Kerrar didnÆt know what was more disturbing the fact that Randidly seemed surprised the fact that there was a huge shadow across the deck of his baby or that his Dangerous Depths was now conspicuously silent
Turning around Kerrar only caught a glimpse of a figure cracking onto his deck with enough force to splinter and crack the wood The shockwave sent Kerrar sprawling but he was up again in a flash with two daggers in hand If these pirates thought that he would go quietly into the soft night they had another thing coming
Yet the ambiance of the deck was somewhat strange Even Kerrar who was ready to leap into action paused as he considered the two figures who remained at the center of the deck
A tall and gaunt figure stood on the far side of the deck Belatedly Kerrar recognized him as the Pale Killer the scourge of the entire sea and took an involuntary step back He had seen the manÆs wanted poster hanging all across Scant Hell he had used to joke about one time he had seen a tall mast with a black flag on the horizon and fled immediately
Now the Pale Killer just stared at Randidly
And RandidlyÆs face twisted with a grimace as he stared back Finally he shook his head and said It was hard on you wasnÆt it I
You donÆt even fucking know the half of it The Pale Killer hissed His hands were balled into fists Lightning fast he pulled a dagger from his waist and raised it Again Kerrar took a step back in shock but Randidly just stood there
Do you want to fight Randidly said in a soft voice
Fuck you The Pale Killer whispered Then his limbs went limp and he collapsed onto the deck his dagger bouncing several meters away to skitter next to KerrarÆs feet Then the Pale KillerÆs shoulders began to shake as though the infamous killer of the seas was crying
Time slowly passed
Kerrar tried to decide how long was an appropriate amount of time to allow the situation to go on before he spoke up and they addressed the rather obvious issue of a crying murderer on his deck
The boat slowly bobbed up and down on the waves The other ship loomed over them similarly frozen
Very gradually Kerrar paled How long was this going to take
Chapter 887
Decklan knew what he was doing was foolish That deep swamp of darkness that he had slowly been wading into over the past year was not Randidly’s fault Yet as soon as he saw the familiar lean figure with emerald eyes Decklan wasn’t able to stop himself from collapsing on the damp wooden deck
So much would have been different if if
If I had your power the tightly held emotions in DecklanÆs chest whispered It wasnÆt a fair reason to blame someone at all And yet here he was glaring at Randidly
The tight ball of his emotions that he had so carefully packed away had exploded in a kaleidoscope of pain and color Words that his tongue wasn’t eloquent enough to say bounced back and forth in his chest His entire being was a swirling maelstrom of darkness that made Decklan grit his teeth And yet he couldn’t stop crying
Decklan hated purely and completely this world that had driven him to this point This world that held the bar above his head and refused to budge from its unforgiving path
In a small way he hated Randidly for the very same reason
“You weren’t there ” Decklan croaked out “You were supposed to be Donnyton’s shield You were “
But his words choked off into silence Because Decklan knew that his accusations shriveled up to something very near to whining in the light of day Part of the deal that Randidly had made with Donnyton was that the responsibility for the town’s protection would be determined with a duel And Randidly had lost that duel Given his all and still lost Which meant that from that point forward Donnyton would seize its own fate The Path the Village would now take was under its own control
We were so proud Decklan thought bitterly His sobs slowed and silent tears coursed down his face as he struggled to focus his fuzzy gaze on Randidly We believed we had won our future The System would just be another foe that they would overcome Did you know how foolish we were
They had been lucky before Decklan had been lucky There had been losses but they weren’t close to him Not like Tera was
She died in his arms after buying time for the rest of the Squad Decklan had been delayed and she had put her life on the line to protect those weaker than herself She was a hero And seeing her body lying broken on the cracked dirt of the badlands her life leaking out through her extensive wounds
Every night Decklan dreamed of her looking just like that reaching for him from the clay colored ground She was trying to say something but his dream was always eerily silent No words could pass between them not now To fill the silence there was only his own labored breathing as he struggled with the knowledge that it was too late
It was unfair to blame Randidly for her death and the dozens of deaths that followed as Donnyton struggled to protect is steadily growing interests in the surrounding Zone yet what else could Decklan do
Because another truth dominated the core of Decklan much more poignant than any animosity he held toward anyone else he hated himself bitterly He hated his own weakness and the obsession with the man standing so calmly in front of him He hated seeing pity in Randidly’s eyes as Decklan was collapsed into a heap of limbs in front of him
This reunion was supposed to be different Randidly he was supposed to But DecklanÆs thoughts were muddled and confused The emotions continued to surge within him crashing against his ribs His skin felt so thin and tattered barely containing him
It shouldn’t have happened The forced emotional stoicism that Decklan had embraced shouldn’t have been something that so easily fell to pieces Not from a single look Yet before Randidly all of that carefully managed suppression evaporated like shallow puddles underneath the sun’s rays In its wake salt and bitterness pooled and cracked coloring Decklan’s twisted face
Randidly who had remained silent through most of Decklan’s breakdown finally spoke ” is protecting this Zone from the Danger Zone truly so exhausting “
Decklan blinked rapidly and shook his head like a dog drying off “That No What I want to hold you accountable for is “
For making me dream that I no longer need to be weak Decklan admitted to himself Yet what could he say to Randidly The man had already proved that great strength was possible if one pushed hard enough The obvious reason for DecklanÆs failure was himself That was the unadorned truth that squatted between his ribs like a feral pig
Yet how could he say that to Randidly Even Decklan’s hatred was a cowardly thing that scurried away to the deepest part of himself as he stood before Randidly What the hatred left was poisonous envy and deference
More than anything at the moment DecklanÆs emotions were slowly giving way to deep shame Why had he broken down like this
After grimacing Randidly slowly said ” although I would not normally ask you should be aware that revival is possible “
“Don’t ” Decklan hissed He pressed his eyes together Watching Tera die a second time was even more heartbreaking than the first had been That wildness in her eyes on that dark day the sight of Decklan’s own dagger shoved into her chest “All experiments in revival ended in failure “
Randidly absorbed that Decklan wanted to speak to curse Randidly for bringing up such a topic but what could Decklan say His thoughts at the time of her death had been exactly the same If it could be done with Roy the Undying Hero why couldn’t Tera also return from beyond the grave
Mrs Hamilton had okayed it so Coppernicus was brought in for no small amount of coin to attempt it And the result
Whatever lay beyond lifeÆs fragile box warped all those who touched it Without fail all bodies revived regardless of time spent dead went mad and instantly attacked each and every living being that they could find