The Erratum-Chapter 43: The Price of Freedom.

The world turning somber due to the silence of the night was one of the experiences that Cetas anticipated throughout the day.

Gazing at the stars - admiring its beauty. Feeling the soft cold breeze. Watching as everything turns silently still.

To Cetas, it all felt like a magnificence to behold..

Perhaps the night remembered him of a home that he once had - a home belonging to the lightless abyss of the Depths.

The dreams of seeing stars and gazing at the cloudy skies kept Cetas awake.

He wondered who he was and what life he’d lived.

Was Cetas akin to humans?

Treasuring every possibility that they meet?

Or perhaps.. he was quite different.

Maybe Cetas once secluded himself of many emotions, preventing him from seeing the real world.

Perhaps this is what caused his true longing for the skies and to learn about humans.

One day, he would return home and possibly earn the memories that he’d lost.

With a dull look painted on Cetas’ face, Skadi couldn’t help but lean back and softly speak to the boy..

"Does the stars above invigorate you that much, Cetas? You seem to be attracted to them night by night.."

Cetas shifted his head to the direction of her voice - in front of the carriage, manning the horses, "Perhaps so.."

"Hmm," Skadi’s brows arose, "Does the night remind you of your home?"

"It does.."

"Then we are of the same kind," She let out a little laugh, "Well, maybe not too much.."

Naturally curious about the meaning of her words, Cetas asked:

"What do you mean?"

Skadi’s lips turned into a wry smile, her eyes reminiscent of a past life.

"Long ago, I was just like you.. Almost the same age-" she abruptly stopped and held the harness firmly, "- Admittedly, a bit foolish too. I.. ran away from home due to reasons that held my fate against me. In that house, I felt as if sooner or later my destiny and freedom would be taken away, utilized as a source of power.."

"It felt like I was a vessel for something great - a vessel that was being molded to live a life that did not belong to her."

"So, needless to say, questions began to urge my mind.."

She took a deep breath, a hint of sorrow coming from within her words.

"What was the purpose for my living? What was the reason I was born? If I didn’t have control of my own fate, then why was I still alive?"

"So.. On a fateful day.. I ran."

"I ran as fast as I could, as long as I can, as farther as I can get!"

"I ran towards the forest, never looking back at the prison that once held my destiny. I challenged the own fate that my father has given me and ran to make my own."

"You could say I am selfish, yes.. After all, I left my younger brothers and my.. sister.. to succumb to the very same treatment that I dealt with. However, for the first time in my 15 years of living, I felt truly free.."

Cetas shifted his body, now fully facing towards Skadi to listen to her earnestly.

"My father never found me.. or perhaps he did not choose to. Nevertheless, I ran to the nearest city to live my life there. However, being a runaway wasn’t always.. endearing."

"Many people treated me like a stray dog wailing in the streets for food. There were some that helped, of course, but that didn’t sustain my entire time in the city. Ultimately, I succumbed to hunger, staying within the alleyways and sewers to seek shelter."

"It didn’t matter though, I felt free.."

Skadi sighed, almost finding the entire memory comical, "But freedom always came for a price."

"So.. for months upon months, I became a lanky, garbage-hunting, little girl that wandered around the streets to search for scraps and eat to fill my stomach. Some days, I got lucky and nice people fed me greatly. However, my belly was never truly filled."

"I was always searching for more and more.. Looking for food to eat and satiate my gluttony. I was truly a greedy young girl back then.."

"And due to my greed, I came across the Historian.."

*

On an unbearably hot day where the sun scorched the City of Peridot, a young girl with hair covered in soot and oil, masking the elegance of its original golden splendor, laid down on a dark alleyway that smelled as if a corpse had been rotting for a few days.

She was trying to conserve her energy and ignore the hunger pangs that enveloped her entire stomach.

The girl looked like bone and skin, barely capable of standing straight up.

One glance at her would make one think that she was deceased already.

However, her sea-like blue eyes were still filled with vigor.

Every now and then, a good samaritan would come over and bring her something to eat.

But that, too, was short-lasted.

It had been weeks since she was last given food, her stomach raged uncontrollably as if it were in control of her entire body.

However, when the clocks struck noon, ringing a bell across the entirety of Peridot City, a man clad in black drapes with a black hood that covered his face came by and brought the young Skadi a piece of bread.

Kneeling beside her, the man said in a casual tone, "Child.. If you are in need, then use the energy provided to you by this bread and head to the forest south of the city.."

Lacking in energy, the young Skadi could only nod at the man clad in black.

After he left, Skadi mustered all of her strength to stand up and take a bite of the bread.

It only took a mere minute before she could eat it all, however, this specific piece of grub suddenly nourished her entire body with energy.

It didn’t seem that much though, only a little bit to the point where she can muster enough to walk.

Eyes widening due to surprise, the young Skadi went out of the alleyway and looked around to find the man clad in black.

However, the man was already gone, almost seeming as if he had vanished into thin air - no presence nor footprints left behind.

So, the young Skadi remembered what the man said before leaving, a thought formulating in her mind.

The forest..

Now pulsating with weak energy, she mobilized her energy to walk south.

Although the people were looking at her with disgust, Skadi never took notice of this and continued to head southward.

It took her an hour of struggling to reach the city gates. The guards never cared for her appearance, so they merely let her go and thought that her life was bound to end anyways..

They didn’t know about the man clad in black too! All they noticed was a young girl trying to be considerate of the people inside the city, aiming to die in the forest where she would become nourishment for the plantation.

At least then, she would become useful.

However, Skadi was not aiming to die.

Blinded by her hunger, she continued to drag her feet on the ground below with only one purpose in mind.

"To eat."

Her feet slowly shaking due to the arduous journey, young Skadi didn’t give up and continued to make it past the forest.

The man clad in black never told her where to go or how long she had to wait.

But all she knew was to keep going until she got noticed.

An hour passed, Skadi’s energy had already dwindled down. Filled with many splinters and cuts, she continued to drag her already sluggish leg deeper in the forest.

The flames of hope turned smaller for every step that she took. Realizing that the hunger had blinded her, young Skadi stopped dragging her feet.

Within a second, her legs gave out, making her fall on the rocky earth below.

I’ve been tricked, haven’t I?

..I will really die in the middle of the forest..

Her eyes flickered, the sea-blue light from within dimmed.

So this is the price of freedom..

Surrounded by nothing except for insects and wild animals, the young Skadi looked lifeless as she laid down on the ground.

In the depths of the forest, she felt a cold soothing breeze wash over her, "..H..ow.....foo..lis..h"

With her husky voice, the young Skadi’s eyes became heavier, compelling her to fall under a deep slumber.

Now.. I can rest.

...

...

...

But the light never left her eyes.

Suddenly feeling warmth, young Skadi found herself basking in the sun’s gentle light.

Her heavy eyes drooped, but she kept them open and studied her surroundings. Warm winds made her ragged hair flutter as did the wheat and corn around her, swaying in a unified direction.

Facing a ripe cob in front of her, young Skadi’s blue eyes glimmered. Her mouth watered as her empty stomach grumbled by the sheer sight of thousands upon thousands of corn cobs yonder..

She ravaged the green husk hiding the kernels, throwing them on the ground below and making a mess of herself.

Young Skadi ate like a hungry beast, finishing one cob after another and never letting her hunger decrease.

Her ragged hair made her seem much more of a wild animal rather than a human, especially since her actions portrayed that of her as one.

Never compelled to stop, young Skadi’s mouth watered as she kept feasting upon the numerous corn around her.

That was until an old man wearing a straw hat came by her..

"My, my," the old man looked curious, letting down a sack of corn that he had gathered, "It seems that I have a savage beast destroying my farm.."

The old man walked forward, "Don’t be afraid.."

Kneeling on one knee, he spoke in a gentle tone, "What is your name, child?"

Ingesting the corn inside of her mouth, young Skadi twisted her fingers and moved her knees.. She then let out her raspy voice, "N..am..e?"

She thought for a while, remembering what her father had once called her..

No..

Young Skadi determined that if she were to live anew - to live a life full of freedom - then she would have to let go of her past..

One must stay rooted in their past or they would lose themselves, though..

So, she used her second name.

"..Sc..an..din..avia.."

Whatever name that her father once called her and whoever that person once was, they were gone..

From henceforth, she would use the name Scandinavia, living as a new individual while still staying as herself.

However, the old man in front of her suddenly looked sour.

"Pah! Too many syllables! I am not calling you Scandinavia or whatever!"

He thought for a while, putting his fingers on his chin, "Ah! I know.."

"From now on, I will call you Navia!"