Rise Of Pandora

Rise Of Pandora: XIII. Darker Days

"In a different life, we could have been friends."

-Atlas

III. Embrace, In The Middle of the Solstice Coliseum

"Sir, why have you asked me to stay. We should be making the preparations," Amos inquired halfheartedly.

"I apologize," he said with eyes welling with tears. But may I borrow a minute of your time?"

Seeing the redness of his eyes and hearing the sadness in his voice, she nodded. 

"Mander, what do you do when it becomes too much?" Unable to fight them back, the streams of tears surged from her king's eyes. His heart was pounding furiously, his face a fervent red.

Mander's eyes widened in surprise as she glared into his eyes. She was silent.

"Mander?"

"Sorry, sir, it's just that I've never seen you cry before." She placed her hand over his right shoulder. Brais looked up at the rainy sky and sniffed dolefully.

"When it becomes too much...when I feel trapped, I cry as anyone person would. I cry because that's all we small creatures can do at times. But when it becomes too much for me, I know that it is my moment to be gallant and do whatever is necessary to carry on in this brutal world. This battle against the Deathknights and Shadowbirds is not an easy thing to think about, I know."

Mander leaned in closer to Brais Bessarion. "But, I do not make it an excuse because it is not an excuse to be weak, so that's why I keep fighting until I have nothing left to fight with. I have no idea what will become of all of us a year from now, nor tomorrow. Life can be fierce like that, but I do not need to tell you that, sir. So if you must then please cry. But please cry with the intent of becoming stronger, because truthfully, sir, there will always be darker days that we all must face." She wiped the bitter tears from his face and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

He snatched his attention away from the sky and peered down into her eyes. "Mander, you have my word. I will fight to make this world a better place. Whether shot down by arrows, burned by those monsters, stabbed—I do not care. I will fight for us all until I no longer can." He suddenly became silent and looked back up at the miserable sky.

The sky...I have always taken a like to the rain. It has always calmed me. Isn't it beautiful, Mander?" His gloomy countenance turned into that of a look of solace. Her words had calmed his storm and by her side, he took comfort in the rain.

Mander, with her sights set upon the very distant sky, responded heartfully, "It truly is beautiful, sir."

IV. Foreigner

Still roaming about aimlessly, Gaijin heard insidious clamor in the distance where a gathering of small red flames were. He did not know exactly what they were nor where they suddenly appeared from but it was clear to him that they were moving toward where he was. It was noisy too. He could hear clanks of what was likely steel or metal, and coarse bellows and screeches that did not sound human. He was nervous.

Gaijin, climb the tree, Prometheus blurted.

Gaijin looked up the nearest tree which was to the left of him. It was a tall spruce tree covered in snow and dripping with rainwater. He briskly grabbed a hold of the bark and pulled his body up. The parts of the tree splintered at the points where his fingers gripped. He dug his fingers as hard as he could, trying his hardest to hold on. He had much strength to him, for climbing a tree like this would be far too difficult for the average man. Where the average man would need tools to overcome such a task, he did it with his bare hands.