The Phoenix Empire Pilgrimage: Chapter 2 (Flèche)

“Hey, Láng.”

“Something wrong?” Láng asks, as we continue to walk down the Eastern Phoenix Road.

“You weren't trying to insult Shu back there, were you?”

“What!?” She's completely taken aback. “No! I was just making sure whether he wanted to walk or ride a horse!” She looks at me as if I insulted her by even thinking she would do such a thing. (She would.)

“Truly?” I say, looking closely at her, to see if she might be lying. She nods with no hesitation. “Even still, you may have hurt his pride. No matter the meaning behind them, you must choose your words very carefully around some people.”

“Tch, what are you, my mom?” Ironic, considering Láng is two years older than me. Ah, she's not listening. Why must she be so difficult... “It's not as if the kid has any balls or confidence, to begin with.” She looks back at Grey and Shu, who are starting to catch up with us. “I'm willing to bet--”

“Shh!” Suddenly, I sense something nearby... Something's approaching us. I have heard rumors about something dangerous going on outside town, but what is this presence I sense? Thieves? Some wild beast?

I can hear Grey and Shu coming from behind. “Oh, look!” I look back at Shu, and see he is pointing at someone. “A lost traveler, perhaps?” I take a closer look at the person he's pointing out. They start walking toward us, and I can now sense that something is wrong. My heart speeds up. My mind is screaming... “Hello, there!” Shu walks over to this “person”.

As he comes closer, I see them reach for the sword at their hip. This is bad... “Shu, get back!” I pull him away as fast as I can, then we both lose our balance and fall.

“Are you okay, Shu?”

“Wh... what's happening?” Shu looks back at the pale, shriveled “person” who slashed at him.

“The pain... somebody... please... stop the pain...! uUuuUuUuUuUuuGHgHgHgGGH...” They've started to spasm unnaturally. What kind of nightmarish phenomenon am I bearing witness to? “AAAAAAAAAAH!” It comes running right at us! The “person” raises its blade...!

...the sound of tearing flesh and spilling blood. However, it's not me or Shu that is cut. When I look up, Láng is standing in front of us, sword drawn. I stand up, and notice that this “person”'s sword arm has been detached from the rest of its body. It's become obvious that Láng stood in front of us, drew her blade, and sliced its hand off.

“Be careful, guys. He ain't human.” I guess Láng can sense the same “dangerous feeling” I do. I've never felt a human being give off an aura like this.

“Kill me... kill me... uuuuugh...” The more I observe this “person”, the more I think... ah, that's it!

“Wait, stop!” Shu grabs hold of me as I approach the “person”. “Th-this man might just be sick! You don't have to--”

“Let go of her, Shu!” Láng shouts. “This guy is already dead.” The horror on Shu's face is clear. “A zombie. There's nothing we can do for 'im.”

“He... he's dead?”

“Yes,” I say to Shu, in as gentle a voice I can manage, “he's dead, so at least let me grant him rest.” 

With that, he reluctantly lets me go.

“O poor lost soul who is doomed to wander the mortal plain for eternity...” As I approach the zombie once more, my right hand now glows with a white light. “...let that eternity end for you, now. May you find peace in the next life. Inmortuorum Vertunt.”

I reach out and touch the zombie's heart. He begins to crumble to dust.

As his body begins to fade away, he looks at me one more time, smiling. “Thank you...” and now, even his head has turned to dust.

“What the hell was that?” Grey asks. I don't blame him.

“A zombie,” I say. “They're usually just corpses animated by magic, but there was something different about this one. I've never felt such a terrible aura, not even from magicked zombies...”

“There could be more stuff like this on the way to the forest,” Láng says, looking at the pile of dust.

“In that case, we need to be extra careful.” I turn to Shu. “Is something wrong? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?”

He shakes his head. “I'm fine. It's just... this was once a human being. I wish we could have saved him somehow. What could have happened that would cause him to end up like this?”

“I hate to say it, but I really haven't the slightest clue.” I hate this. I'm supposed to understand magic, yet I'm stomped by this. Maybe this isn't magic at all?

“It's alright, though. You said we just have to be careful, right? I'll try not to worry about it too much.” Shu forces himself to smile. “Well, we can't stay here forever. Shall we be off?”

After that, we continue east along the path. As we walk, I notice that Grey has been deep in thought ever since we encountered that zombie. “What's wrong, Grey?”

“Nothing, really, but I might as well tell you what I'm thinking about. That presence... the 'aura' we felt from the zombie, I've felt it before.”

“What? Why didn't you say something earlier? What is it? Where do you recognize it from?”

“I can't really say. I just know that it felt really familiar. Sorry I can't tell you more.”

“Don't worry about it,” I say, then I continue walking in silence. So Grey recognizes that aura? Perhaps it was something happened to him in his childhood, in Dragon's Cradle. Grey never talks about that horrible disaster, though, so all I can do is wonder... however, rumors had spread all around right after it happened. Some say that the Cradle was torn apart by a dark power...

A power beyond even magic.