Fragments of a Fallen Star

Lucian bent over Tuck, wiping a cool rag against the man's forehead.

Ever since the old man had stood up to the official, Lucian had taken off from mining to care for him and the newborn Kael. 

Though Kael's injuries had been worse, he'd healed much faster. 

Tuck's wounds simply didn't want to close. He'd reset the broken nose and stitched the deep injuries on his face and bandaged them, but they kept bleeding through. 

The man had a fever now and sweat dripped from the sides of his face. He woke every now and then, and Lucian would force him to drink water, but it didn't seem to be helping.

Lucian sighed. "Tuck, do you know the story of the boy who fought monsters?"

The old man didn't respond but stirred in his sleep. 

"He grew up in a war-torn country. The shadows of death all around him. His parents were taken from him at a young age. His sister killed in front of his very eyes.

"You see, his world was cruel. But he adapted. The boy was soon strong enough to fight off invaders who wanted to steal, rape, and kill the people of his village. He took on hundreds of men, double the size of him, without batting an eye.

"He was strong. Too strong. And he wanted more. Not just for the raiders who killed his family to suffer, but for all evil in the world to perish. So, one day, he descended into the hellish depths of his world to fight the creatures that lurked there.

"Dragons and cyclops and giants alike fell to his immense strength. But it was still not enough for the boy. There was one more evil in the world, a force that resided in the heavens.

"While God wasn't pure evil, he had still allowed this destruction and pain in the first place. If God had intervened, the boy's family never would've died. So, he challenged him.

"The boy and God fought for days on end, wreaking havoc over the world, turning it into a desolate world much like our own. Finally, God stopped fighting him. 'Look at what you've done. Look where your hunger for power has taken you,' he said.

"The boy looked around, and realized they were standing in the remains of his village. Thousands died because of him. In his desire to destroy all evil, he had all destroyed all of humanity. 

"God left the boy there in those ruins, cursing him to live out the rest of his life in isolation. The boy's thirst for power had been quenched. There was nothing left but himself. After only a few days, the boy was driven mad from loneliness. He tore out his own heart with his bare hands. And at the moment, when he finally died, all evil had been destroyed."

Lucian sat back, drinking from a cup of water. "We can't destroy all the evil in this world without destroying ourselves. But how can we learn to coexist with such a deadly force?"

It was unfair, finding out the true nature of the world. With any amount of good, there is an equal but more overwhelming evil. There was a never-ending war for power between the two forces.

Tuck gasped and his eyes shot open. "Tr-trouble," he croaked, moving to a sitting position.

"What?" Lucian asked. 

"The ground is rumbling. There's…there's trouble down in the mines." Without warning, Tuck shot to his feet and took off down one of the tunnels.

Lucian scrambled to his feet and followed the old man down to the cavern.

*******

Kael stepped back as the cavern gave off a horrifying shudder.

"What's going on down there?" Elysia called out from above.

"We need you down here," Ryker said, waving his arms. "We found something…something…what even is this thing?" He asked, turning back toward the glassy structure. 

Elysia took the platform down and pushed through the gathering crowd of workers, who seemed intrigued by what they had found.

"It's a crystalized dragon," someone whispered.

"Dragons aren't real, idiot," another person shot back. 

"What the hell," Elysia cursed, breathless. "The officials never warned us about anything like this."

"The glass is breaking," Kael said, running a hand against the spreading cracks. "If that thing is still alive, it'll be out soon enough."

"We need to evacuate this cavern before that happens," Ryker said urgently.

"No!" Elysia shouted. "There's too much obsidian down here for us to abandon."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Kael asked. "Fight it?"

"None of us are fighters down here," Ryker said. "All of us together couldn't take down such a beast."

Part of the glass shattered, pieces clattering onto the stone floor. 

"Elysia, we need to evacuate!" Ryker shouted, stepping back. "This is serious!"

Elysia smiled, her purple eyes gleaming. "The newborn is right. We fight."

She turned around to the workers. "Listen up! Anyone who wants to stay and fight can do so! Soulless, I expect you to stay. You're replaceable after all. Ryker here will lead the rest of you cowards out of the cavern to safety! Understood?"

A ripple of murmurs from the Talkers traveled throughout the crowd. The Soulless stood at attention, their mining tools ready in their hands.

"Kael, come on," Ryker pleaded. "You're injured. This thing will kill you."

"Not if I kill it first."

Something about his body felt different already. The gem was changing him. The pain from his previous injuries were gone. The tiredness that had been present ever since crossing the wasteland had disappeared. 

He felt like an entirely new person, a sort of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Hefting the pickaxe in his hand, Kael swung at the glass tomb, shattering it to pieces. "Come on out!"

Elysia followed him, swinging at the remaining glass with her pickaxe. 

The body of the beast smashed to the ground in front of them, limp like a ragdoll. 

Kael stepped forward, prodding the thing's face with the toe of his boot. "Is it…dead?"

A guttural growl sounded from deep within the beast, and its eyes shot open. Bright red orbs that fixated directly on Kael. 

In a flash, it leapt forward and smacked Kael with a large, clawed hand. Kael went flying, slamming into the hard stone floor nearly thirty feet away.

It's strong, Kael realized. Much stronger than he ever could've expected. But one hit like that wouldn't be enough to stop him. 

This was just another challenge. And challenges were meant to be overcome.