Neim grabbed the pickaxe, left his belongings, and after looking around for a bit, he saw a place where there was more soil than rock and began walking toward it. What was going to happen now? What would he do? Duis was no longer by his side-who would he consult? Who would he joke with?
He raised the pickaxe and struck once, then again, and again...
What was on the other side of the mountain? Would he be able to eat? Or even survive?
He noticed he had broken enough of the rock and glanced at the pickaxe. It was about to break, but he didn't need it anymore. He put it aside and was about to go back to get the two shovels he had left behind.
At that moment, he thought to place Duis there and gently laid him on the opposite side of where he had been digging, so he wouldn't be in the way.
"In the way? What am I saying? Who am I to think Duis would get in my way?"
Angrily, Neim slapped himself.
"Get a grip! He died because of you, it's all your fault!" he shouted, punching his own temples before collapsing to his knees. As he hit his temples, he repeated the same phrase while crying:
"Your fault!"
Suddenly, the moment he saw Duis die flashed in his mind, and he felt nauseous. He reached toward the edge of the mountain and vomited. After he was done, he unintentionally looked at Duis—then vomited again.
This time, he wiped his face with his clothes and went to get the shovels. He grabbed one in each hand and glanced back at the village as he walked. They were still shouting at him, and he saw a few lifeless bodies on the ground—probably people who had tried to climb after him.
Neim thought to himself once more, "I wish you had cared this much when Duis died."
Then he remembered he had to bury Duis before the dark arrived and began digging with all his strength.
He was completely done. Both shovels had broken, and he had even used his hands for part of it. He had gotten so caught up in the task that it was almost dark. He climbed out of the grave and looked up. That blinding ball in the sky had moved behind him. He had even seen a few red things.
"So when this angry ball moves from here to there, that's when the dark comes. Wow, the outside world is so strange and so beautiful," Neim muttered.
Then he picked up Duis, whom he had been afraid to look at, and placed him in the grave. He clapped his hands together and looked at the earth across from him.
"Damn, I never even thought about putting the soil back," he said, with a bitter laugh.
"Oh well, they say heavy heads heavy work," he muttered, moving to the pile of soil and sitting down. He pushed the first bit of earth onto Duis with his hands.
Suddenly, a scream rang out.
Duis: "AAAGHH! What the hell? Where am I? HEY! WHY AM I HERE? AAAH! SOMEBODY HELP ME! WHERE IS THIS? AAAH!"
Hearing Duis's voice, Neim recoiled, crawling backward with his hands.
Neim: "AAAAAA! WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHO'S THAT? DIDN'T DUIS DIE!?"
They were both terrified. Duis, stuck in a tightly wrapped blanket, was trying to figure out what was going on while flailing around. Neim couldn't understand how Duis was speaking when he had clearly died. He slowly leaned toward the grave to peek in.
AAAAAA!
AAAAA!
They both screamed again.
Duis: "Neim? Is that you? Help me out! Who the hell stuffed me in here!?"
Neim peeked again, just to be sure. Yes it was really him. Duis was standing there, bloody and alive. Duis was relieved it was his brother after all.
Neim, pointing at Duis: "WAIT, YOU DIDN'T DIE? WE EVEN ATE YOUR MOURNING MEAL !"
Duis: "WHAT? I DIED!?"
Neim: "THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING!"
Duis: "I'M ALIVE!?"
Neim: "HOW?"
Duis: "HOW SHOULD I KNOW? NOW GET ME OUTTA HERE! TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!"
Neim: "NO WAY! DUIS IS DEAD! WHO ARE YOU!?"
Duis: "I'M DUIS, DAMN IT! GET ME OUT, OR I'LL REALLY DIE IN HERE!"
Duis eventually managed to convince Neim he really was himself, and Neim helped him out of the grave. Duis took a deep breath.
Duis: "Now explain everything. Why and how are we on top of a mountain?"
Neim told Duis everything from the moment he died to placing the crystal and reaching the mountain top.
Duis was in shock. Had he really been sleeping this whole time? Impossible.
But more than anything, one thing haunted him:
His mother had cried.
Duis had broken his vow.
He truly hated himself. How could that have happened?
He brought his hands to his temples but only his right hand came up. He looked to his left arm and realized everything below the elbow was gone. He hadn't even noticed it while touching the crystal. His eyes widened in fear, blinking rapidly. He felt sick and turned to the left-toward the village-and vomited. Afterward, he looked back at his arm, eyes wide open.
"My arm…" he muttered.
Duis: "What happened to my arm? Why is it gone?"
Neim: "Kima bit it off, remember?"
Duis: "No… That thing was Kima? Kima let go of my arm, and I grabbed that crystal thing you mentioned to make sure it died… After that, I don't remember anything."
As they talked, the dark had arrived.
Unlike last time, this time the crystal began to light up the village. Both Neim and Duis stared at the crystal in amazement.
While Duis looked at the crystal, his gaze slid to the well. He saw his mother.
He started shouting with all his might. He had no other option. If he returned to the village, he'd be executed.
Duis: "MOM! I'M ALIVE! I'M SORRY FOR HURTING YOU! I CAN'T COME BACK! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I'M SORRY I CAN'T BE BY YOUR SIDE!"
When Gelan heard her son's voice, she realized what she saw was truly Duis, and couldn't hold back her tears of joy.
'This is more than enough for me… Besides, Neim gave me enough red potatoes to last a lifetime. And now, my son will be happy. I'll be alone, but his happiness is enough to make me happy too…' she thought.
Then, she shouted back with all her strength:
Gelan: "IT'S OKAY, SON! GO OUT THERE AND DO WHAT YOUR FATHER COULDN'T! REMEMBER, WHATEVER YOU DO, YOUR MOTHER IS BEHIND YOU!"
Duis: "THANK YOU, MOM! I LOVE YOU! I'M SORRY! MOM… GOODBYE!"
Duis could no longer hold back his tears.
Gelan: "I LOVE YOU TOO, SON! GOODBYE!"
Duis moved somewhere he couldn't be seen from the village and began crying quietly.
By the well, Gelan removed her hands from her mouth and rubbed them together. This time, her tears weren't from joy.
'Didn't you want this? Why are you crying? Isn't this better than your son dying? At least you know he's alive… But you'll never know how he'll die… You've already done it once. Even if he comes back, he'll turn out like his father. It was the right decision…
But why are you still crying…'
Neim came up to Duis and returned his dagger.
Neim: "By the way, don't worry. I gave your mom those fifty red potatoes I had. I took your dagger."
Duis was surprised. Neim, a bit excited, ran and picked up the execution sword, showing it to Duis:
Neim: "Look, I even took the execution sword! Now they won't be able to hurt anyone!"
Duis, with mild gratitude and relief:
Duis: "How did they execute my father?"
Neim's face dropped.
Neim: "They burned him…"
Duis sighed and put his right hand on Neim's shoulder.
Duis: "You're very thoughtful, but it might not help."
Neim was quite saddened.
Duis: "Let's sleep and talk more in the morning."
Neim: "Alright, but it's really cold here. At least there's a bit of slanted ground with some soil we can sleep there. Otherwise, we'll freeze."
Duis: "You brought the blankets, right? We'll sleep with those. It'll be a bit warmer."
Neim: "You're right."
They wrapped themselves in the blankets. Just then, Duis saw something.
Duis: "What's that ball?"
Neim was just about to fall asleep when he saw it too. Unlike during the dark's rising, it didn't burn his eyes.
Then he made a fist with his right hand and slapped it into his left palm.
Neim: "So the dark comes when that angry ball gets tired. But it went that way how did it come out from here?"
Duis: "It shows up when the dark lifts and when it arrives too just like you said.
So why didn't we see it before?"
Neim: "Because it passes right beside us—just far enough that we can't really see it."
Duis: "Why didn't it show itself to us?"
Neim: "Maybe it's afraid we'll do something to it, like we did to Kima."
Duis: "It looks way too far for us to reach. What could we possibly do?"
Neim: "Anyway, let's sleep. I'm exhausted. We'll talk more when we wake up and go down the mountain."
Duis: "You're right. Goodnight."
Neim: "Goodnight."
And slowly, they drifted off to sleep.