Malon and Ailen continued to observe the gigantic tree, and then Malon started to walk towards it, but Alien's hand grabbed his shoulder.
"What do you think you are doing?" Ailen asked in a harsh tone
"It's just a tree, Ailen..." Malon shrugged.
"Don't underestimate the weirdness of the situation... let's go, man," Ailen said while looking around. "This can be dangerous. Better avoid and ask in the village about this."
Malon retreated a little after hearing that, and then he turned to Ailen, ready to go.
"Alright... Let's just get some water first. The river is nearby anyway," Malon said.
Those walked back toward the village while talking about random things. Meanwhile, Aion already thought that the whole situation was created just to make him waste time. The likelihood of him finding Malon in the past was low, but he already had a list of things to say to him. Still, Aion forgot about that when he felt the smell of smoke, and so did Malon and Ailen.
Those two didn't like that, so they hurried to leave the area since the wind was coming from the village. A couple of minutes later, they opened their eyes in shock…
The previous image of a beautiful town, with trees and people on the streets, was now totally distorted, the trees were burned, and the houses were destroyed. There were bodies of several people in the middle of the streets, and Ailen widened his eyes and started to run towards his house.
"MOTHER!"
Ailen disappeared from Malon's vision in a matter of seconds, and without wasting time, the swordsman soon was also running back towards his house in a hurry hoping to find someone still alive. He couldn't understand what was going on… his family didn't have any reason… the whole town didn't have any reason to be attacked. Besides, with his father there, the likes of bandits would be a cakewalk.
Malon's hope was lost as soon as he arrived at his house, and it was totally destroyed, pieces still on fire and collapsing, but near the entrance, there was still someone. He saw his mother lying on the floor, deeply hurt and already bleeding to death…
Malon ran towards his mother and pulled her away from the fire, laying her in his arms as he called out to her.
"MOM… MOM!" Malon said, trying to feel her pulse.
Malon spoke in total despair, and gradually his mother opened her eyes again, noticing that it was her son who was there, and a still painful smile was shown on her face.
"Malon…" Malon's mother said in a weak tone.
"Mom…mom…what happened here?" Malon asked. "Where is dad? Where is everybody?"
Still, with the same smile on her face, Malon's mother didn't even seem to be listening to her son's words anymore, and so she extended her hand toward her son's face.
"Malon... you've grown so much... became such a handsome young man... stay alive, my son... and with all your strength protect it..." Malon's mother said.
Her hand approached Malon's neck as she held the necklace with a ring. She gave one last smile as slowly the light in her eyes dimmed, and then she spoke.
"To Dizzennia, following the dirt road north of the village… live… Malon… live…" Malon's mother said.
The words came out of her mouth, and after that, the hand that was on the necklace fell, being held by Malon, who was still looking in disbelief at his mother's face while asking.
"Mom… please mom… "Malon begged.
Malon looked at his mother's face, who was already with her eyes closed, keeping the same smile as she looked at her son. Malon didn't know how to react. Still, then he placed his mother's hands crossed on her abdomen and stood up, facing her mother's smiling face for the last time, and then started to run towards Ailen's house once he saw a trail of blood and the signs of heavy footsteps that lead to the exit of the town. They probably had gotten his father, and Malon had to move.
The house was broken and burned as well, but it was better compared to Malon's. The swordsman saw the open front door and rushed in as he called.
"Ailen? Ailen? Where are you?" Malon asked while looking around.
Malon didn't get any answers, and so he went inside to look, passing through the kitchen and the living room. Only the bedrooms remained, and entering, he saw Ailen kneeling on the floor, holding the body of a girl a little older than his age, the burn marks were visible, and Malon he noticed his friend trembling as he held her.
Taking a few more steps forward, Malon stopped a little further behind Ailen and spoke.
"We need to go, Ailen... the place will fall soon... and the people responsible for that may still be here."
After Malon's words, the silence continued until, with a low voice, Ailen responded.
"And you want to leave those responsible for this unharmed, Malon? They took the lives of my parents and my sister... and you think I want to go to another city?"
"We need to go, Ailen… if we die too, it will be in vain, and nothing will change. We need to survive to find those responsible…" Malon said. "Or ask the guild to offer a reward... we can't stay here, it will be worse for us... my mother told me how to get to Dizennia, we can avenge our parents, there we -..."
"Enough, Malon… I'm not going."
The silence was back in the house, and after a sigh, Ailen spoke.
"Go. I want to give them at least a decent burial. After that, I'll meet you there so we can find out who caused this... I don't want to let things end like this either," Ailen said.
Malon's eyes widened, and then he took a deep breath. Without saying anything else, the swordsman went to the exit and spoke.
"Don't die, Ailen," Malon said.
"I will not… not until…" Ailen bit his lips in anger.
Even while regretting it, Malon left Ailen's house and went towards the north of the town in silence. Along the way, the chaotic scenery remained, and all the houses had been burned, and there was no one else alive around there. Eventually, he reached the north gate of the town. Malon, before leaving, looked back, seeing the town where he was born and raised in flames and completely destroyed.
Malon's body felt weak, and even with all the pain he felt, he looked back to the north with a determined look, even though he couldn't hide the tears he spoke.
"I will avenge you all. I promise," Malon said.
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