[Deserted Wasteland]

Desert, a barren and arid landscape characterized by sparse vegetation, extreme temperatures, and limited precipitation. Sand, a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles, with grain sizes ranging from 0.0625 millimeters to 2 millimeters in diameter. Heat, a form of energy associated with the motion of particles at the atomic or molecular level within a substance. Dry, generally refers to the absence of moisture or the state of being free from water or humidity.

All of these are element that attacked Ester, as he endured the intense sandstorm that even pierced through the thickness of his clothes. As he continuous to go on further deeper into the storm, the weight of the sand and fatigue bears down on him, as Ester grew tired from trying to catch up to Asmaveth.

He had been separated from his own unit, due to that he has no idea on where he should go or who to rely on. After all ever since he had entered the storm, his senses had become dull to the point that it even hindered his senses whenever he transforms. At this moment, the only sense he could rely on to go further is his eyes. However this sense would soon disappear as the sand is slowly damaging his eyesight due to its crystalline particles. With it he grew weaker by the day.

Not long after, as his body's defenses grew weaker and his sense of time became dull, his body altogether has stopped functioning, as he fell face first unto the sand, and the sand itself slowly burying him under the earth. In that moment, before he lose his consciousness, a shadow of a person slowly dawned over him, as it seemingly features are recognizable to a fault. With the silhouette of a person standing before him, he then closes his eyes as he lets fatigue take over him.

*********

Warmth, a comforting embrace that wraps around you, soothing your skin and seeping into your bones with a gentle touch. It's the golden glow of sunlight on a crisp autumn day, casting its radiant beams to chase away the chill. It's the soft, enveloping heat emanating from a crackling fireplace, inviting you to linger in its embrace. Happiness, a state of being characterized by feelings of joy, contentment, and fulfillment. It's that warm, glowing sensation that radiates from within, uplifting the spirit and brightening even the darkest of days.

Soothing, describes something that has a calming, comforting, or tranquil effect, often reducing stress, anxiety, or discomfort. It's like a gentle balm for the mind, body, or soul, providing relief and promoting a sense of well-being. Peace is a state of tranquility, harmony, and freedom from conflict. It encompasses a sense of inner calm and serenity as well as a broader societal or global absence of violence and tension.

All these elements envelopes Ester as he opened his eyes and saw his own daughter smiling at him and trying to wake him up.

"Daddy! Daddy! wake up"

"I'm up! Dad's up Talia"

"Ehehehe! Mommy Dad's up!"

As Talia shouted this, she then jumped out of the bed as she ran up towards her mother in her tiny footsteps. Upon seeing this, Ester sat up from the bed as he somehow felt nothing was wrong in this kind of scenario. Everything was here, he was wealthy, they are complete, a loving wife, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful life, it is a literally a picture perfect for him. However that perfection itself is out of place.

Perfection is like a flawless diamond, sparkling with brilliance and radiating pure beauty from every facet. It's the exquisite harmony of a symphony, where every note resonates in perfect balance, stirring the soul with its divine melody. In human endeavor, perfection is the culmination of relentless dedication and meticulous craftsmanship. It's the stroke of a master artist's brush, capturing the essence of life with every delicate detail. It's the flawless execution of a dancer's movement, each step imbued with grace and poise.

However in this world, nothing is perfect. But that lingering doubt is kept deep within his subconscious mind.

Getting out of his room, he was greeted by Ziv as she prepares their breakfast while disciplining Talia from making a ruckus at the dining table.

"Your awake! That was fast, i thought you would have slept more"

"Sleep more? what do you mean?"

"Well you've been quite busy catching a target all this time, and since you were able to catch him, all the masses praised you and you were even promoted to a higher rank in this Town's militia... your basically a celebrity all over the town"

"Celebrity? That's quite excessive.... do catching a few troublemaker warrant me of such fame?"

"Troublemakers? Honey! you have caught the necromancer! A necromancer! now that's a great achievement"

When his wife said that, Ester then paused in his tracks for a moment, as something was bothering him from the back of his mind. For some reason, the word necromancer held a greater pull in his mind. Unfortunately this soon disappeared as the anxiousness subsided.

Putting that aside, Ester sat on his seat in the table, as he assisted Talia and even spoon fed her in a really sweet way. Afterwards Talia did the same as both of them showed their cheeky side which made Ziv enjoy the scenery of father and daughter spending time with each other.

In that moment, the sun shone from the outside of their window, as Ziv swiftly looked at it and smiled gently.

"The storm is ending..."

"Storm? why? did it rain? thank goodness it rained, its been days since this land tasted pure water" commented by Ester

"... That's not what i mean Honey and you know that too"

"Huh?"

"You've been asleep all this time dear... Its time to wake up"

"But i am awake" said by Ester with concern

"Wake up!" repeated by Ziv

"I don't like this... stop that" said by Ester

"Wake up!" urged by Ziv

"......"

"Wake up!!"

",,,,,,,"

"Daddy wake up!" shouted by Talia

*********

Just like that, Ester snapped back to reality, as he woke up from his deep slumber and was met by a bone fire in between the rocks lying around this deserted wasteland. Alongside that Ester could see Asmaveth on the other side of the bone fire currently putting in some twigs unto the fire itself.

"Huh?"

At first Ester thought that he was still dreaming, as such situation cant happen in reality at all. After all this situation is akin to a prey taking care of its predator instead of running away like the law of the jungle, it was truly unprecedented and unsuspecting. Due to that, Ester laid in all four as he closed his eyes and hope that everything was still a dream.

However as the heat from the bone fire reached him, his eyes then shot open as he realized that this was not a dream at all and his target is actually taking care of him. With that he then jumped up from his position, as he became cautious and glared back at Asmaveth with hostile eyes. Unfortunately Asmaveth completely ignored his actions, as he continued to feed the fire while uttering some simple words towards Ester.

"Your finally awake, I was wondering when your going to wake up"

"How... Did... Did you just... Why?" stuttered by Ester as he was at a loss for words in front of this situation

"Your confused aren't you? So am I... I don't know what had gotten into me, why did i save you? You clearly were trying to kill me back then, so why did i save you?"

"....."

"....."

As silence echoed out in the area, Asmaveth then stood up from his position, which caused Ester to be on guard against his movements and taking a step back. After all based on the report given, Asmaveth's ability of death is really a dangerous ability. no matter who you are, as long as your designated as a target, the death ability of Asmaveth would kill you regardless of your defenses and preparation to counter against such magic.

With it, Asmaveth could literally snap his fingers just to kill him, that's the reason why Ester is on guard against Asmaveth despite the latter completely harmless in such situation.

"I know i already said this but... I'm not a murderer, i didn't kill all those people intentionally... in fact you should be looking for the people who made me like this... why am i the bad guy?... Im just a guy who lost his way home, even though i wanted to go home, i cant... this thing... this thing that they put in me... if i return, i would harm my family back home, i cant let that happen... that's why I'm lost"

The moment heard that, he simply smirked in rejection as he replied.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I never expected you to believe me, i just want to make my side be heard"

"Oh i hear you alright! all i hear are your excuses... you've got that story all up memorized didn't you? Do you think i would believe that elaborated lie?"

"I'm not lying"

"Not lying? Then show me your proof"

"My testament is proof"

"Your testament means nothing but a story of a delusional, you expect me to believe a dark organization is lurking within the town and sacrificing its people for some disgusting experiment? Why is there no record? why is there no document? why is there no previous cases? do you know why? Its because its not real"

"Then do you know why there is no document, record, or previous cases? Its because every information within the town is manipulated, the very people who sought to protect its citizens are the same people who kills them, how do you expect to find hard evidence in a clever and thorough cover up? Information is easily manipulated if the person in question is in power over it... the world doesn't work that way"

"......"

"The world is an ugly place, its no paradise"

After saying that, Asmaveth then sat on his side of the bone fire as the last Scorpioche following Asmaveth guarded him against Ester. Upon seeing this, Ester then sat back down as he glared back at Asmaveth.

What is truth?. Truth is a concept that refers to the correspondence between a statement, belief, or proposition and objective reality. In simpler terms, something is considered true if it accurately describes or reflects the way things actually are. Truth is often seen as independent of personal opinions, beliefs, or perspectives, and it is something that can be discovered or verified through empirical evidence, logical reasoning, or consensus within a community.

That was the truth he believed in, but perhaps he overlooked something along the way.

"Am i wrong?"

As Ester muttered this words, a sprout of doubt begun to bloom deep within his mind, as Asmaveth's words kept repeating in his head.

*********

The next day Ester is currently following Asmaveth, as the latter himself is riding on top of its Scorpioche, and him following from behind on foot. Even though they spent the night together, Ester hadn't made any move whatsoever as Asmaveth's words made him doubt his own reality.

However despite the doubt, he still believe that he is right and Asmaveth is wrong, because of that he kept following him in hopes to find an opportunity to take him down without needing to fight the huge oversized scorpion.

Unfortunately, his constant following only annoyed Asmaveth, as the person himself complained in all honesty.

"Will you please stop following me?"

"Why should i? Your still a wanted person, so as the captain of the Tekoa town brigade, I'm obliged to follow the target until he apprehended and brought to the town for proper judgment of his actions"

"I see... so you still believe that the people within the town is good? You must have quite a loyalty... but hear this, i have no intention of being captured and brought back to that wretched place, so leave me alone"

"That i cant do... your just wasting your breath, its useless"

"And your wasting your energy!!! its useless" retorted back by Asmaveth

Stubbornness, a trait or behavior characterized by a refusal to change one's mind, attitude, or course of action despite persuasion, reasoning, or evidence to the contrary. A stubborn person may persist in holding onto their beliefs, opinions, or decisions even in the face of opposition or evidence suggesting they should reconsider. Such trait can be seen between the two as neither of them plan to back down at all.

In that moment while following the target, Ester coughed out loud, as he covered his hand with his mouth, and realized that he was coughing out blood. Alongside doubt, death was slowly approaching him, the longer he stays near the target, while moving towards the target's next destination at hand, the rocky canyon.

***ReadAtWebnovel***