Chapter 132 ‒ The Road of Unforgiven
Chapter 132 ‒ The Road of Unforgiven
Tyler’s head snapped up, eyes wild and gleaming with desperation. “Please… leave me alone. I don’t have time for this.”
Cupcake Crab tilted his head, his eyes shining like polished beads, claws clicking in a gentle rhythm. “Oh dear, everyone’s so snappy today. Funny… I asked some old wizard the same question, and he told me the exact same thing.”
Tyler lunged forward so abruptly he nearly toppled off the bench, his armour clinking and scraping. “Old wizard?! Yandeon?! Where — where did he go?! Where did you see him?!”
Cupcake Crab’s grin spread slowly, sly as an oil slick on dark water. “Ah… yes, yes. I saw him going toward the Windy Mountains. All hush-hush, cloak fluttering and all that. Very ominous, very mysterious.”
Tyler grabbed the front of Cupcake Crab’s vest with a trembling hand, claws of panic digging into his mind. “Are you sure? Tell me the truth!”
Cupcake Crab’s claws tapped together thoughtfully, mock contemplation playing across his beady gaze. “Well… whether you believe a swindler like me is entirely up to you… But really now… do you have another choice?”
Tyler’s eyes blazed, fury and desperation battling like storm winds in a cage. Without another word, he let go of the vest, staggered back, and vanished in a crackling blaze of brilliant blue light.
Far beyond the horizon, the jagged silhouette of the Windy Mountains clawed at the sky, as if they had been waiting all along for his arrival.
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Cold wind lashed across Tyler’s face as he appeared near the crest of the mountains, snow biting at his armour’s joints. He staggered forward, breath ragged, steam curling from his visor.
A sudden rush of wind and a burst of glimmering blue and emerald feathers sliced through the sky. Zephryn landed before him, wings half-flared, her crest feathers spiking in alarm.
“[Player]!” Zephryn’s voice cut sharply through the swirling frost. Her bright eyes darted over him, scanning every inch as if expecting wounds. “Why do you look like that? You look like you’ve just been dragged through a blizzard and a battlefield at once!”
Tyler forced down a lungful of icy air. His voice came out thin and scraped raw. “Yandeon… and Myrrak… they escaped. They stole all five divine keys.”
Zephryn’s wings shot outward, her talons digging into the frozen stone. “What? That treacherous bastard Myrrak—!” she screeched, her voice cracking with rage. One of her followers behind her squeaked out, “Our Goddess is cussing…!”
Zephryn whipped her gaze back, her iridescent feathers shimmering with fury. “According to my surveillance, neither Myrrak nor any old wizard crossed the Windy Mountains,” she hissed, her wings twitching as though they might snap forward.
Tyler’s thoughts whirled, a cyclone of frustration battering at his skull. That damned crab… lied to me… and I fell for it like a fool…
Zephryn narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly as she studied his twisted expression. “But… there is one possibility,” she murmured, her voice dropping into a tense hush. “If they used high-level teleportation magic, it would allow them to bypass my authority and ground watchers. I wouldn’t have sensed it.”
Tyler’s eyes widened. The realization slammed into him like a blade through his ribs. If they crossed the mountains but aren’t here… that means… no… Ivory Glen! They are in danger!
He turned sharply, a strangled gasp tearing from his throat. In a flash of blinding blue light, he vanished from the mountain pass.
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Zephryn stared after the vanishing glow, her claws curling against the ice. Slowly, she lowered her head and exhaled, feathers ruffling in the cold wind. “Maybe… it’s time I stepped onto the battlefield again. I’ll show them just how sharp my new feathers have become.”
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Tyler tore across the landscape, each step burning into the earth, each breath clawing at his throat. Trees and cliffs blurred past as he launched himself forward, the world shattering into streaks of colour and noise.
Faster… I can’t be too late… faster!
Ivory Glen finally emerged on the horizon, its broken walls standing like the ribs of a long-dead beast. Tyler skidded to a stop at the outskirts, panting, sweat and cold mixing across his skin beneath the armour.
His eyes darted over the landscape. No sign of Yandeon or Myrrak. No smouldering ruins, no shimmering magical haze.
But the village… still in ruins. The flower fields were long gone, reduced to bare dirt and broken stems. Houses sagged under broken beams, their walls split and splintered. Debris littered every path like scattered bones.
Tyler’s chest heaved as he stared, the weight of every misstep pressing down on his spine.
Do I… even deserve to stand here?
Near the gate, the guards spotted him. Their eyes widened in terror; fur bristled, tails shot rigid with fright. In a heartbeat, they bolted deeper into the village, dropping their spears with a clatter that echoed like a death knell.
Tyler flinched, but forced himself forward. Each step dragged as if he were wading through a swamp of ash and regret. Inside the village, he saw villagers carrying planks and tools. When they noticed him, their eyes went wide, and in a single instant of horror, they dropped everything and scattered, fleeing into alleyways, slamming doors behind them.
And then — in the centre of the road — she stood.
Miho.
Her small frame trembled, fur standing on end. Her eyes, wide and shining with tears, locked on his visor like daggers. Her claws dug into her palms so hard that droplets of blood stained the ground at her feet.
Her voice rose, ragged and sharp as shattered glass. “What have you come here for, you monster?! Was it not enough to take all our flowers, to kill the guardian beast, to stomp our homes into the dirt?! What have you come for now?! To finish us off?! To watch us die one by one?!”
Tyler staggered back as though struck by a physical blow. Her words scoured him raw, slicing deeper than any blade. His hands twitched at his sides. He tried to speak but only a hoarse rasp escaped.
Miho took a step forward, her tears streaking down her fur, catching in her whiskers. “You betrayed us! You promised to protect me — and instead you crushed everything we had! You ruined our lives and laughed! Why… why… why are you back now?! Just die already! Disappear and never come back!”
Every syllable twisted deeper into Tyler’s ribs, each echo ringing like a funeral bell in his skull. His heart pounded so violently he thought it might rip through his chest and splatter onto the broken street.
He swallowed hard, forcing words through the constriction in his throat. “Miho… did Yandeon… any old wizard appear in this town?”
Her eyes widened with such ferocity that her tears seemed to ignite into flames. “How dare you… how dare you still stand there and act like that?! Get out of this village — get lost, just die in some ditch!”
Tyler’s shoulders drooped. Each breath rattled like stones in an empty jar. A sliver of relief wormed through the guilt — at least, Yandeon hadn’t come here. But that also meant… his search had been wasted. That damned crab had lied. But why? He hadn’t gained anything. Unless…
Was that his plan all along? To delay me? Was he working with Yandeon…?
Tyler clenched his fists, the plates of his gauntlets grinding together. He turned, feet dragging like anchors. I can’t stop. I can’t falter now. No matter what they say. No matter how deep this guilt cuts…
As he stepped beyond the village’s ruined gate, a voice — calm, low, aged — broke through the fog in his mind.
“Leaving already?”
Tyler froze mid-step. He didn’t turn. He knew that voice — the village elder, Miho’s father. He had been away for prayer when Tyler destroyed the village. He didn’t witness the horror firsthand, but the aftermath had surely reached his ears.
The elder stood just past the archway, his eyes soft yet steady. His tail swayed gently behind him, his posture neither hostile nor welcoming — simply waiting.
Tyler kept his gaze pinned to the ground. His breath scraped against his teeth.
The elder continued, voice steady as a mountain stream. “Don’t you want to know Yandeon’s whereabouts?”
The words struck like a lightning bolt through Tyler’s mind. His entire body jolted, a gasp catching in his throat. Slowly, mechanically, he turned to face the elder, his visor catching the faint light of the sun.
The elder held his gaze. “I know you must be in a hurry,” he said, each syllable weighed with quiet finality. “But I think you must hear the full story… if you truly want your answer.”
Tyler’s pulse hammered in his ears. Beneath the elder’s unwavering gaze, a fragile shard of resolve flickered to life — thin as a thread, yet strong enough to pull him into whatever awaited beyond forgiveness.