Chapter 3: Silence ------------------ It was dusk. The sun peeped its head up over the horizon, radiating a maroon glow over the pale, dry ground. He had walked some distance now, without rest, food, or water, but it did not concern him. Eternal hung by his side, gently swaying with each step. He could hear birds chirping from all angles, creating one monotonous sound. The wind blew briskly, causing him to flinch, while a shiver shuddered through his body. There was no rain, which seemed odd. "So dry.. Finally.." he mumbled to himself, trying not to disrupt his unnatural relaxed state. Relaxation was uncommon. He actually liked it. The sky was brightening ever so slightly. The colors slowly diffused into each other as the hours past, like a prism reflecting a ray of white light. At first pink, to orange, then yellow, and finally a faint blue. A single cloud could be seen in distance. It towered over the landscape, creating an ominous shadow blanketing the earth. He found himself being dragged toward the cloud. Its darkness infiltrated his mind. It longed for his presence. Besides, with no other obvious choices, the cloud was his temporary destination. "The pendants.." he whispered. The sound of his soft voice seemed to be carried away into the dying breeze. The birds seemed to hush as his meek voice echoed through his ears. There was no use in trying to prevent thoughts such as these from entering into his mind. He had all but forgotten his mission on this world to begin with, and it always lingered around him, waiting to plague his senses once again. As of yet, no real progress had been made, but there were reasons for that. At least he thought so. "I cannot and will not be blamed for my mishaps. I have not been exactly favored to complete this task," he added. It was hard to imagine the vastness of the quest that lay before him. Four pendants, one person, one world. "Not exactly a fair challenge now, is it?" he spoke under his breath, glancing at the sky in the process. "Maybe if I had my magic back. Maybe if I had half of my powers back!" he began to become enraged. "Thank you so very much!" he hollered at the blue above him. He was directing this toward Kaz, of course. His options were few. Nobody could stop him or get in his way. It must be done, and it must happen soon. But, what were his chances of finding them anyway? There was no guarantee of success in the matter, and what was he getting out of it? Satisfaction? "Ha! Hardly! I could be home and happy." Recognition? "Yea.. from who?" There was not going to be a reward this time, so why should he even bother? Is it his problem if the people of this world put themselves in danger? There had to be "other" reasons. The journey could not be in vain. They had to be found, and there was no way to avoid it. But why? The question remained. The circumstances weren't exactly favorable, but, he was Scythe. "Big deal.. Who am I, anyway? I don't care anymore." He continued to walk on, in silence. Things began to look very bleak, but didn't they always? Time went by quickly, and sooner than he had expected, it was reaching noon. The sun was glaring overhead, slightly heating his forehead. He could feel himself sweating, a horrible experience.. Now, he yearned for water. His parched throat offered him no recompense, and he began to fear dehydration. Other than this, he was unbothered. Food wasn't actually a necessity to Scythe. He was gaining on the "cloud" in the distance What was it? A huge storm? He really didn't know, nor care for that matter. It just seemed like the place to be. Something was dragging him there. Something was always dragging him somewhere. Something was always making him do things he did not necessarily want to do, including the entire journey he was currently in the middle of. It was all just too strange to comprehend. The feeling of being pulled against one's own will. Who are we controlled by? Do we control ourselves? It is one of those unanswerable questions. Scythe, in fact, was the farthest from an answer. As the sky faded from a brilliant blue to a drab gray, he began to get weary. All things seemed to get dimmer and dimmer. The breeze calmed and the dust settled. He ran a forearm across his brow, pushing back his sweaty, silver locks. He noticed how badly his feet hurt from the intense walking. Along with his feet, his entire body ached from the vigorous day. Altogether, he thought, it had been at least eight hours of straight, non-stop walking. Of course, it wasn't this long, but maybe close. It had been a day since he had seen rain though, which brought along good spirits. This was something he couldn't have foreseen. It felt good to be dry. He could barely see his cloud looming over the horizon, as the sun began to move out for the evening. It wasn't necessarily dark, but hazy. The gray sky was darkening ever so slowly, if at all. He stopped his walking, which had reduced to a steady crawl, and made himself a place to sit on the hard, dusty ground. There were some patches of soft grass, but they were very few and far-between. He turned his head from left to right, scanning the terrain, but he could see nothing but flat, endless plains. He began to dream about food and water while staring at the dreamy sky. If he only had some water, things would be fine.. He looked around in a circle one last time before lying down on his back, facing the boundless heavens. Again, he began to miss his home, the Havens, and his pleasant life there. It couldn't have been more perfect anywhere else. It was his home. He belonged there. He awed at the ineffable size of the dark dome above him. All those stars.. There were so many stars, he thought. Thousands? Millions? It would be impossible to measure. Each glimmered in its own unique way. He began to wonder if there was life anywhere else. He tilted his head at the notion, and imagined it possible. He wished he had more answers to questions as these. He has so many questions. Detaching his mind from its dreamy state, he realized he would have to go all night without any protection. This was not a thrilling thought.. An attack was possible at any time. "If I'm lucky, something will eat me," he thought to himself, grinning sheepishly. The wind howled, and Scythe lifted his head. He heard the noises of the night: insects chirping, and silence... Only at night, silence was a sound in itself. Gripping the sword Eternal in his hand, he let his head rest and his eyes close. Darkness encompassed him. It was bound to be a long night.