Karma

ㅤ Caius stood frozen in surprise. Not like the other villagers, who displayed instilled hatred and fear. No, he simply couldn't understand how the man he'd lived with his entire life could still hide such an important secret from him. How could he, Caius, have failed to notice, living in the same house with him. "Get lost!" the first shout from the crowd shook him out of his stupor. "Get out!" another villager chimed in. "You're in cahoots with those monsters!" another shouted the absurd suggestion. "Get out! Go away! Don't come back to the village! Rid us of you! Go back to your monsters!" the crowd roared uncontrollably. And Caius looked no longer at his father, but at them, stunned to the core. 'They can't be serious…' he refused to believe it. 'That can't be…' "He saved you from the monsters. How can you…?" "And you get out of here with him! Son of a lycanth! Monster!" Someone threw a rock at Caius, but Ramrus shielded him with his back, displaying remarkable calm and responsibility. "Caius is not the lycanth!" he said sternly. "He was raised by you! You've already poisoned his mind! He's no better than you!" Caius caught his father's sad gaze, gradually realizing that his world had collapsed, that nothing would ever be the same again. "Forgive me," Ramrus said quietly, just enough for Caius to hear. "It looks like we'll have to leave the village after all. Shall we go?" He offered his hand, offering some support. They walked away in silence. Ramrus looked straight ahead, holding his son's hand, not allowing him to stop. However, Caius still turned around once in farewell, for which he nearly got a stone in the eye—his father had protected him. They spent the night in a lonely house near the forest not far from Feln. It was not a good idea for anyone to be out at night, especially children. Caius might have turned fifteen, but to Ramrus, he was still a small child in need of protection. Especially in such difficult times. "Try to sleep," Ramrus said with fatherly warmth. "We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow." Sleep wouldn't come. He couldn't even rest his eyes: Caius stared into the void that had formed in his soul. Everyone he knew, everyone he'd interacted with, everyone he'd been friends with… They were all now his enemies, wishing him nothing but harm. Even… 'Does Rubia hate me now, too…?' Before sleep could even begin to creep in, before Caius could continue his thought, he heard Rubia's voice through the door as it swung open unceremoniously: "Mr. Qualls! Monsters! They've attacked the village again! There are even more of them than last time!" "Rubia?" Caius expressed surprise. 'Did I finally fall asleep?' "Got it!" Ramrus jumped up instantly. "Caius, Rubia, stay here!" he shouted, running toward the village. "What? No! How can I stay away!" "Stop, Caius!" Rubia caught his arm. "We'll only get in the way! Your father will be better off without us." Caius gritted his teeth. He knew perfectly well that his strength couldn't compare to his father's. He'd recently asked Rubia not to engage in battle and instead hide in a safe place. But while Rubia was quite equal to him with magic, his father was on a completely different level. "I don't intend to wait long!" Caius gave his father enough time to deal with the crowd of enemies before they followed him to scout out the situation. But it would have been better if they hadn't… The wounded Ramrus sat, leaning against the well's stonework. Bodies lay scattered throughout the village. People and monsters… All dead. Only Ramrus was breathing heavily. Even the Natwicks hadn't escaped a cruel fate. Rubia ran to them. Caius sat down opposite his father. "I was too late…" he barely moved his lips. "Too fast… And too much… Too late…" "Dad, don't speak," Caius swallowed hard, barely holding back the tears welling up in his eyes. "Hold on, okay? You need your strength. We have a long journey ahead," he said, as if in a voice not his own, while tears still rolled down his cheeks. None of them even noticed the sound of shuffling footsteps. Rubia, overcome with emotion, fell to her knees beside him, not sparing her once-beautiful dress, now stained with her parents' blood and the soil. "At least you live," she said lifelessly, raising her hand to Ramrus's most serious wound. "At least you…" "Forgive me… If only I were here…" "Just survive…" Rubia didn't want to blame Ramrus. Or the villagers. Or anyone. She simply wanted to close her eyes, and when she opened them, find herself back in the past, when everything had been fine, and she and Caius were preparing to go into the forest. "Live… At least you…" she said, losing consciousness. Rubia's body took pity on her, plunging her into the void of sleep, temporarily hiding her from reality. She had managed to heal the most dangerous wounds, so Ramrus picked her up and wandered away, back to the little house on the edge of the forest. To wait out the night there. So that the next day they could set off on a journey far away from the places that had caused so much sorrow… ㅤ