Ampithera: One Side
Chapter 04's

Tik .. tik .. tik …

The second sound of a wall clock dominated this pitch-long room.

When Altara opened her eyes, in her blurry vision, she found the dim light of the lights hanging from the ceiling. He sighed when suddenly his head felt like it was spinning. Reflexively, his reddened hand held his head, intending to resist the dizziness that attacked him.

"Away awake?"

That familiar voice sounded not far from where he fell asleep. Altara rolled her eyes towards the person who had just greeted her. She faintly found Reiga, a blonde man with eyes as blue as the ocean, leaning over her body on a window sill with both hands folded over her chest.

"Why can I fall asleep here?" altara asked in a raucous voice, like most people who just woke up.

Reiga walked towards the bed that Altara was sleeping on at the time. He brought a new pair of glasses to his friend. "You fainted from the cold when you crossed the river." After that, he walked to the side of the empty bed and stretched his body there. Then, he closed his eyes because he was already very sleepy. I don't know what makes him prefer to sleep when Altara is awake. Maybe because of worry whenever Altara does not wake up again.

Altara put on the glasses to make her vision clear again. Feeling that something was missing, Altara immediately asked Reiga. "Dairen where?"

With eyes still clenched, Reiga replied, "He went to the tavern. He said hungry."

"Then, what about that one?"

Although Altara asked vaguely, Reiga understood what the man meant. "I've already reported to Axel. Maybe they're investigating now."

"so." Altara was silent for a moment. Then he returned with a slightly worried voice. "Eh? You're seeing Mr Axel? Didn't he ask you something?"

Feeling annoyed that Altara continued to ask him to talk when he was very sleepy, Reiga covered her ears with a pillow while silencing the conversation between the two of them. "You're so noisy. Sleep there!"

"I, I'm just asking. I'm really curious. Dairen never wants to talk."

"Hayo ... caught!"

The voice succeeded in making Reiga and Altara surprised.

"It looks like you guys are so happy to talk about me when I'm not around." Dauren stood there. Lean on the door frame that is fully open.

"EXCUSE ME, CAKE! NOT ALL HEARTS ARE LIKE YOUR HEART, DAMN IT!" Reiga cursed in surprise when Dairen was suddenly there. Actually, he wouldn't be this angry if he wasn't in a sleepy state.

Altara also seemed to be very surprised. It could be seen from how his current facial expression was. "When did you get in here? Did you hear our conversation just now?"

"of course. You guys are too focused on chatting to the point of not realizing my arrival" Dairen casually replied.

Daren walked inside. He puts his thumb and index finger on his chin like a thinking person. "When you two sleep in my bed, where do I sleep?"

"Just sleep on the floor! You're, you're used to it" Reiga said in annoyance.

"Al's? How are you doing?"

"Don't ignore me, Bego!" Reiga looked really upset when Dairen did not make any comment. Unwilling to care anymore, he turned his body towards the other side of the bed and began to close his eyes.

"Aah .. I'm fine. Actually I should thank you both. Again, you should be in trouble because of my carelessness," Altara replied to the question that Dairen had thrown at her.

"You don't have to thank me. You're the one who helped us more than anyone." Dairen rolled out a small mat on the floor, then laid his body there. No pillows or blankets.

"You really slept on the floor?"

"Just calm! As long as I'm with you, you'll be fine. He said."

Hearing Dairen say that, made Altara link her eyebrows confused. "Dairen?"

Reiga who was still conscious, felt that the words of Dairen just now sounded strange. In a quiet voice, he said, "His word?"

"Someone said that to me."

Altara said, "Who?"

"Eitherway. Maybe the balloon-sellers at the night market."

Silent. There are no more sounds in this room. Although Dairen's speech sounded like a joke, neither Altara nor Reiga had the power to answer it.

Altara preferred to lay her body down and go back to sleep. While Reiga, his eyes were still awake, with a gaze full of sadness, he stared towards the open window. The night wind was blowing very coldly, making the leaves make a sound like a lullaby for Reiga. Within seconds, his eyes closed perfectly. And in a matter of seconds, Dairen reopened his eyes that had been clenched.

The wind is getting stronger. The leaves are dancing more and more. It's like signaling that something bad is going to happen.

Dairen got out of his sleep, then stood next to Reiga who was already asleep in his dreams. He put away Reiga's blonde mane that blocked the man's face before speaking. "I hate them." He paused his words for a moment. "But, I can't do anything because they are people who are very important to you." Dairen stroked Reiga's head using his index finger, then continued his speech. "Again, let me hurt him. I want to know how you react to seeing your friend suffer."

The snow-white man turned towards the window. He walked very slowly and ended up on the window sill.

The strong night wind blew away her hair and clothes as well. From out there, a bright moonlight illuminated his face, revealing a bright red eyepiece, spitting out fresh blood that flowed as tears. "You know? I love you so much, Lucian! I'm with me too. I love you with all my heart. How you ignored this love. What were you looking for all this time? The one who really loves you is only here. With your soul." Those words of passion were spoken out loud. Even so, the two people who were asleep there were not the slightest noise at all.

Dairen turned his head to look at the two people lying on the bed. "First. Let's start with that guy." He gave a sharp look to Altara. With a grin on his face, Dairen again turned his face to the sky. He wiped away the tears of blood that kept flowing down his cheeks using his palm. His right leg he put on the bottom sill of the window and in a matter of seconds, he jumped out while stretching out his hands.

Black smoke billowed in his right hand. When the smoke faded, a red-colored sword clasped firmly in his hand. The blue light shimmering in the middle said the sword. The sword hilt formed from crystallized lava, seemed to fit right into Dairen's fist, just like the sword was deliberately created for him.

"Prepare, Master Mudaku!"

Dairen floated in the night sky. Against the wind that blows strong and very cold.

No one knows what's on his mind right now. Is correct. No one knows even his soul.

***

The wind blew in the darkness. Somewhere quiet, on a road by the river, a girl was running against the wind. The barefooted foot was bleeding like it was hit by thousands of thorns. The red casual dress she was wearing fluttered along with her long hair that was draped. Occasionally, he rubbed his teary cheeks.

Along the way, the girl continued to run without caring about the pain that was attacking her legs. It was as if it was following the stream, flowing endlessly, unachievable. However, his steps suddenly stopped. Her crying subsided along with her eyes that suddenly dodged.

At the end there, near a shady banyan tree. Somebody's. Nah! A creature resembling a human being was eating human flesh.

Without cue, without a second thought, a screeching echo defeated the sound of the rushing water. Immediately, the girl who had just shouted turned around to leave this place. But unexpectedly, suddenly two burly hands covered in blood hugged him from behind. The hug was so tight that it made this girl in pain. Not only that, suddenly something sharp stuck on his shoulders. It screamed. The creature was about to eat it. Of course he thrashed. But his actions even hurt him because the fangs of the creature increasingly tore his shoulders.

On the other hand, the two men who seemed to be the ones chasing after the girl stopped their footsteps. They were shocked when they saw what was happening at this moment. One of them managed to escape, but the other man suddenly lay on the ground. His head separated from his body made fresh blood flow from his neck, drenching the long-undrained dry streets.

While the girl was still crying, feeling how painful it was as the creature tore through the flesh on her shoulders. He continued to cry until unconsciously the embrace of the creature detached from his body.

Brukka …

The creature's body fell.

Reflex, the girl turned around. He was surprised to find that the creature had been lying on the ground with a sword embedded in his body. The shiny red sword belonged to a man who was now standing in front of him. The blood that littered the sword evaporated emitting a dense red smoke smelling fishy and extremely stinging.

Dairen grunted softly. He pulled out the hair blocking his view. The clouds covering the moon slowly moved aside as if they wanted the moonlight to illuminate his face. "What's your name?" he asked in a very cold tone of voice.

The girl who had just been silent was immediately shocked when she heard the really cold voice of Dairen "Alma," he said.

"I'm sorry. But you've seen it." Dairen drew the sword that was stuck right in the heart of the already lifeless creature.

Alma confusion. Both his eyebrows are linked. "Eh?"

Sprains …

Brukka …

Blood splashed right in front of Dairen's face as he swung his sword towards the girl, the girl who was now lying headless.

Dairen again swung his sword hard to splash the blood that soiled the sword. After that, billowing black smoke enveloped the sword and carried it away disappearing along with its fading self.

Dairen looked up, staring at the dim moonlight. Between the gentle gusts of wind, he sighed. It seemed that killing was a normal thing for him. He strengthened his footing, before jumping and ending up floating in space.

As Dairen flew away, a person in a suit that covered almost his entire body walked from behind the banyan tree to Alma's body next to the human-like creature.

The man bent his knees next to Alma's headless body. Then, he fused his arms together while closing his eyes, like praying.

Before long, the man opened his eyes again, revealing a red lens. Faded light shimmered from his eyes as the moon that was still glued there kindly gave the man all its rays.

He flicked his robe that was stained with blood welling up below before lifting his body to stand up. That meaningless gaze was fixed on the head of the girl lying on the asphalt. Then, a voice with a very cold intonation that could make anyone who heard it numb, echoed in the silence of the gripping night. "Poor girl" said the man, who then casually kicked the head of the girl he said was unfortunate to be far away from his body.

After that, a black smog billowed around the man making him no longer visible. Even the bright moonlight could not penetrate the dense smoke surface. Not long after, the smoke faded along with the man who disappeared somewhere.