"I'm exhausted... so exhausted. My vision is blurring—why is it so hard to defeat him?
He staggers, his chest drenched in blood. Yet he stands. All my training... everything was for nothing.
Why is he so strong? My wife... my daughter... they died right in front of me. If only I'd been stronger, maybe none of this would've happened.
With trembling limbs, he crawls toward the lifeless bodies of his wife and child. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, my loves... I failed as a husband... as a father..."
I'm so tired... If I close my eyes now... maybe this will be the end. Hah...Dying slowly... what a terrible way to go."
"Maybe... I should just rest my eyes...
Slowly, his eyelids grew heavy, then closed.
"Hey... hey! Are you still alive?"
Whose voice is that? He wanted to open his eyes, but his body refused to obey. His consciousness faded, sinking into darkness.
---
Not long after, he woke up.
His vision blurred as he forced his eyes open. The warm glow of dusk bathed his battered body.
Am I... still alive? Or is this the afterlife?
If this is death... then can I see my wife and daughter again?
A shadow suddenly loomed over him, blocking the dimming sky.
"Hello, brother~! You're finally awake, hehehe!"
He jolted in shock, instinctively trying to move—
"ARGHH—!!"
A searing pain tore through his body. Looking down, he saw bandages wrapped tightly around his wounds.
"Brother, don't move! Your injuries haven't healed yet!"
But his mind raced, drowning out the pain. Only one thought consumed him:
"My wife... my daughter... Are they... Are they still alive?!"
He shook his head weakly.
Then, with a solemn gesture, the person pointed toward two wooden crosses planted not far from where he lay. "I... buried your wife and daughter."
"I'm sorry I had to do it so soon... but wild animals would have..." The words hung in the air, unspoken but understood.
Tears—hot and relentless—streamed down the face of a broken husband, a failed father.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It should have been me. If only I had run... if only I hadn't been so prideful, they'd still be alive!"
"HRRAGHHH—!!!"
His fists slammed into the earth, over and over, as if the pain in his heart could be drowned out by physical agony. His body trembled, his soul ripped apart by guilt.
Then, the one who had saved him reached out, pressing a small, bloodstained locket into his palm. Inside—a family portrait.
"Your wife... her last wish was to save you."
A whisper, fragile yet searing:
"The time we spent together... was my strength. But if I live... and you die... I won't be strong enough."
"Let me take care of our daughter in heaven."
"Live... be happy."
"Don't seek revenge for me."
He clutched the locket tightly, kneeling silently before the graves.
Before long, the stranger who had helped him approached, offering a steaming cup. "Here... it's still hot. You should drink something."
Night had fallen, and the air grew colder. "Warm yourself up first," the young man said, gesturing toward the crackling campfire.
He accepted the coffee and sat beside the flames, the heat doing little to thaw the ice in his chest.
"So... who are you?" His voice was hoarse, raw with grief. "How did you end up here? You look young—eighteen, twenty at most."
"Ah, right! I forgot to introduce myself." The stranger rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Name's Edrew. I was just passing through on a job—needed to deliver something to town. Saw what looked like a fight, so I... stopped to watch."
A beat of silence.
Then—rage erupted.
He lunged at Edrew, his coffee spilling into the dirt as he seized the younger man's collar.
"YOU FUCKER! If you were there, why didn't you HELP? If you'd stepped in sooner—!" His voice cracked. " Maybe... maybe my family would still be ALIVE!"
Hahahaha!!!"
Edrew's laughter cut through the night, sharp and mocking. *"What the hell did you expect an 18-year-old to do against that kind of monster?!"
He shoved the grieving man's hand away, his voice laced with cold realism. "Bullshit. I had to survive too. Be grateful I even buried your family properly instead of leaving them for the crows!"
The man's grip on Edrew's collar tightened—then faltered. Rage and helplessness warred inside him, but the truth in those words was a poison he couldn't spit out.
"You coward!" he snarled, shoving Edrew to the ground. "You only care about yourself!"
Grabbing his sword, he turned to leave—
"Weak."
The word slithered from Edrew's lips, accompanied by a smirk. "A husband who couldn't even protect his family, who made others bury them for him... and now can't even say 'thank you.' Pathetic."
Steel flashed.
In an instant, the blade was at Edrew's throat, its edge kissing his skin. The man's voice trembled with barely restrained fury.
"Say that again... and your head rolls."
Woahhh... chill. Okay... okay, I won't say it again."
The man finally sheathed his sword and turned away, his rage dissipating into the cold night air.
Edrew sighed, muttering under his breath, "Aish... this is why warriors are the stupidest people alive. Even in death, they just become burdens to the living."
He took a sip of his coffee, the bitter taste lingering on his tongue. "Once this is done, I should get back on the road."
After packing his things, Edrew returned to his carriage—only to find the man standing frozen, his eyes locked onto the covered wagon.
Edrew knew why.
"What's wrong, bro? Never seen so many corpses before?"
With a swift motion, he pulled back the curtain, revealing rows of lifeless bodies stacked inside. "These are the dead... or should I say, burdens to their families?"
His voice was cold, detached. "If they hadn't died, their families might've been happy. Kids would've had a father's love. Mothers wouldn't have to break their backs working."
A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Some mothers even sell their bodies just to keep their children alive. But the world keeps turning, and those kids? They'll just become another burden in the end."
He tied the carriage curtain shut again, his gaze sharp as he turned to the man. "You should be grateful. Men like you? Even if you're left to rot in the woods, you'll survive."
"But women? They can't carry the weight their husbands leave behind."
A final, merciless truth:
"If you want to be a hero... a warrior... then don't ever get married."