Godless Blood: Last Apostle

Silver and Mira walked side by side, small hand holding bigger hand, the air thick with the heat of the desert sun as the shadows stretched long behind them. Mira's exhaustion was evident in every step.

Her movements sluggish, her back a little too hunched… But she still offered him a smile, the same warm smile she always wore for him. Even with the scar on her cheek and the bruises barely hidden under her cloak, there was something about her presence that made the world feel… a little safer.

Silver was torn between a whirlwind of emotions. He ignored the searing heat coming from the sidewalk, unsure as to how to feel. He knew he was happy. Overjoyed, even. Mira had finally returned, after months of working outside the village. But till, there was a tugging sensation at the back of his mind, that reminded him…

Something was wrong. He didn't even notice that Shu was missing.

The atmosphere in the village was different. The usual plentiful, lively sounds were replaced with a mere echo of it, with the conversations that seem to dim down at the slightest of noises, and concerned parents telling their children to head back inside.

He glanced at Mira for answers, but she wasn't paying attention anymore. She seemed to be looking directly in front of them, but not exactly, as if pondering deeply at something.

But just then, she noticed Silver's curious and worried gaze, as she turned her head again, smiling warmly, as if trying to reassure him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached Silver's hut.

As soon as they stepped inside, Silver stopped walking, looking back at his sister, confused and slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey… Are you alright? What's going on?"

Mira's smile flickered, before suddenly disappearing as she walked in, gently taking a seat on Silver's mattress, as she used to. It creased under her weight, as she flicked a strand of hair from her face.

"...It's the monsters," she began softly, her voice almost too quiet for Silver to hear over the hum of the village, "they're changing." She paused, glancing around, as if the very air carried a weight she couldn't ignore. "I've been tracking them for days after returning from my mission. They're… more aggressive. More intelligent than they were before. Something's wrong with the land itself. Nature feels… out of balance."

Silver frowned, trying to process her words. "What do you mean, out of balance? Isn't it just the monsters getting bolder?" He raised his fists into the air. "We just have to beat them back to submission!"

"No," Mira chuckled, patting his head as he closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. "Where did you even learn that..? But no, it's not that." She hesitated, before sighing, rubbing her temple, "it's more than that. The very earth around us feels… twisted. Like something is pushing against it." She turned to him, her gaze softer now. "But don't worry about it. For now, just focus on getting some rest. I need to sleep after my mission, anyway."

Silver nodded, still unsure, but reluctant to push her further. "Alright… get some rest. You've been gone long enough."

With one last weary smile, Mira slowly got up from the mattress as she made her way to the fabric that covered the hut's entrance. She paused, before looking back at Silver.

"...Hey, don't worry. Everything will be fine. Remember… I love you."

Silver's uneasy frown slowly curved back into a smile as he heard the words, lighting up his heart, even for a split second.

"...I love you too."

Mira smiled warmly, but now with an evident look of weariness on her face, as she stepped outside the hut, the curtain swinging behind her. Silver stood there for a moment, watching the dust settle around him.

But even with her outside, the weight of her words lingered in the air. Something was wrong.

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The night crept in slowly, its cold fingers winding their way through the cracks in the hut's walls. Silver lay awake, staring up at the uneven ceiling, the faint smell of Mira's cloak still lingering in the air. She had returned. But something had changed—something in the way she smiled, the way she spoke, as if the weight of the world had become a little too much for her to carry.

Silver couldn't shake the feeling that whatever she'd been through, it was more than she was letting on.

The village, once alive with the sounds of daily routine, had now quieted. The stillness seemed… wrong, like the world was holding its breath.

Silver's mind raced, each thought tangling with the next, until the unease in his chest became unbearable. He needed to get out—to walk, to clear his head. He slowly got up.

The path through the village was quiet, save for the occasional whisper of wind against the sand. The village paths were not enough. When the guards weren't looking, he snuck past the back gate.

Silver's footsteps were soft on the sandy, cracked earth, as he wandered further from the village on a half-hidden beaten path that he's never taken before. The weight of the night pressed in on him. The air was cool but charged, as if the earth itself was preparing for something.

It was then he heard it.

A voice. A whisper, soft yet persistent, calling out to him. Tugging at his mind.

Silver stopped dead in his tracks.

Silver…

It wasn't Mira. It wasn't anyone he recognized. The voice echoed through the silence, familiar in a way that felt wrong.

Silver… Follow…

Without thinking, his feet moved. The pull was too strong to ignore. The night seemed to close in around him as he followed the voice, his heart racing with each step. It led him to the edge of the village, toward the ruins that stood like broken bones in the desert… Old, forgotten structures half-swallowed by the sands. The night fell quieter as he moved closer to the ruins.

There, in the center of the ruins, was a pile of previously insignificant rubble. The voice continued to tug at him… It was like a survival instinct. His mind was shaking, a weird sensation flowing through his body. An uncomfortable sensation. It was pulling him towards the pile. Without thinking, he walked towards the rubble… Before sticking a hand in it.

He started clearing the rubble, using only his hands, working nonstop without any reason, only trying to release the mysterious, tugging, uncomfortable feeling that was tugging at him from underneath his skin and veins.

It clawed at him from the inside, forcing him to continue. His hands started bleeding as unseeable small sharp shards hidden in the rubble started cutting through the soft skin of his hands, but it didn't matter. The tugging feeling. He had to get rid of it.

Finally, after digging through the entire pile, his hands are now bruised and bleeding… But something caught his eye. 

A knife. Its blade was made of the darkest black steel, so deep it seemed to absorb the light around it. Silver reached for it without hesitation, as if the blade had been waiting for him all along. The moment his fingers touched the hilt, he felt a strange chill run through him, as if the knife was alive, reacting to his touch.

Suddenly, the weird sensation was gone. He could feel the sudden, burning pain. He winced, whimpering, as he touched the cuts on his hands… But his attention was forced back onto the knife. It felt… Somewhat familiar. Like he's seen it before. But as quickly and mysteriously as the thought came, it disappeared, leaving him in his own thoughts.

As a sliver of sunlight suddenly burst over the mountain, he held the knife, using his finger to trace the blade. Suddenly, an idea came into his head. Didn't Mira use daggers too? He suddenly smiled down at the dagger, now tinted slightly red with the blood dripping from silver's hand.

It was a perfect gift.