Chapter 49 Chapter 49
When Arnold checked his wristwatch, he saw it was only three in the morning. He had chosen to distance himself from Aurora at midnight because he was hungry; being near an immortal like her was a torment for him because it made his stomach growl fiercely. What he said about not eating humans was true—he had been trained that way since childhood—but whenever he faced an immortal, he was plagued by the curse of his nature as an ghoul: the craving for flesh. It was only by chance and sheer self-control that he never abandoned his disciplined habits.
Being by the sea, the air was cool, and the sound of waves crashing against the shore was pleasant to the ears. This kind of place reminded him of his youth. He used to live a normal life, eating the same food humans ate. From the day he was born until he turned sixteen, his parents fed him nothing but vegetables. When he reached seventeen and finished his training to resist the craving for human flesh, only then was he fed chicken. It was tasty, but he didn't like the flavor. His system had grown so accustomed to vegetables that his stomach would accept nothing else.
"I want you to engrave this in your mind, Arnold: we are not monsters. We are humans with abilities superior to normal people, so what we must do is look after them when they cannot protect themselves..."
Those were the words of his grandfather, and he followed them to this day.
He stood up from where he was lying and went down from the cottage, intending to smoke, but he saw Aurora sitting with her knees drawn up, her chin resting on them. From afar, he could tell she was crying by the way her shoulders moved. He slowly approached the young woman.
"Are you okay, Hybrid?" he asked after sitting beside her.
"I-I don’t know... I don’t know if they’re o-okay. I’m nervous and I don’t know w-why. I’m hurting and I don’t k-know why."
"Is it about your king?"
"I don't know... I just suddenly felt sad earlier and felt a deep sense of longing."
"You want to go home?"
The girl shook her head. "I can't give up now."
"Why not?"
"Because I saw ourselves dying in battle because the others weren't with us, and I can't let that happen."
"If I had that kind of ability, I’d probably have gone crazy by now," he admitted. A sad and terrifying memory pushed its way into his mind. "But I also think that maybe I wouldn't be alone if I had a power like that." He leaned against a small coconut tree, took a leaf, and toyed with it in his mouth.
"Why is that?"
"Do you know I’ve been alone for hundreds of years? The war took everything from me. Our clan lived peacefully on Isla Muerte back then. We lived like humans, far from trouble. If I had known the Tirong would attack us that night, of course, I would have told them we had to leave. But I didn't have an ability like yours, so I couldn't prevent the deaths of my family and my companions on the island."
"What are Tirong?" The girl wiped the tears from her face.
"A type of sea element that eats the flesh of humans and immortals. They are greedy for meat; even just three of those creatures could wipe out an entire village," the young man explained. "If it weren't for the royal siblings, you wouldn't even be talking to me now."
"Who?"
"Yfraim and Ryuk. We became friends." He looked out at the moon and continued sharing his thoughts. "Our mistake was that we didn't learn how to fight. For beings like us, we should not stop fighting, because when we stop, we lose the ability to protect those we love. We should keep fighting for them. We should keep fighting for what is right, because if you give up, you will lose everything. And when all the people you love are gone, you lose the will to fight because you no longer have a reason. It is good to fight when the reason for your struggle is right there beside you, protecting you too."
"Should we blame the gods who made us?"
"No. We should blame ourselves. They gave us free will since the day they created us. But our actions made us like this. Greed and the extreme lust for power drive us to do evil. You know what I hate about war? It takes everything from us. And it’s even scarier because after the war, one of the faces you know might be lying on the ground, lifeless. So, if I were you, fight as long as what you are fighting for is right."
"I’ll admit, I’m afraid of what might happen after this fight."
"Don't worry, Hybrid, many are supporting you." He stood up and brushed the sand off his trousers. "Are you worried about Yfraim?"
"About everyone at the mountain, but because I saw what could happen to him, I’m more afraid for him."
"Wait here. I'll give you something to keep you calm."
He went inside the cottage and took a Sin-aw Sin-aw seed. He looked for something to put it in, found a sardine can, and picked it up. He washed the can first before filling it with sand. He returned to the girl and handed her the can and the seed.
"What’s this?" Aurora asked, the small seed in her palm. The seed was red on one side and black on the other.
"That’s a seed from the Sin-aw Sin-aw plant. Do you have anything belonging to Yfraim?"
"I do."
"Take it and put it in the can. After that, place the seed right on Yfraim's item and cover it with sand again."
"Why?"
"Don't ask why. Just do what I said."
He watched her as she rummaged through her bag. Even in her loose t-shirt, jeans that looked tired from washing, and ordinary high-cut shoes, she was still beautiful. Her skin seemed to glow under the sun because it was so smooth and fair. Her face was small—he thought his hand was so wide it could probably cover her entire face.
"Is this okay?" She held up a gold coin.
"Yes, as long as Yfraim is the owner."
She poured out half the sand, placed the gold coin and the seed inside, and then covered them up again.
"Wait for one minute and you will see what it looks like."
"What's the use of that seed?" she asked, pointing at the can.
"Through that plant, you will know if the owner of the item you buried is still alive or dead."
"Are you serious?"
"See it for yourself," he said, as a sprout began to emerge from the can. The yellow-green sprout glowed.
"Wow! It grows so fast and it’s glowing—Woah! This plant is beautiful!" she exclaimed as the glowing plant continued to flourish, eventually producing a red, moon-shaped flower. "I've never seen this plant until now... it's truly beautiful!"
"It won't wither no matter what you do. Even if you burn it, step on it, or pull it from the sand, it will keep growing until it reaches full bloom. But if the time comes that it withers, there is only one reason: the person you planted it for is dead. That plant symbolizes life and death."
"Thank you for this. At least now I can be at peace knowing nothing has happened to Yfraim."
"In that case, go to sleep so you’ll have enough strength for our voyage tomorrow."
"Where will we get a boat?"
"There are plenty of boats there," he answered, earning a squint from the girl. "What?"
"Don't tell me we’re going to steal a boat from one of the fishermen?"
"Who said anything about stealing? We’ll buy one tomorrow, so go to sleep." He offered his hand to the girl, and she took it for support as she stood up. He walked her to the adjacent cottage where she was staying. "Good night, Hybrid."
"Good night, Ghoul."