Special Thanks to the people who’d like to read this story and/or told me I should write it:
- My Mom and Dad
- Alicia
- Jalen Johns
Prologue – A Not So Heroic Hero
There are few unique people in the small town of Bethel. There are even fewer in the world that are like Aiden. He’s an orphan boy that loves nature, talking to people, reading tales of adventure, and having fun. The boy is also notorious for being thoughtless sometimes and for never truly being smart. Despite that, he’s a joy to his fellow orphans, the nuns and priests that run the orphanage, and the people of the town. Since he’s turning eighteen today, he’s leaving the orphanage to lead a life of his own. He says goodbye to everyone and tells them that he’ll visit them when he can. Before he leaves, a nun gives him a sword, shield, and suit of chain armor.
She tells him, “You forgot your sword, shield, and armor Aiden.”
“Oh, that’s right! Sorry. Haha, I was a bit too excited to leave that I forgot,” Aiden says with an embarrassed expression on his face.
“You were left with us with this sword, shield, and armor. I’m sorry we could never find you your original parents or someone to adopt you.”
“That’s doesn’t bother me sister. The priests and nuns here made excellent parents and the other kids are great brothers and sisters.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. I wish you luck on your journey into adulthood.”
“Thanks!” he says as he leaves.
“Aiden, you forgot to take your things again.”
“Oh! Sorry!”
“What job should I get?” Aiden thought to himself as he walks the town’s streets, “I always wanted to be an adventurer, exploring and mapping out the world. Maybe I can do that.”
Suddenly, the sky turns black and a black dragon with orange eyes shows himself through a hole in the sky. This black dragon is showing himself to all towns across the earth.
The black dragon says, “Greetings people of earth! I have defeated your skilled hero that has tried to defeat me. Now, the world is mine to conquer! However, I will still allow challengers to take my reward from me. Who is brave enough to face me?”
Aiden instantly steps forward with his sword and shield raised in the air while saying, “I will!”
Wanting to show the world Aiden, he shows him through a rift in the sky then says, “A young boy such as you steps forward to face me? I can see the brightness of your soul. It is as if you have been touched by Logos Himself. What is your name boy?”
“My name is Aiden. I will defeat you and save the world!”
“I will enjoy destroying you, but first you must know where I am.”
The black dragon touches Aiden’s head with a finger through the rift and gives him an image of where to find him along with the way there.
“Only this boy can face me. Every attempt before and after will result in the destruction of an entire country. His death will be an example to all who try to face evil incarnate such as myself. Am I clear?”
The world stays completely silent for the first time in centuries.
“Good. I hope to see you soon Aiden.”
Everyone in town looks at Aiden. All of them are extremely worried since Aiden is supposed to save them.
“Don’t worry everyone! I can do this!” Aiden says to try to cheer them up, but only gets mocked and ridiculed for it.
The town is so angry at him that they force him out and onto the road. Aiden understands their anger and also feels upset at himself for instantly jumping at the opportunity to be a hero.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that, but I don’t know. It feels like I was born to do this. I was let out of the orphanage with what I was brought there with. It has to be a mighty coincidence for it not to be my calling in life!”
Now with a smile on his face, Aiden walks the road that the black dragon showed him.
Meanwhile, the black dragon tells his servants, “Place challenges along the road I showed Aiden. If I can get rid of him before he gets here, I can truly strike fear into the hearts of everyone on earth and in Heaven.”
After his servants go off to do his bidding, he opens a rift to where Aiden is and says, “Hello Aiden. I see that you’re already on your way to me.”
“I was kicked out of the town I was raised in. They didn’t like the fact that I instantly volunteered to face you.”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Belial, the black dragon that appears every hundred years to cause havoc on earth.”
“Do you know the hero that tried to face me?”
“I think she was a skilled fighter. She’s my age and was trained from birth to fight you when you appeared. I thought she was an amazing person.”
“As is the law. A single person must face me, or I will be allowed to do whatever I want. This is the first time a human lost to me and she won’t be the last. I will destroy you and this world will be mine!”
“No, I will destroy you!”
“No, I will!”
“No, I will!”
“Haha, good banter. I think I like you Aiden.”
“Don’t because I will-”
“I know why. Goodbye for now.”
“Bye. Wait, I shouldn’t have said that. Begone demon!” Aiden says as he takes out his sword.
Belial laughs then leaves Aiden.
“I’m going to beat him, I’m going to beat him!” Aiden says to himself aloud, “I have to.”
As Aiden travels the road, a woman in a mask follows him closely with a bow and arrow in hand.
Chapter 1 – Awkward Charisma
Belial’s servants have taken positions to where Belial knows Aiden will stop. The first is waiting for him in a town that he is now passing by. Because of his long walk, he rests on a bench in a park.
An alluring woman sits next to him and says, “Hello Aiden. I know you’re the hero who’s going to be Belial. You’re very brave for doing so.”
She thinks to herself, “If I can seduce him to follow me, I can kill him in secret. This should be easy since the boy is so young.”
“Thank you though I wouldn’t call myself brave. I just did what I thought was right,” he sheepishly responds.
“And that takes bravery. I’m going to be doing some errands. Do you want to join me?”
“No, thanks.”
“Why not?”
“I have to slay Belial. I’d rather not keep him waiting. Logos knows what he could be doing in the meantime.”
“How about coming over my house then? You can rest for a bit there and I can make you something special.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m sorry I’ll have to decline.”
Aiden gets up, but the woman grabs him and embraces him.
“You shouldn’t be so hasty, Aiden. Be calm and relax.”
“Again, thank you for your concern, but please, stop this.”
He pushes her off and onto the bench.
“I’m showing my affection to you. Why are you pushing me away?”
“I can see you’re married,” Aiden says as he points at the diamond ring on the woman’s finger, “I don’t mess around like that. Now, please leave me alone.”
As he turns around, the shield on Aiden’s back hits the woman in the face, which knocks her out. No one is around them and Aiden doesn’t notice so he keeps walking through the town. The next servant of Belial finds Aiden at the end of the town.
“Aiden! The hero to be graces me with his presence,” a muscular man in armor says.
“Oh, thank you. Believe it or not, you’re the second person to actually be nice to me. Everyone else just gives me a dirty look.”
“That’s because you don’t seem like you can fight! I’ll train you in the forest so that we have room to fight and no one will get hurt.”
“How long will you train me for?”
“Until the sun sets, so not for long. I know you have places to be.”
“Thank you so much. What do you want for your training? I’ll pay you.”
“There’s no need for payment. Training you is payment enough for me. Follow me and I’ll show you the clearing we’re training in.”
“I’ll kill him in the forest where there will be no one to help him!” the servant thinks to himself.
Once they get to the clearing, the servant asks, “What training do you have?”
“Knights and soldiers used to come by and they showed us some of their tricks. The priests also taught me how to defend myself and I practiced with my friends.”
“Ah so you have some experience then. I will show you how to be a master.”
“Should I fight you will my shield? I don’t have as much experience in using that.”
“Go ahead if you feel so confident in your sword skills.”
“Ok. That’s what I’ll do then.”
“Have it your way.”
As the servant attacks, the shield helps Aiden fight back against him.
“Heh, Aiden. I didn’t know you hit so hard.”
“Me neither. It’s like the shield jolts forward by itself.”
“It carries one of the symbols for Logos, but that shouldn’t mean much.”
Again, the man attacks Aiden and the shield helps him fight. It helps him deflect his attacks and absorbs all the damage from them while attacking back.
The man stops fighting and says, “I thought you said you weren’t skilled with a shield Aiden?”
“I’m not.”
The shield hits the man in the head since he’s near it.
“Why did you hit me?!”
“I didn’t!”
The shield hits the man in the crotch.
“I’m sorry mister! I swear the shield is acting on its own! Bad shield!”
Aiden throws the shield at a tree and it bounces off it and knocks the servant unconscious.
“Oh, now I’ve done it! This shield is incredibly useful though. I maybe not need to use my sword if it’s this good. I should get this man to the town, so someone can help him. I’ll thank him later.”
After bringing the servant to some helpful townspeople, Aiden continues on his journey to meet Belial. Along the way, Belial opens a rift to talk to him again.
He says, “Still healthy and full of energy I see.”
“Yes, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Never mind. Do you know one of the reasons I chose to be evil?”
“No. What is it?”
“Because I couldn’t get my way. I thought I was doing the right thing, but because I went against the Law, I was banished from Heaven and into this sorrowful existence. Don’t you think I deserve some pity?”
“I don’t think so.”
“And why’s that?”
“You’re acting evil because you couldn’t get your way.”
“Most people fall like that.”
“Children do that most of the time. I thought you were older than that.”
Belial holds back his anger then says, “But don’t you think I get a say in what’s true?”
“You’re not Logos, so no.”
“But why would you follow someone who has the best ways to a good life? Why not make your own?”
“Why wouldn’t you follow the best ways to live a good life? The answer is in the question.”
“Whatever. Have a nice night.”
“You too. Not.”
Belial leaves Aiden. Eventually Aiden comes across a mysterious woman in a mask with a bow and arrow. She wears a green set of armor, a golden mask, and short blond hair that’s half charred black. She also has a bow and a quiver of arrows.
He runs up to her and says, “Hello. You’re traveling these roads at this time of night too huh?”
“I am,” she says, “You’re Aiden, right?”
“Yes, what’s your name?”
“Ava.”
“That’s a pretty name if you don’t mind me saying.”
She blushes a bit.
“N-no.”
“Since you know where I’m going, do you mind me asking where you’re going at this time of day?”
“I’m going to see someone to get my revenge on them.”
“Revenge is never a wise decision.”
“Neither is jumping at the opportunity to face a dragon.”
“Haha, you got a point! If we’re heading in the same direction, do you want to travel together? You look like you could use the company.”
“I don’t need it.”
Ava uses a smoke bomb and disappears into the nearby forests. She makes a noise in the trees which gives away her location to Aiden.
He asks her, “Did you do that to be dramatic or something? Why don’t you want to travel together?”
“I just don’t.”
“Okay. Well I hope you don’t go through with that revenge of yours. It won’t end well.”
“That’s what you think.”
“It’s what I know. Anyways, I hope I see you again sometime!”
“Yeah.”
Ava leaps across the trees taking a longer way to her destination as Aiden continues along the road.
Chapter 2 – Unhelpful Helpers
Because it is still night time, Aiden stops at a nearby inn. There are two twin servants who are waiting for Aiden here. A desk attendant gives Aiden the key to his room and he goes to sleep in it. Because the sheets are relatively thin, he uses his shield as a cover.
The two twins collectively think, “We’ll kill him in his sleep. When everyone wakes up, the world will be Belial’s!”
But as the twins attack Aiden, the shield protects him from their attacks. They’re stunned by the shield’s unique power and leave Aiden alone for now as the shield’s movements almost wake him up.
The twins then tell each other, “We’ll just go to our backup plan. We’re going to serve a hero’s dinner that he’ll be dying to have. Haha!”
Once it’s morning time and Aiden wakes up, he heads down to the inn’s dining hall.
The twins appear to him in waiter uniforms and collectively say, “A soon to be hero needs all he can eat so he can be strong enough to face the dragon! Let us serve you the absolute best food in the lands.”
“Thank you. What is the cost?”
“Nothing at all! Just sit down and let us serve you.”
Aiden sits down and eats the bacon and eggs and drinks the milk that the twins give him. What he doesn’t know is that the food is poisoned, but he downs it all without a problem.
With a satisfied stomach, he wipes his face with a napkin, gets up then says, “That was delicious! Thank you so much!”
He then leaves the inn as the twins watch in shock. They try eating the food they make and get sick as a result. The road Aiden is taking leads through a forest and the next servant waits for him at a crossroad.
“Aiden, the forest can be a tricky and dangerous place to navigate. Follow me and I’ll show you the quickest and safest route through it,” the servant says.
“Thank you for taking time out of your day to show me the way. What can I give you to show my gratitude?”
“Nothing but thank you for graciously offering.”
The servant leads Aiden off the path and to a strange looking green cave.
“If you go through here, you’ll skip miles of walking.”
“Okay.”
Aiden goes into the green cave that closes once he enters it. It’s actually a giant plant that eats huge animals and men alike.
“He will now be digested by the plant’s acidic juices! Haha!” the servant confidently says before he notices that Aiden has just cut his way out of the plant.
He isn’t covered in acid as it just slides off his chain armor, but it has left a stain on it.
“That was a weird cave. Oh, you’re here. I guess that cave wasn’t much of a shortcut then,” Aiden says.
Confused, the servant touches the acid of the plant and gets his hand burned. After Aiden patches up the servant, they move on.
“Here, Aiden, look down there! Treasure!” the servant says as he points down a hole with a small drop.
“Oh!” Aiden says as he looks over the edge.
The servant spring his next trap by kicking Aiden down into the hole, which is really another carnivorous plant. It digests people and animals, but not what people carry with them. This makes whatever people carried bait for the people that stumble across this plant. Alas, the plant spits Aiden out and he lands on the servant because of taste of acid that was on his armor.
“I got the treasure mister!”
“Good job boy,” the servant says while in pain.
Frustrated, the servant reveals the last trap up his sleeve. He leads him through a road filled with deadly trees. They look like normal trees but have a black tint to them. They’re infamous for cursing people if they tried to cut the tree down. The trees are rumored to be possessed by the spirits of young children who died in this forest. The servant leads Aiden through the path but doesn’t come out with him.
“Mister? Mister?” Aiden calls out.
A young child clothed in white appears to Aiden and says, “Your guide got lost in the forest. Just keep following this path and you should get to where you’re going.”
“Thank you. Where are your parents young lady? Do you want me to lead you to them?”
“No, thank you. My parents live in nature so I’m home.”
“You should have carry this little suit of armor and knife I found. You don’t know what dangers you could find in the forest.”
“Thank you so much for finding this! I lost it a while ago.”
“Well take better care of it this time. Your parents will probably be upset if you lose it again.”
“I will. Buh-bye and good luck!”
“Bye! Take care!”
As Aiden moves on, a nearby tree now has a coat of steel as its bark and razor-sharp leaves. Belial wonders why Aiden is still alive, so he contacts him again.
“You’re still moving along aren’t you?” Belial asks.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?”
“No reason. Tell me the reason why you jumped at the opportunity to face me?”
“Because it seemed like the right thing to do.”
“But you’re just an orphan boy with little skill in fighting.”
“Yeah, it might’ve been a mistake to jump at the opportunity, but here I am. I have to at least try to beat you.”
“You could always give up.”
“And let you win? Nah.”
“But you could die a horrible death.”
“And? I’d rather die fighting an unwinnable fight then let evil do whatever it wants.”
“You’re a stubborn child, aren’t you?”
“Everyone back at the orphanage seemed to think so like when I defended kids against adults.”
“I’m not sure if you’re brave or stupid.”
“Probably both.”
“Yes, probably. Well, I’ll leave you alone…for now.”
“Good.”
Through his travels, Aiden comes across Ava again who is eating food at a campfire.
“Hey Ava! Weird seeing you here,” Aiden says as he sits by her.
“Aiden, what are you doing here?”
“A nice man then a young girl clothed in white told me to go this way. What are you eating?”
Ava disregards Aiden’s previous sentence and answers, “Rabbit. I hunt for food.”
“That means you must get free food all the time. I wish I could hunt.”
“You can’t hunt? What can you do?”
“Uhhhh, I jump at the opportunity to help people. Does that count as a skill?”
“Not really in my book.”
“Why are you wearing that mask? You’re not using it to hide your identity when you take your revenge, are you?”
“No, I’m using it to hide my scars.”
“Scars from what?”
“That’s not important.”
“Can I see? I promise I won’t be judgmental.”
Ava shows him the half of her face that’s burned then quickly puts the mask back.
“It’s not that bad. I’m think you’re still a pretty girl despite your scars.”
“You…You think so?”
“Of course! Plus, scars are cool. They show how tough you are.”
“If you say so. Do you want to eat some rabbit too?”
“Why not? Even though I never tried it, I’m sure you made it good. Thank you!”
“You’re welcome.”
After eating together, Ava got up and says, “I’m going to go.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to travel together? We seem to be running into each other a lot.”
“I’m sure.”
Aiden picks his stuff up and continues on his way while Ava follows a parallel route.
Chapter 3 – Unwanted Friend
Aiden continues his journey while making his way through the snowy mountains at night. It’s cold, but Aiden manages to deal with it because of his special armor and shield that warms him.
A servant of Belial stalks Aiden in the snow and thinks to herself, “I won’t pull any tricks like those other dunces. I’ll go straight for the kill.”
Another servant is going after Aiden in the meantime.
“What is this idiot doing?”
The other servant is leading Aiden up the most difficult path up the mountain in the hopes that he’ll fall to his death. The assassin servant follows them for a while before seeing that the other servant has fallen down the mountain herself and rolls into a snowball.
“Now’s my chance.”
The assassin leaps out from the snow to attack Aiden, but a gust of wind pushes him back and the shield leaps from Aiden’s back to knock the assassin down the mountain similar to the other servant. Aiden manages to keep his footing despite the harsh winds.
“Man, these winds are strong,” he says aloud.
Angered at his servant’s inability to do a simple task, Belial opens a rift to ask Aiden how he gets rid of them. Seeing a rift open, Aiden makes a snowball and throws it at Belial’s face. It directly hits him.
Even angrier, Belial says, “Welp. I can see you’re busy and I’m busy as well so I’m going to go work off some anger.”
“Go ahead. Just don’t hurt anyone.”
“Right,” Belial says as he closes the rift then yells at his servants.
Aiden continues fighting the cold until he sees a light in a cave in the side of the mountain. He goes into it to find Ava shivering cold sitting near a fire.
“Ava! Here, let me help warm you up,” Aiden says as he gives her his shield.
“I don’t think that’s going to-Oh…It actually helps.”
“This shield is incredibly useful. I might not even use my sword when I face Belial.”
“That’s stupid. You’re stupid.”
“I get told that a lot.”
“I wonder why.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Why do you care so much about me?”
“You’re always showing up where I go. It’d be wrong of me not to care about a fellow traveler.”
“Is that all?”
“You’re a nice person and you’re cute. Is that last part the thing you wanted to hear the most?”
“N-no! How can you say I’m a nice person even though you’ve only known me for a short while?”
“I can tell from the way you act. You know you remind me a lot of that girl that faced Belial.”
“Are you calling me a failure?”
“Everyone fails every now and then.”
“But she failed where no one else did.”
“That doesn’t matter because I’m going to make up for it. There’s always a way to fix what’s broken.”
Ava hugs Aiden for a long while.
“Is it something I said?” he says while hugging her as well, “Does this mean we’re going to travel together?”
“Sure. Let’s travel together.”
“I guess that means you’re not going to take revenge on whoever you wanted to then.”
“Probably not.”
“Good! Let’s consider this the start of our friendship. We’ll hang out with each other more after I beat Belial.”
“You’re very confident, aren’t you?”
“Or stupid as most people say.”
“Hahaha. Maybe.”
The two sleep the night together in the cave. They cuddle up to one another to keep warm.
Chapter 4 – An Oblivious Hero
Ava and Aiden exit the mountain cave in the morning. The two stay close together to keep warm until they finally arrive at the foot of the mountain.
“Whew! Finally out of the cold,” Aiden says.
“I know. So why are you still so close to me?”
“You made it seem like you liked being close to me so I thought-”
“No. Not now at least.”
“Ok.”
The two continue their journey until they reach a town where they eat breakfast.
“Tell me Aiden. How did you get your equipment?”
“I was left at an orphanage with them then I was given everything once I left the orphanage, which was also the same day I accepted Belial’s offer.”
“Sounds almost like fate.”
“I was thinking the same thing too.”
“It would explain the symbol of Logos on your shield. Do you think He’s watching over you?”
“Yes, every single second of every single day.”
“Have you witnessed any miracles?”
“Being with you is a miracle. I thought I’d be going on this adventure by myself. I’m blessed to have a girl like you by my side.”
“Sh-shut up. Why do you always have to talk like that?”
“Talk like what? Why do you always stutter every now and then?”
Ava grumbles and doesn’t say anything else. A servant of Belial sees that Aiden has a traveling partner, so she regroups and tries coming up with a new plan on the spot. She twists her face around to look like a young, beautiful woman. She also makes a few sheathes for her weapons and dresses appropriately to make herself look like an adventurer like Ava. While the two are still eating, she approaches Aiden.
“Aiden! You’re the hero who’s going to face Belial right?” she asks.
“That’s me.”
“Can I join you as you make your way there? I’d love to be in the company of someone as brave and handsome as you.”
“Thanks, but I already have a traveling partner.”
“There isn’t space for another?”
“No, there isn’t,” Ava says.
“What, is he your boyfriend or something?”
“N-no!”
“You see you stuttered again. Do you really like me or something?”
“Shut up! I’m going to be the only one traveling with Aiden. You can fight me for it.”
“Fine.”
“Fists only.”
“Deal.”
“How did I make this happen?” Aiden asks himself.
The two ladies fight, but Ava has an advantage. Her training allows her to roll with her opponents punches while getting in hits where she can. This allows her to knock out her opponent with ease.
“Great fight Ava!”
“Shut up. You can’t just allow people to travel with us.”
“Why are you acting so possessive of me?”
“I’m not!”
“Then why did you fight someone, so we could travel together?”
“No reason. I just wanted to knock someone to the ground and it couldn’t be you.”
“Why not me?”
“No reason.”
“Okay.”
Aiden and Ava walk through town and find a place to sell all the loot that Aiden found back in the forest. After doing that, a group of girls find the two and crowd around Aiden.
They shower him with their affectionate words and tell him, “You should come with us! We’ll give you the best food in town and give you a nice place to rest for your fight against Belial!”
“I’m sorry girls, but I shouldn’t stick around too long.”
“That’s right girls now buzz off!” Ava says.
“Just come with us and we’ll show you.”
They take away Aiden against his will. Ava stops them by chasing and knocking out each one of them.
“You really don’t like sharing me with other girls.”
“Shut up. They were trying to kidnap you, so I saved you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s get out of this town before you attract more attention.”
Belial watches the two from the point of view of one of his servants and decides not to say anything to Aiden until the two meet.
Once they’re away from the town, Ava says, “Whew. Now no one can bother us.”
“I’m still wondering why you’re so protective of me. Is there something wrong that you need me to focus on you alone?”
“My family, friends, and other people think I’m a failure because I couldn’t do the one thing I was born for. They hate me now and there’s nothing I can do to change their mind! Do you know what that feels like?”
“My entire town pushed me out once I accepted the responsibility of facing Belial, so yes I do.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. When you showed kindness to me despite my appearance and demeanor I didn’t want to let go of that. I guess I did act a little possessive.”
“That’s ok. I forgive you.”
“And that’s another thing. You’re always so nice to me. I just want…you.”
“You want me?”
“Dang it you idiot I want you as my boyfriend!”
“Oh, I didn’t think I was worth it to a girl like you. I’m not as skilled or smart as you.”
“You dummy. You don’t have to be,” Ava says as she kisses Aiden.
The two then kiss each other as the sun begins to set in the sky.
Chapter 5 – Unseen Help
Both Aiden and Ava walk into a forest path and end up in a garden in Heaven.
Belial contacts Logos and says, “Hey! I know you did that! They weren’t that far from me!”
“Let them have their time together. They won’t stay too long, and they’ll be right near you when they reappear,” Logos says.
“Tch. I can’t do anything about it, so just have it your way.”
“Wow, this place is amazing,” Ava says.
“Yeah…”
“Have you seen anything as beautiful?”
“I’ve seen you.”
“Oh-be quiet you!”
The garden they are in is brightly lit by the lights of Heaven, which is reflected by the glistening plant life.
“Do you want to rest here for a bit and take in the sights?” Ava says.
“Sure. It’s great here.”
“This is a wonderful place to be. I wonder how we didn’t see it from a distance.”
“This is an even better place with you.”
“Oh, stop it with your flirtatious words and enjoy this place with me.”
The sights overwhelm the two with its beauty, so they sit down to enjoy it. A wind blows through the flowers and plant life, which gives them an almost musical-like tone. They seem to sing in an angelic tone. Ava and Aiden sing along with them.
Stumbling here
Failing there
Always grasping at straws
Always last on the draw
I try to be good
Try to make up for my mistakes
Be a better person
But only you bring out the best in me
That's why I am
Strong,
Wise, and
Unstoppable
When I'm with you,
Only With You
Other people will bring me down
Disappoint me
Even betray me
Some will hide their true intentions behind their actions
But not you
You always hold me up
Pick me up when I fall
Always think the best of me
That's why I am
Fearless,
Confident, and
Just like you
When I'm with you,
Only With You
You love me with all your heart
You make me feel like the most valuable treasure in the world
I can only be my best when I'm with you, only with you
When I'm with you,
When I'm with you,
Only with...
You
Aiden and Ava kiss after the song then stay a few more minutes in the garden before leaving it. They reappear on earth with Belial visible in the distance. He’s surrounded by decay, destruction, and lakes of fire. The dragon isn’t as tall as Aiden thought, but he is still the size of a small house.
“Are you ready to do this Aiden?”
“I am. Keep your distance while I take care of him. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”
“What if you can’t beat him?”
“I will. It’s fate, remember?”
“…right.”
“Have some a little faith in me.”
“Ok…ok. Kick his butt Aiden or I’m going to kick it after!”
“Now that’s motivation.”
Chapter 6 – Longest Longshot
Aiden approaches Belial with hi sword and shield out.
“You’ve finally made it here Aiden. And you brought the failure of a hero with you.”
“She’s not a failure Belial!”
“Oh, so you figured out that Ava was the hero that faced me? You’re not as dumb as you look. Does that mean you also figured out my servants when they tried to kill you?”
“You did that? When?”
“…Well you win some you lose some. Do you know why Ava lost to me?”
“Tell me.”
“Pride always comes before the fall. I should know. She was showered with praise, trained to be the best adventurer in the land, a warrior princess who would also be the hero. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough faith in herself and instead of upgrading her weapons, she damaged them. She didn’t want to show or tell people about it because she thought she could do no wrong. Even though she put up a fight, she wasn’t much to deal with. What a brat.”
“Ava? Is that true?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry! I’ve been trying not to act so spoiled after failing. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to be with me after hearing this.”
Belial says, “You can always sacrifice your lover to me and I will leave this realm for a century. “Heroes” have done it before.”
“No, I still want to be with you Ava. Remember, there’s always a way to fix what’s broken. Don’t let demons like him inside your head.”
“It’s your funeral. I tire of your goody two-shoes talk Aiden. We have a fight to get to.”
“Right. Ava, keep a safe distance from me.”
Ava kisses him then says, “Good luck!”
Belial instantly begins the fight by breathing fire on Aiden. Aiden’s shield and armor protects him. Seeing that his fire breath isn’t capable of damaging him, Belial tries to squish Aiden in the ground, but the shield protects him again. The shield then pulls back and sends Belial toppling to the ground. Aiden uses this opportunity to climb on Belial and stick his sword through Belial’s heart. Belial tries to swipe Aiden off him with his hands, but Aiden swipes back with his sword and shield. Belial then uses his last trick when he spews black flames out of his mouth. Aiden shields himself, but the flames engulf him anyways. It fills his head with lies and attacks his soul.
The voices say, “It’s useless.”
“You’re incompetent.”
“Weak.”
“A failure.”
“Logos can’t save you now.”
“You’re lying!” Aiden screams, “I can beat you! I won’t let your lies overcome me!”
Aiden pushes through the black flames as an unseen hand pushes him forward. Aiden makes his way to Belial’s chest and plunges his sword into the dragon’s chest, which causes a light to radiate from it. As Belial twists in pain, Aiden falls off him and runs away as light pierces through Belial’s body, which explodes into light shortly after. Ava runs over to Aiden and they embrace then kiss each other.
“I told you I could do it,” Aiden says.
“Of course you could. Now what do you say?”
“Where’s my sword?”
“That’s not it, but yeah where is your sword?”
The sword falls from the sky and would’ve hit Aiden in the head if it weren’t for his shield which catches it.
“Aiden you dummy! Watch yourself.”
“I will, and I’ll have help. Will you marry me? Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes!”
Aiden and Ava kiss each other again before heading back to Aiden’s town where they get married. A heroic ending for a meager hero. A hero not so smart, not so strong, but brave and virtuous. Just like all heroes should be at their core.
The End
