Pheo kept going the route leading to the stairway with Ryu. "We're almost there"
Ryu struggled to keep himself up, relying solely on Pheo's help to continue on. "Thank God, I feel like an old man right now"
The two laughed, it's been a while since both of them were able to talk. "You know where you're going after this?"
"Not really" Ryu thought for a bit, "I might go back to my family"
Pheo got reminded of his own, "That sounds nice" His face darkened, it took a bit for Ryu to notice his expression.
"Ah, right" Ryu remembered about his past, "You could always come with me you know?"
Pheo smiled at his offer, "No, you don't have to"
"But I would rather live by myself than on the pity of others"
Ryu felt down on bringing it up, "Let's continue on meeting up though, yeah?" He extended his fist to Pheo.
Pheo bumped it with his, "Of course, how else am I going to beat you after we escape?"
Ryu was about to laugh, but something caught his eye. "Wait, look" Ryu pointed, Pheo followed to see that it was a corpse of a kid. "Looks like someone had a bad day"
They kept going forwards, "Not just someone"
"It's more like a bunch of people had a bad day" Pheo said as he looked at the corpses that kept appearing as they continued going forward. The stench grew more and more unbearable as they went closer to the stairway.
Pheo caught sight of the twins that were in the truck with him. They were nearing death, both next to each other. As he watched their last few moments together, it made him wonder on what was on Ryu's mind when they were going through the dreadful scene.
Was he alert at the sight of them? Maybe scared or in a panic, or was he sad about how they died so young?
He took a look at him, surprised on how that rather than reacting, he had his usual face.
"Have you seen a dead body before?" Pheo asked, he felt that Ryu's reaction was a bit too lackluster for his first time.
"Of course not" Ryu told him, "When I saw my first body, it was the body of someone strong who fought for peace"
He looked down as he recalled the grim moment, "It was a reminder for me that no matter how much I train, there was still one end for me"
"I also puked" He added on, making Pheo struggle to keep his laughter contained.
"How about you?" Ryu threw the question back at him, "When was your first time?"
Me?
He had never seen a dead body, at least until now. Why would Ryu assume that he had? Then he realized, since the moment he saw the bodies on the ground, he hadn't felt anything nor react. Not even a single bit.
"My first time was when I was younger" He tried to lie, "It was someone I randomly came across while I was walking"
Ryu looked at him, "Sounds boring, but it's not like we get to decide"
Pheo felt relieved that Ryu didn't catch on, but the feeling of guilt stayed with him.
Why didn't I react?
He questioned himself as they continued on. They eventually made it to the staircase, witnessing the aftermath of the massacre.
"Do you think anyone survived?" Ryu looked around, speculating on what had caused the devastating scene.
"I think we need to get out before asking questions" Pheo began rushing Ryu, trying to get themselves out before they encounter whoever caused what they saw.
Woosh!
Something came crashing down from above, smashing a crater on the ground. Both Ryu and Pheo had to lower themselves in order to not be blown away from the wind.
"Is that you?" A voice called out from the smoke. It took a while until they were able to see who was speaking.
"Dad?" Ryu called out to the figure. Pheo looked closer at who it was, they looked like a homeless person. "That's your dad?"
"The one and only" Ryu said before jumping in his arms. His father held his hands out to catch him.
"Did you miss me?" Ryu asked.
"Miss you?" His father asked, "I came here to scold you!"
He hugged him righter, crushing him in his arms.
"Ow, ow, ow!" He screamed out. It made Pheo jump in, "Wait, he can't handle that!"
Ryu's father looked at him with a cold stare. Pheo could feel his bloodlust radiate. His body tensed, becoming unable to move or speak.
"Who are you to tell me what my son can't handle?" His voice gave Pheo goosebumps. "Dad, he's a friend" Ryu looked at him, "And he's right, I'm dying!"
"What?"
He loosened his grip, taking a closer look at Ryu's dire state. "Did you cause this?" His gaze locked onto Pheo. He shook his head, "No, its just because of the mines"
"Dad" Ryu called for him, "He isn't an enemy, he helped me the entire time" He reminded him.
His dad looked at Ryu's eyes. He wasn't lying to save someone's hide, the weakling he was with actually helped his son.
"What's your name?" He asked, putting Ryu back down on the ground. Pheo wasn't struck with fear anymore, he was free to move. "Pheo" He went towards him and stood with Ryu, "What's your name, Ryu's dad?"
He laughed, "No, its Ikra" He went and ruffled Ryu's hair, "And you're right when you say I'm his father"
"Stop it" Ryu quickly flailed his arms around to stop Ikra, "I hate it when you ruin my hair" He tried to fix his hair without a mirror.
Ikra smirked, then went to Pheo. "So how did you help Ryu" He asked, he couldn't believe that his son needed help from someone else of his age.
Especially from you
"We helped each other" He clarified, "From fighting Warhound and Don to going through tough times"
Ikra doubted him, but he could tell from his tone that he wasn't lying. It interested him, he always had a good sense for someone's strength. How could someone who's young and weak be able to deal with someone he could tell was stronger?
Then a loud, ear piercing sound filled the caverns. All three of them covered their ears as it went on, staying still until it ended. "What was that?" Pheo asked, his ears still adjusting back to normal.
"I don't know" Ikra told him, "But you feel it too, don't you Ryu?"
He nodded, "Yeah, it's strong"
Pheo looked at both of them confused, "Care to explain please?" Ryu turned to him, "Oh right, you can't tell"
"When you're strong enough, you can sense different presences" He explained, "And right now, a big one just joined in"
He pointed at a pathway, "It's coming from there" Pheo looked, only seeing an empty passageway.
Great, another thing he can do that I can't
Pheo thought that after practicing for so long while Ryu was sick, he caught up to him. But as he began spending time with him again, the distance between them continued to widen.
"You guys need to go" Ikra told them, "Head upstairs, some kid and a dead dog will be there waiting"
"Why?" Ryu asked, "The safest place I know right now is next to you" His words were sincere, it told Pheo just how much he trusted his father. Ikra was the person who was able to raise a wild person like Ryu after all.
"No you aren't. In this place, I'm no longer confident that I can make it out alive now"
Hid words shocked Ryu, "What?" His father was someone he had admired, watching him trained for countless hours. Time and time again he's seen him prevail against the odds stacked against him.
That very person told him that he isn't sure about making it out alive.
Just what appeared to make him say such a thing?
Ikra knew that this was a shock for him. Ryu was raised with a strong family after all, there were close to none that could evenly fight against them. For him, all problems could easily be solved by brute force.
It's time for you to realize just how big the world is
He took a look at Pheo, "You make sure he goes out"
Ikra then sped off, leaving a gust of wind that almost blew them off.
"Alright, lets go up" Pheo went up the stairs. He looked back to see that Ryu was still standing down there. "If you aren't going to move, I'll go down there and carry you all the way up"
He waited for a while, but Ryu stayed still. It made Pheo a bit angry, he stomped his way down the stairs.
I'm dragging him up the stairs.