Shadow of the forest

The forest was eerily quiet as the last remnants of darkness dissipated into the wind. The shadows that had once plagued the land now faded away, leaving no trace behind. The sky, which had been a dull gray, slowly turned to its vibrant blue again. The air was filled with a strange calm as the once-broken trees began to stir, their leaves rustling softly as life began to return to the forest. The snakes, guardians of the land, slithered back into their dens, their mission now complete. And the main tree, once under siege, stood proudly as the heart of the forest once more.

But none of it mattered to Arina.

His gaze was fixed on Gerard's lifeless body, his heart heavy with the weight of what had transpired. The battle was over, but the cost was more than Arina could bear.

He turned away from the body of the man who had caused so much destruction, who had manipulated and destroyed everything in his twisted obsession. But Arina felt no satisfaction, no sense of triumph. Only emptiness. The forest had been saved, but his friends had paid the ultimate price.

"Soran..." Arina whispered, his voice thick with sorrow.

Soran, her breath ragged and weak, turned her gaze toward him. Blood stained her lips, and her body trembled with the last remnants of life. "Arina... like you... like you..." she whispered, her voice fading, slipping between breaths.

Arina knelt beside her, his hands trembling as he lifted her fragile form. Gently, he placed her next to Zeke, whose body lay cold and unmoving. Her hand reached out, trembling as she touched Zeke's cheek, her tears falling like raindrops onto his face.

"Like... that's why you refused to marry me?" Soran whispered, her voice breaking as she wept, a sorrowful realization flooding her. She rested her forehead on Zeke's, her fingers entwining with his, her final act of love and devotion to the man who had once held her heart.

The silence that followed was deafening. Arina sat beside them, his body frozen in place as he stared at his two closest friends. Their hands still held each other, a silent promise between them even in death. The forest had returned to its vibrant state, life blossoming again as it had before. But for Arina, it all felt hollow. His heart, once full of hope and determination, had been consumed by a sorrow too deep to comprehend.

Tears flowed from his eyes as he wept, the grief tearing through him with an intensity that matched the violence of the battle. His friends were gone, and the world felt unbearably empty.

---

Arina gently wrapped Zeke and Soran's bodies, carefully preserving the last remains of their lives. He walked silently through the forest, his movements slow, deliberate, as though the weight of the world was pressing down on him. When he reached the main tree, his eyes fell upon a figure—a skeleton, seated in a chair, the remains of someone long gone. The sight made his heart ache even further.

"It's Emma..." Arina whispered softly to himself, the name carrying the bitter taste of loss.

He sighed heavily, his breath shaky as he gathered the bones of the girl who had perished so many years ago. With reverence, he placed her remains beside Zeke and Soran, the final resting place of those who had suffered at the hands of love and despair.

But Arina wasn't finished. He turned his gaze to Gerard's body, his anger still simmering beneath the surface. He couldn't allow the man's remains to remain in the forest. He didn't deserve the honor of being buried.

With a flick of his wrist, fire erupted from his palm, engulfing Gerard's body in an inferno. The flames consumed him quickly, leaving nothing but ash and smoke in their wake.

"You don't even deserve to be buried..." Arina muttered bitterly as he watched the flames burn away the last remnants of Gerard's existence.

---

As the creatures of the forest celebrated their newfound freedom, their songs of joy reverberating through the trees, Arina was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared as quietly as he had arrived, vanishing into the heart of the forest without a trace. No one knew where he had gone, not even the spirits of his fallen friends.

And so, the forest healed, the land once again teeming with life. But Arina's sorrow remained, lingering in the shadows, a quiet reminder that some wounds could never truly heal.

------

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Arina walked through the forest, his movements slow and deliberate. The cart he pushed creaked under the weight of the bodies he carried, their lifeless forms draped in cloth, faces shrouded in an unspoken sorrow. His expression was cold, distant, as if the weight of the world rested squarely on his shoulders. The forest, once a place of life and vibrance, now felt empty, even though the creatures roamed freely around him. None of them recognized him. His presence had become a shadow, a silent ghost among the living.

The path ahead seemed endless, and yet, Arina's feet moved forward without hesitation. There was no destination in his mind—only the deep, gnawing need to lay his friends to rest.

Eventually, he arrived at the ruins of what had once been a hut. The building, now nothing more than broken walls and fallen beams, stood as a testament to the past. It had once been a home, a place where Zeke, Kava, and Arina had shared laughter and warmth. But now, all that remained was rubble and memories.

Arina stared at the ruins, his eyes hollow, his heart an abyss of grief. Without a word, he pulled the cart toward the base of the hill where Kava's grave lay. He knelt down, taking the drill in his hand, and began to dig, the sound of metal striking earth a sharp contrast to the peaceful silence around him.

The act of digging felt mechanical, a necessary task, something to keep his hands busy, to keep the overwhelming sorrow at bay. One grave after another was prepared, side by side, as if they had always been meant to rest together. Kava's grave, Zeke's, Soran's, and Qabraima's—four souls bound by fate, each taken by the same relentless wave of tragedy.

---

The hours passed without a sound, and Arina sat alone, his back stiff against a fallen tree. The sky had turned a muted shade of orange as the sun began to set, casting long shadows over the graves. His eyes remained fixed on the four plots of earth before him, the soil freshly turned.

"Rest in peace..." he whispered, his voice hoarse, as though even the words themselves were too heavy to speak.

Arina sat in silence, staring at the graves, lost in the weight of his thoughts. His mind was a storm of questions and memories, each one swirling around him like the wind through the trees. What was he supposed to do now? How could he move forward when everything he had known was gone?

The forest around him felt distant, as if even nature itself had abandoned him. His heart felt as hollow as the graves he had just dug.

"You are here..." a voice interrupted the quiet, soft and familiar.

Arina's shoulders tensed, but he didn't bother to look up. The voice had a strange comfort to it, and he knew who it was before the words were even spoken.

"Sira..." he whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Sira walked over to him, her steps light on the ground, the faintest sound of her presence breaking through the silence. She sat next to Arina without a word, her gaze falling to the graves before them.

"You did it..." she said, her voice tinged with both pride and sadness. "You saved the forest."

Arina said nothing, his face still cold, though a flicker of emotion danced in his eyes. "Yes... but I lost everything..." His voice cracked on the last word, the weight of his loss too much to bear.

Sira's smile was sad, but it carried a sense of understanding. She reached out, her hand resting on his shoulder, a small gesture of comfort. "I'm so sorry, Arina. I should have been there with you. I should have helped you."

Arina's eyes closed as the floodgates opened, his tears falling freely now. He had no words left, no defenses. Sira's presence was the only thing that kept him tethered to the world around him.

The embrace was silent, but it spoke volumes. Sira held him gently, as if understanding that he needed this—needed the moment of vulnerability, the simple act of being held in a world that had turned cold and dark.

Arina's tears soaked into her shoulder, his sorrow pouring out in waves. He had fought, he had lost, and now, all that was left was a shattered heart and a forest that had been saved at such a terrible cost.

"I'm sorry," Arina whispered between sobs. "I couldn't save them... I couldn't save anyone."

"You did your best," Sira whispered back, her voice full of compassion. "And sometimes, our best isn't enough. But that doesn't make us weak."

Arina clung to the words, though they did little to ease the pain. The battle was over, but the war inside him was far from finished.

He sat there, surrounded by the graves of those he loved, with only Sira's comforting presence to anchor him. The wind began to stir, the trees rustling softly around them, but it did nothing to ease the weight in his chest.

"You're not alone, Arina," Sira added softly, her hand still on his shoulder, her voice a steady anchor. "You never will be."

Arina nodded, though the ache in his heart remained. There was no easy answer, no simple solution. The journey ahead was uncertain, but for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he wasn't alone.

And that, in itself, was enough.