Chapter 119 - House of Memories
Amukelo felt the cold water pressing against every inch of his body, wrapping around him like an inescapable vice. He sank deeper and deeper, his arms limp by his sides, his body swaying slightly in the underwater current. His eyes, wide and unfocused, stared at the faint light filtering through the surface above. Each second, the light grew dimmer, the weight of the water pulling him further into the abyss.
He had stopped fighting. Somewhere, deep within himself, he had accepted it. This was his end. The battle, the struggles, the relentless fight against every force trying to break him. The silence beneath the water felt almost soothing, a cruel comfort in his final moments.
But then, faint and distant, a voice broke through the silence.
"Amukelo..."
It was barely audible, muffled by the water, but unmistakable. His hollow eyes stirred, flickering with the faintest spark of awareness. He blinked, his gaze shifting upward toward the surface. The faint light above seemed to shimmer as the voice grew louder, cutting through the suffocating quiet.
"Amukelo!"
The voice was sharper now, more urgent. His heart, dulled by despair, jolted at the sound. He squinted, straining to see past the darkness that surrounded him. Through the distorted light above, a shape began to take form—a small boat, glowing faintly, its edges blurred as if it weren't entirely real. And there, standing on the boat, was someone reaching out to him, their hand outstretched, their face illuminated in the light. It was Pao.
Her voice rang clear, her tone firm but full of hope. "Amukelo, grab my hand! We will get through this!"
For a moment, Amukelo froze, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. Then, as if her words ignited something dormant within him, his body stirred. He kicked his legs weakly, his arms flailing against the water's weight. Slowly, desperately, he began to swim upward, his gaze locked on Pao's hand.
Pao leaned over the side of the boat, her face full of determination. "That's it! Keep going! Don't give up!" she yelled, her voice cutting through the suffocating pressure of the water.
Amukelo's strokes became more purposeful, his lungs screaming for air as he fought against the crushing depth. He could hear Pao's encouragement. The boat grew clearer, the glow surrounding it stronger. He could almost make out the details of her face—her familiar smile, her eyes full of resolve.
But just as his fingertips grazed the surface of the water, the light dimmed.
A shadow loomed above, massive and terrifying, eclipsing the faint glow of the boat. Amukelo's strokes faltered as he stared in horror. The shadow descended, striking the boat with a force that sent a shockwave rippling through the water. The impact split the boat cleanly in half, the sound reverberating through the water like a thunderclap.
Amukelo's heart sank as he watched the boat begin to crumble. "No!" he tried to scream, but the water swallowed his voice, reducing it to a hollow gurgle. His eyes darted frantically, searching for Pao. He saw her, still standing amidst the chaos, but something was wrong.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on freёwebnoѵel.com.
Time seemed to slow as he saw it—a jagged strike, a flash of movement. Pao's body jerked unnaturally, and blood bloomed around her like a crimson cloud. She fell, her body severed in half, her lifeless form tumbling into the water. Her eyes, once full of life and hope, were now blank, staring into the void. Yet, hauntingly, her lips still curved into a faint, bloody smile.
Amukelo reached for her, his movements frantic, his mind consumed by the sight. "Pao!" he tried to shout, his voice lost to the depths. His hand extended, trembling, but she was beyond his reach, sinking further into the dark abyss. Her blood stained the water around him.
His body convulsed, shaking uncontrollably. His breath came in sharp, desperate gasps, but instead of air, he inhaled water. The cold rushed into his lungs, choking him, and suffocating him. He clawed at his throat, his mind screaming for oxygen, but there was none. The darkness around him seemed to close in, the faint light above shrinking to nothing.
As he sank, his chest burning, his mind filled with a single, unbearable thought: I failed.
The weight of the water pressed down on him, dragging him further into the abyss. His vision blurred, the world fading into a hazy void of pain and despair. He couldn't fight it anymore. He couldn't fight anything anymore.
Amukelo jolted upright on his bed, shouting for his friends in a reflex of desperation. "Bral, Idin, I have to see Pao, I had a horrible..." His voice faltered as his eyes darted around the empty room, the reality of his loss crashing back upon him like a relentless wave. "Ahh, right... Pao... Why..." The grief was unbearable, thick in the air around him as tears welled in his eyes.
Shaking his head as if to dispel the sorrow, Amukelo's grief morphed back into the fiery anger that had driven him the days before. His glance fell on the disarray he had left in his room. With a deep, steadying breath, he resumed the task of sorting through his friends' belongings, driven by a need to find closure and perhaps a way to honor their memories properly.
He gathered all the belongings from Pao and Bao's room and brought them into his, creating a somber collection of their lives. Starting with Bao's items, Amukelo carefully sifted through each piece, searching for anything that might hold sentimental value for their family. His hands trembled slightly as he handled each object, each one a reminder of the vibrant lives cut so brutally short.
Among Bao's possessions, he found a small locket that flipped open to reveal a hand-drawn family portrait, capturing a happier time when they were still nobles. The drawing, though simple, was filled with warmth and love, the kind that speaks of better days. Beside the locket was a small book, its pages filled with childlike drawings, a testament to cherished memories.
Moving to Idin's belongings, Amukelo's heart continued to ache with each item he set aside. Among Idin's few possessions was a simple ring, worn and polished from use. Inside the band, engraved words read 'for the best brother in the world', accompanied by a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it gently, Amukelo found a drawing of Idin with his family, smiling and happy. Idin was wearing the ring in the drawing, a symbol of love and connection with his family.
Amukelo lingered over Bral's items, his fingers tracing the worn edges of a small leather book filled with exchanges between Bral and his family. It was intimate, a window into Bral's thoughts and feelings about his life and love for Bao. The letters were punctuated with confessions of fear, hope, and dreams, sketching a portrait of a man deeply connected to his loved ones. Tucked alongside the book was a small dagger, the inscription on its sheath reading, "Stay safe, and come back," a poignant reminder of expectations unmet.
With a heavy heart, Amukelo then turned to Pao's belongings. His breath hitched as he touched her items, each piece a tangible memory of her presence. He unfolded her dresses delicately. The simple pink dress she wore on their first date and the elegant one from their second, each had a big meaning to him.
Beneath the layers of clothing, Amukelo found a small diary. His hands trembled as he opened it, each page a chronicle of Pao's thoughts and adventures. The early entries burst with her enthusiasm for life and magic, her words painting a vivid picture of a young woman eager to seize the world. As he flipped through the pages, he found the moment he entered their life, described as a 'charming stranger' who saved her. Next to this, he saw the drawing that Pao made of him just after their fight with the landwyrm.
Near the end, the entries grew more somber. The passage about their first date revealed her deep feelings, "My dear diary, I found the love of my life. I want to spend my entire long life with him." The words were a bittersweet echo in his mind, a testament to what could have been. The final entry before their ill-fated quest was filled with apprehension yet underlined by her trust in him, "I'm scared, it feels overwhelming, and I have a bad feeling. But my dear Amu will be with us. He is strong, he protected me so many times, and I'm sure he will protect us again."
Amukelo's vision blurred with tears as he read her words, the ink blurred under the weight of his sorrow. "I'm sorry... I... I failed... I'm so sorry, Pao..." he whispered to the empty room, his voice cracking under the strain of grief and guilt. The diary fell from his trembling hands as he bowed his head, overwhelmed by the enormity of his loss and the haunting finality of Pao's last written words.
After a moment, as he regained his composure, he continued. He stopped as he saw a small box, in the box was the necklace he gifted. As he opened it, and took out the small golden necklace in the shape of a flower, a fresh wave of sorrow washed over him. Each petal, each link in the chain was a reminder of the moments they had shared, now only in his memories. The necklace seemed heavier in his hands than it ever had, each bead weighted with the gravity of what had been lost.
He placed the necklace gently back in the box, the soft click of the closure sounding unusually harsh in the quiet room. He took a few deep, shaky breaths, trying to steady himself as he moved through the remaining items.
When he came upon the second necklace, similar to the one Bao had cherished, it felt like unearthing a secret connection between the sisters. He held it, feeling the cold metal against his skin, wondering about the hands that crafted it and the moments it had witnessed.
The task of sorting through their belongings was draining, leaving him emotionally spent. Deciding what to keep and what to let go felt like navigating a minefield of memories, each step a potential trigger for pain or a brief respite of nostalgia. Ultimately, he placed Pao's dresses, still scented with her presence, in the pile of things to let go. It was a reluctant farewell to pieces of a life that would continue only in his heart.
As he threw the remaining items into the chimney, the fire crackled and sparked, consuming the physical remnants of his friends' lives as if to finalize their departure from this world. The room, now stripped of its lived-in chaos, echoed back his solitude. The absence of Bral's laughter, Idin's steady presence, and Pao's gentle voice magnified the silence around him.
The stark emptiness of the room mirrored the hollow inside him. The lively mess that had once irritated him now seemed a treasure lost forever. The loneliness he felt was suffocating, a stark contrast to the solitude he once found peaceful in the mountains. This loneliness was different; it was the absence of voices that would never speak again, of steps that would never sound on the wooden floors, of lives intertwined with his own now untangled forever.
Amukelo sat, alone watching as his friend's belongings were burning down. He replayed all the most beautiful moments with them. A unbearable sadness washed over him.