Ray - His Side Story 3 - Different Worlds
It was a cold evening, and clouds streamed across the sky, the moon disappearing and appearing again.Several Red Army soldiers had attacked without warning, in the dead of night.They'd been outnumbered and captured quickly, and now they knelt in front of me, their hands tied behind their backs.(We've asked you countless times why you attacked, but you still refuse to answer.)Luka: This is going nowhere.Sirius: Luka--Luka: They're not going to talk, no matter what you say.Luka: Which means--Luka: Our only option is to make them talk.Luka started to draw his greatsword, and I lifted a hand to stop him.Ray: Luka.Ray: Stand down. This is my job.Red Soldiers: Geh--I slid my sword quickly from its sheath, and flicked it forward in a single fluid motion.The tip of the blade stopped just shy of the neck of one of the men.Ray: Listen up.Ray: If you don't start talking soon--Ray: I'll kill you here and now, as payback for the crimes you committed against my men.Ray: I won't leave a single one of you alive.Red Soldiers: Waah!(I hope you all understand that this is no idea threat. I mean it.)Ray: I'll ask one more time. Who ordered this? No, wait.Ray: Was this ordered by the King of Hearts, Lancelot?Red Soldier 1: There were no orders. We did this to prove our worth.Red Soldier 1: We only wanted one thing-- and that was your head, Ray Blackwell.I frowned slightly, but remained silent, letting the man talk himself out.Red Soldier 1: King Lancelot would no doubt be delighted if we took your head home with us.Red Soldier 1: And then we'd climb all the way to the top of the ranks!(You did this just to get a promotion?)The desires of the men kneeling in front of me made me feel depraved.Ray: I see. I finally understand your true intentions.I lifted my sword above my head and swung down, cutting the ropes of man who'd spoken.I heard a faint noise from behind, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the surprise on Sirius and Luka's faces.But I ignored them both, tossing my sword to the ground and then sitting down.Ray: Then take it and go.Red Soldiers: Wha--?!Ray: Cut off my head. That's what you want, isn't it?Ray: Do as you wish. However-- think hard about what will happen once you've cut off my head.Red Soldier 1: Well--The man's voice was trembling, and I spoke calmly over it.Ray: The entirety of the Black Army will raid the Red Army within the night.Ray: Any idea what will happen to Cradle when both armies collide in full force?Ray: Towns and cities will crumble; the casualties will be too many to count.Ray: If you want to achieve what you came to do, you'd better be prepared to take responsibility for every single victim.All of the Red Army soldiers continued to stand where they were, silent, unmoving.Ray: What's the matter?They were all staring down at the fallen sword, but not a single one of them moved to take it.(Wielding a sword when your hearts not in it is like a child waving a toy around.)My voiced filled with anger, wanting them to give up their swords until they understood the full weight of taking another's life.Ray: Do it!The Red Army soldiers began to tremble, and a few of them glanced helplessly at each other.Ray: You can't do it, can you?Ray: Listen then, and remember this well.Ray: Wielding a sword, and fighting in battle-- these are things that involve people's lives. This isn't just some kid's game.Ray: I won't be killed by some half-hearted kids. And I won't kill them, either.(I won't die in a place like this.)An old memory surfaced, of a world drenched in a sea of blood, and I took a deep breath.Sirius: Ray, what should we do with them?Ray: Ask the Red Army to come and collect them.Luka: Understood.Sirius: All right, then--Sirius: Kiera?Luka: What?Kiera: Oh!I turned toward the door, and saw Kiera standing there, her face drained of color.The moment our eyes met, she turned and dashed up the stairs, as if running for her life.Ray: Was she--Ray: Hey, wait.Kiera: Eek!Ray: I said wait!I caught up with her just as she burst into the corridor, and reached out to grab her wrist.Ray: So you heard everything.Kiera: I'm so sorry.Ray: Why are you apologizing?Kiera had stopped running, but she refused to turn toward me, refused to meet my gaze.(And that's not all.)Ray: Your hands are as cold as ice.There was no real reason for her to be that cold, and I knew at once that she was terrified.(Actually--)I knew there was no constant war in her world, and no magic, either.A part of me believed that her world must be warm and gentle and full of happiness, a place that was nothing like Cradle.Ray: Hey-- you're scared, aren't you?Kiera: What?Ray: Of me, and-- of this world, where war could happen at any moment.Kiera: Oh--I knew what that intake of breath meant, and so I let go of her hand.(If you're scared, you don't have to look. You don't have to know.)There was nothing I could do to return her to her world until the next full moon.But I didn't know any other way to help her, except for her to turn away from the world I live in.(You should go somewhere far, far away from all of us.)Ray: If you're scared, then just look away.Ray: Do that, and the full moon will come again soon enough.I spoke calmly, and after a moment she walked away again, disappearing into her room.As I watched her go, I could see that her whole body seemed to be screaming for escape.(After all, we live in different worlds.)My gaze was drawn to the window, and I stared out at the stars.(And I've always known that. So why--)I couldn't stop picturing the bringt smile on Kiera's face as she'd eaten dinner with them all.And I wondered if I'd ever see that happy smile again.Suddenly my hands felt as cold as Kiera's had felt when I'd grabbed her, and I shivered a little.
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