Roi watched Derlom through the irregular hole until he disappeared. A faint smile appeared as he contemplated the single splinters of broken wood.
"Another one who doesn't see me as a monster. Probably, he sees me as a rooster, but I guess it's a pretty good start. From chicken to God's savior."
His stomach growled loudly. Suddenly, stomach cramps made him double over in pain.
<> He whispered to his belly.
He crawled towards the bucket. The water wasn't crystal clear anymore. Traces of dirt, threads of diluted blood, mucus, and black hair were dancing calmly at different heights. On top of it, together with long black hair, floated the Heart.
It was as hard as a stone. He wasn't actually sure if his teeth could bite through it without shattering.
Hesitantly, he brought it to his mouth and touched it with his white and perfect teeth.
"If he managed to bite this, I can do the same." He thought while turning the fruit at various angles to see if there was a softer layer. But, there was not.
Instinctively, he brought it towards his molars and slowly began to clench his mouth. His teeth couldn't bite through, no matter how hard he tried. Suddenly, all the fruit's resistance disappeared, and his teeth met each other with a harsh sound.
Water wet his chin, and he unintentionally swallowed the bitten fruit. It tasted like water, but solid and red. From that moment on, the fruit was as hard as before. Actually, it was easy to eat and was pretty soft inside.
"To be called Heart, someone ate an actual heart, or they call it that way because it was similar to it?" He thought as he bit more and more of the fruit.
He didn't know why, but he knew what a heart was, and he could feel it beating in his chest in that moment. He didn't know what shape it had or what its function was.
He looked at the already half-eaten Heart.
"This thing isn't pulsing. Why should I care?" He continued eating, and his stomach wasn't in pain as before, but it was still a pain in the ass.
"Now that I think about it, I don't know anything about me or about this world. They broke my ribs just because I didn't know I had the feature of the followers of... Xoloth, or why I am here. I just know I have to save him and its followers. If what I believe is correct."
He had devoured the fruit. Only two pieces remained in his wet and sticky hand.
"If only he had more time to explain everything to me, it would have been much easier. I don't even know its true name. The only thing he did was... bring me back to life?"
Another piece disappeared in his mouth.
(<<...Accept your death...>>)
"I literally died. It's quite strange to think about it. Should I be angry about it? uneasy? Should I just be relaxed and live my life? I mean, it's a pretty big thing. And, I don't know who killed me! Did I die because I am a monster?"
He returned to reality and shifted his gaze to his fragile torso. He stared at his pale legs for a long time. He only moved just to eat the last small piece of the Heart.
The giant whirlpool was defending itself pretty well against the fire, extinguishing it with cyclic waves. Its light brightened the entire brown house, highlighting tiny threads of dust floating in front of the window. Small amber sparks were reflected in the water.
"Shouldn't I have proof of how I died?" His mind finally processed some thoughts.
He crawled under the orange light. His whole body was now the same colour as bronze.
He began to scan every inch of his body closely, starting with his legs. But as soon as he lowered his head and used his hands to stretch the skin to see better, he noticed a long, straight scar on the back of his right forearm.
He also noticed small scars on his knees, on the shins, on his right hand and fingers, some on his shoulders, and another scar, long but not as long as the one on his forearm, on his right side just over the hips.
<
<
Only his limbs were full of scars, his belly and torso were almost untouched.
<
He looked at his rib cage, touched every rib, and every bone visible.
<
He couldn't bear that view. His weak body. A body that probably fought many battles. A body that just wants to eat something else.
He let out a long sigh.
"Maybe he's right." He thought. "Little by little."
He shifted his icy gaze out of the window. Since a part of the giant whirlpool, he couldn't see much. He decided to crawl under the square hole and, placing his hands on the windowsill, he helped himself to his feet.
In front of the small wooden house, there were dozens of trees and many more behind them. The sea of leaves was so dense that not even light could pass through.
The temple, in front of Roi on the right, was partially covered by some of those trees. The smooth stones seemed to reflect the light perfectly and were held together by the same roots found inside, which flowed towards the earth, penetrating it.
He followed the roots backwards, towards the sky. The roots gathered together on the domed roof in a large and thick trunk so tall that it seems to touch the Black Sun.
Even though the branches were far away, he could clearly see that they were as thick as the tree trunks behind the temple and twice as long. Every single one of them had thousands of leaves, obscuring the temple, part of the forest, and the surrounding areas.
He narrowed his eyes. Far on the top, through a hole in the leaves, there was a small red point just below a branch.
<
"Little by little." He thought, before looking at Derlom. He was coming towards him with long strides and an innocent smile on his face.
A malicious smile appeared on his face.
Quickly, he pushed himself towards the water bucket, falling on his knees near it.
"Let's see if you're ready."
He embraced it, wrapping both forearms around it as tightly as he could, and positioned his feet so that he could use the strength of his legs to lift himself up, in addition to that of his back.
One deep breath. Another one. Eyes closed. One last breath, and he pushed as hard as he could.
The muscles were burning. Pain was rising in his legs, left ribs, and all over his arms. His teeth clenched, his face red as the Heart. He tried not to make a single sound, but a deep, suffocated grunt came out anyway.
In the end, he managed to lift himself and the bucket. He opened his eyes again, and everything was blurred, his face regain his pale color, and his lungs received air once again.
He wanted to turn towards the door, but strength and balance weren't on his side. The door was open with a barely suppressed laugh.
Roi fell on his back with a hard sound. The water drowned Roi, entering his mouth, nose, and lungs.
His head and all his vertebrae screamed in pain.
<