A rain of arrows from the sky would give a better death than being killed by this fucker. The pressure from the maniacal laughter in between sentences, the killing intent weighing down on him—it’s like sharp blades moving through his organs. Every word from Parker feels like a death sentence.

  “Remember when I told you, next time you run into me will be a bad day for you?” Parker questions with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “It’s too soon for you to die though. I am quite confused; I could kill you right here, but I wanna let you off the hook, just so you live with hope, only for you to run into me again the next time and for me to kill you, heh…”

  “But then again, I can’t just not follow through with my words, that would make me feel like shit.” His hands support his chin as he casually decides Sewo’s fate. He starts pacing back and forth by the river; the moonlight reflecting off the water's surface gives off a glamour nothing could stand up to.

  After taking his sweet time, thinking of probable punishments that would not kill but be severe enough, Parker finally comes to a singular conclusion. He turns back and, with a sharp tone, commands, “Oi, tie a rock to his arm and drop him into the river.”

  The workers hastily move to fulfill this request. One looks for a rope, three look for a suitable boulder, and the rest prepare Sewo for his death by taunting him and simultaneously taking away his sword.

  Within the next five minutes, Sewo is thrown into the river. The boulder rapidly sinks to the bottom, dragging its victim along. Holding his breath tight was the only viable option he had for now. Fuck, I cannot loosen this grip without my arm. The shoes get in the way, so legs are out the window too... I don’t want to die. I will not die if I don’t want to die, right? That’s not how it works... I have so much left to do... Mother! Freya... Theia... we’ve only just met and I'm already going to die and you will never even know, huh? God, oh almighty, I will start to believe in you for the rest of my life if you save me today. Please, please, I beg. I can’t... not like this.

  His mind is in panic, his lungs hurt; very soon water will enter his lungs and that will be it. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Noooo... is there nothing I can do? Thinking his options through, Sewo starts skimming through all the ideas he can think of. I cannot propel upwards... can’t spin in place to launch myself upwards... I don’t have any allies to protect me, too... wait, huh... VOID! I will use the void to breathe, it might just work.

  Sewo thinks about opening the Void. He masterfully imagines the Void opening at his neck so just his face can pop through and he will be able to breathe. The Void follows its master’s will as it opens exactly how Sewo imagined it would.

  Poking his head through, Sewo immediately starts gasping for air, his heart almost beating out of his chest, face red as an apple, and lungs hurting like a hammer crushed his ribs. Sewo manages to breathe, but the Void is now being flooded with water. At this rate, the river water will decrease noticeably, and when the Void can no longer store anymore water, Sewo will eventually die. I have to open it as small as I can; I will limit it to just my nose.

  Sewo holds his breath as long as he can, only using the Void when he can no longer endure the pain. Four hours pass by, and Parker, who was hoping Sewo would have just broken out by now, is now utterly disappointed. “Too bad... he seemed like a strong insect... blegh, whatever, haha.”

  Parker starts calculating where Sewo may have drifted off to after being thrown in. After ten minutes of racking his brains, Parker picks up a dagger as he walks over to the edge of the water. Pulling his arm back, he aligns the dagger to his line of sight, aiming to cut the rope and retrieve Sewo’s body. He generates all the power in the world, but the dagger misses its mark and Sewo lies at the bottom of the river.

  After waiting ten more minutes, Parker uses another dagger only to miss his mark. Ten minutes pass as he tries again—still no result. Parker gets agitated after missing his target three times already and yells out, “Ugh... fuck that guy... he should be dead already... I am going home. You boys better clean up the mess here and report to me tomorrow morning.”

  Parker then leaves the oil rig with a bottle of wine in his hand. He is being piggybacked by a huge man who seems to stick very close to Parker no matter where he goes.

  After Parker leaves, we see a man hiding in the bushes. He wears a black cape, his eyes black and hair brown. The man is also an assassin. He had been tailing Sewo after witnessing his fight against Vergo. “That guy is as good as dead. I will just pull him out of the river; the least I can do is give a proper funeral.”

  The man jumps from the cliff directly into the water. He swims around the island and eventually arrives at where Sewo was. The man approaches Sewo, checks for a pulse, and notices Sewo is still alive. “What is this? How is this guy still alive after four hours of drowning... is he immortal?”

  Sewo, feeling something touching him, immediately starts to shake his body thinking it must be a fish; he cannot tell as he has his eyes shut. The man hums loud enough for Sewo to notice his presence. Sewo signals him with a thumbs up to let the other know he is alive. Sewo signals the man to drag him up to the surface.

  The man cuts through the rope and helps Sewo out of the river. The two climb up to the riverbank; Sewo pants for air, his breath running short. This guy saved me... I should thank him at least, Sewo thinks to himself.

  When the two emerge at the water surface, Sewo looks at the man for the first time, to Sewo the man is his Ray Of Light in this insufferable night. “Huff... Thank you so much... you are my savior. What is your name?” Sewo whimpers, struggling to catch his breath, his body losing heat rapidly.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  The guards notice Sewo and another mysterious man. They immediately pick up their weapons and rush towards the site to inspect the mysterious man.

  “Wait a bit and I will tell you, okay?” The man replies as he unsheathes his sword and assumes a defensive stance. The guards quickly gather up. “They are all quite strong... I will just figure out who is the weakest and use that opportunity to cut down their numbers.”

  The man starts moving around, striking whoever gets in his range. A few guards block his swings, while others jump back or get sliced. “Well... It will be fun, a lot of fun!”

  The man closes the gap between him and a guard that just got injured. Small swings, enough strength to overpower others with little to no momentum—the man knocks the guard to the ground. “One!” he counts, as his sword pierces through the guard’s chest.

  Two of his companions close in from either side. The man reacts by dodging forward and attacking another guard who was patiently observing his coworkers. “Why are you attacking me... AGH!” The man’s pleading is cut short by a dagger thrown by the mysterious man.

  The two men chase him; they are the only ones who managed to block his sword strikes. The man runs away from them and charges at the rest of the guards as the two keep tailing him, but they cannot catch up. Soon enough, he manages to kill three more people, leaving only the stronger guys. There were still five of them left.

  “My name is Ceaser. We will catch up later; for now, you have to get up and get behind me. Quick!” the man answers Sewo’s question from earlier.

  Get behind him? He must have an escape plan. Sewo slowly stands back up, his legs trembling. He limps towards the man, noticing how the man was standing just next to Sewo’s sword. When Sewo gets closer, he picks up his sword and the two prepare for battle.

  The guards close in towards Sewo. “Kill him!” A guard starts swinging wildly at Sewo; he leaves big openings, perhaps in haste and looking down on Sewo. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Sewo deflects the incoming sword strike and retaliates with a powerful swing of his own. His sword carves through the guard's chest, leaving behind a huge mark; the guard’s body free-falls to the ground.

  Another guard closes in. He is much more calm and precise than the previous guy. The two exchange sword strikes, but Sewo is on the losing end; his arm hurts from having the boulder weigh it down, and the strikes he is blocking are relentless.

  “He won’t last much longer. I am also getting tired from fighting multiple people. We will have to escape via the tunnel Parker used to catch him.”

  “Sewo! Get here, next to me!” The two stand next to each other while Ceaser explains his plan to Sewo. “We will head into the rig’s cabin. There is supposed to be a contraption which leads to the hill where you got captured. Seems like these guys don’t know about it either since they were surprised when Parker walked out of the cabin and dragged you out of it.”

  Ceaser signals Sewo to escape by throwing down a smoke grenade. The guards are surprised by the sudden smoke, and as they swing wildly hoping to strike the two rats, use the distraction and the two run into the cabin. Sewo spots a lever and pulls it, a mwheel starts cranking and the sound of cogs turning can be faintly heard , when a small hole in the corner of the cabin opens up. The two quickly escape into the tunnel and lock the contraption to make sure nobody can follow.

  Eventually, they make it to the hill and the two start running towards the main city where Ceaser takes Sewo to his own place. The man assists Sewo by holding him firmly as the two make a run for it.

  “We’ve been running at a moderate pace for the past fifty-something minutes; we should be safe for now, right?” Sewo ponders as he decides to ask the man about the reason behind his actions. But before that: “So... what is your real name?”

  “Hmm... I thought you would never ask. I am Ceaser,” the man replies with a hint of joy in his voice.

  “I am Sewo.”

  “Sewo? Well, I know what your name is, but it’s a weird name. I have never heard that one before. Where are you originally from?”

  “Hey, it might be a bit off but I love my name a lot. Ya know, my mother named me so,” Sewo replies in his defense, his eyes sparking with passion.

  “Oh... I am sorry for making fun of you,” Ceaser interrupts.

  “Hmm... well, you are a good fella. As I was about to say, I am from a small village far away from here. My origins are nothing special, though,” Sewo asserts.

  “Can I ask about how you lost your arm?” Ceaser asks with curiosity.

  “Well, I invaded a government building to avenge my family; it was quite some time ago. But I got captured and they severed my arm,” Sewo answers after taking a deep breath and reminiscing about the past.

  “You are crazy... what do you mean attacked a government building alone? What kind of revenge are you seeking to not care for your own life?” Ceaser replies with a puzzled look.

  “Not now. I need fire and food first...” Sewo mutters, his voice fading with each word until he finally collapses.

  Ceaser drags Sewo back to his inn, where he lights up the fireplace after setting Sewo down on the couch and orders some hot porridge for two. As the food arrives, Ceaser wakes up Sewo, handing him a bowl.

  Sewo wakes up; he is sweating profusely, his face burning red and his throat dry. “I’ve caught a nasty cold... cough cough... thanks again for everything you have done so far.”

  The two start talking about themselves. This time Sewo asks questions, which Ceaser answers. “What do you do for a living?”

  “I am a T10 assassin like you , I'm ranked 7900.”

  “Oh... that’s nice. I can tell you are very strong by how you fought those guys earlier. By the way, why did you come save me?”

  “I was tailing you, as I mentioned earlier.”

  “Yeah... but why?”

  “I saw you kill that Vergo guy in the alley. You are a force of nature. I thought you were going to die, but you managed to pull through and killed someone as notorious as him. To be honest, even I would struggle against the guy, but you fought well.”

  “I just did not want to die, so I killed him. That is all.”

  “Well, it is good that you did not die. I am sure people who wait for you will be happy they get to see you again.”

  “Yes, they will indeed be very happy. Let’s be friends from now on?”

  “As if we are not friends already,” Ceaser accepts the offer with a warm smile. With how he took care of Sewo, got him fire and food, Sewo was reminded of his mother. She would stay next to him when he got sick as a kid and she would make warm porridge and even give him tonics to recover.

  After finishing his food, the two continue asking each other questions and sharing memories of childhood. Ceaser gives Sewo medicine from his first aid kit and the two continue their chatter, till eventually both fall asleep on the sofa.

  Their hearts feel a strange connection, knowing that the other has been through hardships. Their sufferings strengthen the bond they have, and that is how after surviving countless hardships, Sewo makes his first friend.