Requiem Of A Failed Hero

"Do you have a problem with it?"

"Can I?"

Thard - Harl rolled the paper and tucked it into his belt. Raising his brows he enunciated:

"Of course. I give the liberality for anyone to speak as far as they are willing and able to accept the consequences of their speech."

A cracking sound came from his fist.

"C'mon! How can you be so petty?! This is unfair. You are going to bring me into a strange community one I have no plans of becoming a part of. It is not like I asked to be a player?"

Thard - Harl tilted his head left and right wrenching out another cracking sound.

Raith's gaping mouth made no sound. He swallowed his spit and just closed it. Nor did he think anything from this point.

"So what are we doing?"

The asura smiled widely and brought out the paper again. He rolled it open and began reading out the details.

"Shèpe Farngs. A three times offender. The bounty on him is 4,000 cowel coins."

Raith arched a brow.

"What is that? Cowel coins?"

"It is the money that is accepted across all dimensional. 4,000 is a lot. It'd be enough for you to live good for a while. And since we will be stepping out of this place. You will get the chance to buy food. You ought to be in good shape for the days to come and have good clothes."

He gave Raith an irritated and demeaning look, closing his nose.

Raith frowned and looked at himself. He shook his head in pity but was delighted for once. After so long, he would finally leave this cursed land.

He was a bit sad that be wouldn't be going back home. But anything would do, just anything to get out of this damned place.

"I'm sorry but I have a question."

Thard - Harl studied him before responding:

"Ask"

"The combat you were supposed to teach me. I have not learnt anything like combat from you. All I have been doing is drills, I have learnt nothing about the martial arts of the asura and other arts."

"Huh? What the hell do you think I've been teaching you."

"Surely you jest."

He said with a chuckle but immediately brought his hands to his mouth as he realized he had spoken rudely. Thard- Harl's face allowed a deep scowl.

"I'm so–

He wasn't given the chance to complete his apology. The asura's hand lunged at him, parting the invisible air with its ferociousness.

It whizzed past Raith's head, blowing a little gale of wind across his ear.

Thard - Harl raised his jaw and smirked slightly.

'...Huh? He missed?'

Raith's eyes widened in shock a second later... as he realized the position of his head... It wasn't that Thard - Harl missed. He dodged it?

Thard - Harl was incredibly fast. Most times his movements would have landed before coming but just now he dodged it.

Raith slowly straightened his head, eyes frozen in shock.

"Did I just avoid your punch?"

The asura allowed a small smile and turned around. He swirled his hand in a circular motion even though Raith's bantering wouldn't let his ear rest.

"Did you see that?! I weaved your punch! I fucking did it. Funny part was that I didn't even intentionally do it. It just sort of happened."

Only when a swirming hole appeared, enlarging from a dot Did Raith stopped to ask.

"What is that?"

"It's a gate way… I've been studying on a way to leave this place incognito. Using the properties of the space rip I used in getting to you. This is the result of that."

Raith smirked.

"I see. So, I'm not the only one that has been training huh."

The asura looked at him with disgust and walked into the gate. Raith followed immediately his voice trailing behind.

"Come on, drop the pride and talk to me! Where are we going to? Is it some sort of dimension? Which dimension? How many dimensions exist in this cosmos?"

The asura answered to none. They trekked for a while in a scenery of inky darkness with a hint of purple swirling like worms on its wall.

Soon, their visage changed.

Before Raith's eyes was a vast greenscape. Trees towered mightily. Their heights were very intimidating, even to the blue skies and clouds that streaked across the expanse like fishes swimming in oceans.

"The clouds are moving?"

At a very fast pace. It was a truly unusual sight. Raith couldn't bring his head down for a while.

Thard - Harl softly swung his hand at his back. Raith's eyes narrowed and his hand caught the asura's fraction of space away from hitting him.

"Ah! I did it again"

The asura frowned and grabbed Raith's neck. A blur of motion that happened to fast to be blocked… hell, it was unseen. The asura raised him. Gripping his hands tightly around his neck. He slammed him to the ground sending cracks reeling in several directions.

Birds flooded the sky with chirps as the towering tree subtly shook in response to the tremor.

The asura retreated his hands and dusted them. While Raith stayed on the ground trying to reach his back and squirming as the pain shot across his whole back.

"Stand up!"

He shot to his feet as the asura growled.

"So where are we going sir?"

Thard - Harl began to walk.

"This is Heaur'Lth. Lost Land. This happened to be the place that our hunt hails from. We are going to go around to ask the people about him."

Raith hurried his step and was walking beside Thard - Harl before he inquired.

"Are there humans here too? Like the ones on earth?"

"There are humans in every dimension. This dimension holds a vast number of them also, they are weak compared to other races though."

"Wow. What other races do they have."

"Elves and Orcs."

"Elves and Orcs? Orcs are not monsters here?"

Thard - Harl stopped and turned to him. He also stopped and raised a brow carefully.

"..."

He looked like he wanted to say something but closed sighed and kept walking.

Raith also followed with hints of curiosity slowly dissipating from his face.

[Raven Raith]

"Sage!!"

Thard - Harl shot a gaze at him making him shut up and caution himself.

'Sage. You have left me to suffer alone?'

[I did not leave you]

[No matter how much i tried to call onto you. I was met by utter darkness. Something was blocking my voice from reaching you]

'What? Could it be him?'

Raith looked at Thard - Harl's broad back.

[I doubt it. It was more powerful]

'...strange. I'm glad to have you back.'

[I suspect that my voice will cease to reach you the moment you enter that dimension again]

'I wonder what is wrong. I just thought you were not saying anything because there was nothing to say.'

[Were you able to access your soul sea?]

Raith scratched his temple awkwardly.

'I didn't actually try. I have been occupied with so much misery that I forgot. Is there any changes to it?'

[...]

"We are here."

Raith looked to the front.

Both of them were currently standing in front of a wooden bridge.

Raith was full of excitement. He looked forward to seeing people for the first time in his life.