Chương 30: There is no God

Felicity and Leah stood facing each other, each gripping a staff tightly in their hands. Leah swallowed nervously.

"Are you sure about this?" Felicity asked.

"You could get seriously hurt".

"Yes", Leah replied firmly.

"I want to become stronger. I'm tired of being a burden to you and Xia". Felicity studied her for a moment, then nodded.

"Good. Then attack me". Leah charged forward, trying to strike with all the strength she had. Felicity blocked with ease, evading the blows with precise, controlled movements. Then she counterattacked with a sharp strike to Leah's side. Leah let out a groan and collapsed to her knees. She clenched her teeth as tears welled up in her eyes from the pain.

"Giving up already?" Felicity asked coldly. Leah trembled, then forced herself back to her feet.

"No…not at all". She launched herself forward again. Felicity blocked the attack and with a quick sweep of her leg, sent Leah crashing to the ground. Leah immediately got back up and attacked once more, but Felicity sidestepped and struck her in the stomach. Leah dropped to her knees again, gasping for breath.

"This is a waste of time", Felicity said, turning her back on her.

"You're better off staying a burden". A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She walked a few steps away. Behind her, Leah rose once more, trembling but stubborn.

"Don't be a coward, Feli…face me". Felicity stopped. She slowly turned around and smiled. In the snowy forest, Renlin approached Ethan, who was sitting beside a campfire.

"How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts", he admitted, "but thanks to your strange potions, it's getting better". Renlin sat down beside him.

"So, what do you think of us elves? Are we like the history books and songs describe us?" Ethan smiled.

"Not exactly. You're not as short as the stories say, and I imagined your pointed ears to be much longer and more intimidating". Renlin laughed, tucking her hair behind one ear.

"You mean you like our ears?"

"Yes", Ethan replied without hesitation.

"I do. And I like elves in general. You've welcomed me as one of your own and treated me as an equal. But what impressed me the most is your honesty. You don't portray yourselves as a superior race. You acknowledge your mistakes and try to understand history from every point of view". Renlin looked at him thoughtfully.

"We live for hundreds of years. It's easier to think that way when you have so much time".

"Maybe", Ethan said, "but it's far from a given". Not far from there, in the frozen lands, an entire giant village had been slaughtered. Mutilated bodies lay everywhere, dismembered and unrecognizable. Xarath stood atop the severed head of a giant. Before him, one of the last survivors struggled to breathe, an enormous hole torn through his back.

"W-why…" the giant muttered.

"We welcomed you…we fed you…". Xarath looked down at him impassively.

"You're asking the wrong question", he said.

"You shouldn't be asking why I did this to you. You should be asking why I was allowed to do it". The giant stared at him, dying.

"Why, despite your kindness, were you massacred? Why did no God protect you? Why did you receive no good in return for the good you did?" The giant's breathing grew weaker and weaker.

"There is no God", Xarath continued.

"No purpose. No good or evil. Life is meaningless. It is either live or be killed. Nothing else. And only the strong survive, regardless of whether they do good or evil". The giant drew his final breath. Xarath stepped down from the giant's head and extended his hands toward the corpse, absorbing magical particles that rose into the air like glowing ash. He looked at his arms, then opened a black portal before him. Without looking back, he stepped through it. Behind him, only devastation and death remained.