Despite my best efforts, I still failed…I have no recollection of anything in my life expect what happened after we had our conversation at the gate, but even if I am dying, I would never forget what we encountered…how we were deceived….how the impossible: the myths exist….we are nothing….mere humans are nothing…we are ignorant of the truth about the world…we are ignorant of how the world works…and discovering it all now….well.. it is too late.
Year X834, mountains of Opiden, just beyond the city walls and near enough the barrier holding off the monsters.
I have never really been beyond the walls, not that they are tall enough to hold a monster since they are merely five meters tall, and I have never seen the vast lands that our city holds, and yet again, we cannot attempt to risk and go out there besides.. most of the lands are dead lands…no water, cattle, or trees.. utterly nothing..and still such lands only need the right care, and life would prosper. If only we knew how these monsters appeared so suddenly..we could ha--…no…I guess what should be said is that if only knew how this all happened…we could have found a solution.
“Hey….stop day-dreaming, and focus on the road” shouted a slightly tall blond man who looked to be in his 40s, he wore medium mail armor, and carried an axe on his back. That was the captain of squad six.
Shay turned to him “ye—yes sir.”
Dray walked beside Shay and asked if something is up.
“No, don’t worry; just contemplating the scenery”
“Contemplating eh? Just like you buddy o pal. Always thinking about non-important stuff”
“our future isn’t an important stuff to you?”
“our future? It’s gonna be amazing! You've seen the archaeoehhuhh….”
“archeologist”
“Whatever, that guy isn’t joking around! You have seen how confident he is about the existence of magic!”
“Yes..but still..”
“No buts! This thing can create unlimited resources! Just imagine the possibilities! No more starvation, thirst, or poverty! Our life will be a heaven on earth”
“That’s where the problem lies”
“I don’t see where it does”
“That’s the thing! It’s so good to be true! I heard myths about how magic can do wonders, but this seems beyond impossible”
“You need to stop worrying and be optimistic for one fucking time. This is how the world will change…we will become heroes in Opiden! We will no longer need to eat rotten bread and rats! We won’t have to drink water that tastes and smells like piss! Hell, we might even discover more food than what we know!”
Shay let out a sigh “hopefully, you are right.”
Dray give him a fist to his shoulder and smiled at him..Shay smiled back and continued his path.
Two hours passed, and now we can see the city on the horizon.
I couldn’t stop myself from thinking this over. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why would such an artifact be discovered now, and how did that archeologist know about it. He kept saying he spent his life de-cyphering old manuscripts that mentioned this artifact, yet he refuses to discuss any other thing. I just no lon—
“Haaaalt” shouted the captain of squad six.
We stopped as ordered and maintained our defensive positions. It was me and that captain on the front, Dray and a member of the other squad were on the right wing, Lydia and another member of the squad were on the left while Jane and the vice captain were just beside the archeologist and his assistant,who was dressed in a pitch black cloak and holding a blanket that seemed to cover a long thing, he didn’t open his mouth with a single word or even look at us the entire journey.
“Sir, what’s the matter?” Shay approached the captain.
“look there” pointed the man at a far distance.
At first, I didn’t really notice anything. But then I could make out what he meant: six bodies , probably dead, each are distributed on the ground.
“Are these…..ours?” Shay asked anxiously.
“don’t know…but we have to get closer and get a better view…follow me” ordered the captain.
He ordered the rest of the team to maintain their positions and stay afar. I followed him to the site, and it was as I saw: they were dead bodies with blood splattered all over them..but some thing was strange about it. I crouched to check if they had Opiden city guard badge, but there were none.
“Strange…who are these people?” asked Shay with wonder.
The captain seemed shocked and commented “ we hadn’t Received any reports of missing people; matter of fact, the gates don’t even open to citizens”
“Even if citizens did get out or escape, isn’t this area supposed to be safe of monsters?” asked Shay
The captain crouched again slowly on one of the bodies and looked at the blood “ yes…you are right…but something bothers me.”
“What is it sir?”
“Check their wounds.”
I crouched and leaned at one of the bodies..the corpse was as white as a cloud, cold as ice. This corpse had a wound at it’s neck; I took a closer look and found out that the blood was not flowing out of it…it was as if it was only painted in blood. The corpse is dry.
“Sir…the wounds are not bleeding”
“Exactly..and this blood…that’s not a human's blood…it stinks”
Shay stood up and approached the captain slowly.
“this all feels wrong..could they not make it in time?” the captain muttered to himself.
I approached the captain asking what’s wrong, but his face was terrified. He dashed at me, and I stood still shocked.
“WATCH OUT!” shouted the captain as he pushed Shay away, without a warning, the land cracked open and a figure that looked like a mouth came out brutally crunching the captain into pieces.
I was pushed away just in time by the captain only for him to receive my undeniable fate, his blood splattered all over me, and because of the shock I could not hear or no make out what was in front of me or even hear my comrades behind me. I fell on the ground and witnessed the horror of a monster.
This…thing…its torso was oval and covered in hair that looked like sharp razors, it had like ten tentacles all sharpened to the edge, and what’s more is that it was piercing through the six corpses. It seems that this monster hides while showing the corpses as a way to attract its prey then attack it by surprise. I kept lying there with shock all over my face, I couldn’t move a single muscle, I was…frozen…all my body parts refused to heed my orders, I watched in horror how the captain was crunched and munched in the monster's mouth…was that its eye inside its mouth?
Three of the tentacles pointed toward me and dashed at me. Dray, Lydia, and a member of squad six rushed towards me. Dray drew out his shield and stood in front of me blocking the attack, but the shock was brutal to the point he was pushed at me. We rolled on each other. Lydia and the member stood in front of us. Lydia drew out her medium sword while the member drew out Her long sword. The monster used to tentacles two push itself out of the ground and roared at both of them, with one swing of its tentacles, Lydia and the member were catapulted away injured with the sharp end points of these tentacles.
Dray tried to stand up and grab me. “Shaaaaay…get it together dammit!” shouted Dray “We can’t let this thing stop us now!” Dray kept shouting while grabbing me away. The monster pointed a tentacle at us and dashed towards us. Dray stood there in shock as the pierce was inevitable however…
In a slash…the tentacle was chopped and was at Dray's feet and in front of him stood Shay with his sword unsheathed and covered in blood.
Shay had a stern look on his face, he stood there face to face with the monster, who was clearly mad for his chopped tentacle.
“Shay…how.. how did” Dray asked in amazement.
“Lets go, partner”
Dray stood up, side by side with Shay.
The monster used two tentacles to catapult itself towards them, mouth open.
Both of them rolled away from its direction. Shay slashed its torso during the roll while Dray was scratched a bit by the sharp hair on its torso. The monster turned around and looked at Shay, the tentacles enclosed around Shay and the monster opened its mouth wide. From the back, Jane swiftly hopped from one sharp hair to another in the torso till she reached the top, she aimed three arrows at the monster’s head and shot them at once, and then as the monster roared in agony, she jumped off it rolling on the ground. Shay took this opportunity to slide under its tentacles and slashed a part of its torso; however, the monster swung its tentacles at him pushing him away and injuring him in his torso.
If this keeps up, it will be a matter of time until we are killed.
Jane grabbed Shay’s hand and helped him up.
“We need a plan for that thing” said Jane calmly.
Despite everything, Jane remained the most calm individual of us all. the archeologist alongside two members of squad six hid behind a boulder while his assistant stood unfazed to the fact that there is a freaking monster attacking, seriously though, what is his deal? Lydia and the member beside her stood up, and slowly approached us.
“Jane, stay here and provide cover for us. Dray and I will charge at it. When it attacks with its tentacles, we will try to block it creating an opening for you Lydia and Priscilla. Is it clear?” said Shay as they watched the monster prepare for another charge.
They shouted understood. I called Dray, and we charged as planned. I was at the front and he was just behind me. The monster raised itself with two tentacles and pointed another four at me, and charged them at me. I was able to withstand two of them by blocking them hardly but efficiently with my sword while Dray blocked the other two with his shield only for it to shatter in his hands. The monster pointed another four tentacles at us, but then the four of us individually slashed them all, they weren’t chopped but surely enough to make it pull them back. Jane kept firing at the tentacles joints hoping this would make a difference; however, the monster pierced the ground with a tentacle and tried to stab Jane with surprise under ground, but Jane rolled out of the way and kept shooting at her meanwhile the monster looked at us then vomited blood at us. I shouted at the others to dodge and they did as asked but then I noticed something. The monster was standing on two tentacles, four slashed, one chasing Jane, and one chopped and it had ten in total, which means there is one missing. I turned back and I was shocked, the monster was standing on one tentacle and I witnessed how one tentacle was about to Pierce through Dray and the other was about to Pierce through Lydia. This was not time for freezing, I had to act and fast! Lydia was too far for me while Dray was just close to me. I grabbed my small rounded shield from my hip and threw it at Lydia’s direction while I jumped to grab Dray out of the way; however, my shield did reach Lydia in time and took the hit instead of her but the tentacle was so damn strong that it cut through the shield to Lydia abdomen. Dray and I watched in horror how Lydia vomited blood and lost consciousness immediately…she wasn’t even able to scream.. I stood there frozen while Dray's face was pale and white as a dead man. Priscilla shouted our names but the monster catapulted itself at her decapitating her in the process. A fountain of blood exploded on us. I was still as a statue, staring at nothingness….all hope was lost..the monster roared at me then a round ball attached to a tendon came out of its mouth. It was its eye after all, but then an arrow pierced through its eye perfectly, it was Jane who shot it from a far after the rest of squad six took down the chasing tentacle. I stood up while the monster was shaking left and right, I grabbed my sword and screamed like a mad man. I chopped the joints holding the tentacles then kept stabbing like crazy in it. Despite all that, it still tried to resist that it crunched my sword shattering it in the process, I grabbed what was left of it and continued my craziness until it stopped moving. We had an enormous moment of silence trying to comprehend what just happened. I gathered what was left of my strength, and crawled to the impaled Lydia. I held her in my hands and kept shaking her. For some reason, I couldn’t accept her death. I kept shaking her left and right shouting her name and saying wake up, but there was no one to heed my call…Dray approached me and tried to strike sense into my idiotic brain. I refused to hear anything else. I refused to accept the death of one of my friends and teammates. A while ago we were joking and laughing, now she lays there…dead. I truly deserved death…because someone as naïve as me should not have been brought into this nightmarish world.
Year X834, Acer village, North-West of Xerulia continent.
Flames and death covered this village. Buildings collapsed, people torn apart, and death was around every corner. This village was under attack by the roaming monsters beyond this village sacred barrier. Different types of beasts attack the villagers either swallowed them, tore them for entertainment, or sucked their blood drying them up. A monster of these were at least 4 meters tall while certain types were shorter than that of the average human but as deadly and as fast than a demon.
At a breached wall of the village, a woman ran with her young daughter while multiple monsters noticed them and decided to chase them. “GO you have to go! Don’t stop! Never stop! Keep running” shouted the mother
The girl cried “No mother! Please I won’t leave you”
The monsters dashed from a far towards them.
The mother kissed her daughter’s forehead “I promise I will be right behind you, now please go GO” then she pushed her daughter into the woods and ran the opposite direction screaming and creating diversions for the monsters to follow her. The girl ran as fast as her tiny legs could, she kept crying and sobbing all the way, she didn’t know where would she go or how her mother would find her, and then she lost her balance and tripped on a branch that made her fall and roll down to a bush. She got out of the bush, injured and full of scratches; she was unable to see and then she hit something hard. She slowly rubbed dirt and wooden sticks off her face then she saw someone, a young man, dressed in black trench coat, a gray belt and black pants, and they were all underneath a black cape that was flowing by the air flow. He had pitch black hair that stretched faintly on his face, eyes red as a Ruby. He stared at her for a while. The girl was shocked at seeing someone outside the village like that.
The village was a hunting zone. Corpses left and right everywhere, monsters looking for their prey everywhere. The mother of this girl kept running away but then a monster stretched its claws to her leg joint cutting it. The woman tripped and rolled until she hit a house which was on fire.
Five monsters, 3 short and 2 huge and all of them are from different kinds, approached her. She barely kept her eyes open from exhaustion and blood loss. The wound seemed to be a blood vessel injury. The monsters roared at her and prepared to jump at her. “Please…be okay…my little princess” said the woman as she lost all hope. The monsters jumped at her; however, a moment of silence passed. The woman kept her eyes closed, but when nothing happened, she opened her eyes slowly. She was extremely shocked to the point she lost her voice. She rubbed her eyes multiple times to make out what just happened. The monsters, the house, and even the flames…were all frozen ice in an instant. The ice was purplish and seemed sturdier than diamond.
Suddenly the ice became dust that flowed in the air. In front of her approached a figure that the woman could hardly recognize who he was, but then she saw her daughter come rushing to her. Tears flowed like a waterfall from her eyes and she didn’t feel exhaustion anymore, she dashed to her and hugged her so tight. Both of them cried and kept hugging each other.
“ My lovely girl! How? How?”
The girl pointed at the figure. The mother looked at him. The young man seemed to be in his mid years of 20s. He had an extremely faint smile on his face but he seemed careless otherwise. He raised his right hand from underneath the cape, and muttered a few words then his hand glowed in a purplish light, and the woman’s leg injury was frozen. The woman was anxious then he finally let out some words “this…will help you heal…take your mother and find shelter.”
He then turned around, and approached the rest of the village. The mother and the girl were shocked.
He walked slowly in the village streets attracting many monsters towards him. There were like hundreds of them surrounding him. The rest of the villagers were hiding underneath the ruins of the houses either injured or hardly alive. They witnessed in horror how the young man was surrounded by the monsters and he seemed careless.
He kept his hands underneath his cape, and still seemed careless.
The monsters roared at him and went crazy. They charged at him all at once. They were like a brutal wave of an ocean that could sink a huge ship in one hit. He opened his mouth and muttered “ Ice Tier: Palace of the fallen ones”
In a second, the entire village froze. Even the flames itself were frozen. Only the villagers were the only people unharmed. The villagers went out of the ruins and looked at him in horror. They had no clue how he pulled this off.
The young man looked at them, and raised his hand again and muttered a few words, but this time one of the village caught a hearing of the words he muttered “Ice Tier: Remedy of the frosted ones”
In an instant, all the villagers' wounds were covered in a thin layered ice that seemed to be , somehow, closing their wounds or replacing their lost limbs.
The Elder of the village approached the young man “Who are you my child?”
The young man looked at him silently.
Year X834, Opiden mountains, couple of hours later after the monster incident.
We laid there, around the campfire on the trail to the supposed magical artifact, still cannot comprehend what occurred a while ago. I kept wondering how was the monster able to cross the sacred barrier. Such a barrier should be impossible to be crossed if the creature holds monstrous blood in his veins. Could it be because of the barrier weakening, or did the elite squad not make it in time—and if so.. how many have already entered Opiden fields…and what if they reached the city!
“Shay…calm down” said Jane, who was on the other side of the campfire looking at him.
Dray, Jane, the remaining two members of squad six, and I laid around the campfire while the archeologist was sitting talking with his assistant who seemed to not give a single care about what happened.
I looked at her with my pale face, and nodded slowly then looked down. I just couldn’t forget what happened that easily…I needed time….I can’t just comprehend that people I was just talking with died in front of me like that….they are souls dammit.
The archeologist approached us and offered to finally discuss the magical artifact. The archeologist was an old Elf who had short white hair, green eyes, and he was the shortest one of the group.
“Go ahead man. You have skipped the details for so damn long” commented Dray.
“I apologize for the inconvenience I caused to you all. But this was a lifetime research that I couldn’t just inform random people about”
“Random people? These people died for you” said Jane angrily at him.
“Please pardon me, I am fully aware that you are exerting too much effort protecting me.”
“lets get one thing straight. We are protecting you in exchange for what you promised us. You promised us a thing that would create unlimited resources.” Said Dray with a stern look.
“A magical artifact, and it produces resources of what you desire if you control its Mana correctly” commented the archeologist.
“could you please get into the matter at hand because we don’t have much time resting here.” Stated a member of squad six.
“Very well. Sixty years ago, my mentor discovered an ancient manuscript with an anonymous language that we had no record of---” stated the archeologist but he was interrupted by Dray “are you saying that there are another languages?”
He replied “yes. Actually my mentor and I were devoted to restoring the lost history of this world, so we tried our best to collect multiple manuscripts dating back to almost millenniums ago; however, back to the topic, my mentor spent his last years de-cyphering the manuscript, and was almost done yet he passed away leaving me to complete his legacy. I spent the last twenty years de-cyphering the last bits of the manuscripts until I got a conclusion. The manuscript discusses an artifact that contains Mana..an ancient Energy source that if altered could potentially create unexplainable phenomena. This particular artifact could, if properly utilized, create organic, and non organic materials out of nothing!”
The entire group had a shock all over their faces while I was still looking down. For some reason, I couldn’t swallow this 'artifact' thing. It seemed so impossible.
“is that even possible?” questioned a member of squad six.
“Based on our current knowledge of the world, that’s beyond impossible, but then again we don’t know much about history-- and thus everything is possible.”
Shay stood up and said “we should get going otherwise another monster might catch up with us.”
Jane stood up as well and said “he is right, we cannot allow ourselves to be prey to these things again. Let’s go.”
The others agreed, and Shay put off the fire.
They were now on the thin trail of the Opiden mountain.
“Damn the fall.” Said Dray as he looked down from the trail.
“careful Dray, and don’t get distracted” Shay commented.
“yeah yeah”
We walked slowly and silently hoping to not attract further attention of these damned monsters. As we were walking I started to feel that the winds grew stronger slowly.
“The climate of the mountain is not stable, so be careful everyone.” Said the archeologist.
“Yeah no shit” said Dray, “ Is it me or is the winds are growing even stronger” Said Dray.
“He is right” said Jane calmly as she started pushing through the air.
The wind did grow even stronger, we started pushing forward as we moved on. At first, it felt as if we were walking at the opposite of the wind movement, then slight pushing, then it became unbearable as if we were pushing against the wall. I noticed something so weird. The assistant finally showed some anxious expression, but then…what was that faint glowing underneath his feet? I swear I could see something glowing. Then again he seemed to be holding himself way better than us…yet again I swear I heard him “say this is not good”. In fact, was this wind even normal? I have never felt such a breeze like that. The wind grow even stronger that we started to lose our balance and be pushed away, which was not good since we were at a cliff at the mountain.
“I…I…can’t hold off much loooonger” shouted the archeologist
“Stay still old fart, we can’t go back now dammit” shouted Dray.
The two members of squad six barely were moving, Jane was pushing with all of her might. Shay was barely moving as well.
The wind grew even Wilder and it became unbearable that the archeologist was pushed away towards the end of the cliff
Shay and the others shouted his name while the assistant merely gasped.
Dray let himself to be pushed to catch him, but for everyone’s surprise, the wind shifted its direction and he was pushed the to the right. Everyone, expect the assistant, lost their balance, and were all catapulted everywhere. Shay pointed himself towards the archeologist while Jane jumped towards Dray. The two members of squad six separated themselves: one to hold Shay from the legs while the other holds Jane from the legs. Shay grabbed the archeologist hand just in time while Jane held Dray’s.
“Please…please….pleaaaaase…. don’t let go of me” cried the archeologist.
“Just hold still….damn this wind!” Shouted Shay.
“Jaaaane….help Shay! Go NOW” shouted Dray as he struggled while holding Jane’s hand.
“NO…Shut up…I am not leaving you” cried Jane.
“Jane! Don’t you dare leave him! Do you understand” shouted Shay
“Of course you idiot” cried Jane.
They all struggled above the cliff while trying to push through the unhelpful Winds. The archeologist hands slowly began to wear out, and Shay hardly was able to grab him. “Damn you Jane! Save that guy! He is more important than me!”
“No I Would never leave you NO” for the first time since they were in the cadet school together, tears poured out of Jane’s eyes. Shay and Dray looked at her with shock.
“I am not losing another one of my friends! I am not! First Lydia and now you. NO I refuse..I would rather have my arm teared apart than let another friend fall to his death.” Cried Jane whose hand wore out hastily, but determination was the only thing that made her endure.
“Jane….leave me…please” Dray said as he began to pour tears too.
“NO NO NO” Cried Jane shaking her head. The wind grew even stronger and now they were hanging by a thread.
The two members grabbing Shay's and Jane’s legs were almost worn out.
“Jane…look at my eyes…please…leave me..” Dray said with a faint smile which made Jane even cry more.
“you have to find that artifact….and change the world…promise me to put an end to the people’s sufferings.”
“Shut up Dray, you will come with us and you will change the world as well! Remember you said we would do it together!! You said we would live the life of kings! Don’t you dare go back now” shouted Shay, whose arm was growing even more exhausted.
“somethings are not meant to be…and I accept it…Jane please help Shay, and leave me…please”
“NEVER”
Dray sighed one final sigh “Shay…pal….if this magic thing turned out to be fuss…please punch that guy for me will you.”
Shay and Jane shook their heads slowly and then shouted his name.
Dray willingly let go of Jane hand and the winds carried him away then he fell with a faint smile.
Jane and Shay screamed his name, and the member that was holding Jane’s legs catapulted himself to grab one of Shay’s legs and help pull the archeologist back up. Jane also grabbed Shay’s legs and they all pulled the elf up. The winds grew fainter and fainter until it stopped pushing. They all took their breaths slowly and the assistant appeared to be grasping to a boulder the entire time while the others were almost pushed over the cliff. Jane rushed towards the assistant and grabbed him from his cloak collar.
“Why the hell have you not helped us you damn useless shit” shouted Jane.
Shay was still shocked by the fact that Dray died and stared at nothingness while Jane confronted the assistant.
“Your hands” muttered the assistant.
“Answer me you damned filth”
“It seems…you will not be needing these arms.” He muttered
“Is that so you scum? I am going to snap your freaking head”
The assistant looked at her with a stern look and then grabbed her neck, lifted her then slapped her on the boulder cracking it.
Shay as fast as the wind pointed his sword at the assistant's neck threating to slit his throat. Jane’s back and the back of her head were wounded and bled a bit.
“is that supposed to be a threat?” stated the assistant.
“Just try to move a muscle…and see for yourself if that is a threat or not.” Commented Shay angrily.
“you…will not even be fast enough to scratch me…I can kill you both before you can even begin to blink your eyes” said the assistant slowly.
“Then let’s test your speed out.”
A moment of silence passed then the archeologist said “enough of this foolishness….STOP this right now! We have no time to quarrel”
“shut up, its because of you and this damned journey that we lost our dear friends” said Shay angrily with a calm voice.
“We lost our captain and our dear friend too you know…do you see us grieving? We have a mission to carry out…what you are doing right now is child’s play” said one of the members
“At least fulfil your friend's last wish…and let us continue this journey.” Said the archeologist
Shay didn’t move a muscle and still was pointing his sword at the assistant's neck.
“Dimian…please stop this at once, and let us proceed” said the archeologist.
The assistant was silent for a moment, and was still choking Jane who didn’t want to show that she was in agony. He let go of her, and she fell coughing and taking her breath. “Fine.” Said Dimian with disgust.
Shay crouched to grab her and help her up. He looked at Dimian with anger. Dimian looked at them and then commented “ let me get one thing straight…you are responsible for your friends' death…not anyone fault is that were not strong enough…if there is something to blame…then blame your own weakness” he looked away and then proceeded with the path.
The archeologist sighed and proceeded behind him, and the two remaining members of squad six went behind them.
Shay grinded his teeth with anger while Jane was coughing a lot. Her neck was marked pink with the marks of the assistant's hands. Tears slowly rained slowly from her eyes while Shay punched the ground with anger “DAMMIT”
Year X834, Acer village,
The young man looked at the village elder, but then he pushed him aside and stomped the ground: in an instant, a great thick layer of purple ice Burst out the of the ground covering him. The ice was hit by a blast so strong that the ground was cracked.
The Elder watched in horror as this unexplained event. The young man seemed unfazed, and looked at the source of the blast.
“Well…well…I didn’t expect you to interfere with my dinner…..human.” said a figure approaching from a far.
The young man's face slowly turned strict, and the being that came from a far finally was revealed. He had a tall dark blue hair, red eyes, extremely white face, and was dressed in
A long white coat with a cape behind him; he had sharp teeth that were clearly visible even from a far.
“Who…who is that?!” said the elder as he was terrified.
The young man seemed to know who that man was, or at least what he was.
“You dare to spoil my little dinner, and you have the nerve to face me without kneeling?” said the unknown man angrily.
The young man smiled a faint sarcastic smile.
The man seemed getting even more angry “well…you really are a cocky bastard for a mere cattle.”
The young man's smile slowly fainted away and seemed strict again.
“I will have you know your rightful place! Inferior being” shouted the man
Suddenly that man appeared in front of the young man about with very tall sharp nails pointed at his neck about to slash his throat; the young man calmly tilted his head dodging the slash then bright purple glowing shined from the ground and another huge ice spear burst from the ground impaling the unknown man. The spear rose to the sky, and the unknown man tried to break the ice but it was so hard that even he thought it was unbreakable, so he pushed himself through the ice cutting his insides cleanly then jumped out of the spear with his abdomen totally empty.
The man stood and looked at the young man with anger “how do you have that amount of Mana kid.” Questioned the man
The young man remained unresponsive. “to be able to catch up with my speed….this will not happen again you have my word!” then his abdomen full healed as if he was never scratched.
The young man muttered “you talk too much”
The man angrily rushed at him, but the young man did not wait for a counter attack this time; instead, multiple thick ice spears burst out of the ground attack the man, the man hardly dodged some while others pierced through his legs and abdomen. The young man stepped back dodging the attacker's nails while ice kept bursting out of the ground while keeping both of his hands underneath his cape. He rolled under the man then looked at the ice spears inside the man; the ice spears suddenly multiplied and their numbers increased exponentially piercing through the man even more. The man screamed in anger, and appeared behind the young man, who let out ice underneath him to rise in the air escaping the attack then he the ice sheet he was on began raining extremely sharp spears at the man who tried to break through the ice, but with no results. The man clapped his hands towards the young man sending a huge shockwave at him; however, the young man froze the shockwave itself; he literally froze the air particles in the shock wave.
“What is this kid?!” shouted the man.
The young man looked at the man with contempt angering the man even more.
“Kid…I haven't been pissed like that in a very long time…you will pay dearly for—” he was interrupted by an iceberg piercing through him in the abdomen.
“DAMN YOU” shouted the man.
“Cursed Mana: Black Blood Tier: Proud blade of the immortals” shouted the man then a droplets of blood floated in the air and joined together to form a bloody spiky blade. He stared at the young man, who seemed careless.
The man jumped at him at such speed that it appeared as if he just appeared in front of him.
The young man finally raised his hand and caught the blade as it was falling at him. It froze in an instant, and was shattered then he countered by using his left hand to create a blade of purple ice that cut the man's right hand and his right torso then sent his sword flying piercing the man back to the ground. The impact was huge that it destroyed the ground alongside some buildings around it.
“How….can…he…keep up….how…can…he…predict..my moves” muttered the man as he hardly healed.
The young man landed on the ground and faced the man. The man's healing hit a dead end when he didn’t complete the healing of a part of his torso and the rest of his hand.
The young man still looked at him with contempt, but the man stood up and rushed behind a female you villagers threatening the young man.
“You must have used great amount of Mana to counter my previous spell, but once I consume her blood, let’s see how many times can you block it” said the man as the girl screamed of fear. The nearby villagers ran away in fear screaming and moaning.
“you take shelter behind an inferior being?. How pathetic” said the young man.
The man, angrily, bit the girl’s neck but to his surprise his fangs broke brutally. He screamed in agony and lost a lot of blood; he looked back at the girl and found out she was a frozen clone, and that the real girl was behind the young man. He switched their places somehow as the vampire bit.
“Who….who…who are you?!” said the vampire in extreme agony.
The young man approached slowly then he dashed so fast that he appeared behind the vampire from a distance.
The vampire was sliced in his torso then ice grew out of the wound and covered him totally freezing him. The young man approached him slowly then he slapped a finger on his head “ you are not worthy to know” said the young man. The frozen vampire shattered, and turned into dust.
The rest of the villagers were confused, shocked, and scared of the young man. They kept their distances as the young man looked around.
The Elder approached the young man again “on the behalf of our village, I thank you from the deepest depths of our hearts”
The young man nodded slowly. “Would you please be ever so kind to join me for a conversation”
The young man raised his right hand slowly as if he was saying lead the way.
The Elder looked closely and nodded.
Year X834, Opiden Mountains,
An hour passed since we lost Dray. Lydia and Dray, our dear friends since childhood (in my orphanage), and our teammates in the cadets corps…just like that..killed so easily…I have never seen Jane so depressed like this before. She has been always the cold hearted one. We have never really saw her shedding a single tear since our first meeting more than fifteen years ago. But here she is right there…still acting tough despite raining tears from her eyes. She was pale, staring, and twitching a bit probably from the shock…She acted tough when we lost Lydia, but turned out she kept hiding it inside herself, holding off the depression—yet she couldn’t hide it further when Dray was gone. I placed my hand over her shoulder and muttered everything is going to be alright…we are still together. She gave a pale look at me and nodded very slowly.
We now were walking between two enormous mountains that rotated around each other like a helix (which was a sight to see) then in the middle was a dead end. Thick rock covered the end of the path and stretched upwards to create a huge mountain. I thought that now we had to climb which we were pretty exhausted to do so.
“What now….are we going to climb?” Shay asked in a calm manner.
The two members of squad six sighed, and looked up.
Dimian stayed silent and awaited the archeologist to speak.
“No. According to the manuscript, the entrance to the temple that holds the manuscript is in front of us.” Said the archeologist as he put his hands on the mountain rocks in front of us.
I don’t know why, but I think I am losing it. I am hearing far away noises barely audible. What is that? What are these noises?
“Jane.” Shay called.
“What?” answered Jane.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“….that! Didn’t you hear it?”
“What are you talking about? No I can’t hear anything”
“how? Its not loud, but I can hear some whispers.”
“Keep it together Shay, you must be just hearing things. Focus”
But I swear I hear whispers! How can’t she hear it like me. I didn’t ask anyone else because no one seemed to wonder or even feel anything other than me. What is going on now. Am I really hallucinating, or could it be another monster using special baiting technique. I must be more careful than this.
“Hey! Lend me a hand would you?” asked the archeologist.
We all went towards the mountain walls.
“What are we looking for mister?” asked a member.
“Look for any abnormal thing on the walls. There has to be anything”
“Dammit….and what if there is nothing…we made it all this way for nothing?” said the second member.
“I knew that this sounded crazy from the first time I heard it…we risked our lives for nothing, Fucking nothing” said the first member.
“ now now, it won’t be so obviously out in the open like that. It must be well hidden. So less chatting more searching could you.”
Surprisingly, Jane and Dimian were also looking silently. Jane seemed determined to find anything that would be worth the sacrifice Dray and Lydia gave while Dimian…I don’t know…I have a bad feeling about that guy.
When I approached the walls slowly, the whispers grew louder…I put both my hands on my head and grabbed it tight. The others noticed and Jane asked whats wrong. I couldn’t answer her; in fact, I barely heard her question as the whispers grew even louder.
“What’s wrong with him?” asked one of the members worriedly as he stepped back.
“Why is he acting like that?!” said the second member.
“Shay…. What’s wrong?” asked Jane worriedly as she approached him.
The archeologist looked at Shay with confused look while Dimian had the least confused faces where in fact he looked at him as if he was having a common thing.
Shay began to scream a bit loud from the pain in his head then Jane stepped back a bit looking at him in very worried way fearing to lose him too. The others stepped back, and the two members unsheathed their weapons with a fearful expression.
Shay touched the wall with hands, and then it glowed dark blue patterns that seemed to be carved on it. Everyone was shocked, but Shay kept screaming from his pain
Whaaaat is this ughhhhh….where am I?? Whose voice is that?
Shay found himself in a very white place, everything was shining white and he couldn’t make out a single thing, but he finally was able to catch the whispers “ –heavy panting—they mustn’t….they..mus---t…the---shou-d..never..fi-d it here.”
Said a very tired voice that seemed to be catching its final breaths.
“for if they --coughing—this world….wi-- su—er even more….—heavy panting—these are not the keys to salvation! These a-e the keys to –extreme coughing-- destru—ion…we…were lied to…we were all deceived…both of us…--heavy panting—both of us are nothing but toys in its hands…--coughing— and we were being played with for thousands of years now. Still that doesn’t erase their sins! These bastards…these murderers…Fallen Crest will never find it! Even if it means this.”
Shay lost consciousness, and Jane hurried to see him.
A while passed, and Shay slowly opened his eyes and found Jane beside him.
“Ughh, my head.” Said Shay as he put his left hand on his head.
Jane seemed calm while the two members kept commenting that he woke up.
“Are you okay?” asked Jane.
“I…ugh…don’t know” said Shay as he still tried to recover.
Jane's face was constantly trying to resist worrying expression, and she succeeded when he finally put his hand down
“What happened..how long was I out for?” asked Shay
“A couple of minutes.” Answered the archeologist who had a huge grin on his face.
“Right….what’s wrong with you?” asked Shay
“Well, if you look behind you, you would certainly know!” said the archeologist.
I looked behind me and I was shocked. The mountain walls that were in front of us opened up as if they were gates! A path was still seen inside the mountain itself.
Shay was amazed while Jane turned to him “after you fell down, the walls started shining then they began moving and cracked up opening that”
“you mean….I was responsible for this?”
“YES my child! And this proves the validity of the manuscript! The artifact does exist! And its inside! Let’s go what are we waiting for?” said the archeologist enthusiastically.
Jane helped Shay up. The rest proceeded in while Jane took a moment to ask Shay what happened.
“I…I still can’t understand.” Shay said while looking confused.
“You mentioned whispers before you pass out…is it responsible for this?” asked Jane.
“Yes…that’s true…I heard whispers all over the place then they became even louder”
“What did you hear.”
“I am not exactly sure…I don’t understand it..something about being decieved…salvation…fallen crest…what are these”
Jane seemed also confused and looked down. “Either way, the temple exists which means this artifact also does. Come on, we cannot let Lydia’s and Dray's sacrifice go to waste” said Jane with a strict expression.
“Yeah..you are absolutely right.” Said Shay then they continued behind the others.
The temple was as rocky as you would expect of an inside mountain, yet the path was made of a dark blue granite carved in straight lines patterns that glowed as they walked on then lost their glow when they were far enough.
The temple was shock for everyone expect Dimian who proceeded unfazed, this sparked some doubts in Jane who kept a close eye on him. Shay kept thinking about what he heard trying to make sense, but reached no conclusions. They finally reached the end of the path to a gate that was in a hexagonal shape. They entered and found an altar in the middle of the room with a glowing hexagonal solid granite floating on the altar. They all halted while the archeologist yelled with enthusiasm “this is it! We found it! Here it is!” he rushed at it.
Shay and Jane approached slowly but the archeologist ran like a mad man to the altar while the two members of squad six dashed behind him.
“It really exists Jane! It really does!” Shay said with a sigh.
“Don’t get high hopes. We still don’t know if it works as stated” said Jane who still had the strict expression.
The archeologist reached the altar and held it in his hands “here it is! Oh it is real! And judging by everything that happened here, magic does exist!” said the archeologist.
The two members sighed with relief while Shay and Jane were cautious, but then suddenly, the archeologist was stabbed in his back with a long burnt-orange colored blade with spikes around the edge. The archeologist vomited black concentrated blood in no time and slowly turned his head. Everyone was shocked; Shay and Jane face turned pale full with shock. It was Dimian, the archeologist's assistant, standing holding his blade with his left hand which appeared out of his cloak “ you are correct. Magic does exist” he said with contempt.
The archeologist looked at him with what consciousness he had left then Dimian took out the blade brutally off his body then the archeologist's body burnt in an instant turning to ashes.
“WHAT THE? WHO ARE YOU” yelled one of the members while Shay and Jane were still shocked.
Dimian twirled his blade splattering blood away and placed his hands on the artifact “finally, one more piece of the map has been located”
A member rushed at him trying to catch him by surprise l, but dimian swung his sword in a careless way decapitating the member in the process.
The other member tried to grab his hands but in a blink of an eye both of the member's arms where in the air, and then Dimian lowered his blade cleanly splitting the member into two vertical halves that burnt to ashes.
Jane aimed at him, but Shay raised his hand at her as if saying No. “who…who are you” asked Shay anxiously.
Dimian looked the other way and grabbed the artifact “explaining to an ignorant insect like you would take time more than even the pitiful life you have lived”
Shay grinded his teeth while Jane bow's stretch was so intense.
“Not that you have long to live anyway.” Dimian said while finally turning to them.
“This….is not…an unlimited resource supplier, right?” asked Shay while looking down.
Dimian laughed in a loud manner that his laugh echoed around the temple. Shay was silent while looking down while Jane did not twitch and kept her intense grip.
“Of course No you filthy rats, this was nothing but a mere made up story to reach this precious key whose location was missing for years!” said Dimian with a smile.
“So you are saying…our comrades…died for nothing” said Shay who still looked down.
“That’s the only right thing you have said this entire time, and honestly I didn’t need you lot with me. I could have handled everything on my own, but I needed the location which that old fart only knew”
“then…then why didn’t you kill that monster we encountered back then” asked Shay.
“I don’t have to tell you why, but since this is the last question you will ever ask, I will. Simply because I didn’t care; in fact, I wanted all you dead expect the idiot.”
“Why do you want us dead dammit!”
“Ignorant fools like you…do not deserve to live”
“Who are you….to pass judgement like THIS” said Shay as he unsheathed his sword and grasped it as hard as he could.
Jane fired three arrows at Dimian, all which burnt midair without him even moving a muscle.
“Stay focused Ja—” said Shay but he and Jane were both cleanly horizontally severed with Dimian from a far stating “in the name of my faction, Fallen Crest, I bid you farewell”
Shay and Jane last bits of consciousness heard that before they began losing these bits….
Year X834, Acer village,
The young man and the Elder strolled for a bit then the Elder finally gave a question “May I ask how did you pull all this off”
“I am afraid I cannot answer such a question, I am forbidden to state these to 'regular humans” said the young man in calm manner.
“I see. And I believe you will also not state forbidden by who, but in all of the village behalf, I thank you from the deepest depths of our hearts”
“Its not safe here anymore, gather your remains and come with me”
“Come with you? To where?”
“A safe place. One I give you my word you will not be bothered”
“my child, this village is our holy land that we cannot just risk leaving it”
“Sir, these. Creatures and another people like 'him' could attack again. I wouldn’t want anymore lives wasted.”
“Sir…you are such an honorable young man…very well…I cannot risk the death of my villagers. We shall accompany you.”
“I would be honored” said the young man then he bowed his head in respect to the Elder.
“Would you at least tell me your name then?”
“Of course.”
The sun began to rise slowly and its faint light shined on him.
“I am third lieutenant of the 14th Knight squad: Drake Chevalier d' ouragan.” He stated then continued “I belong to…” he paused then resumed “Fallen Crest”.
