Bella's companions saw a spatial distortion appear in the area where they were standing at the entrance to The Skull City, and their expressions immediately changed.
Some of them stood up from where they were sitting, their eyes widening in anticipation, imagining that their companions might be returning from the cursed city.
And some of their companions did return.
The moment they saw Layla and Vicente appear, the people in that small camp saw the body of an unconscious man on Layla's shoulders while Bella stood right behind Vice.
"Bella!" One of the women outside The Skull City exclaimed at the sight of her teammate.
The others in the group approached them, worried that they could only see two of their three teammates and that one of them was unconscious.
Vicente sighed with relief, having escaped the danger that had haunted him in this city, finally free from the problems of the curse behind the workings of THe Skull City.
'We're safe now, master.' Torne said as his master breathed more easily.
Layla placed the body of the man she had carried there on the ground and explained to the group. "When we entered The Skull City, we saw that one of your companions was already dead. Bella and I saw that man's body being devoured by zombies, so I'm sorry."
"It can't be..."
"Damn it!"
"Damned monsters!"
Layla finished her speech. "As for this person, I saved him from the monsters, but he had already lost a lot of blood. I don't know if he can survive even if he uses some special resources."
Layla had already realized that the man she had carried here was still alive, but he was fragile and could die at any moment.
The people in the group surrounded their companion's unconscious body, checking his vital signs, trying to understand what had happened and what they could do.
"Jack is practically dead!" One of the men in the group said as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"But there's nothing we can do?" Bella asked fearfully. "Layla picked up some resources on her way to help Jack. Maybe we can get him out of danger..."
Vicente said nothing as he sat down some distance away from the group, having already heard from Torne that this man was lost.
Polaris Realm magicians and humans of Earth had more in common than one might think. For example, if you lost a lot of blood, you could only survive with a transfusion. On the other hand, if the brain was deprived of optimal oxygenation for too long, one ran the risk of brain death or permanent damage if one's life was saved.
That was Jack's main problem at the moment. Could he be saved? Perhaps. It was not impossible. But he would have irreparable consequences that would lead to his eventual death, but also to a journey of suffering and dependence on others.
Would any warrior prefer to live like a vegetable in a bed?
With his sharp senses, Torne realized this easily, and Vicente, of course, had no hope for Jack.
But not only Vicente was realistic. The leader of this group was as well.
He saw Layla offering the items she had collected and said with a negative shake of his head. "Thank you for what you've done for my companions. But it would be a waste of your resources to use them on Jack."
"Boss..." Bella felt her eyes fill with tears.
The group leader said. "Guys, the Jack we know no longer exists. Even if we awaken him from his current state and get him out of danger, he won't be even 5% of what he was before."
The people there bowed their heads as they heard this, sad but aware that this man's words were true.
One of the women there said. "Jack had already made his preferences clear to us in the past. If he could no longer be independent and live as a warrior..."
As this woman choked, one of the group finished. "He said that he didn't want to be saved. That was almost all of us's decision when we talked about it. We would rather die than save someone who doesn't want to be saved."
"But, but..." Bella felt very bad because her two companions had ended up very badly because of her.
Then Vicente opened his mouth, "Look on the bright side. At least he'll have the chance to die outside this city."
Everyone looked at the entrance to The Skull City as Vice spoke. "Your other companion will sooner or later become a lich or a ghost. Then he will suffer in this place for who knows how long.
But your friend Jack will have the chance to die here and continue his cycle of reincarnation.
Sigh! Let him go in peace. He must have suffered enough there and will soon be in a better place."
Bella heard these words and said nothing more, wondering if reincarnation really existed and hoping that if it did, Jack would have a good second life.
The cultures of Polaris Realm had many different theories about what happened after death. Among these theories was the idea of reincarnation, an idea that few people on the continent believed in, as the main religion of these lands held a different theory.
Layla's beliefs held that there were two paths after death. Suffer on the continent as an undead, a thankless fate usually associated with punishment for the sins such people committed in life. Or ascend to a higher realm where heroes and good people would have the chance to live in harmony for eternity.
For those who believed in this, the idea of reincarnation was very bad because it meant that no matter how good someone was, they would still end up like the worst of the bad guys: reincarnated.
Layla looked at Vicente when she saw that he believed in the nonsense of reincarnation but didn't say anything out of respect for Jack and those people.
Some believed in other things, but sensing that Vicente was saying that Jack would have a better fate if he died there, they took Vicente's comment positively.
The group leader closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pulling a dagger from his spatial ring.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I hope you can forgive me in your eternal life in paradise." He said before cutting Jack's jugular vein and ending the man's suffering.
Vicente saw that everything was resolved and said. "Well, I'm sorry for your losses. But it's time for me and my companion to leave."
"Hmm, bon voyage, my friends." The leader of the group wiped the blood from his dagger before making a gesture of thanks to Vicente.
Everyone else did the same, no matter how sad they were to lose their friends.
"I wish you luck on your adventures. If we ever meet again, we'll drink and talk about your adventures after this day." Vicente said as he floated into the air, just before he waved goodbye and left the area.
Layla looked at Bella and smiled bitterly. "It was nice working with you. I hope to hear from you in the future."
With that, she ran after Vicente and quickly disappeared from the sight of the people in this group.
