30Chapter 16: I found my friends!
Scale instinct told him quickly that he stood no chance against him. He barely noticed Mekito when he showed up until he killed the guy he struggled with. Even by surprise, he killed a few of them in a matter of seconds. It wasn't the only reason he knew he stood no chance.
"I can see it in your eyes serpentar," Mekito too a step forward.
Julien saw this. He put his sword on his back and quickly stood in the way of the entity, "Stop," surprisingly, the man had no fear in his eyes, facing the entity who was almost twice his size. A one simple look, he knew who this was. A warm smiled came on his face.
Mekito ignored the serpentar and looked at the man in front of him. The flame on his head died down a bit. Their gaze crossed. After a few seconds, the flame burned brighter than before. The flame turned red and yellow. Tears dropped from his eyes as he squeaked loudly.
He jumped in the air, did a few backflips, seemed to float in the air as he spread his arms and declared, "Hurray! I found one of my friends!" it took a few seconds before he stopped floating. It left everyone present confused about how he managed to pull that off.
Mekito landed on his feet and pounced at his friend. He trapped him in a big warm hug. He lifted the man up, "I found you Aristote. I finally found you," he squeezed his friend a bit more and buried him in his robe and chest. Another color was added to the fire on his head, blue. He sobbed, "It's been so long Aristote. So long."
Julien hugged him back. Despite being the reincarnation and having little memories of Mekito, he could feel how much they were close. He hugged him back with everything he got.
Alice and Yulia were a bit confused at the scene, especially when the entity was ready to kill Scale a few seconds ago.
After a few seconds, they recognised the face of Mekito. Memories from their previous life. It was also an unforgettable face. The moment they realised who he was; they approached him, happy to see him. They were still a bit cautious with his reaction to Scale.
Scale took a few steps back. He was still a bit shocked about what it told him and rather avoided thinking about the what he saw in his eyes coming out.
Behind them, the remaining henchmen were ready to attack them. They froze in place. No one moved, but the red flame of Mekito intensified. From the deepest part of their souls, they knew that if they raised their guns, that monstrosity would kill them.
Mekito kept sobbing, as Rachelle came and saw the scene. It wasn't long before the royal guards came and witnessed everything. They could see the Blood Dragons down, either dead or frozen in fear. The leader's head was on the ground, lifeless and surprised. As if he was about to realise that he died. The guards immediately proceeded to arrest the remaining henchmen before they tried to escape or anything else.
Mekito lost contact with the present as he felt the warmth body of his friend. He mentally cursed himself from losing control at such a joyful moment. He waited almost a thousand years to see him again, more than his other friends. To feel his warmth once more.
Long ago, Mekito was on his knees and cried. The moment where he emptied the weight of his heart. His blue flame seemed about to die. He didn't care for the pain of his body. He didn't care for his golden blood that formed a small pool. His soul was in agony. Everything he worked for was for nothing. He failed to obtain his single wish. He was trapped in his own mind.
A hand patted his shoulder. It brought him back to reality. He raised his head. The man with black hair looked at him with a kind smile, "Please. You don't have to stop crying."
Behind him, the four women of his group. looked at him suspiciously. They each held a globe on their hands. Still, they clearly had faith in the man.
"Aristote," his childhood friend said confidently. The others nodded at him with the same trust.
"Tell me Mekito. What was it that you wished for?" Aristote asked.
Mekito took a minute to regain just a bit of his composure. Just long enough to answer, "I don't want to be aloooooooone!" he screamed before he lost his composure once more, "I don't- I-I," he froze when the arms of the man squeezed around his chest. His blue flame gained in intensity while a hint of yellow appeared.
No other word was said.
Mekito calmed down. Without a word. At this very moment, he realised one important thing. He wasn't alone anymore. No one would just touch him like that. No one would offer anything from their heart for someone like him. Without a word, a gift was offered. Without a word, he took a gift. He hugged the man back. He didn't want this warm feeling to disappear right now. It was the first time he felt the warm of another living being on this world.
Decades later, an old man with gray here rested on his bed. He breathed weakly. He raised his only arm and pat the cheek of his friend.
The blue flame burned brightly as he watched Aristote. He could tell this was the final moment of his life, "Aristote. Please… Don't leave me," he begged. He knew in vain that his friend couldn't pull a miracle like that. If only he was an elf.
"Mekito. I'll just leave…" he took a deep breath, "For a moment," he had no idea how long, "But- I will see you… a-again."
He grabbed the man's hand and put it on his forehead. The hand was inside the flame, but it didn't burn him, "I'll… I'll be all alone again."
Aristote had no words of encouragement. He was at a loss words. Maybe his age made him worse at comforting his friend. He could only… "Mekito. Our- Our promise."
"I know. I know you will never break it. You and my other friends," he sniffed.
"R-remember when- Justina was mad?"
"That spear… Right up my butthole. Never forget. Made her mad," he chuckled. He still felt the melancholic pain.
The man knew his time was short. He could feel the God calling him. The mugic he played within his heart. His soul began to fade.
Aristote had one request, "Mekito… Please. Remember me."
"I will," he cried. He could feel his soul slowly leaving his body.
"Remember our friends. My… Wife."
"I will never forget any of you!" he cried loudly.
"Real… us," he whispered.
"I will remember who you truly are! I will hug you when I see you again! I know you will never break our promise! A big adventure together! We will see the world of peace with our friends Aristote! You see!"
The man died with a smile on his face as he heard those last words.
Mekito didn't realise it yet, "I will find each of you with the compass! No matter how long it takes! I promise! Even if you forget who I am or what I look like! We'll be together once more! Just like we promised! If Justina had to put something in my butthole to remember me! I'll do it! I'll do anything for all of you to remember me! I will… I will act like the hero you truly are! Don't worry! Don't be sad! I will help anyone who needs me! No matter how much they are disgusted by…me," He then realised he was gone. The warmth of his hand began to leave.
He forced a smile on his face, but he cried.
Two days later, the tears stopped.
A decade later, he finally healed up enough to follow the heroic path of his late friend.
"Aristote," he whispered once more.
The man freed his face, so he could correct him gently, "I'm… Julien now."
Mekito looked a bit uncertain at that reply. He had to remember that his friend, his first friend was not the same as before. He took a deep breath. He put his friend on the ground and nodded, "Sorry. Sorry. It's… so overwhelming… Julien. Still, I am so happy to find you again. There is so much to say, but that will wait until we find all of our friends."
"I'm happy to see you too. I'm sure you see our friends too," Julien glanced at Rachelle who remained on the side and watched the scene. She offered a small nod as she smiled at him.
Mekito turned towards the two women. He looked at Alisa and Yulia. His flame intensity grew a bit strong as he realised who they were.
He jumped in the air, did a few backflips, seemed to float in the air as he spread his arms and declared, "Hurray! I found one of my friends!" it took a few seconds before he stopped floating.
Everyone wondered why he pulled it off again.
Mekito jumped in the air once more, did a few backflips, seemed to float in the air as he spread his arms and declared, "Hurray! I found one of my friends!" it took a few seconds before he stopped floating.
It caused even more confusions at why he did it consecutively.
Yulia asked, "W-why again?"
The entity chuckled nervously as his flame lost a bit of intensity. He played with his fingers, "I practice that happy reunion for 900 years. I just did it without thinking. I didn't know I will find the three of you in the city together," he waved his arms bashfully. He then remembered something and slid on the ground by the side of Rachelle, "This is Rachelle. She is also one of our friends!"
Scale looked at the woman. She looked calm. She didn't react when she was lift in the air by Mekito, as if he tried to show the world one of their friends.
"We will need to present ourselves properly," Rachelle replied as she slid from his grasp and landed on the ground. She smiled at them, "It's been almost a thousand years since our souls were together. I can feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest. The memories from when I was an elf."
"We only need to find one of our friends!" Mekito joyfully declared, "Then we will explore the world in our big road trip!"
The royal high-ranking guard approached them, "Is he saying that you are all the reincarnation of the heroes of old?"
Julien paled. He forgot where he was. All of his secrets revealed to the world like that. He could see that civilians were around and some took pictures of him with their large camera. Of course, those pictures would only be finished after a day or two.
The royal guard continued, "The king was searching for you. I do not know why he wants to see you or why he even knew you were here, but with the situation we are in, I think you know why."
"There is really a war brewing," Alisa commented.
"There is no way my friends will go to a war!" Mekito waved his arms angrily.
The royal guard glanced at the side, "You know… The situation was a pretty big mess and we might overlook a few things," he looked at them, "You saved the world a thousand of years ago. We know it is true and you did so much already," he put his hands on his chest, "I know that forcing you into anything would be disrespecting everything you gave for us. You died for the world. You were never even chosen to save it, but you did anyway. So, we have no idea you were here until it was too late," he concluded. He looked at the other guards.
"Right!" they replied.
That was one problem settled. Mekito smiled. The reputation of the hero was still strong after a thousand years. Even if he never visited this continent.
Julien considered himself lucky that the royal soldiers would keep quiet about it. It also put some weight on his shoulders. People were thankful enough of what he did in his previous life. He was nothing like his previous self. He wasn't fearless like Aristote, as Mekito named him. He couldn't call himself a coward anymore. He fought a dangerous and powerful criminal on his own. If Scale didn't think he was a coward, then he surely would be right. From everything he knew about Scale, he wouldn't just try to cheer him up.
Rachelle approached them, "It feels so good to be together again," she bowed to them, "It seems like there you fight with a sword just like Aristote. I did not take the same path as my old self."
"I don't think most of us did," Yulia showed her rifle.
Scale stood on the side as he watched the group catching up with whatever was going on these days. It was a moment he should stay out off. He crossed his arms and grumbled a bit in boredom, "At least the royal guards are cleaning up this mess," he saw the civilians coming out of hiding and were obviously watching the group. He glanced around and didn't see Mekito anywhere. He felt something cold pressed on his back. He realised one of the criminals might escape and tried something, "D-"
The voice of Mekito whispered behind him, "Well serpentar. You will follow me quietly. We have a lot to talk together."
Scale twisted his neck and locked eye contact with the entity. He could tell he was serious. He could die if he didn't comply, "What a hero you are," he grumbled as he followed him.
They walked into an alley, hidden from the view of everything.
Mekito turned around the chubby reptilian behind and put the blade of his dagger under his throat, "You think I wouldn't notice your stench?"
"What are you talking about? I showered this morning," he ignored the discomfort of the dagger as he glared at the other one.
The flame turned black and red as he growled, "I know who you truly are serpentar."
"A serpentar?" he hissed.
"I can feel, even smell the essence of your soul," he hissed back. He pressed his dagger a bit more on the throat, "You are the reincarnation of The Dragon!"
Scale paled at the revelation. His tail dropped on the ground at that accusation. His eyes darted left and right. He searched for the others or anything to move this conversation from it. He wanted to avoid even trying to answer the question. Alas, they were completely isolated. He took a deep breath and replied, "Yes. I am his reincarnation."
The flames grew more intense, "You were trying to get close to him to get your revenge from the start. Aren't you? You are back to kill all of my friends again? Aren't you?" he hissed.
AC: This is the end of this chapter.
Next: The Weight Of The Soul.
Scale was in an interrogation with Mekito. After admitting he was the reincarnation of the vile being who tried to destroy the world a thousand years ago. He is forced to reveal his purpose on approaching Julien. Would he even be honest about it?