The Legend of Black Eyes 199 Stalwart's Opinion

"This has nothing to do with what I asked you," I said.

"It'll come, it'll come," the old man said. "I just haven't been able to talk to anybody in a long time as Stalwart you see. I always have to hide behind some fake name, wear clothes that don't even fit me. Cut your old man some slack, will you?"

"Listen, old man," I hissed at him, emphasizing the last two words with a pointed forefinger. "Stop wasting my time and tell me the goddamn story already."

"You know," Stalwart said, scratching his stubble. "I don't like you young man."

"Spit-it-out!" I said with a clenched jaw and tightened fists.

"You're easy to anger. You're reckless. You think you're the smart man with the plan. When in fact, you're just improvising as you go. You can't stand still for one whole hour, can you?"

"What's this?" I asked. "Are we doing mental evaluation now?"

"You have no regard for those who genuinely care about you." Stalwart went on. He started walking around me. He felt like my conscience, tormenting me with venomous words. "You think you understand power, yet all you do is repeat the same thing over and over again. You're not a soldier anymore little boy! No wonder you let your men die needlessly."

"One more word…" I warned.

"And what?" Stalwart defiantly asked. "Who do you take me for, little boy?"

I felt a tingle on my back. Then this sensation of overwhelming terror engulfed me. I couldn't get my head around what caused that raw fear in me. I've only felt this afraid once, and that was when I met Adalphos, the Aeon. He was an otherworldly being with godly powers. Stalwart was but a human trapped in a Fragment. Besides, I couldn't even sense his essence.

"Tell me what I need to know old man," I growled. "And leave my past out of it."

"I will not," Stalwart retorted.

"Then our deal is –"

 "Don't you dare try that intimidation game on me," he interrupted. It felt like he was screaming although he didn't raise his voice. "I may be trapped here, but I can still cleave you in half before you could draw breath."

I couldn't sense any power emanating from my grandfather. He was human, with a beating heart and functioning liver, but there was no trace of essence on his body. There was no power.

I still got that feeling of uneasiness before you do something you're not supposed to do. In this case, challenge Stalwart and see if he actually had any powers.

I was about to take a step when a sinister feeling overcame me. The blank space suddenly got darker. In front me, grandpa Stalwart stood like a giant, overshadowing the Fragment that floated in the distance. The weight of his presence alone could crush me. I was drawn to his eyes that looked at me with frightening frenzy. It felt like he wanted to kill me, draw blood and feast on it.

He moved and the image vanished. I didn't see him reach me, nor did I see him move his hand toward my shoulder. I felt the pain before I realized what had happened. It felt like an icy sharp object pierced my shoulder and froze it from the inside.

It hurt, really, really, really, really bad.

My eye watered and I felt the urge to scream overcome me. Stalwart smiled at me then twisted his hand. I roared to the heavens until my throat cracked. Stalwart stood next to me, watching, smiling.

I thought I had endured the worst of it. I thought the pain was going to go away. I thought he only wanted to warn me. I was about to discover, to my dismay, a new meaning to the word agony. My muscles started tensing, then relaxing uncontrollably. One second I'd be all tense, the next, I'd be relieved. As soon as that fleeting moment of relief arrives, it vanishes as I tense up again.

My fingers were the first to be affected by this. They got tired and decided to stop following what my body ordered. Then it was my legs' turn. I fell on the back of my head and didn't even feel the pain.

Inside, I was fighting an even worse battle. I was trying to regain control of my body. My lungs could no longer stand the permanent pressure. My heart felt like it was about to explode. My eye got all cloudy, and my bones hurt. It felt like someone was crushing them from the inside. Pain wouldn't stop. Its intensity only kept increasing.

My head was about to burst. My chest burned. It felt like my lungs were being squeezed against my rib cage. My legs twitched uncontrollably with rapid intervals between tensing and relaxing. I tried to scream, vocalize the pain, ease it at least a little. I couldn't. My voice got stuck in my throat, along with air.

Stalwart put his hand on my forehead then it stopped. I took a deep breath in. I ached all over, but at least the incessant tensing of the muscles and sense of suffocation disappeared. I tried to get up, but my limbs refused to obey any of my orders.

"I'd stay put if I were you," Stalwart calmly said. He was sitting beside me, cross legged and smiling. "Try to move too much in this state and you'll collapse. We don't want an Evangelica Grant episode, do we now?"

My eye widened. I couldn't speak or protest.

"I'm not interested in possessing you little boy," he said. "Your body's too weak. All I want is that you listen to me. Do that, and I'll consider letting you out of here."

I tried to speak but my tongue wouldn't even move. Stalwart must have noticed my state since he looked at me and roared in laughter. Tears came out the corner of his eyes as he slapped his laps and rocked in place. He put his hand on my forehead once more and I felt revitalized.

I turned my head and it obeyed. I could finally move. I got up then sat opposite the old man, eyeing him with utter disdain. I've always hated this old man, even though I've never seen him before. Now I hated him and feared him even more.

"Are you ready to listen now?" he asked.

I nodded.  My head still ached. I couldn't come up with anything smart to say without getting another paralyzing shot. So I kept my mouth shut.

"I'll try to make this as short as I can. Consider it the wisdom your grandfather has never passed on to you."

He took a deep breath then spoke.

"You were always a pretentious little shit," he said. "You ran head first, trying to save your sister's honor. You ended up killing an innocent man. You led the men who trusted you with their lives to their impending doom. That pretty girlfriend of yours warned you about the church, but you didn't listen. And do you know why?"

His eyes met mine, and I saw a man full of anger and resentment. "Why?" I asked. My voice came out rough.

"Oh, you thought that was a rhetorical question?" Stalwart said. "I'm really asking you why? Why in the name of all the stars didn't you listen to her?"

"I didn't believe in Gods and mythical creatures that live above the sky," I said.

"What about now?" Stalwart asked.

"I still don't think Gods exist," I said. "And if they did, they're not as benevolent and merciful as people paint them to be."

"Now that's very Stalwarty of you," grandpa said with a warm smile.

I scoffed. "Stalwart is but a name I inherited from my father," I said. "I never knew anything about you, or about the rest of my family. As far as I'm concerned, you're just a stranger who's looking for me."

 "See?" Stalwart said. "This is what I never liked about you. You always act tough and insensitive. You try too hard to show it, but all you do is expose yourself for the fraud you are. You are weak, little boy. You are weak, and the time will soon come to realize it."

"I thought we weren't talking about the future," I said.

"Who said I was?" Stalwart retorted. "Anyways, I've said my piece. I don't like you, and I wish you fail in all your future endeavors."

"Thanks for the encouraging words, grandpa," I said. "Now will you tell me why you're after me?"

"Because I don't like you and I want to see you suffer," he answered. "I could've killed you here and now but your Fragment won't allow it. There are rules even I can't break. So I'll leave you to me from your era to discipline you."

"What have you got in store for me?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that," Stalwart said. "Not part of the deal."

"Why not?" I asked. "I'm not asking about the future. I'm asking about the present. Tell me what you're preparing for me now. What you've been preparing for us ever since you ordered my capture."

"If I tell you that, then I'm not training you," Stalwart said.

"Fine," I said. "You'll have to tell me everything though. Because if you don't, and Stalwart captures me, I'll tell him about you."

"Blackmail," Stalwart said. "My least favorite kind of threat."

"So what will it be?" I said. "Shall we shake on it?"

Chapter end