Chapter 136 The Meaning of Strength

The rumbling was now greater than ever; what was once coming from deep below the sand as if coming from the trenches of an ocean, the vibrating approached quickly.

As he rose to his feet, a look of relief washed over Joel’s face as he closed his eyes, laying against the blue sand and relinquishing himself to whatever was coming.

…Melisande, I’ll be joining you soon…Joel thought.

Just as the azure grains of sand hummed with a frequency that tickled the back of the adventurer’s neck, he was suddenly lifted.

“Huh…? What is…?” Joel said weakly.

Just before the sand erupted, Joel was lifted, carried on Ethan’s back who stumbled over, hardly able to even walk properly with the extra weight on his diminished body.

“…Even without your legs, you’re so heavy…” Ethan said while straining himself to walk.

Joel was in disbelief for a moment before his expression turned to frustration, “Stop you, idiot!…I told you, didn’t I?! Leave me! I-I want to die…!”

“Shut up,” Ethan said, marching forward through the forest of blue sand.

“Huh–?”

“Don’t give me that,” Ethan said as he forced himself to move, “…Melisande wouldn’t want you to die a loser’s death, right? There’s nothing less cool than giving up and just going without a fight.”

“–” Joel fell silent.

It was an arduous march; the azure sand sank with each step taken through it like soft snow, gripping onto Ethan’s boots. Even worse, the sand-dwelling entity seemed to be sifting beneath the grains, pursuing them, though it was slow in its movements.

“You’re her cool, older brother, right?…Even if this is the end…just keep pushing; pray for a miracle–anything,” Ethan told him, “Just don’t give in when there’s a fighting chance.”

There was direct confirmation of those words to Joel’s eyes as he watched Ethan’s uneven, ragged breathing along with the periodic, bloody coughs.

“Why’re you doing this for me…? We hardly know each other–” Joel asked.

“–I don’t know, alright?” Ethan admitted with a small, weary smile, “…Maybe I just take pity on people as weak as me. Maybe…we’re friends, or something. At least, I think so…”

It was a bit embarrassing to say, even in the tense moment, though on the border of life-and-death that they both teetered on, there was a moment of clarity found in it when marching through the abnormal domain.

A faint smile came over Joel’s lips as he nodded, staying on his back, “…Yeah, we are friends.”

As Ethan glanced back, he saw Joel’s eyes close, striking a painful feeling in his heart at the sight of his newfound companion falling to his fate.

“Joel? Joel!?”

“Shaddup…I’m getting some rest…” Joel said sleepily.

Relief washed over him from that response as he carried on through the unnatural sands. It was only by some miracle that he managed to carry himself and Joel out of the sands, summiting a hill of silver grass that led to a clearing.

Metal trees encircled a single, all-white door that sat alone in the field of platinum blades of grass.

“…A doorway…” He muttered in shock.

The sight of the door ignited the faint embers of hope that were swallowed in despair; it was a ray of light, shining in the middle of the clearing.

“Joel, we made it…!” Ethan said with a relieved, but tired smile.

Though as he walked forward, stumbling over to the clearing, he tripped over a jutted-out root from the soil.

“Argh…my bad,” he apologized quietly.

Joel had fallen right beside him, slowly parting his eyelids, though it seemed he could barely open them as if they were as heavy as lead.

“…Ethan…”

“Yeah?” He said, coughing out as he struggled to pick himself up.

“I fought…didn’t I?”

–The inexplicable question caused the young man’s heart to skip a beat as he was devoid of breath in his lungs, looking over at his silver-haired friend, who was laying at his back, looking up at the sky devoid of stars.

“What’re you…? You’re still fighting–the fight isn’t over. Just…a few more meters–we’re almost out of here, Joel…” Ethan told him, sitting by his side.

The howls and whistling of the entities inhabiting the secluded world sounded out, echoing off of the metallic forest, forcing him to look around anxiously.

“This is it, Ethan…sorry, man,” Joel apologized through ragged breaths, speaking quietly as he laid there, “…I can feel it…my eyelids are so…heavy. I’m so sleepy.”

“No, that’s…!” Ethan tried to combat his friend’s words.

More than anything, he wanted to reject Joel’s condition, but there was no denying the reality in front of him.

“It’s a shame…” Joel said, staring up at the crimson sky with his faded, emerald irises, “…It would’ve been nice if…we’d met sooner, huh? Man…thinking of things like that. I’m really about to die, aren’t I?”

There was nothing he could say as his words were caught in his throat, yet he couldn’t figure out what he would even say.

The sound of malignant entities drawing closer, rustling through the silver hedges around the clearing, was heard clearly.

“Get out of here, Ethan…you can barely move yourself as is…I’m done,” Joel told him.

“–” He looked down at him with tears welling.

“I was wrong about you,” Joel said, “I thought a bag o’ bones like you…would be weak. But, you’re strong–stronger than me. I’m not talking about in a fight, either…You didn’t let me give up. I gave up a long time ago, Ethan, but…you lit a fire under me. I’m glad I fought alongside you…if only for just a little bit longer. I can gloat just a little bit to Melisande…that her older brother fought ’till the end.”

It was those words aimed at him, truer and more honest than any, coming from the bottom of one’s heart that wasn’t long for this world, that the frail, self-loathing Ethan faded.

Crumbling away, the perception of the useless past self he was was whisked away; his somber outfit returned to its colorful fabric as his green cape returned.

The jet-black hair of his fixed itself, returning to its blonde-and-black shade; his eyes returned to their amethyst glow.

The nineteen-year-old body of Ethan returned to the fifteen-year-old Emilio, at last.

It was fear, or the lack of it; Emilio no longer loathed ‘Ethan’, the man who Joel respected.

Joel blinked slowly, looking at him through hazy vision, “…Ah, so that’s what you really look like, huh? You’re a brat…about the same age as Melisande. Heh…You should be proud…you’re a reliable guy, Ethan.”

“…It’s Emilio,” he told him.

“‘Emilio’…?” Joel repeated.

“That’s my real name. Sorry I lied…” Emilio said through, choking up.

“Emilio…You’ve got your secrets, huh? I won’t ring your ear about it…” Joel said once more, “‘Suppose it rolls off the tongue nicely. Well, Emilio, try…not to follow me where I’m going, alright?”

Emilio gulped as he tried to hold back his tears, opening his mouth to say something, but stopping as the silver-haired friend of his continued.

“I just wish I could’ve gone out…seeing the stars again,” Joel yearned quietly, watching the scarlet sky.

It was just then that the last flickers of life faded in those emerald eyes. The transition from life to death was seamless; swift and peaceful, almost.

“…Goodbye, Joel…” Emilio said quietly.

All around the field of platinum grass, otherworldly creatures surrounded the boy who sat on his knees by his fallen companion.

Creatures covered in bristly, silver fur with no mouths and only lifeless, black eyes surrounded him, bearing a maw on their torsos instead, presenting rows of sharp teeth on their chest that clamped up-and-down repeatedly.

“–“

His thoughts weren’t on the pressing danger around him, but lingering on the experience he’d just gone through.

“A friend.”

It was something he seldom had, both in this life and the last; a precious concept that he hadn’t much appreciated until experiencing its warmth.

Yet, that warmth was as brief as an eclipse; a beauty only lasting for a mere few moments.

For the young man who’d scarcely experienced loss, the swelling of his heart, contorted with burning grief, was a pain unlike any other. An intangible wound, incurable by medicine, yet–he still gained something.

It was brief, but the imprint of Joel was left on his soul.

Years and years were spent alone in that room as Ethan; he’d grown adjusted to his loneliness, adamantly telling himself that those that needed the company of others were fragile themselves.

That fragility is what he felt.

It feels like my heart is made out of glass…I have to try so hard not to let it shatter right now, he thought.

As the young man brought himself to his feet, there wasn’t a single shred of fear hanging around him as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

With his forearm moving away, the amethyst eyes of his were revealed to have taken an animalistic slant to his pupils.

[Dragonheart System Activated.]

It was a seamless activation of the draconic blood within him; his heart pumped the primordial blood through his veins as a look of malice sat in his eyes when viewing the creatures.

I came to this world…I discarded what little I had as Ethan…for an escape, he thought, I wanted an easy path to happiness. A simple life would’ve worked. So why is this life full of so much pain? The things I didn’t have before…they’re given and taken away from me before I can truly embrace them.

“…This is what it means to be an adventurer, right…?” He questioned to himself in a whisper.