They had lost everything. Everything. No more house. No more father or mother. What was left for these young children?
『 ???, Nothran? — Everi, ?? h ?? 』
Vars was spat out by the teleportation into a snowy forest landscape. In front of him lay his little brothers, Uyan and Itoî, both fast asleep.
He immediately checked that they were still wearing their necklaces. He sighed for a moment, then thought:
We lost Mom. Dad is probably dead too, after what happened in the capital, and since we haven't heard from him. I don't know where Kaelle or Grandpa are.
"What can I do...?" Vars wondered, looking down.
He was starting to get cold.
Brr... He rubbed his arms to warm up.
It's chilly here. I don't really know where we landed. The last time I saw Grandpa was three years ago, in the middle of summer. Since one of the teleportation portal stones was destroyed, we probably aren't hundreds of kilometers from his place either.
"Alright."
He picked up Itoî and Uyan in his arms as best he could and moved forward slowly.
Realizing it would be difficult, he quickly summoned three stone walls to build a shelter. He shook Itoî and Uyan to wake them.
"Hey, wake up, guys. Wake up."
Itoî got up first. He rubbed his eyes, then sat up straight.
"Where are we? Why is it so cold? Where's the house? And Mom?" he asked Vars.
"Itoî, Mom is dead," Vars said coldly, looking saddened.
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed.
"You don't remember anything?" Vars asked.
"I... My memory is blurry... I only know that Mom was fighting some kind of monster and then..."
Come to me...
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Itoî turned his head and clamped his hand over his mouth. He felt like throwing up. He remembered the scene where his mother had lost her life, but also the horrible demon.
Vars placed a hand on Itoî's shoulder. His brother turned around, and Vars pulled him into his arms.
"I'm sorry, little bro. I'm so sorry..."
Then he cried.
"I-It wasn't a dream?..." Itoî asked, tears in his eyes.
"N-No... I wish all of this was just a nightmare, but it isn't."
Itoî cried his eyes out.
"Mom... Mom! Mamaan!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
Vars held him tight, then let go and told him:
"I know I'm going to sound harsh and cruel, Itoî, but as you can see, we're not home. I built three stone walls and added some vegetation so we wouldn't freeze to death. But we're in a forest," Vars said seriously.
"We really need to get out of here. I think Kaelle is probably with Grandpa. She managed to jump into the portal before the stone was destroyed," he continued.
"S-So we need to get out of the forest to find them, I guess?" Itoî asked his older brother.
"Yes, you guessed right," Vars replied.
"But first..."
Vars quickly cast two or three incantations and created a kind of light armor to protect them a bit from the cold. He made three sets.
"Here, put this on. I'll wake Uyan up."
"O-Okay," Itoî replied before putting on the armor.
It was a kind of armor made from various plants. A sparkling aura warmed it slightly. They were still cold, but it was no longer dangerous.
Vars gently woke Uyan so as not to startle him.
"You okay, little bro?" he asked.
Uyan opened his eyes, heard what Vars was saying, but didn't answer.
"Why didn't you do anything?" Uyan asked in a sharp tone.
"I..." Vars didn't know what to say.
Uyan grabbed Vars by the collar, made him stumble, then fall.
"Why didn't you do anything, damn it?! You're the strongest of us three, aren't you?!"
Uyan cried his eyes out while still clinging to his brother's collar.
"Why, Vars... Why?..."
Vars lowered his eyes, then raised his hand to stroke his little brother's head.
"I'm sorry, Uyan, but I would've only gotten in Mom's way. You already know that, don't you?" Vars said, pained.
Uyan let go of his brother's collar and cried, resting his head against his chest.
"I'm really sorry, little bro. Truly sorry... But I'm... really glad you're okay..." Vars said with difficulty, as tears were also rolling down his cheeks.
Itoî gave a faint smile watching them, then helped them back up.
"It keeps you a bit warmer. Thanks, big bro," Itoî said.
"You're welcome. I made it from Pokonah leaves, Amébis ferns, and Bin stems, which I quickly extracted the fibers from to make clothes and solid armor," he explained.
"No need to give us a whole speech," Uyan said grumpily before smiling.
Vars turned to Uyan with a smile:
"Need help putting your armor on, big baby?"
"D-Don't start! I'm not that much of a kid!" Uyan retorted, annoyed.
The two boys laughed, while Itoî smiled.
"We couldn't do anything for Mom, huh..." he said, looking down.
Uyan lowered his eyes too. He seemed the most crushed. He was still trembling as he thought back to the dreadful scene that had unfolded just a few meters away from him.
"You're right, Itoî. We couldn't do anything. But I promise you, this isn't the time to dwell on it. There's still something we can do for Mom," Vars replied.
Itoî and Uyan raised their heads and looked at their brother with curiosity.
"What?"
Vars clenched his fist and raised it in front of him:
"Survive, little brothers. Survive, no matter what."