Hero's Journey

Chapter 82

Hey, early chapter! Oh, and do any of you think the dialogue is too heavy? Thanks, that's all!

~Ashlee

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Tears flood down Delia's face in a great cascade. She buries her head in the stranger's chest, hoping for some kind of comfort to latch on to and make her feel whole again. But with her friend gone and all appearing so bleak, Delia feels as if a never ending storm is upon her. Like lightning and thunder are roaring down, waves crashing, and debris smashing.

She grips on to the person's broad shoulders, feeling the strength of his muscles as he holds her while running with all his might, hopping from buildings, climbing latters, and squeezing past tight fitting alleyways.

If only my inner strength were as great as his physical strength.

Delia's body shakes with her sobs as she thinks of how far she has come from her prison to the freedom of a bird.

Is freedom worth this kind of agony?

Her mind flashes images of the friends she has had to leave behind, the people she has killed, the horrific beasts that plague her reality, the heartbreak, death, and now the villains' victory.

It is true that Delia has lost hope before. She has lost hope in humanity, but never of her journey.

And now here I am, doubting my whole adventure, wondering if I was better left dead inside back in my father's village.

Delia takes a deep, shuttering breath. However, the tears do not cease in the slightest. They don't halt until the man carrying her stops moving and sets her down on something soft. Even then, they still trickle down her cheeks in slow, fat drops.

The man crouches next to her, placing a hand on her knee. He frowns, dark eyes glimmering with concern. "I'm so sorry about your friend, Delia. Are you alright?"

He speaks with recognition, as if he knows me.

Her thoughts are ripped away from her at his touch and the tone of his voice. Delia shoves his hand away. She tries to get up, but her ankle screams in protest, causing her to fall back on to what she now realizes is a bed.

Before Delia can try to fight him, the Shadowlander pulls back his hood and rips off his mask, only for her to realize that he isn't a Shadowlander at all.

The man has brown skin, dark eyes and hair, and a strong build. Suddenly, it clicks.

"Iglesias?!"

Her good friend smiles, lighting up his kind eyes.

Delia opens her mouth to open up the dam to let flow the flood of questions she has, but at that moment the other man that saved them drops in through the large window with Kagon.

As soon as their feet touch the floor, Kagon swings at the man. "Now that I'm safe from that horde, I'll now make myself safe from you! What do you want from me!"

"Kagon!" Delia and Iglesias both shout.

Kagon whirls around with clenched fists, but they slacken at the sight of the two. "Wait, I know you, don't I? Aren't you the man Delia and I battled alongside at the Lanthos side of Gahenna?"