I woke up in a place that was already familiar to me, it was a blank space of infinite emptiness. In front of me was the familiar and loathsome white figure with its face covered by a strange mosaic: Hitogami.
At first, I said nothing.
Eidar had died, Skoll had fallen off the cliff and his fate was unknown, the Dragon God seemed to intend to spare some of us for some reason.
But I would never be sure, after all, now I was dead too.
I began to replay the entire scene of the battle in my mind.
It all happened in a matter of seconds.
The Dragon God was very strong... very, very strong.
He was holding back the whole time, it was clear that he was using strictly only the force necessary to defeat us.
Before this battle, I believed that with our group, few things could threaten us in the entire world.
But, in a matter of seconds, we were massacred by the Dragon God, Orsted.
Before that, I believed that I was approaching the top, coming close to at least being considered one of the strongest in the world. But in my last battle, I clearly saw what I considered strength being crushed before my eyes.
No one could resist.
Besides that guy, the strongest people he had ever seen and fought were probably Galgard, Larax or Ornthorn. He was sure that any one of them would be defeated by the Dragon God in a matter of seconds.
Hitogami finally spoke, sounding worried: "You seem shaken."
Anger began to rise. I replied, repressing my fury:
"That was your plan? You guided me to the Dragon God, who would kill me just for knowing you?"
Hitogami raised his arms defensively, "Hey, I'm not to blame for that! He's the bad guy in the story, he was the one who attacked you all!"
Rygar roared: "After finding out that I knew you!"
I began to think about everything that happened in the fight, everything that Orsted told me... and I remembered, "And what about Eidar?! Why did Orsted think he knew you and killed him because of that?!"
Hitogami answered by making a gesture for me to calm down, "Hey, getting furious isn't going to solve your problems here! I never spoke with Eidar and I don't know why he killed you. But he's the evil Dragon God who wants to destroy the world! Any stupid reason would be good enough for him, right?"
"Cut that out! You must have done something stupid for him to hate you so much! You damn god!" I shouted.
"That doesn't matter now, after all, I'm already dead. You've achieved your goal! Are you happy?!"
Hitogami fell silent. I, too, said nothing more.
A silence remained for a while in the absolute void.
After it seemed that I had calmed down, he said: "Is it over?"
I did not answer.
Then he continued: "You're not dead yet."
I was surprised, "What? Then... Eidar too—"
But he interrupted me before I finished the question, "No, no, Eidar is really dead."
That gave me another shock.
"That's right. And I already said that Orsted is my enemy. You're blaming the messenger here! How was I supposed to know that he would attack you out of nowhere?"
I was struggling not to start cursing that damn God again, the fury was consuming me, but as he said, it wouldn't help me now.
Normally, I wouldn't give Hitogami the time of day, but now he might be my only source of information about my current situation.
"You can see this kind of thing, can't you? If he's such your enemy, and you claim to help me, why didn't you warn me about him? We would have waited a day or two and then followed the same route!" I said, holding myself back to remain rational.
Hitogami sighed, "I can't see anything related to the Dragon God. It's one of his curses."
I smiled sinisterly, beginning to think that this guy was just messing with me. How could his powers be so convenient?! Even so, I forced myself to calm down.
"Are you sure that not being seen by you isn't a blessing? And what do you mean by 'one of his curses'? What are the others?"
Hitogami promptly raised three fingers, "He has three curses. The first is the one that makes him hated or feared by all the beings in the world, without exception."
I thought about the reactions of all the members of my group when they saw Orsted.
I had never seen Ghislaine with as much fear or hatred as at that moment, not even when she was surrounded by blue dragons in the Blue Dragon Range.
The same goes for the other members. No one seemed to know him, but everyone seemed frightened, as if they were facing their worst enemy, yet there was still a flaw.
"And me?" I asked.
"That must be because you are technically from another world."
Thinking that it made sense, I continued, "And the other curses?"
"Another one is the one that prevents me from seeing anything about where he goes, what he does and with whom he interacts; everything about him is blurred to me, which prevented me from warning you that you would encounter him."
I fell silent, signaling for him to continue.
"The third is a curse that prevents him from using his full strength. He can never go all out."
I paused for a moment. "How strong is he?"
"He is the strongest in the world."
Again, the anger began to return. Honestly, I was already stressed, hurt and furious over Eidar's death, but interacting with Hitogami amplified that a hundred times. I said, "That doesn't tell me anything!"
Hitogami shrank with feigned fear, "Of course it does! But if you want a proper measure, he is at least many times stronger than the God of the Sword."
I reflected for a moment, I was going to meet the God of the Sword in a few months, if that were true, I could really have an approximate measure.
Of course, that considering that Hitogami wasn't just randomly lying.
I asked again: "Isn't the God of Technique the strongest in the world?"
Hitogami answered: "He is strong, but if they really fought and the Dragon God went all out, he would win. In fact, going all out he could even destroy the world."
"But he can't due to the supposed curse?"
"Exactly." Hitogami responded promptly.
At this point, I was already suspicious.
This treacherous god was being especially helpful this time, not dodging my questions as usual.
Of course, I hadn't abandoned the hypothesis that everything he was saying was just a bunch of crap.
But some things made sense — mainly the curse of fear he described, and although he could be mixing truths and lies to deceive me, I didn't get that impression.
"And why are you being so helpful this time? You usually ignore all my questions." Rygar asked suspiciously, staring at Hitogami, who smiled maliciously.
Hitogami tilted his head to the side, that twisted smile never leaving his face as he said, "I was already helping you up until now, now I have even more reasons, right? Isn't it like they say in your previous world? 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend!'"
He looks directly at me, although I couldn't tell, I had the feeling he was looking into my eyes, "I can see it in your eyes. I can feel your fury. And I can also see that this fury isn't directed 100% at me..."
I just stared at that malicious smile.
He knew exactly what I was thinking. He knew of my anger and my fury.
Hitogami was right about one thing. The target of his anger wasn't just him.
No matter the cause, no matter the reason. It wouldn't even matter if Eidar really knew Hitogami. It was Orsted who killed him. He killed my best friend without giving us the chance to talk, without reason, on a whim.
One of the people closest to Rygar in his new life, someone with whom he fought countless battles, celebrated victories, he was also there in defeats.
I could feel my anger burning stronger.
I still didn't know why the rest of the group had been spared and even me according to Hitogami, but that didn't change the fact that Orsted tried to kill me.
And he killed Eidar. There was no more reason to hesitate.
If Hitogami wasn't lying, and I was indeed alive, I would make the Dragon God regret not having killed me today.
I would make him feel the same pain that I felt, the same pain that he caused.
I would destroy the Dragon God, no matter the level of strength I had to reach. He would regret it.
I looked at Hitogami, feeling the weight of my anger, of the accumulated hatred.
"This doesn't mean I'm going to trust you, God Man," I said, my voice cold, but full of disdain.
"Since you can see what I'm thinking, you must know, I don't trust you, I never trusted you, and I never will."
Hitogami smiled again, twistedly, as if he already knew and that this was exactly the reaction he wanted.
"Of course, of course," he replied, as if he were having fun.
"Hope you have good luck in your endeavors, Rygar."
And, with his triggered words, the white void around us began to slowly and gradually disappear.
---
I opened my eyes slowly, the blurry vision gradually giving way to a painful clarity.
The first thing I saw were the faces of Ghislaine, Aisha and Eris. I was lying down, and it seemed, in Ghislaine's lap.
My body was still sore, muscles and bones complaining of the pain.
When I woke up, instinctively, I activated my regeneration magic.
The feeling of healing was almost immediate, as if a wave of energy coursing through my body was cleaning all the wounds and repairing the damage my body had suffered.
I could feel that the mortal wounds had somehow been closed, there were three huge scars on my chest.
But that healing was not enough to fully restore me. It was made to be just enough so that I wouldn't die.
Eris' words echoed in my ear, filled with concern.
"Rygar?!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling.
Soon, Aisha spoke as well.
"Master?!" the little one, with teary eyes, as if she had been crying for a long time.
I looked at them, both looking at me with a mix of relief and sadness. However, it was Ghislaine who caught my attention the most.
She was looking directly at my face, her expression was impassive, but in her eyes I could see something hard to explain.
A feeling of helplessness. A deep loneliness, something she rarely showed.
She seemed to carry a silent burden, a fear that I did not completely understand.
As soon as my eyes fully opened, she looked deep into them as if trying to seek some confirmation, some sign that I was really there.
Before I could say anything, she pulled me into a hug. A tight hug, almost desperate, as if she were afraid that if she let me go, I would disappear.
Eris and little Aisha joined the hug, the three of them enveloping me in a kind of mantle of comfort.
I could feel the silent tears of Eris and Aisha mingling, feeling the moisture of their faces against mine.
But Ghislaine was not crying.
I saw no tear in her eyes, only the strength of her embrace, the way she held me as if she did not want me to leave, as if she did not have the strength to let me go again.
I closed my eyes for a moment, absorbing their warmth, the warmth of those three who, in some way, brought me a bit of peace.
But, as my regeneration took effect, the discomfort in my chest grew.
The smell of the snow, the icy touch of the air, and then... the sight of Lilia next to the carriage made me realize something nearby.
She was looking at the snow with an empty expression. Near her, there was a cloth spread over something.
A bad feeling hit my stomach, a deep and heavy tightness, as if reality was finally imposing itself.
I knew what it was.
It was Eidar. He was dead. I was spared, but Eidar was still dead. Just as the God Man had said.
The weight of this truth hit me hard, a silent pain that seemed to infiltrate every fiber of my being.
The feeling of loss, that something had been torn from me, was overwhelming. I looked around, searching for any sign of Skoll, but I did not find him.
My heart raced as I remembered him falling off the cliff.
With an anxious voice, I asked hastily:
"Where is Skoll?"
Ghislaine replied calmly:
"He's fine, he went out to hunt..."
I relaxed a little, but the feeling of unease did not dissipate.
I looked again at Eidar's covered corpse, the snow falling over the cloth, as if it were paying a silent farewell.
My chest tightened, but the closeness and warmth of my wife and my two apprentices helped to ease the emptiness I felt inside.
I buried my face in Ghislaine's neck, feeling the softness of her skin against my face, the familiar aroma she carried.
And there we stayed, in silence, with the snow falling around us. The snow seemed darker.
Lilia, then, came to us and joined the embrace, without saying a word.
And, together, we stayed there. I didn't know for how long.
And the snow kept falling, slowly and softly.
-----
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