by Yajat Sharma
The Scavenger sat beside Lynx, “I have never seen such a great selfless warrior. Before he sacrificed himself, he took me aside.” The Scavenger couldn’t stop crying. “He told me that he was the Sacrifice and the time had come for him to act. He never told us, or else we would have never allowed him to die.
“He knew from the beginning that he had to die,” the Scavenger said. “But still he fought with us. He didn’t complain for a second. Imagine. Knowing you would die very soon, but still going on. That’s what I consider an ultimate sacrifice.”
“It would not have been possible without you,” the Scavenger said, as a final tribute to Lynx. “You came with us on the entire journey. Thank you, Lynx. Thank you for everything.”
The children cried with the Scavenger. They were too young to be witnessing deaths. The loss of Lynx and their dear friend Matt had shaken them to the core.
The Kings of Necron payed their last respects to Lynx as everyone observed silence.
A Day Later...
The children, Scavenger, Gods and the Kings of Necron looked at the statues right in the middle of the Sands of Destiny.
The Gods had made them using their magic, to pay tribute to all those who had died in the war.
There were statues of Insanity, Aronicle and Lynx, who were loyal and brave, and had welcomed death with open arms.
There was the statue of Venoz, the God who got killed while fighting the Skull Warrior.
There were the statues of all kinds of species who had fought the war – Trolls, Ogres, flying birds, sea creatures, Sorcerers, and more. There was one statue of each species.
And finally, there was a giant rock beside the statues. Etched on it were the names of all the warriors who had died.
The Gods offered flower petals to the statues and prepared to leave to their worlds.
“I understand that you have to go,” the Scavenger said to the Gods, looking at the unconscious Oni, resting in the hands of Paragon.
“Yes, we have to,” Paragon said. “Only our people can cure Oni. It is time we go back. Oni can be saved if we start his treatment in time.”
“How I wish you could have stayed further with us, but I understand that Oni has to be saved. We will always depend on you in difficult times,” the Scavenger said.
Paragon replied, “We will always be available for you. Whenever you need us, just think of us and we will be there by your side.”
The Scavenger nodded. “Thanks for everything.”
Paragon nodded. “While we treat Oni, please do everything to save Matt.”
“Please tell us, could it have been different?” James asked. “Why didn’t Matt just throw the Skull Warrior into the dimension, without going along himself?”
“There was no other choice,” Paragon replied. “The Slayer was buried in the Skull Warrior’s chest. If Matt had just let go of the Skull Warrior with the Slayer, the Skull Warrior would have easily gotten out of the dimension with the help of the Slayer. Matt didn’t take any chance and went with the Skull Warrior, sacrificing himself on all counts.”
“But you said he is alive.” James was concerned.
“Yes, but Matt didn’t know and embraced death for all of us. As long as such selfless people are in this world, the world will defeat all evils.” Paragon looked at them and smiled. “We must leave now. The treatment of Oni is a priority. Please find out how to get Matt back. I understand it won’t be easy. Please do count on us.”
With these words, Paragon nodded respectfully to the group.
The Scavenger and the children bowed to the Gods as they faded away.
The Scavenger and the children offered flowers at the statues and bid farewell to the waiting army, which ready to move back to their respective places.
The Scavenger said, “Before you all take departure, let me thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, our victory would have been impossible. Many among us gave up their lives to save the world. They are great examples of courage, selflessness and honour. We will always remember them as our saviours.”
The Scavenger knowingly didn’t take the name of the herbologists, because of their request. When the war was over, the herbologists had taken leave of the Scavenger and returned to their homes. They had requested the Scavenger to not reveal the secret behind the serum, for the fear of misuse.
The army bowed their heads respectfully to the statues. As they dispersed one by one, they went forward and gave their offerings to the statues.
When the army had gone, the Scavenger sighed. “We may have won this battle, but the war is not yet over.”
“What can we do now?” Archer said. “Matt’s gone. What do we do?”
Instinctively, everyone looked at James.
James was the most intelligent. James was the one who knew the answers to everything.
That’s what they thought. But in reality, there were a lot of things James didn’t know.
James closed his eyes. The faces of everyone they had lost in the battle passed through his mind. He hadn’t cried after Matt had gone. There were no more tears left inside him. But that didn’t mean James didn’t care. There was a big hole in his heart, which he wanted to repair.
He opened his eyes and extended his palm forward. Daniel and Archer placed their hands one by one on it. They knew what they had to do.
For Aronicle.
For Insanity.
For Venoz.
For Lynx.
For the hundreds of people who had given up their lives to save the Dark World and in the hope of a better future for their families.
For the Universe.
And… for Matt.
They spoke in a determined voice, “We’ll honour our promise.”
