Ranga: “Loid”

  Morphus: “Yes Ranga?”

  Ranga: “Could you please explain to me…HOW EXACTLY DID WE END UP HERE?!”

  Current location, Aquarius Kingdom’s prison.

  Crime accused of: desecration of sacred site.

  Morphus: “I really had to take a leak”

  Ranga: “Into the Sacred Lake blessed by Goddess Serena?! In public? While they were holding a yearly ceremony to honor the goddess no less?!”

  Morphus: “I may have drunk a bit too much”

  Ranga: “Where were you for the last few days? The moment I found you, you were up there, taking a piss from the top of the goddess’s temple into the lake below!”

  Ranga vividly remembered how Morphus took a long leak into the Sacred Lake, much to the horror of the onlookers, parade attenders, and the priests holding the ceremony.

  Apparently, part of the ceremony was drinking the blessed water, but afterwards, some of those people started uncontrollably throwing up. Ranga could hardly blame them for it.

  To surprise of none, Morphus was arrested, and the idiot waved to Ranga, causing poor Ranga to get arrested together with him.

  Ranga: “Why am I here for your idiocy?!”

  Morphus: “Well, we are a team, so we stick together through thick and thin. Mud or sewers….”

  Ranga: “That does not mean I have to be executed for you being a drunken loon!”

  Ranga: ‘Sobbing…’

  Morphus: “C’mon buddy, this is not so bad. We get to relax and sleep as much as we want. Nothing but leisure time to our heart’s content. What more could you ask for?”

  Ranga: “It has not even been a week since we became gold rankers and this happens. Loid…just what were you thinking? Why would you get so drunk that you would abandon any notion of common sense?”

  Morphus: “I am not certain. Perhaps to forget, perhaps to remember. Or perhaps to see what is left after all is said and done.”

  Ranga: “You are not making any sense”

  Morphus: “Considering you have known me for only a couple of months, that much is natural”

  Ranga: “And I don’t even know your name”

  Morphus: “….”

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  Ranga: “Loid Lancer. It’s not your real name, is it?”

  Morphus: “No. Was it that obvious?”

  Ranga: “Just had a gut feeling about it”

  Ranga: “Do you have a reason to not say your real name?”

  Morphus: “I did. But from the looks of it, it seems I was overcautious. The name binding spell can only be used if the full name is known, besides, the chances of finding someone capable of casting are…highly unlikely. I don’t believe there is anyone in this world capable of using it, at least, not anymore.”

  Morphus: “For a hothead, you are a lot more observant than you seem, Ranga Drake”

  Ranga: “That is only because you always hide so much, concealing everything you do. I am not na?ve or stupid, you know”

  Morphus: “So it seems”

  Ranga: “What is that supposed to mean? You can always tell me the truth, no matter what it is, I will listen, I will not judge, no matter what. No matter how horrible or messed up it is”

  Morphus: “Are you certain of this? Once you know something, you can never unknow it.”

  Ranga: “I am certain”

  Morphus: “In public, please continue calling me Loid Lancer. As for my name….it’s Morphus, my friends call me Morph, at least, they used to…”

  Obviously, it was not his full name, but Ranga could tell, unlike Loid, this name was genuine.

  Morphus’s bitter expression betrayed his composure.

  Looking at his black and red eyes, Ranga understood.

  Behind all the silly acts, drunken foolishness, and absolute buffoonery, was nothing more than a pitiful man, who lost everything that once mattered.

  *  *  *

  Aquarius Kingdom, Chapel of Goddess Serena.

  The rumors of what happened just a couple of days ago were spreading like wildfire.

  And at the epicenter of the gossip was the 11-year-old boy, Maxwell.

  A boy who should be dead and buried by now.

  And yet, here he was, alive and well, clutching a strange book for dear life, almost as if afraid to let it go.

  Orphans dying due to illness or being killed by natural disasters or bandits was a rather common sight in this kingdom. Mass funerals for children were held many times a month.

  With so many dying, it was a rather depressing sight. Sadly, it was a common sight, nothing unusual for the citizens of the Aquarius Kingdom.

  At least that’s what it should have been.

  Sister Lewis recalled what happened on that seemingly ordinary day.

  The strange man that caused this entire mess before vanishing like a ghost.

  He looked like an ordinary man, with disheveled clothing and dirty black hair, smelling like alcohol.

  The strangest part was that he smelled as if he climbed out of some acidic pit and his clothing and some parts of his body had fresh burn marks.

  Sister Lewis assumed he was either a soldier or an adventurer who ended up barely surviving fighting against a monster. If that truly was the case, she could hardly blame him for drowning his pain and sorrows in wine.

  Still, why was he walking towards one of the wrapped corpses of the deceased children…. wait, did he just brandish his sword?! Why that sword is coated in blue-red flames?!

  He swung the blade but stopped right before hitting the corpse, and then the sword seemed to glow just for a moment with ethereal light, before vanishing into nothingness. The sword vanished as well. Sister Lewis thought her eyes might be playing tricks on her.

  And then he chugged yet another flask of wine before leaving something that looked like a tome on top of the corpse.

  Just how much can this guy drink? She did not even notice how he left. It was as if he vanished into thin air.

  But then, a very strange thing started to happen, the corpse upon which he left the tome, it started to move. And then, the dead child opened his eyes and gasped for breath.

  It should not be possible. That child was stabbed through the heart. And yet, he was breathing and looking around the room, very confused about what just happened.

  Sister Lewis fell over from shock. Just who was that man who performed such a miracle? Could it have been one of the gods, disguised as a human being, finally answering someone’s prayers?

  She wanted to find that man again, but he was gone and nowhere to be found.

  And now, the only evidence of that man even being here was the now living boy and the strange book he held.