The Land of Gods

The boy remained silent for a moment before finally getting up and going to help the couple. The chores were simple—clean the pharmacy, organize the medicines, and take care of other miscellaneous tasks that needed to be done for the day. After all that, he was then tasked with taking out a giant pot full of soup from the back and bringing it outside of the pharmacy.

Arthur took a deep breath before reluctantly opening the door. As the warm light of the sun slowly entered the pharmacy, his vision became blurry. Flashes of hundreds of pale, gaunt, and poorly clothed people filled his mind, all of them crying and begging for the smallest crumbs.

Arthur took another deep breath and closed his eyes. As he slowly opened them, he could clearly see the actual group—dozens, not hundreds—of people eagerly waiting in an orderly line. The gruesome visions from before would fill Arthur with guilt. But this sight, the sight of these worthless meatbags, disgusted him to the point of almost throwing up. He didn't know why.

Still, even if he hated it, the boy remembered that all of this was to help the elderly couple. He took another deep breath before putting the pot in place. Soon, Granny Anna and Grandpa Albert brought out the wooden bowls, and from there, they started serving the people.

It was a very simple job. Grab a bowl, fill it with soup, and then hand it to the first person in line. Repeat that for the next one and so on. Each time he handed a bowl, he was thanked. However, the boy wasn't interested in their thanks but in finishing this as quickly as possible.

Arthur understood very well the effort Granny Anna and Grandpa Albert made to help these people, but ultimately, Arthur knew that these same people would be the first ones to harm them if it benefited them. A simple, honest truth that made Arthur despise all these people.

Why did the elderly couple have to give up so much when they weren't at fault for the current situation? Why show kindness to these strangers that would leave them at the first sign of danger? Why save him, someone awful by nature?

The boy pondered, like every other day, why they saved him that day. He had nothing to give back to the elderly couple, yet they even granted him a roof to stay under. He didn't have to give them anything, so he tried helping at the pharmacy, yet only brought them trouble with his clumsiness, making more problems. Yet, they never blamed him.

The boy looked back at the line, faint flashes showing them again as the hundreds of malnourished people he saw a moment ago. But then, another flash happened, switching everybody to the vivid image of Arthur himself. Disgust and anger started fueling the boy's eyes, and it only worsened with each bowl he gave out.

Just then, someone gently pulled on Arthur's cloak. As he looked down, he saw Mary, a little girl who came to ask for food alongside her mom and dad. She was skinny and poorly clothed, yet she still had a giant smile on her face.

"Arthur! How are you today?" the little girl asked enthusiastically.

"I'm doing ok—" the boy tried to reply, yet accidentally bit his tongue.

The boy started rolling over from the pain as the crowd started laughing. Arthur was pissed at the sight.

"How dare you laugh at me!" he yelled in frustration.

"How could we not? Seeing you bite your own tongue is part of the routine at this point," said Marcus, a young adult after Mary's family.

"Agreed," added Anthony, another young adult a little bit further back in the line.

"If you don't want us to keep laughing, then it would do you best to keep the line moving," mockingly spat Simon, a very brawny adult, the tallest in the line.

Truly, this was the song and dance of Arthur's every day. The same group of people came to the pharmacy expecting food, and he would give it to them. Once his pain finally subsided, he returned to serving the people food with a smile on his face this time.

The day went by very fast, now being the afternoon. Everybody had a bowl and was enjoying a warm, full meal. Arthur sat on the pharmacy's small flight of stairs, watching everybody with a meek expression.

It didn't take long before Mary and some other kids joined him. Though the boy didn't eat himself, he still found peace in the loud chatter of the children. Truly, though he hated this part of the day, Arthur would be lying if he denied the peace it brought him.

Just then, a group of armed people started approaching the place. Everyone was shocked upon realizing it was a group of squires led by Rodrick.

The knight order was a group of people united to defend the kingdom of Aetheria in the name of the royal family. To become a knight, one would have to prove to be strong enough to be worthy of the title. Below them were the squires—people who weren't qualified enough to become knights yet still possessed decent strength to not be completely ignored.

Squires were recruited to serve as guards in smaller cities like this one or fill up the numbers if ever needed. Though they weren't knights, they still enjoyed certain privileges that made many eager to join their ranks.

However, these benefits had turned the squires into tyrants in many cities. They extorted money from shops, evicted people from their homes, and sometimes even took lives without consequence since they were too far away from any knight base to care about them.

The greatest proof of these atrocities was the very same people Granny Anna and Grandpa Albert fed—previously citizens of this city, now reduced to outcasts in the city they once called home. All because of Rodrick, one of the three squire captains of the city, who abused his power and robbed them of their possessions while taking them out of their homes.

"It is lively here as always," Rodrick said with a small grin as he approached Grandpa Albert.

"I hope you have enough this month too, Mr. Albert."

Grandpa Albert nervously took out a small pouch from his pocket, which contained a very hefty sum of money. Though Arthur didn't know the exact amount, he could tell it was enough to feed everybody for three whole months.

The boy was furious. Rodrick and his lackeys would always come here, taking advantage of their position to extort money from Granny Anna and Grandpa Albert. Everybody looked furious, yet contained their anger.

"Yeah, that's what I like! You mongrels stay right there while I count my hard-earned money!"

Rodrick took a moment counting the money in the pouch. However, with a devilish grin, he let it fall to the ground.

"Sorry, Grandpa Albert, but it's not enough."

"How can that be? I counted it myself this morning," Grandpa Albert said, panic evident in his voice.

"Don't worry, though. We're old friends, after all, so we can solve this in a civilized manner. I'll just take a look inside your pharmacy and find something to cover the missing amount."

Grandpa Albert wanted to refute but ultimately stepped aside. Rodrick and the squires that followed him took their sweet time walking to the pharmacy. It didn't take long until they were face to face with Arthur.

He had to do something. Arthur knew that if those guys entered the pharmacy, they would wreck the place. These people were threatening his safe paradise, and Arthur could do nothing more than grit his teeth and step aside.

Just then, Mary and the other kids suddenly went in front of the door, putting themselves between it and Rodrick's group.

"We won't let you pass!" shouted the children in unison.

Everybody around stood in shock for a moment. The silence was broken by Rodrick, who started to frantically laugh at the sight in front of him, even shedding tears. Once he had calmed down, he nonchalantly grabbed his sheathed sword and attempted to bash Mary with it.

Arthur jumped just in time to protect the girl from the attack, yet the impact was so heavy that he fell to his knees, his head bleeding from the powerful strike.

"Oh? Little Arthur wants to grow into a man today? I can help you with that," Rodrick sneered.

He then began to repeatedly bash Arthur with his weapon. Even when the boy tried to block the attacks, the sheer force easily broke through his guard. Arthur could do nothing but remain on the ground as Rodrick mercilessly beat him.

His consciousness began to fade. Through his blurred vision, he barely saw the children being held back by their parents, their desperate cries reaching his ears. The elderly couple knelt on the ground, pleading for Rodrick to stop.

Just as Rodrick prepared to deliver the final strike, he suddenly halted as he heard footsteps in the distance.

"What do you think you're doing, Rodrick?" a voice rang out from the distance.

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice, watching as two figures slowly approached. Rodrick stepped forward, meeting them halfway. A moment passed as the three stood face to face, silence filling the air around them.