Chapter 103
The black humanoid figure carried a black sack as he walked alongside Gale who carried a similar bag. The two were walking along a trial in a forest, heading north, away from the human capital. The figure was humming while swinging his arms, the complete opposite of his reluctant travel buddy who hung his head and dragged his feet.
“Hey,” the figure said as he stopped humming and turned towards Gale. “You never told me your name. I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey’ or ‘you’ this whole time.”
Gale sighed and kicked a pebble with his leather shoes. “My name is Gale.”
“Gale,” the figure said and rubbed his chin. “Interesting name. Then you can call me Breeze. We’ll be the two wind brothers. Yeah, I like the sound of that.”
The only response was the crunching of leaves underneath Gale’s feet as the two walked along the path. Breeze started to whistle as he stretched his arms towards the sky.
“Where are we going?” Gale asked.
“To Fuselage, of course. That was the plan, right?”
Gale frowned. “But the portal to Fuselage is towards the northwest, not the northeast. Aren’t we going the wrong way?”
“Don’t be silly. We’ll probably run into civilization towards the northwest. I’m not going to risk encountering another zombie. Once we hit the coast, we’re going to build a raft to sail across the ocean.”
“Is that really going to work?”
“It is. You’re a laborer of sorts, aren’t you? You should know how to build a raft.”
“Why would you think I’m a laborer? I’m the pope. I’ve never built anything in my life.”
“What?” Breeze asked and raised his eyebrow. “No way. I found you in a pile of your own vomit with an empty keg of alcohol next to you. You should come up with a better lie if you don’t want to do manual labor. If you really were the pope, then I’d have to kill you in case you decide to summon that golden boy.” Breeze pat Gale’s shoulder, eroding away part of his jacket.
Gale’s face blanched. “Yeah,” he said and chuckled as sweat rolled down his back. “You got me. I can definitely build a raft. Leave it to me.”
Breeze smiled, revealing his pointy, black teeth. “Great,” he said. “I’ll be counting on you. The sooner we build that raft, the sooner we can get away from these damned undead.”
The two continued down the path, eventually exiting the forest and entering an open plain. Breeze squinted his eyes and stared down the horizon. “The shore’s over there. We’ll have to assemble the raft here and carry it to the coast.”
The two reentered the forest to gather materials for the raft. Breeze cut down trees by eroding away their trunks while Gale gathered vines to tether the logs together. “Why are you so afraid of the undead?” Gale asked as he attempted to lash two ill-fitting logs together.
“Me? Afraid of the undead?” Breeze asked. “We’ve already been through this. I’m not afraid of anything.”
Gale sighed. “Why do you want to go to a different continent to get away from the undead then?”
“That’s easy. The undead are totally creepy and unnatural,” Breeze said as he dragged another log over to Gale. “Don’t you think so? If they’re dead, then they should stay dead and not bother the living.”
Gale stared at the mass of tormented souls in the shape of a human in front of him. “Yeah. I guess you’re right,” he said, enunciated each word. “It would really suck to wake up to an undead being serenading you while you’re hungover. I can’t even fathom how terrifying that’d feel. I completely understand where you’re coming from.”
“I’m glad you understand me so well, brother,” Breeze said as he passed Gale another vine. “We should speed things up before night falls. I bet the undead will be more active at that time.”
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Vur held Tafel’s hand as the two sat next to each other on a cushioned seat in a wooden carriage that was being transported by an undead horse. A glowing sphere of light hovered in the air in front of the two, illuminating the small cabin. The full moon was visible through the window of the carriage.
Tafel sighed and closed her eyes as she rested her head on Vur’s shoulder. Her face was slightly flushed as her fingers traced the veins along the back of Vur’s hand. Vur smiled and rested his head on top of Tafel’s.
“This is degrading. Absolutely degrading,” a voice said from the golden sphere in the air. “I refuse to do this. I will not be used as a lamp for two love puppies. I have important things—“
Vur glared at the glowing sphere while emitting some of his aura. The voice stopped talking as the sphere trembled in the air.
Tafel exhaled and snuggled closer to Vur. “I wish today would never end,” she said. A tear formed in the corner of her eye. Vur squeezed her hand in response.
“I love you,” Tafel whispered and raised her head.
“I love you too,” Vur said as he looked into Tafel’s eyes. The two leaned closer to each other before locking lips.
The golden sphere flickered and disappeared. “That’s it; I’m leaving,” a voice said. “I hope you overexert yourself and die while you make babies. You’re never going to see me ever again. Have fun on your honeymoon. Goodbye.” The snogging couple completely ignored the god as it left.
Back in the Vault of Spirits, all the white crystals simultaneously shattered, filling the room with a golden smoke. The smoke condensed into a shining golden figure. It gnashed its teeth as it stomped out of the vault.
“First he eats me, then he uses me as maid. Finally, he degrades me and turns me into a lamp?! ARGH.” The spirit punched a hole into the wall next to it. “I’m through with him! I’ll run away to Fuselage. If he chases me there, then I’ll run back here! I’d like to see him try to catch me.”
The figure’s ear twitched and it froze. “The formation’s been broken,” it said and frowned while creasing its brow. It hesitated in the hall. “Eh, screw it. That guy is way too troublesome for me to deal with. The king can play with him instead. I’ll just spend my days in leisure.” The figure nodded its head as it continued out of the building.