, whatever damned creature that’s listening in now. Please save me this once, I’ll grow stronger if I can just live through this."

The white blade pulsed in his hand and he could have sword he felt a beating heart in his hand.

Then his world was enveloped in warm milky white.