Infinite Realm: Monsters & Legends

Chapter 603: Zach

Reasons

The crackle of the young campfire was small, casting a comforting light into the dimness of the looming forest around them. Zach methodically arranged the dry wood he’d gathered, it was something to occupy him and distract from the thoughts he would really rather not give more attention—not yet at least.

A few feet away, huddled near the base of a thick tree, sat a demasi boy. He was little more than a collection of sharp angles and wide, terrified eyes that tracked Zach’s every move. He hadn’t spoken a word since Naha had deposited him there, he used to be bound loosely with shadows but Naha had removed the bindings a while ago. It wasn’t like he had any chance of escaping them.

Zach could feel the boy’s fear, a raw, pungent emotion that radiated outwards, almost a taste on the air, so intense that the Essence of Fear was being born into existence.

Naha moved with her usual silent grace on the other side of the growing fire, laying out their bedrolls. She didn’t look at the boy, but Zach knew her awareness of him was absolute, as it was of everything that the shadow touched. They worked in unison, with no need for words beyond a gesture here or there, completing their tasks with ease.

All of this was unnecessary, of course. Zach had items that could create a campsite in a handful of seconds at a press of a button. He was delaying matters.

The boy flinched at a spark that jumped as Zach threw a piece of wood on the pile, the sudden flare of light painting his gaunt face in shadows. His knuckles were white where he clutched his knees to his chest. He looked like a cornered animal, and Zach felt a familiar pang of guilt rise up in him. He didn’t want this, any of it. Terrifying a child wasn’t what he wanted to do, it wasn’t his intent. But he had to know. He had wanted to help another, to offer a small nudge towards a better path. Instead, that help had become a death sentence.

He glanced at the demasi again. The kid couldn’t be much older than the karura he’d killed. Malnourished, dressed in rags, and now a murderer, all for a handful of Essence he probably didn’t even understand the true value of. It was nothing, less than scraps.

Naha settled down on her bedroll, leaning back against her pack. She watched Zach, her dark eyes unreadable in the flickering firelight, though the True Link between them carried a gentle current of her presence, and a silent question.

Zach just dropped the water and food next to him, then walked away, not sparing him even a single look.

Zach retreated to the fire and sat next to Naha. The silence stretched, broken only by the snap and hiss of the flames and the distant cries of a bird of some kind.

Finally, Naha spoke, her voice a low murmur that only he could hear. “What do you intend to do with him?”

He looked into the flames, the dancing light reflecting in his eyes. “I need to understand, Naha. I need to ask him why.”

She tilted her head, a strand of dark hair falling across her cheek. “And what do you think you’ll learn? That he was desperate? That he saw an opportunity? These are truths we already know. People kill for less in this world every day.” Her words weren’t unkind, merely factual, a reflection of the harsh reality they navigated.

“Perhaps,” Zach conceded. “But the karura… I gave him that Essence. My actions led to this. I need to know if there was anything else, any other reason. Did they know each other? Was it a grudge? Or was it purely… transactional?” He felt the weight of responsibility press down on him. If his gift, his attempt at kindness, had directly caused this boy’s death, then he had to confront the consequences, understand the chain of events. LEARN WHAT HAS—he shook of the voice inside of his head. He wasn’t unbalanced anymore, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any influences on his being. Everyone dealt with those things, his just sometimes got loud.

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“Oh Zach, it wasn’t your fault. That boy was dead long before we arrived.”

Zach blinked. “What?”

“What do you think would’ve happened if we didn’t interfere? His team might not have killed him then, but they would’ve either pushed him out of the team, left him with nothing so that he would starve on the street, or ensured he died on a mission.”

Zach opened his mouth, then closed it. “I would still like to know.”

Naha studied him for a long moment, then glanced at the kid who was wolfing down the food Zach left him. “He’s terrified. He’ll likely tell you whatever he thinks you want to hear, or whatever he thinks will save his skin.”

Zach didn’t answer, he resolved himself to at least try.

Naha sighed. “As you wish.” She didn’t press further, trusting his judgment, or perhaps simply his need to follow this through.

Zach waited until the boy had finished eating, then he rose and walked back towards him, sinking into a crouch a safe distance away. The boy tensed again, his eyes wide and wary.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Zach said, keeping his voice calm and even. “I just want to talk. Can you tell me your name?”

The boy stared, his throat barely working. He swallowed hard. “R…Roric,” he finally rasped, his voice hoarse.

“Roric,” Zach repeated gently. “I want to ask you about the karura boy. The one in the alley.”

Roric flinched violently at the mention of the karura, his gaze dropping to the ground. He began to tremble. “I… I didn't…”

“Don’t lie, Roric, there is no need for it.”

The boy’s trembling intensified. He squeezed his eyes shut. “He… he fought me.”

“Why were you fighting him?” Zach pressed, keeping his tone soft. “Did you know him before?”

Roric shook his head mutely, still not looking up.

“Then why, Roric? Why did you approach him? Why did you take his ring?” Zach paused.

“I needed it!” He blurted out, the words tumbling over each other. “I needed Essence! I haven’t Evolved my Class… I can’t get good work… I’m always hungry.” His voice cracked. “I saw him at the Old Marga’s shop, looking through her junk. I saw that he had Essence, was going to waste it on useless gear. I…”

Zach listened, his expression unchanging, though inside, Naha’s earlier words echoed. Desperation. Opportunity. “So you followed him?”

Roric nodded, shame and fear mixing on his face. “I… I just wanted to take the ring. I thought… I thought he’d just give it up. He was small.”

“But he didn't,” Zach prompted.

“No,” Roric whispered. “He… he yelled. He tried to fight. He had a knife.” His eyes darted up to Zach’s, wide and pleading. “I didn’t mean to… to kill him! We struggled, and he fell… and then… then the knife… it just happened!” Tears began to stream down his dirt-streaked face. “I panicked. I just grabbed the ring and ran. I didn’t mean for him to die! I swear!”

Zach watched the boy break down, a knot tightening in his own chest. Was it the truth? Or a version of it designed to make him sympathetic? It didn’t take long for him to see it. The kid was young, inexperienced compared to him. His Essence, his Soul told the truth in a way that was unmistakable to someone like Zach. The raw fear, the hunger, the desperation—that felt undeniably real. This boy, Roric, was a product of the same brutal system that Zach and Naha were trying, in their own small ways, to navigate and perhaps, one day, change. A system where a gift of hope could so easily become a catalyst for tragedy.

He felt Naha’s gaze on him from across the fire. What now? What was justice in a world so steeped in injustice? Killing Roric would be easy. It might even feel like a form of closure for the karura. What about a second chance? Did he deserve it. Zach believed everyone did. But what would it achieve? What lesson would be learned, and by whom?

Zach paused, his mind making a different connection. “How many others have you killed like that, Roric?” He asked the child.

Roric froze, his eyes going wide.

“More than this one then,” Zach nodded to himself.

What did a second chance mean now? Was he only offering second chances to people who he caught doing something wrong? Only after he became aware of their actions?

What about what happened before he was there to see? When did it stop being a single mistake and become more?

Perhaps Ryun had some sense, in some situations at least. He still went to far, he assigned guilt to people who had no choice, but…

Zach stood and glanced down at the terrified kid, then he turned and walked back to Naha.

“So, what did you decide?”

“I’ll take him to the academy. Then,” he paused, still unsure of what he’d decided. “Then, I’ll see about changing some minds.”