MLII C7, P2- "Golden Heart"

"Heart Of Ice" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's seventh Chapter. It was released on 07.07.2021.
== Plot ==
After Jared emerges from the dark forest where he was forced to camp for a while, he notices a settlement and rushes to aid the residents in their struggle against their attackers.
Soon, he will come to a realization that his enemies, the "Darkness of Duskwood" gang, are far from being completely eliminated. Even when their leader is gone, their athrocities against innocent people will not stop.
Or, until they are taught a lesson by a greater authority, at the very least. Which is what Jared is planning to do in order to protect the residents of this peaceful village.
Today, the blood of many enemies shall be shed on the battlefield. But it will be done for a good cause- the safety and prosperity of the world and its citizens. In the name of everything that is sacred.
It is time to fight!
== Story ==
Without hesitation, our hero, Jared Kaos joins the fight. He attacks three bandits that are in front of him and saves the life of a young woman and her baby.
"Thank you!"- The woman says as she tries to stop the baby from crying- "I thought that we were doomed!"
Jared smiles.
'It is fine, lady. I will not allow those vagabonds to hurt you. Or anyone else, in this matter."- He says to her- "What is going on here?"
The woman shakes her head.
"Oh. It is horrible."- She says- "Those bandits attacked us when we least expected them to do so. One moment, they were far away from us. The next one, they started to enter the village, burning down the buildings and killing the villagers. It seems like they have something against us, but I don't know what!"
From the looks of it, she is very close to panicking and frantically trying to get away. It takes a few seconds for Jared to calm her down, but he succeeds and gives her some space.
"I assure you that I am not one of them."- He tells her- "My name is Jared Kaos- a hero from far away. All that I want to do is to help the people of this village. Rest assured that I will protect everyone!"
The woman looks at her baby, then back up at Jared. In a matter of seconds, her eyes start to gleam with newfound hope.
"Everyone?"- She asks him- "Even those that you just met?"
Jared nods.
"A hero always protects those that he cares about."- He says- "And I care about everyone, no matter if they care about me as well or not."
The woman smiles.
"I knew it!"- She exclaims- "From the moment when you killed those brigands, I saw the good in you. What they said about you is actually true!"
Jared smiles and nods.
"I would love to chat with you lady. However, as you can see, the time is not right."- He politely interrupts her and takes a step back- "I am afraid that we are not out of danger yet. Until those bandits are defeated, there is still something to be stopped. So, if you will excuse me, I must take my leave."
He takes a step back and starts to walk away.
"Farewell, you two!"- He says as he does.
The mother waves goodbye to him. Then, she looks at her baby.
"See, sweetie? Heroes like Jared are always here to protect us, no matter what's the cost."- She says to it- "One day, you may also become a hero like him. Who knows?"
The baby's eyes widen for a second. It doesn't seem to understand what she just said to it.
She smiles and shakes her head.
"No. It's too foolish of me to dream things like these."- She adds- "Heroes are a rare this in this world. But great heroes like him? They're incredibly precious and irreplacable. Like diamonds."
She looks back at her baby.
"But for me, you're my little diamond."- She continues and kisses it on the forehead- "You will grow strong and safe, far from those wicked brigands."
She hugs her baby.
"It's okay, little one."- She says as it finally calms down- "Mama will always love you and protect you. Always."
Unbeknownst to them, Jared stopped and started listening to them a few seconds ago. When he hears the word "mama", his eyes fill with tears. He remembers how his own mother said the same thing when he was a child.
"Those memories, they are the only thing that is left of her."- He says to himself- "I will keep them in my heart and remember how we used to be happy and safe. And I will do this forever."
Then, he notices that the mother is looking at him and quickly wipes away the tears from his eyes. He takes a step back, waves at them and smiles.
Confused, the woman waves back and watches silently as Jared walks away and starts to fight a small group of bandits.
As Jared kills all of them in a matter of seconds, he notices something interesting in the distance. It seems like one of the bandits is barking orders to his allies, but none of them are listening to him or trying to protect him. Likewise, none of the village's guards dare to attack him. The reason for that is unknown, at least for the moment.
Immediately, Jared senses the trap. If this is really the leader of the bandits, he can't be that foolish to bark orders out in the open.
Instead of directly going for him, he decides to help the villagers instead.
He draws Demonslayer and charges at the nearest group of bandits. One by one, all of them are killed by him. Then, he moves on to the next one and does the same.
It takes him about ten minutes to clear the area. However, the bandits are too disorganized to put up a fight against him. Thus, he achieves an easy, yet unsatisfying, victory.
As the last bandit in the area is killed by Jared, he looks up and sees the bandit from earlier stare at the corpses of his allies. Suddenly, he sees that the way behind him is clear and tries to make a run for it.
Jared decides that he does not want to take any chances. He leaps to his feet and charges at the bandit.
Just as he is about to escape, he is grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.
"Coward!"- Jared yells at him- "First, you command your warriors to kill those innocent people! Then, you think that you can run away while everyone is distracted! Why? Why were you so foolish to come here in the first place?!"
The bandit smiles.
"You and your friends may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war yet."- He says to him- "Even when our leader is gone, we will stay strong. We will fight and raid. We will weaken the communities and slay those who dare to oppose us. Like you."
Suddenly, he grabs his weapon and leaps to his feet. Jared tries to fight him off, but he is too fast.
He successfully manages to avoid his attack in the last moment, but is stabbed elsewhere in the process.
As he stumbles back and tries to stop his wound, the bandit laughs.
"You're nothing more than a one-time wonder! A kid with amazing powers who's destined to stop people like us!"- The bandit says- "But your road ends here! Your allies were the source of your strength. But now, they're not here. You're alone."
As Jared tries to reach for his weapon, the bandit laughs and kicks it away.
"So, tell me. Do you see the truth?"- He continues- "Do you see how weak you are? Or do you need more evidence to see it... and feel it?"
Jared shakes his head.
"My friends may not be here, but their souls are connected with mine. I am never alone. Never."- He responds to this mockery- "And, even if I am alone, I do not need any help to defeat scum like you!"
The bandit watches as Jared leaps to his feet and grabs his weapon in a matter of only a single second. Before he can react, he is stabbed in the chest and is forced to drop his weapon.
As he gasps for breath, he looks up and sees Jared staring at him. His eyes are filled with pure hatred.
"Heroes always get remembered."- He says calmly- "But you know legends never die."
Then, he stabs him in the head and watches as his lifeless corpse falls on the ground.
"And if you don't know."- He finishes- "Now, you know."
As he starts to walk away from the battle, he falls on his knees. He lifts his shirt and notices his wound.
"It looks like he managed to hurt me."- He says to himself and shakes his head- "I will need to stop it before I die from blood loss. But... how?"
He notices some of the villagers approaching him and wonders whether he should ask them for help or not.
A few seconds later, he decides that it is his own problem. Instead of revealing his wound to them, he pulls his shirt back and hides it as they get close to him.
One of the villagers gets close to him. He is an elderly man, probably in his late 50s, who wears the tattered robes of a shaman and holds a long staff which sparkles with magical energy.
"On behalf of the entire village, I thank you, Jared Kaos, for sparing us from a fate worse than death."- He says to him- "We heard the tales of the young hero who helped the lands of Avernum and saved them from evil, but we didn't know that you would come to help us in this time of need."
As Jared and the shaman talk to each other, a group of water mages rushes into the village and starts to put down the fires with their spells.
Meanwhile, the shaman approaches our hero and touches his forehead.
"As a reward, allow me to teach you one of our most powerful abilities."- He continues- "One that will ease your mind and allow you to channel your inner energy to defeat your foes."
Jared closes his eyes. A huge wave of powerful energy hits him, but it does not knock him back. He has already mastered the ways of the ancients, enough to resist such minor setbacks.
As he starts to open his eyes, he starts to feel the energy flowing within him. Unlike what he expected at first, this is not dark energy that is used to cast spells in battle.
This is the essence of light, the one that is used to heal people!
"May the mighty God shine his light upon you, young hero."- The shaman says- "We understand that you are too busy to help us further. It is okay. We can handle the rest of this by ourselves."
Jared raises his eyebrow.
"Are you sure?"- He says weakly- "It seems like there are still bandits in the vicinity. What if they attack you in this weakened state? You may need help."
The shaman shakes his head.
"We appreciate your help."- He says- "However, it is time for us to show that we are not afraid of our enemies. Thanks to you, we were able to regain our courage and we are ready to fight off every enemy that comes in our way. No matter who or what it is."
Having said that, he and the rest of the villagers start to walk away, but not before waving goodbye to the hero.
Now left alone in the middle of the village, Jared decides to leave it behind and enter the forest to the north.
It takes him a few minutes to regain some of his energy and walk away, but when he does, he notices that he is very close to the forest.
Interesting. From a distance, it seemed to be far away.
But it does not matter. Jared is too weak to deal with such things right now. Thus, he decides to enter the forest without thinking too much about it.
Once he is deep within, he finds a safe glade and decides to sit down. He lifts his shirt and sees that his wound is getting worse.
"This is not good."- He says to himself- "I must find a remedy for this. And fast."
Instinctively, he picks up a few leaves from a nearby bush and tries to wrap them up into something else.
"My mother taught me how to create a bandage when I was younger. She said that it would help if I ever end up in the wilds by myself.."- He says to himself- "Back then, I never thought that I would need this knowledge. But now? Now, I am glad that I still remember it."
A few seconds later, he finishes wrapping the leaves into a bandage. He infuses it with magical energy and wraps it around his wound.
Soon, the healing properties manage to stop the bleeding. 
Jared smiles.
"It seems like I will live to see another day. Take that, vagabonds!"- He says to himself- "But, I think that I should... rest... for a while... first... "
How strange. It seems like he is weakened by the magical energy, even though his bleeding was stopped in the process.
As he starts to contemplate whether to continue onward or not, he yawns, passes out and falls on the grass beneath him.
== Trivia ==
* The words "Heroes always get remembered./But you know legends never die." and "If you don't know/Now you know." are a reference to the lyrics of a song by "Panic! At The Disco" that is known as "Emperor's New Clothes"