Point-of-View: Sylvar Miirphys
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"Why……why did you save me?" I inquired in confusion, as Kuro suddenly reappeared.
"Hm? Isn't it obvious? It was a good opportunity to screw Sant over, it'll be that much easier to crush him when he attacks Abyss if he doesn't have a Wind Sage……and so long as you're still alive, he can't replace you with a new Wind Sage. Also, that looked like a pretty shitty way to die, so I felt bad for you……that's pretty much it," He responded with a shrug.
Heh, you've gotta be kidding me……the only reason why I'm still alive is because of this guy's whim?
"I see……so, what happens to me now?" I asked him warily.
"Why are you asking me? I couldn't care less. Do whatever you want," He replied indifferently, as he turned around and began to leave.
Wait, what?
"Hold on, wait a second!" I exclaimed, stopping him.
"Sheesh, no need to yell, I can hear you. What is it?" He sighed, turning back to face me.
"I don't get it……you saved me but you want nothing in return? I thought for sure you'd try to make me join your side, or at least kill me and take my weapon," I remarked with a frown.
"Look, I don't know what happened to you in your previous life, but your opinion of humans is way too negative, I'm guessing your time as an Elf has influenced that opinion a fair bit too. Forcing you to join me would be pointless, you may hate Sant now, but I doubt you can bring yourself to fight the Lightning Sage, and I'm sure you have other friends too……in other words, I wouldn't be able to trust or rely on you, not against the Laus Domain, anyway," He pointed out objectively.
I'm, uh, not sure why he mentioned Bell specifically, b-but whatever. He then continued……
"Sure, I could brainwash you into serving me, but that's not my style, I'd like to think that I'm not that cruel. As for your weapon, yeah, it'd be a valuable addition, but right now, this isn't a battlefield and you're not an enemy, you're just an individual with no allegiance. Killing you now would make me no better than a random bandit," He concluded with a shrug.
"What about during the end of the battle in the Rustlands, didn't you and your forces swoop in and take out some of our elites?" I responded with a frown.
"That was different, and just so you know, we dealt blows to both sides, not just the Laus Domain. Both the Rustlands and the Laus Domain are my enemies, and I took the opportunity to weaken both of them, during a battle."
"Why just weaken and not straight up cripple both sides? With the Laus Domain retreating and the Rustlands' forces having just barely survived, you could easily have-," I began.
"Yeah, I could easily have crushed both sides, and I still could do so at any time. But that would mean innocents would die as a result, and I'm not interested in wholesale massacre. You want to know why I simply opted to weaken both sides? So that they wouldn't have the confidence to attack Abyss……if they leave us alone, we'll do the same. That's not quite peace, but it's not war either, all it is……is a compromise, nothing more, but it's better than innocent people and children dying for no reason, isn't it?" He stated inquiringly.
"I……can't argue with that, I suppose. But why settle for a compromise?" I pressed him further.
"This is a pretty small world, I've only been here for a little over three years now, and in that time, millions have died, entire nations wiped out in an instant……at this rate, it won't be long before all life, be it human or the other races, wipes itself out. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but the bottom line remains; I think enough people have died, simple as that. The way things are right now, it's pretty likely that more will die soon, so I'd like to avoid as many unnecessary deaths as possible," He remarked, before changing the subject with a sigh, "Well, whatever, didn't mean to rant about it. So, anyway, what are you going to do now?"
"I……don't know. I don't really have anywhere to go," I replied, having no idea what to do next.
"Then just wander the planet for a while or something. Whatever drove Sant's drastic change, it's clear that he's in a hurry to kill both me and Belia……and I can't imagine either of us losing to him, so it's only a matter of time before he's gone. Once that happens, reconcile with the other races, or whatever you want to do," He suggested, after thinking it over.
"Not long ago, I never thought I'd say this, but……I hope Sant dies soon. He's the absolute worst. But……if and when he is defeated, I doubt the other races will accept me just like that," I sighed in response.
"Actually……the Halflings and Dwarves, especially the former, are starting to seriously doubt Sant right now, the Elves too, to a lesser extent. The Fairies……not so much, but the other three races are definitely feeling conflicted. It's pretty minor for now, so they'll probably still follow his orders for a while yet, but if he keeps sending them to their deaths the way he did in the Rustlands, it'll only be a matter of time before something snaps," He declared with a slight smirk.
I've been pretty sure about this for a while, but this confirms it, he's been spying on the Laus Domain. I doubt he'll tell me how though, and honestly, I really don't care anymore. On that note, I suppose I should get going. Traveling around the planet actually sounds like fun, might as well get started.
"Well, I'm gonna get going now. Thanks a lot, by the way, for saving me……I'd been prepared to die back there, but right now, I'm glad that I'm still alive," I remarked, offering him my hand.
"Sure, don't mention it," He responded, shaking my hand, "And word of advice, you're pretty careless in a fight, you drop your guard A LOT. If you sharpen your skills and senses, barely anyone in this world will be able to stop you."
"Heh, I don't know about that anymore. Wind Sage Mode is no longer accessible to me," I sighed wistfully.
"Ohh, right, the Elemental Spirits won't help their hosts if they don't want to……," He replied, before a sly smile appeared on his lips, "But I can make it so that you'll be the one in control, by essentially brainwashing the Elemental Spirit."
"Huh? You can do that!?" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Well, yeah, how do you think the Water Sage is able to use his Sage Mode?" He pointed out.
"Right, I forgot about him……wait, why would you do this for me, anyway?" I inquired suspiciously.
"Isn't it obvious?" He responded in a sadistic tone with a dark smirk, sending chills down my spine, "Just imagine, if you cross paths with Sant again and unleash your Sage Mode, he'll probably think that the Wind Spirit has betrayed him. You saw how paranoid he's becoming, and I wager it's only going to get worse."
Woah……he's thought that far ahead? He wasn't giving me control of the Wind Spirit's powers just to be nice or whatever, no, he was doing because of the possibility that it'll fuck with Sant's head. Suddenly, his expression stiffened a bit, before glancing at me……
"Hey, tell me……can Sant track you guys somehow? Because, uh……I'm pretty sure he knows where you are. He keeps going silent, I'm assuming that's him sending telepathic messages to some troops assigned to kill you."
"Crap, the telepathic link! Yeah, he can always find us, using that link……," I growled in frustration……damn it, how could I have forgotten about that!?
"Alright, then……I'll see what I can do," Remarked Kuro with a nod, before a third eye opened on his forehead and he met my gaze before I could react.
What the……? Everything's dark……
"No, do not do this, Sylvar, I beg you-!" Came Aero's voice, sounding panicked and desperate, before trailing off in silence.
And then, it felt like something snapped, when suddenly, I let out a gasp and sat up, blinking my eyes open……
"There you go, the telepathic link between you and Sant has been permanently severed……heh, he's practically throwing a fit back in the Laus Domain, it's pretty funny to watch," Chuckled Kuro, before helping me up.
"Again……you can do that!?"
"Sure, I've severed the links between monsters and Belia before, this was no different. Also, you can now freely access the Wind Sage's power, I've taken away its free will and made it so that it can't refuse you," He informed me.
"Kinda got mixed feelings about that, but I'm not complaining. Again, thanks a lot……you know, maybe if I'd tried harder to convince Sant to accept your proposal of a non-aggression pact back then, maybe it wouldn't have come to this," I remarked with a wistful smile.
"Nah, not-God would probably have still commanded him to kill Belia and I, so even if he had accepted the pact, he'd have broken it right away. Well, anyway, I gotta return to Abyss now. You should probably get going too, Sant may have lost his telepathic link with you, but he'll still know your last location, which is right here, just outside the range of the protective barriers of Abyss," He pointed out.
"Yeah, you're right, I should go……I'll see you around, Dark Lord Kuro, ruler of Abyss," I smirked as I turned around with a wave, heading south.
"Sure……see you around, Wind Sage Sylvar Miirphys."
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