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A loud crackle reached Hiroshi’s ears as the wood nearby flickered in flame.
The darkness slowly opened up and his vision focused on a ceiling made out of twigs.
Huh? Where am I?
He reached for his head and scratched it.
His hair felt different. Longer. Smoother.
I was just practicing at the dojo… I feel like I just had a really bad dream…
Like I was in another world…
A sharp pain pulsed throughout his entire body.
He groaned out, putting his hand near his chest.
He blinked a few times.
The wooden ceiling was still there before him.
This doesn’t look like the dojo… did they move me?
Hiroshi’s head tilted to the side.
The elder goblin was sitting by the flame just in front of a small wooden hut, which was big enough for one human.
Hiroshi’s eyes widened.
No…
This can’t be…
He began to push himself up but quickly fell back down with a gasp, a sharp pain pulsing from near his chest throughout his whole body.
Hiroshi grabbed his long, flowy hair.
No, no, no, no.
I don’t have hair like this!
Faint flashes of him running through the woods, killing his first dire wolf, defeating the snake, freeing Gobu, hunting down Feodra’s mother, the chimera, the griffon and the church members.
It was… real? Then…
Gobu’s smiling face filled his vision for a second.
Heh…
Hiroshi began to laugh hysterically, staring at the ceiling.
That can’t be… there’s no way that’s real.
He gritted his teeth and pushed himself with all of the energy he had.
Looking to the side, there was a long stick resting by the hole in the hut, with a shorter stick at the top, like a makeshift crutch.
He stood up, reaching for it, and collapsed to the ground, letting out a painful groan.
Damn it…
He crawled towards the stick and grabbed it, forcing himself to a stand although slumped over.
He slowly left the hut.
The elder goblin stood up, waving at him. Feodra lay beside him sleeping. His interpreter began to speak right away.
“Please. You. Must. Rest.”
“Where’s Gobu?” Hiroshi’s voice thundered.
Both of the goblins looked down at the floor and slightly shook their heads.
Hiroshi’s hand raised to his throat.
My voice…
He looked down.
Breasts pushed against his shirt.
Ah… that’s right. This isn’t my body.
He stared at the two goblins with their heads down.
Liars. I know he’s here somewhere. I just have to find him.
The stick crept forward bit by bit as he took slow steps, leaving the two goblins behind.
One of them spoke out.
“Four. Weeks. Three. Days.”
Hiroshi’s voice shook as he inhaled.
A flashback of a cloaked figure standing right in front of him came suddenly.
He paused for a moment before continuing on.
“Gobu!” Hiroshi’s voice filled the camp.
He stumbled quickly through the camp, his head looking around.
Small goblins stopped their work and stared at Hiroshi, their eyes held a glimmer of sadness.
Damn it… I know he’s here somewhere. I just… have to find him…
Hiroshi continued to drag his body in pain throughout the entire camp.
Gobu was not there.
Hiroshi made it to the end of the camp.
The treeline had ended and the grassy plains came into view.
His brow furrowed.
He looked at the ground for a long moment then to the night sky.
“DAMN IT, GOBU, WHERE ARE YOU?!”
He roared out with all of his might, swinging his arm into the air.
A long blue curved line escaped into the air, roaring for a moment as its momentum died out, and slowly flickered out in the darkness.
His chest rose and fell quickly, his hand on his wound near his chest.
Damn it Gobu… not yet…
A tear hit the ground.
His eyes looked forward at the camp for a moment.
Another vision materialized of an old cloaked man, holding a bag which dripped blood.
Hiroshi’s fist clenched hard.
The church…
They did this…
They will pay.
The sound of teeth grinding against each other escaped his mouth.
Suddenly for a second, an image of a field of flowers in the camp flashed before his eyes.
His eyes widened.
Gobu…
He began to shamble forward down the treeline towards the camp.
Please, don’t do this…
He panted as he stumbled down the hill, barely keeping his balance.
There must be a way… I-I’ll do anything!
Raindrops began to fall atop his head.
His foot slipped in the mud.
Shi—
Pain pulsed throughout his entire body as he rolled down the hill, his entire body covered in mud.
A few moments later, he stopped.
His muddy hand brushed across his face, barely moving any of it off.
Damn it… I need to see.
He began to crawl towards the camp.
I need to know for sure.
After crawling through the mud and the rain for what seemed like forever to him, the field of flowers in his vision was there, just ahead of him.
His breath shook.
That’s the place.
He forced himself to his knees despite the biting pain of his entire body.
Moments later, he was there.
A small pile of stacked stones lay there, where he set him down.
His vision blurred. With a blink, a tear rolled down his cheek and dropped to the ground, same as the rain.
Gobu…
Don’t do this…
He smashed his fists to the ground.
“System, resurrect companion!” He shouted out.
Nothing.
“System, raise dead!”
“System, bring dead back to life!”
His hands smashed to the ground one last time, this time gently.
“S… system…”
No more words left him.
Rain lashed against his body as he sat there on his knees before the small piles of rock.
His eyes stared blankly at the stones.
A broken voice, gone from shouting muttered out quietly.
“I… I’m sorry.”
He blinked and the sight before him was clear, then went blurry again quickly.
“I never said that to you.”
“Why did we fight?”
His vision cleared with another blink, then rain undid it once again.
“Wherever you are… Gobu, forgive me.”
He raised his fist to the air and softly hit the ground.
“Forgive me…”
He put his palms on the ground and bent over, his head touching the ground.
“Forgive me, Gobu.”
The rain began to ease, and a few moments later had stopped.
Everything went silent around him.
“He was a good friend.”
A familiar voice reached his ears – almost like a whisper from behind him.
Hiroshi’s eyes widened.
“You couldn’t protect him.”
With one swift motion he was standing on one arm, sending roaring a blue curved line into a broken hut.
He landed on his knees as the smoke cleared up from the impact.
“Who’s there?!” Hiroshi shouted out.
No one was there.
His eyes dashed side to side then collapsed back to the floor, his chest wound opening slightly, he began to pant.
The sound of stones crunching reached his ears from his side. He instantly positioned himself towards it.
The elder goblin stepped out, his arms raised.
Oh… It’s just the elder…
He walked over to Hiroshi slowly and put his hand on Hiroshi’s shoulder.
Hiroshi steeled himself, holding back more tears.
The elder simply kneeled down beside him, facing the rocks.
The two of them knelt there before Gobu’s grave.
No words were exchanged but their feelings were the same.
After a long moment, the elder stood up and began to walk away.
“Wait.” Hiroshi spoke up.
“Thank you. For burying Gobu, and taking care of me while I was out.”
Hiroshi turned toward the elder who was looking back at him and bowed his head to the ground.
The elder grunted and nodded.
There was a gentle smile on his face.
Without saying a word, the elder left.
A moment later Hiroshi barely stood up, and began to limp forward, hunched over.
He turned his head back to the stones one last time.
“Rest now, friend,” he whispered out softly.
He headed back for the camp.
A few more days passed.
Hiroshi stood atop a small hill before all of the goblins, holding his crutch.
“Everyone,” he cleared his throat.
“Pack everything up,” he stated firmly to the crowd.
“We move at Sunset. We’ve been here for too long,” the two hundred goblins diligently listened to the woman before them.
“The church might send someone to investigate, or to try to finish what they started. That is all,” he finished.
The goblins nodded and began to scatter, packing whatever supplies they could carry.
Hiroshi turned around and the elder and his young one were there.
“Where. Are. We. Going. Now?” The young goblin asked.
“I don’t know. But we need to move,” Hiroshi looked at the goblin, who nodded in agreement.
Hiroshi’s head turned to the horizon as the sun began to set.
“We’ll know it when we see it, I suppose.”
An hour later, the first goblins began to leave the treeline. A long line emerged slowly from the forest and began to wind forward.
Hiroshi shambled forward as well, bearing the pain in his chest.
He turned one last time to the destroyed camp.
I will protect your kin, Gobu.
His fist clenched tightly.
I promise.