[: Daniel POV :]
Suddenly, I heard the sound of an explosion, followed by the rumble of collapsing structures.
“W-What’s happening!?”
One of the surviving refugee’s screams echoed the question in my mind.
Then, I caught sight of an enormous, black mass emerging from the rubble.
Its ominous form sent chills down my spine.
“What is that?”
My words were barely a whisper as the creature rose, revealing its terrifying visage.
I didn’t know what kind of form it had, but it had dark fur and glowing red eyes, it appeared like the personification of death itself.
The mere sight of the hulking figure caused my breath to catch.
It was a monster that could crush us all without batting an eye and even its aura was causing cracks all over the shelters.
“It’s the Apocalyptical King of Black,” Fara’s voice sounded behind me.
“You need to run, Daniel,” She said and she was nervous.
“What about you, Fara?” I couldn’t help but question as I didn’t to leave Fara behind.
“I will try to hold it off. Please, run,” She suggested, but I wasn’t going to listen to hear and I would not abandon her.
“No, I’m not leaving you, Fara.” I refused.
“Don’t be foolish, Daniel. There’s no time” She shouted at me and I flinched in surprise as she had never scolded me before.
“I can’t leave you behind,” My tears began streaming down and my voice became hoarse.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” She comforted and even in this situation, she tried to be optimistic for me.
“Fara…” I grabbed on the edge of her clothes, trying to pull her to run together with me.
“I will survive, Daniel, and I will find you. Now go.” But she held my hands and it was clear that she wasn’t going to follow my words.
“O-Okay,” I said.
“Promise me, you’ll run, no matter what.” She pleaded.
“I-I promise,” Seeing her teary expression, I couldn’t help but promised her.
“Good, now go” She released her hands from me and pointed towards a direction for me to run towards.
I could only nod helplessly as she pushed me forward.
With every step, I could feel the weight of my choice, knowing that I would have to leave her behind.
“Be safe, Fara,”
I whispered before dashing into the dark tunnel that led out of the shelter.
I could hear the sounds of battle behind me, but I didn’t dare look back.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, the fear and despair fueling my steps.
The tunnel seemed endless, and with every breath, I could feel the darkness closing in.
Finally, I emerged into the light, only to see a wasteland of destruction stretching before me.
“Fara, please be okay,” I prayed, my tears clouding my vision as the reality of our situation sank in.
I didn’t know whether God existed, but at that point, I prayed to every god that I knew with a desperate plea.
However, none of them answered my wish and only then did I realise that there wasn’t even a god to exist with or they couldn’t be bothered by us.
I didn’t know how long I had waited and I could still hear the sounds of the clashes between Fara and the monsters.
I wanted to return to help her, but I was too weak and I wouldn’t be able to provide any sort of assistance towards her.
After an hour had passed, the sound of the clash suddenly stopped and I couldn’t help but hope that Fara had won and come back to me.
But I was wrong as none of them came out from the refugees and my deepest fear and anxiety started to kick in as I rushed towards the refugee shelter.
As I returned to the place where the shelter had been, all I could see was an empty void and I couldn’t help but scream at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would answer me.
“Fara, Where are you, Fara!! Please, Fara, Don’t die!!!”
I shouted and screamed, hoping that she’d respond to me, however, as I kept searching there was no hope.
But at some point, from a far distance, I saw an uncertain sight.
”What..is that”
I squeezed my eyes trying to get a clearer picture and after discovering what it was, I quickly rushed towards it while screaming for her.
”FARA!” 𝓁𝘪𝘳𝒶.𝘤𝑜𝓂
However, the thing that I was looking at was Fara’s corpse and her appearance had reverted back to her previous appearance.
“Oh God, no…Please don’t,”
Tears flowed uncontrollably, my voice a broken whisper as I stared at the lifeless body in front of me.
“Not you, not again.” My throat tightened, the words a choked sob.
“This can’t be, not again.”
I knelt beside her and gently scooped her into my arms, cradling her close.
“Why?”
I was trembling, my heart shattered by the overwhelming loss and grief.
“Why did you have to leave me?”
I could taste the bitter sting of tears, hot and heavy on my cheeks.
“You promised me, Fara. You promised you would come back.”
My voice cracked, raw with emotion.
“Please, don’t leave me alone,”
I pleaded, my anguish and sorrow pouring out.
“I can’t do this without you.”
I was lost, adrift in a sea of pain and despair, drowning in a darkness that threatened to consume me.
“Don’t leave me.”
My grip tightened as if clinging to the last thread of hope, the last vestige of light.
“I can’t lose you too.”
The weight of loneliness pressed down, a crushing burden that threatened to break me.
“I need you, Fara. Please don’t leave me alone.”
Perhaps a god had answered a plea of my wish that her body trembled for a moment and she regained her consciousness temporarily.
”Daniel…is that…you…?” She questioned and I couldn’t hear her voice at all.
”Fara, you’re still alive! Please wait, don’t speak anymore. W-We can still use the options for you to recover!”
I said but it was just a false hope that I didn’t want to believe that her condition wasn’t dire.
I quickly took out several potion bottles from the inventory and began to pour them into her mouth.
”P-Potions…will not work…for me and my time is running out”
She tried to shake her head, but her movements were weak and shaky.
”No, Fara, don’t give up. I won’t let you die, you have to live, you have to survive.”
My voice was ragged, desperate.
“I need you, Fara. Please.
Please, don’t leave me.”
I begged, the tears flowing freely.
“D-Daniel, please remember my words…always take care of yourself and no matter what, don’t lose hope to hopeless” She said.
“Stop saying things like that, Fara. You’re not going to die and you’re going to be fine. I’m going to get you out of here and we’re going to find a way to heal you. Just stay with me, okay?”
”Stay with me, Fara.”
But no matter how hard I pleaded, her voice grew weaker and the light in her eyes began to fade.
“Promise me, you’ll be alright,” Her lips formed a faint smile, her voice a quiet whisper.
“I will, Fara and I’ll be okay. I promise.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, the words hollow.
“That’s good,” She breathed, her eyes fluttering closed.
“Fara, no, please don’t go,”
I begged as I embraced her body close to me and I still could recall the warmth of her body fading as time passed by.
”Daniel…can you do one last thing for me?”
The sound and energy of her voice were fading and I couldn’t almost hear it.
”W-What is it!? I will do anything to achieve it!”
I said desperately hoping that whatever she asked would make her stay alive, but that was just a foolish dream of mine.
”Can…you call me mother for the first and last…time?”
She asked with a warm and gentle smile, and at that point, the whole world stopped.
I questioned myself, when had I ever called Fara my mother?
She had taken care of me after Leila had died protected me, and she was the only guardian of mine that had motherly love and charms.
But because of my naivety, I was cold towards her at the start after she started taking care of me.
And I was so used to calling her Fara that I had forgotten that she had always wanted a family and a child to take care of.
Her request was also a way for her to tell me that she could no longer be by my side and I couldn’t waste any more time.
”M-Mother…”
My tears started raining down and my voice was choked with the tears.
Her body shook for a moment before a satisfied smile formed on her expression.
”That’s right…I had and will always love you, my son…”
It was the first time she had ever called me her son and eventually, the light within her eyes had faded and Fara…was gone.