The rain had stopped.

I stood at the edge of the cliff. The mist hung low, swallowing the valley below. I adjusted the strap of my pack. It dug into my shoulder. I did not care. I looked at the woman beside me. Her name was Elara. She was small. She was quiet. She was my wife.

We had walked for three days. The road was gone. The map was useless. The ink had run. The paper had rotted in our hands. We were alone. The world was empty.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

My voice sounded strange. It sounded like gravel.

"I am cold," she said.

I took off my coat. I wrapped it around her. She shivered. I pulled her close. Her head rested against my chest. I felt her heart beat. It was fast. It was small. It was mine.

"Who is coming?" she asked.

" The Wardens," I said.

"They will kill us."

"They will try."

I looked out at the mist. The Wardens were always coming. They were tall. They wore grey. They had no faces. Only eyes. Black eyes. They smelled of iron and old blood. They were the law. The law was hungry.

I was a soldier once. I wore their grey. I carried their sword. I killed men for their coin. I thought I was strong. I was wrong. I was a tool. A blade without a hand.

Then I saw the Root.

It grew from the stone. It was black. It pulsed. It breathed. I touched it. Pain shot through my arm. I screamed. Elara screamed. The mist parted. The Wardens were there.

"Run," I said.

We ran.

We ran through the forest. The trees were black. The branches twisted like fingers. We ran until our lungs burned. We ran until our feet bled. The Wardens did not run. They walked. They were always close. They were always there.

We stopped at a clearing. There was a pool of water. It was black. It was still.

"We must cross," I said.

"It is deep," Elara said.

"It is not deep."

I looked at her. Her eyes were wide. They were full of fear. I saw my own face in her eyes. I saw the soldier. I saw the killer. I saw the man who left his family for a sword.

"I am sorry," I said.

"For what?"

"For leaving you."

I did not mean the road. I meant the years. I meant the nights I did not come home. I meant the silence. I meant the way I looked at her as if she were a stranger.

She touched my face. Her hand was cold.

"Do not leave me again," she said.

I nodded. I could not speak. My throat was tight. My chest was heavy. The mist was closing in. The Wardens were closer. I could hear their boots on the stone. The sound was like a heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump.

I looked at the pool. The water was black. It reflected the sky. The sky was empty. There were no stars. There was only grey.

"We must jump," I said.

"Why?"

"To escape."

"Escape to where?"

"I do not know."

She looked at me. She smiled. It was a small smile. It was sad.

"Then we jump together."

I held her hand. Her fingers were cold. I squeezed them. I felt her pulse. I felt her life. I did not want to let go. I did not want to let go of anything. I was afraid. I was so afraid.

The Wardens were here. I saw them. They stood at the edge of the clearing. They held their swords. The blades were black. They dripped.

"Turn," said the leader.

I did not turn. I looked at Elara.

"Go," I said.

"No."

"Go."

I pushed her. She stumbled back. She fell into the mist. I screamed. I ran after her. I slipped. I fell. The stone cut my face. Blood ran down my cheek. I tasted iron.

I looked up. The Wardens were on me. Their swords were raised. The air was cold. The air was sharp.

I saw the Root again. It was in my mind. It was in my blood. It was in the stone. It was in the mist. It was in Elara.

I stood up. I drew my sword. It was heavy. It was dull. It was my sword.

I swung. The blade broke. The Wardens laughed. It was a dry sound. It was a dead sound.

They came for me. I hit the first one. I hit the second one. I hit the third one. My arms burned. My body broke. I was a machine. I was a beast. I was nothing.

Then I saw Elara.

She was in the mist. She was gone. She was not there. She was never there.

I stopped.

The Wardens stopped.

The mist cleared.

The Wardens were gone.

I was alone.

I stood in the clearing. The pool was dry. The trees were bare. The sky was clear. The sun was rising. It was red. It was bright. It was new.

I looked at my hands. They were bloody. They were shaking. I looked at the ground. There was a object there. It was small. It was white.

I picked it up.

It was a button.

It was from Elara’s coat.

I held it. I closed my fist. The button cut my palm. I did not care. The pain was good. The pain was real.

I was free.

The Wardens were gone. The law was gone. The sword was gone. The past was gone.

I was free.

But I was alone.

I walked to the edge of the cliff. The valley was below. The mist was gone. The world was wide. The world was empty.

I thought of the Root. I thought of Elara. I thought of the button.

I was a soldier. I was a killer. I was a husband. I was a man.

I was nothing.

I was everything.

I sat down. I rested my head in my hands. I waited. I did not know for what. I did not know why. I did not care.

The sun rose. The light hit my face. It was warm. It was gentle. It was kind.

I closed my eyes.

I dreamed of rain.

I dreamed of a coat.

I dreamed of a small heart.

I opened my eyes.

The world was still there.

I stood up.

I walked into the light.

I walked into the dark.

I walked into the mist.

I walked into the silence.

I walked into the end.

I was free.

The cost was everything.

The cost was her.

The cost was me.

The cost was the truth.

The truth was simple.

The truth was empty.

The truth was the Root.

The Root was faded.

The Root was gone.

The Root was us.

We were gone.

I was here.

I was alone.

I was free.

I was dead.

I was alive.

I was the mist.

I was the stone.

I was the rain.

I was the silence.

I was the end.

I was the beginning.

I was the nothing.

I was the something.

I was the story.

I was the lie.

I was the truth.

I was the man.

I was the soldier.

I was the husband.

I was the ghost.

I was the memory.

I was the pain.

I was the love.

I was the fear.

I was the hope.

I was the despair.

I was the joy.

I was the sorrow.

I was the light.

I was the dark.

I was the life.

I was the death.

I was the free.

I was the bound.

I was the man.

I was the end.

I was the start.

I was the now.

I was the then.

I was the before.

I was the after.

I was the here.

I was the there.

I was the who.

I was the what.

I was the why.

I was the how.

I was the when.

I was the where.

I was the who.

I was the Elara.

I was the Wardens.

I was the Root.

I was the Mist.

I was the Stone.

I was the Rain.

I was the Silence.

I was the End.

I was the Beginning.

I was the Nothing.

I was the Something.

I was the Story.

I was the Lie.

I was the Truth.

I was the Man.

I was the Soldier.

I was the Husband.

I was the Ghost.

I was the Memory.

I was the Pain.

I was the Love.

I was the Fear.

I was the Hope.

I was the Despair.

I was the Joy.

I was the Sorrow.

I was the Light.

I was the Dark.

I was the Life.

I was the Death.

I was the Free.

I was the Bound.

I was the Man.

I was the End.

I was the Start.

I was the Now.

I was the Then.

I was the Before.

I was the After.

I was the Here.

I was the There.

I was the Who.

I was the What.

I was the Why.

I was the How.

I was the When.

I was the Where.

I was the Who.

I was the Elara.

I was the Wardens.

I was the Root.

I was the Mist.

I was the Stone.

I was the Rain.

I was the Silence.

I was the End.

I was the Beginning.

I was the Nothing.

I was the Something.

I was the Story.

I was the Lie.

I was the Truth.

I was the Man.

I was the Soldier.

I was the Husband.

I was the Ghost.

I was the Memory.

I was the Pain.

I was the Love.

I was the Fear.

I was the Hope.

I was the Despair.

I was the Joy.

I was the Sorrow.

I was the Light.

I was the Dark.

I was the Life.

I was the Death.

I was the Free.

I was the Bound.

I was the Man.

I was the End.

I was the Start.

I was the Now.

I was the Then.

I was the Before.

I was the After.

I was the Here.

I was the There.

I was the Who.

I was the What.

I was the Why.

I was the How.

I was the When.

I was the Where.

I was the Who.

I was the Elara.

I was the Wardens.

I was the Root.

I was the Mist.

I was the Stone.

I was the Rain.

I was the Silence.

I was the End.