Chapter Text
Dusk was approaching. On that longship he no longer paddled. Ripples gently spread in countless circles beneath them, resembling a vast net.
Something was in the water.
So he took off his chain-mail armour, left it on the ship with his most beloved, most generous lord, and kindly asked that his lord stay on the ship. His lord nodded and smiled, and untied his diamond sword from his waist to hand it to his thane. He then took a glass bottle of green liquid from the chest in the ship, and watched the thane drink it. The thane swore his loyalty again before diving into the water, and soon, sea monsters surrounded him.
The sea, giving birth to such ill will, let loose a strong current and dragged him deep under. And the battle with the sea monsters lasted for hours, until at last, his left arm became completely numb from the monsters’ lightning sparks, and his right arm began to bleed after fighting the drowned, how, after such massacre, a massive monster ultimately appeared from the ruins of a monument. And it was the final fight that day. And it was over soon.
He swam up again to the longship. His gold-friend was no more there, and the water nearby was crimson red. Perhaps it was but the reflections of afterglow. Goods in the chests scattered on the deck, and the seat of his lord was stained in blood. Despair filled his heart. He yelled his lord’s name many a time, and dived down many a time to try to find his lord. Nothing was there.
Hopelessly, in that coarse voice, the thane cried again-
“Scar! Scar, my lord - please - say something!”
And Bdubs woke up.
The nightmare haunted Bdubs. Oftentimes he would wake up before dawn, in that sacred and melancholy uht, when thick mist still gently clings and the candle of the heavens was not giving out enough warmth. The subject of his contemplation was but mourning, for, under the whale-road, coldly lay his gold-friend.
He heard the footsteps of Stew. It took some time for him to recall that he was now in Albion, World’s End, despite that he had been exiled for months.
“May I help you with anything, Bdoubleo? You look miserable.”
“No thank you... let me be alone for a while, will you?”
The large golem nodded and grabbed Stew’s body from the ground. “As you wish. But do not forget your promise, Bdoubleo.”
The morning wind was cold. Bdubs’s head began to hurt again upon those gentle yet menacing words. For sure, the golem meant no harm, and had sworn to keep him safe. However, they had made a new agreement last night, and now he had begun to question his decisions as the morning fog started to ebb out.
“I know very well where Etho his treasures lie, and I will lead the way for you if you promise to do but one thing,” by that campfire said the golem. “The corpse of my lord was infected by some very inglorious and wicked magic, and was possessed by some evil spirit, that I myself, although strong in strength and shape, could not overcome. It shall not be damaged by an artificial golem, but only a living being. If you will kindly grant my noble lord the peace he deserves, I shall make you lord of Albion, and swear an new oath to be your thane, serving you even beyond this isle.”
Born and trained a warrior, it was a deal Bdubs could not reject.
He was used to do the serving. Being a lord was not exactly what he desired. However, he could not refuse when the last servant of an once prominent lord beseeched him to do but one final task.
“Gosh, do I even have a choice?”
He wondered how he could defeat that said monster, puppeteer of Etho’s corpse, such a formidable being that even the large golem could not deal with. And he decided to stop thinking about it after a while. At least the golem will try to keep him safe, and that was more than enough. He had never been afraid of any forthcoming challenges, from defensive to offensive, from games and swordplay to battles against enemies and monsters. And the number of monsters he had slain was perhaps more than beasts in the pastures of Hwizac.
“Come inside,” Bdubs raised his voice, “I’m ready.”
The campfire was on the edge of going out. There was no need to ignite it again, for it fulfilled its duty as a temporary shelter, and they would not revisit the cave. Bdubs poked at the potatoes and pulled them away from the embers with a stick.
The sound of the large golem’s footsteps echoed in the cave. It finally made its presence, and coming close to Bdubs, sat down by him. Bdubs stuck his head out to look behind the golem.
“Where’s Stew?”
“I collected some wild flowers for him to play with.”
“You better didn’t break anything - I just fixed it!”
“Bdoubleo, he is my sibling; and I am not programmed to do such things.”
Defeated, Bdubs began to peel the skins of a baked potato. The large golem, that atrocious Etho’s last servant, utilized the time and started to demonstrate the miserable situation of his master.
“When my lord knew that his heart would soon stop beating, and that his hair, nails and skin would fall off and decay until his earthly form is nothing but a skeleton, he rode his horse to a forest, once his favourite place to rest and ponder, and seated himself under a great oak tree. He then fell asleep under that tree, and never opened his eyes again. However, a terrible fog soon shrouded that very tree and expanded day and night, until that grasses and flowers all withered and died, and all beasts ran away from that ashen place, how, this forest has become nothing but a colourless coffin that bleaches all colour, all joy - from every living being - into deadly silence. And because no realm on this earth will you find a graveyard so dreadful, breeding such abominable monster that keeps my lord his husk restless, this ill-fated place is the Pale Garden, a land God gave to Cain!”
“After this monster had invaded the body of my lord, it transformed into a very wretched, tall creature, with skin that looks like tree bark but hard as stone, a very unpleasant sound whenever it roams, and most detestably, three evil eyes with the colour of fine amber - the only colour in yards of the Garden! I have wrestled with it for days before my eventual oxidization, but alas, we could not deal harm to each other. But this curse shall only be broken by a living being, whose fearless breaths echoes with the dim heartbeats of earth, and has the most clear and valiant mind of all warriors. Bdoubleo, end this, and you shall enjoy all the glory and legacy.”
“I do,” the human’s mouth was muffled with the baked potato, “I will.”
“Look, in your words I see no deceit...” Bdubs sighed. After a while, he admitted, ultimately, “You have provided me with such true service - and I shall only repay you by fulfilling your wish and proving my worth in fight - no matter how much harm your lord had inflicted.”
They packed up shortly after the conversation. After Bdubs scraped the rest from the golem rust carefully once again, the golem appeared very much like a normal, tall human. Stew was, indeed, staring at a handful of different species of wild flowers and waiting outside the cave. A bee was suspending above the fresh bouquet.
“Bdoubleo, the colours on you will begin to fade once we enter the realm of Pale Garden. This is why we will equip you with more vibrant colours to extend the amount of time you can remain within those woods.”
Stew walked forward as it recognized its master, offering the bouquet in its hands. As Bdubs stooped down to take it over, the large golem added, “I will guide you to the Garden, but it would be best that we, from time to time, pause and collect some more along our way.”
After two days of walking, the scenery began to change. As they approached the heartland of Albion, a sickish grey clung unto the surface of land and water. On the third day Bdubs had to hold a torch in hand even during day-tide. On the fourth day the greyness became thick in the air and the earth was barren as if they were walking in a desert. In this manner they marched when the dawn came and rested at night, until the sixth day, when the large golem led Bdubs and Stew to the entrance of a very sinister oak forest, with every tree growing but lifeless pale leaves, and the bark gloom and rough, and tall upon earth they grew like towers, casting shadows over every creature that, even at noon it shall be dark as evening.
The golem warned for the final time. “Bdoubleo, although we heart-less golems are unaffected, you will begin to fade. But do not panic; I shall assist you in hindering this wretched fiend.”
Bdubs nodded and held his sword tight. He now wore a flower crown above his red bandanna and, above chain-mail, some other wild flowers were stuffed on his waist and into his belt. He could feel a very malicious gaze, an evil spirit, attracted by the vitality of his flesh and lingering on him with ill intent, but could not see with his eyes where the gaze came from.
Amber, he reminded himself, that was the colour of the creature’s eyes, and should be the only colour in the Pale Garden. He shall march toward it and swing hard as soon as he could spot such things. He stepped forward and the large golem followed suit closely after him. When he ultimately entered the realm of the Garden, a painful coldness intruded his body right into his bones, and he knew that the blight had begun.
His heart felt heavy with every step he took. It was almost as if some invisible force was trying to break into his chest and force the heaving to stop. The golem held the torch for him, and they moved along very slowly while paying attention to every sound and sight. It was when half of the flowers on his waist had withered and broken down into particles that, after going deep into the Pale Garden, the creature deep among the pale oak trees was awaken from its sleep.
It had awakened with a sharp screech, a shriek that no living being on earth could bear, that Bdubs clearly felt how his heart twitched under this otherworldly summoning. Before he could blink again and adjust to this new intruding pain, that creature had moved, with lightning speed, right in front of him. And the golem alerted: “Bdoubleo, do not look away! It shall be greatly weakened by your gaze.”
He forced his eyes to behold that abominable creature. Those three vertical amber eyes with such vibrant colour but outright malice, was looking right into him, and in a few seconds more flowers had begun to break down. This slim, wretched creature had not walking feet, but pale, rough tree roots that supported it with every last drip of vigour that the earth could offer. Bdubs’s heart sped up immediately like hooves of a cavalry horse before his mind had, after a few seconds, finally processed the information that this very being was the creature who intruded Etho’s body, drained the land, and now also stealing from him his energy of life. But as soon as this realization came he was more than ready to fight. He roared and charged at the creature, and struck its chest with his enchanted sword, putting all his strength into the single blow. However, he left no marks on that rough, cold skin of that creature.
He gasped, with his heart in a sudden turmoil. “Do not look away, Bdoubleo!” The golem’s clear voice pierced through the chaos in his head. The golem then instructed, “hit again, but look closely!”
Still, the warning came too late. Bdubs unconsciously shut his eyes for a moment longer than intended when he was taking a deep breath, and the creature, unfrozen, attacked with a loud creak. Very swiftly it raised its hand and, in a manner similar to how the large golem had cleared out the monsters seven nights ago, smashed it down right above Bdubs’s shoulder. This blow did not land on Bdubs, however, as the human-shaped golem shielded him behind the metal body, and took the hit for him.
The huge noise almost deafened Bdubs. It reverberated in his head like an angered bull. It also dragged him back to the battlefield, where most of the flowers on his waist had now faded. And he knew that he had to kill this creature regardless, if he still wanted to walk out of the Pale Garden alive. He focused again, locked his eyes with that creature, and dealt another great blow. He struck many a time that sweat drenched his back and his purlicue became numb. Then, after another great thrust to his sword, he discovered something very subtle in the air.
An amber line of particles was faintly floating. The same colour as the creature’s eyes.
“Follow it, Bdoubleo! This is where the culmination of the fiend truly lies.”
Bdubs began to move, slowly, while still keeping the shape of the creature in his sight, now that he fully understood that the creature could not move when it is stared at by him. His blood felt like boiling as the hourglass continued running down. The two times where branches of the oaks blocked his vision, the creature chased after his footsteps. In the end, the amber particles led him to an extraordinarily big oak tree. For this he needed no instructions - the large golem walked in front of him to shield him again as he took out his axe, ready to cut down the tree.
And this time, he could see very clearly the damage he dealt, cutting into the grey treebark and deep into the wood. The branches began to shake as he struck more, then, it was as if the earth was shrieking with it, the creature creaked again, with all its volume. And Bdubs saw his red bandanna falling unto the land. The flower crown was completely decomposed by that one scream. He continued, however, with even greater force. And the upper part of the tree fell down with a thunderous rattle.
There was an amber heart inside that pale oak tree, still pulsing and violently draining out colours, now, directly from Bdubs. “Crash it, Bdoubleo!” The large golem gave out his final order.
Bdubs laughed very heartily. At the creature he yelled out of his lungs, staring fearlessly right into those three unsettling eyes as his black hair had speedily begun to turn white, “You want a piece of me, you scum?” And he hovered his axe over the heart, the next second, it was smashed into a thousand pieces. A strong, heavenly light beamed through the Pale Garden from that broken vessel. Witnessing the creature shriek one last time and, in a few moments, dissolve into the air, Bdubs fell back to the ground and fainted.
The golem opened his eyes.
He blinked and stared at the sun. He then raised his right hand. He put it down. He raised the other hand and stretched his fingers.
He pushed himself up from the ground. A huge tree had been cut in half. Close to that trunk lay an E4 Unit CkIII copper golem, a design superseded in 1066, and an unfamiliar human. How queer. Face and body of a sturdy young warrior - and silver hair of an aged man.
He stared at that man for a long while.
“...Bdoubleo... Bdubs... I see.”
The human-like golem chuckled and then laughed, slowly recalling memories, known and unknown. “How ironic, that my soul, enduring such torment and agony for more than half a century inside this ashen tree, is eventually saved by a man who hates me so passionately!”
“Fate, I am but a feeble slave under your hands... you truly are a wicked goddess, who inflicts more dread than joy...”
He walked circles around the tree, first in small steps, then in bigger steps, and marveled at the metal sound that he himself created. “The Amber Cogheart is missing, though... where could the final memory core be?”
The golem came closer to the human, picked up the red bandanna from the earth, and seated himself by him. The Lord of Albion observed the appearance of this asleep warrior very closely, how, air flowed steadily in and out his nostrils, and his chest heaved in a calm pace. Gently the golem reached out those metal fingers to touch the soft, warm surface of Bdubs’s forehead. The awakened golem whispered slowly.
“I shall protect him. If this is what you want... your new favourite toy...”
“...how fragile.”