“Please don’t scream. You don’t have much time left.”
The explosion had trapped hundreds of miners and killed hundreds more, causing tunnels to collapse and power to go out, plunging everyone into darkness. Desar was one of those many miners, stuck inside a small cave, clinging desperately onto a fading lamp as muddy water trickled in. The screaming though wasn’t because of the catastrophe, the fear from hearing others dying, the fact that Desar might not ever see sunlight again. It was due to the sudden appearance of a strange, yellow, gold and black being.
“WHAT ARE YOU?” Desar gasped for breath. Apart from ‘armoured’, ‘scary’ and ‘yellow’, Desar had no idea how to describe the creature. It didn’t have fur but it lacked scales too. It certainly wasn’t a Cervid like Desar, no fur, no antlers, no blunt fingers or heavy hooves. Its eyes glowed gold in the darkness. And it was carrying a rather ornate shovel. “HOW DID YOU GET HERE?”
“I’m Arkadin, the Lord of Decay.” the creature answered solemnly. “Please, savour your breath. You are running out of breathable air.”
“Why are you here? To kill me?”
“No. I’m here to deal with what happens after you die. The lack of oxygen in this small cave is what will kill you.”
The way this being spoke, it was as if it perfectly understood Desar’s words, but it had a strange, otherworldly… accent, perhaps? It clearly wasn’t from around here.
“Am I going to die?”
“Yes.”
Desar sighed. As soon as he felt the explosion, he had feared that this would happen. Hell, it was always a possibility in this line of work. But Desar had always hoped that it wouldn’t happen to him. Not yet at least.
“You… you can’t save me?”
“I’m not really allowed to. I’m not supposed to interfere.”
“But you are interfering now.”
The being sat down in the muddy water opposite Desar, making clicking noises with its mouth. The same tetutting Cervids did when upset, yet deeper. “Technically, I’m not. You’re alone here. You’re going to die alone. Not even a miracle can save you, because of the water flooding in, the slowly dwindling oxygen. You’re hundreds of meters away from the nearest equipment hotspot and there will be more explosions and more unsettled rubble. But because you are so isolated, I am permitted to be here.”
“Why?”
“Because no one will know I was here physically. No one but you.”
Desar’s fear had subsided slightly, replaced by confusion. “But why are you here?”
“Because you’ve been completely alone your entire, brief life, and I wanted to offer companionship in your last moments.”
The confusion steadily increased. “You… do this for everyone like me?”
“I wish I could, but there’s so many like you who die alone. I just… I want to make everyone more comfortable, to make it easier for everyone, but I don’t have that power. So in the mean time, I can give you some company.”
Desar took a deep breath, calming down a little. The air was bad. There was no visibility. Things were… inevitable. But for some reason, Desar didn’t feel bad. He felt… almost understanding of his situation.
“Will it hurt? When I die?”
“No. It’ll be painless.”
“Ah… What about you though? Do you feel pain?”
The creature nodded. “I feel a lot of pain. The only real difference between you and me is that I live longer and am more powerful. I feel everything you do.”
“Like loneliness?”
“Yes.”
Was it just Desar or was it getting colder in there? The water had been steadily rising and there was nothing Desar could do about it.
“Will my body be found?”
This time, the being didn’t answer immediately.
“Yes. But not in the way you imagine.”
“I… I don’t get it…” Desar was yawning. Why was he yawning?
The creature got up and stepped towards Desar, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Your body will be found, preserved, by future generations, wanting to learn how to better their mining operations.”
“Huh… that’s not so bad… pretty interesting actually…” Desar muttered as he found himself drifting off to sleep. After a few more heavy breaths, Desar closed his eyes, unaware that he’d never open them again.