MLII C3, P3- "The Wound That Will Never Heal"

"The Wound That Will Never Heal" is the third Part of "Miracula Luxia II" 's third Chapter. It was released on 05.12.2020.
== Plot ==
After slaying the invaders who attacked the Dryads in the nearby forest, Jared and John return to Duskwood, only to find it destroyed.
It seems like the rest of the Vahnatai have taken advantage of the heroes' absence and decided to attack the place and kill as many people as possible. Unfortunately, their plan worked perfectly.
All that remains for Jared and John now is to rescue John's father, escape the ruins together and find a safer place to stay, away from the hostiles.
== Story ==
Jared shoots an arrow at the nearest Vahnatai and pierces it in the chest.
Meanwhile, the rest of the humanoids turn around and see the two boys. They try to defend themselves, but their efforts are in vain.
Jared draws his sword and fights three of the Vahnatai and John manages to get the attention of two more.
However, one of the Vahnatai decides that it not worth the effort trying to fight the two boys and instead tries to break the door that leads to the inside of the Braveheart household.
Unfortunately, it succeeds. The door opens and it sees a man standing behind it.
He immediately draws his weapon after getting a good look at the creature.
"It is the end of the line for you, Mr. Braveheart."- The Vahnatai says and charges.
John, seeing that his father is being attacked, rushes to his aid and jumps on the Vahnatai's back, stabbing it mercilessly in the process.
As the last of the attackers falls, John approaches his father and hugs him.
"They didn't hurt you, did they?"- He asks him.
The man shakes his head.
"They tried to kill me. They were at my door. I was so close to death."- He says- "But, in the last moment, you finally came to save me."
Jared stares at the fleeing people and realizes that not everyone has died in the attack. He turns to John's father.
"Mr. Braveheart, why didn't you run away with the survivors?"- He asks him- "Why did you stay here and... wait for us?"
The man shakes his head.
"I wanted to run away. I was preparing to leave this dangerous place behind me, to stay somewhere else."- He responds- "But I was too late. By the time I was ready to leave, the enemy was already knocking at my door. My only escape route was cut off and I was trapped... here. In our home. Alone."
While Mr. Braveheart speaks, Jared manages to inspect him.
From the looks of it, he is still fine. Maybe a little shaken from what happened outside, but not physically hurt.
All that remains now is for the three of them to leave and find out where the rest of the Duskwood refugees went after escaping the ruins.
"John, we must get out of here as soon as possible."- Jared says to his best friend- "I know that you want to protect this place, but it is too late to be saved. We must regroup with the other survivors and think about how to respond to this... sudden attack."
John nods and turns to his father.
"Dad, I'm so sorry. First, you had to experience the death of mom and now... now, this."- He says to him- "Please forgive me for being so ignorant."
His father smiles and pats him on the shoulder.
"Don't be so sad, kiddo. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. Mistakes that we're forced to endure in the long run."- He responds- "Now's not the time to grieve about our beautiful hometown. Now, we must think about the future, about how we can defeat those who dared to attack us."
John nods.
"So, this means that it's time for us to go."- He mutters.
His father sighs.
"Yes, unfortunately."- He says- "Are you ready to leave?"
John looks up, as if he just remembered something important that he has to do.
"Hold on!"- He exclaims- "I... I need to get something."
He turns to Jared.
"Wait for me outside. I'll be back soon, I promise!"
Jared nods and escorts Mr. Braveheart outside.
Mr. Braveheart sighs.
"What a nightmare. Being attacked by those murderers in your own home and witnessing how most of my dear friends die to them."- He says- "They've inflicted a wound in our hearts that will never heal."
He looks at Jared and smiles.
"At least we've got heroes like you, Jared. Heroes who work day and night to get rid of this menace, in the name of justice."- He continues- "Thank you for keeping us safe."
Jared smiles back and salutes him.
"It is my pleasure, sir."- He responds- "When it comes to protecting the innocent people around the world, I will do everything to protect them from the enemy."
The two of them wait for John outside.
By the time Jared looks at the watch on his arm, ten minutes have passed. He wonders if John is going to come out soon.
Just as he decides to go back into the house, John comes out. He seems to be holding something in his left hand.
Jared looks at it and realizes that he is holding a picture.
"John, what is this picture?"- He asks him.
John shows the picture to his best friend. Within it, there are two people standing in a house.
One of them is a very young, red-haired boy and the other is an adult woman, probably in her late twenties. The woman is hugging the child and both of them are smiling.
Once his best friend has gotten a good look at it, John pulls the picture away and wipes a tear with his other hand.
"It's... it's a memory of my mother when she was alive, one of the few besides those within my mind."- He says and puts the picture in his backpack- "I felt a sudden urge that I should take it with me and... and I did. I hope that I didn't worry you, because of my absence. It was lost deep within the house and I had to spend a lot of time to find it."
His father smiles.
"Well done, son. Your mother would be very proud of you."- He says.
John looks up.
"Do you... do you really think so, dad?"
Mr. Braveheart nods.
"I have never been so sure in my entire life."
Having gather what they need, the three of them leave what remains of Duskwood behind them, at least for now.
In the forest, they try to find out where the refugees left. They find a pair of tracks heading west and follow them.
However, they soon stop and they are lost.
Just as they start to turn back, they see someone approaching them. Upon closer inspection, the two boys realize that it is the Dryad that they helped earlier- Bethesda.
They bow to her. She smiles and tells them to get up.
After she does that, she suddenly bows to them.
"Heroes, thank you for saving my people from a certain doom!"- She says- "I knew that you were the right people to ask for help!"
Jared smiles.
"We are glad that we helped, mighty dryad."- He responds.
Bethesda nods. Then she looks down, as if she feels guilty about something.
"I saw how Duskwood was destroyed."- She continues- "I tried to help, but I was too late. I... I failed to protect the peaceful people who lived around our forest."
She turns to Jared.
"But I might be able to help with something else."- She says- "Not long ago, I saw a small group of humans run away from Duskwood and head west. I could help you get to them, if you want."
Jared nods.
"We appreciate your offer to help us, mighty dryad."- He responds- "Lead the way."
The four of them head west and soon reach a small camp at the end of the forest.
Having helped her new friends, Bethesda smiles.
"Here. Your friends are just ahead. My mission is done. I am glad that I helped."- She says and takes a step back- "Now, if you will excuse me, my sisters need me. As much as I want to help you further, I must help them recover from the attack that they were forced to endure."
"Farewell, heroes."
After she says that, she takes another step back and goes back into the woods.
Jared and John look at each other for a moment, sigh and enter the camp with John's father.
One of the soldiers sees them and alerts someone near the central campfire. Soon, a tall warrior approaches the two boys and shakes their hands.
After looking at him closely, they realize that it is the Commander.
"So, you survived the attack!"- He says and smiles- "Well done! I thought that you were gone for good!"
Jared smiles as well.
"Heroes never die, sir!"- He says- "Especially when our allies still need our help!"
He looks around the encampment and sees that there are very few people who have survived the Vahnatai's attack. All of them look at him sadly.
"Is everyone doing well?"- He asks the commander.
The man sighs.
"Their morale is broken. They're afraid. However, they're not dead and that's a relief for me."- He responds- "The citizens will recover. It will just take some time for that to happen."
Jared nods.
"So, about the bandits that you sent us to kill... "
The Commander sighs and shakes his head.
"I would love to hear about your major victory against them. I'm sure that both you and John did very well. However, I'm afraid that this victory will not be very important for us. Not in a sutuation like this."- He says and smiles sadly- "Forgive me for my ignorance."
Jared nods.
"Nevermind then."- He responds- "Would you mind if we stayed in the encampment for a while? We are very tired and need to find a place to rest for the night."
The Commander smiles again.
"Oh, there's always place for the heroes of Duskwood! We would never send you away, even if we aren't in our dear hometown."- He says- "There are two tents in the northernmost corner of the encampment. You may stay there, if you wish."
Jared nods and smiles.
"Then we shall go there. Thank you for the kindness, sir."
The Commander nods and watches as the three of them go there. He looks at the people around him, sighs and returns to the central campfire to warm himself.
Three hours pass. The sun goes down and most people go to sleep.
While John's father sleep, Jared and John sit next to the campfire that is near their house.
John turns to his best friend.
"Jared."- He begins- "Do you think that the world will ever return to normal? Do you think that we will ever happy again?"
Jared sighs and shakes his head.
"As much as I want to say otherwise, I must say that this world will never be the same. We are witnessing a major change that will change our world, whether it will be for good... or for bad."- He responds- "However, this does not mean that we won't be happy. Once the evil around us is eradicated, we will reunite with our families and find the peace and quiet that we have been wanting to achieve for so long."
John nods and looks at the campfire.
"You're right. From what you just said, I understand that the End is just the Beginning for us. Is that right?"
Jared nods.
"Correct."- He responds- "This is the end of the old world and the beginning of a new, better world that we have always wanted to live in, where people can defend what is theirs, care for each other and show the enemy that they are not afraid. It is truly a miracle that we are experiencing right now, a baptism by flames that will burn the weak and dependent to death and strengthen those who can defend themselves and thus deserve our full respect towards them. This... is a world where our qualities as heroes and selfless defenders of the Innocent are tested, where the citizens of the world will have to learn how to defend themselves against the enemy."
John nods and yawns. It seems like all of those traumatic events are taking a toll on him and making him feel tired.
"Forgive me, my friend. I'm very tired and must go to sleep."- He says and gets up- "Good night."
"Good night!"- Jared says and watches as his best friend goes into his tent to sleep.
Then, he turns around and looks at the sky above him. He sees something in the distance and smiles.
"Mom, it has been a long time since you left this world, since you were forced to leave us behind."- He says- "The world has changed a lot since then and I am sure that you will feel very sad about it. I know that very, very well."
He sighs and looks down.
"Our family will never be the same. Now that you are gone, the trust between us is gone, too."- He continues- "I have always wanted us to be a better family, to love and respect each other. To show that nothing will ever tear us apart, no matter how hard they try to separate us. But now, I see that all of my dreams are in vain. The family that we used to be years ago is gone forever and there is nothing that I can do about it. Nothing... "
He smiles and looks up.
"However, I still haven't give up! One day, we will be a happy family and we will be safe. And it will be thanks to our constant efforts. We are not going to give up!"- He says- "We may have lost this battle, but I am sure that we will win the war!"
He looks at the stars and smiles again.
"One day, me and my friends will defeat those vagabonds and bring peace to this world. I hope that you are watching us from above, because I will do my best to make you feel proud! I will conquer the Darkness that rests within the darkest corner of my heart in your name and I will let the world know that the Kaos family is always vigilant and ready to fight. Rest assured of that!"
Having said that, Jared lays in the ground behind him and looks at the sky for a few minutes. 
Then, he closes his eyes and dreams of being with his beloved mother, finally at peace.
== Trivia ==
* This Part also has an alternative title. It is called "The Wound".
* This Part officially introduces John's father- James Braveheart, as a character in the main "Miracula Luxia" series, after being introduced for the first time in "Miracula Luxia: The Prequel".