The flames of the fire were nearby, warming his tired body. The cold was approaching, threatening to cover everything around with a thick layer of snow. Now autumn has come, with heavy rains and sharp gusts of wind that pierced the clothes of unfortunate travelers.
Somewhere nearby was Asura preparing dinner, but he couldn't see her. The tight bandage on Zee's eyes hid the world around him from his damned gaze.

It's been two weeks since the incident at the royal castle. They were able to escape, pursued by the guards and a troop of templars, who took a significant interest in their personas.

Some of them saw the mark of the goddess, others learned about the curse. Just a couple of theologians, got into the squad who want to study the young magician. The rest looked like a bunch of murderers, thieves, sadists and perverts who, by the will of fate, received robes and the full right to torture, fuck and sometimes eat heretics. If you open your eyes, it became clear that the fighting squads of light had nothing to do with light. Although the church helped the disadvantaged, giving shelter and food, healing diseases of various kinds, but in fact, the main goal was to create a handy army capable of operating in this world, where the hand of Airia could not reach.

Zee rubbed his eye, that hurt. The sign continued to glow within him, even though the power had faded. If he held his gaze on something for more than a couple of seconds, the object began to change. As if torn from reality, he obeyed the unknown laws of the madman, terrifying everyone. The unfortunate guard was the first to experience the effect and turned into a statue pierced by a thousand roses. Even when his flesh completely changed, becoming hard, the expression on his face retained an eerie cry of pain, from flesh being torn by flowers.

 

Only a piece of cloth and an eyelid stopped this nightmare. But trouble does not come alone. The dreams drove him crazy, the slender girl did not appear in the flesh, but her voice was heard. The call to open his eyes and release it. All that stood in the way between Zee and insanity was a mental barrier spell. He fenced off consciousness, not allowing alien entities to penetrate into it. However, it devoured a monstrous amount of mana, constantly renewing itself. There was a way to fix it, but Zee did not know it, attempts led to a fall and the voice became louder and louder. Pressed by the situation, he tried to clear his eye, but even the highest clearing caused only a new attack of pain. One evening, he burned his cornea, and his face became like a ruddy chop. But once the healing worked, the curse returned.

 

Asura decided to go to the elves. She swore that she would destroy everyone and everything in her path, for the sake of healing the owner. But now she has become more silent. She was overcome by fears that she could not cope with everyone. The knight's strength was terrifying, when he rose from the dead and nailed her to the floor. This clash made her understand that, despite all the power and experience in robbery attacks on the peasants, she is infinitely far from the strongest of this world. And now they were heading into the jaws of the enemy, pursued by a detachment of warriors.

It will take a few more weeks to overcome this distance. Asura managed to stop by the merchant and exchange the region map, which was insanely valuable, for a few strong blows to the groin. The owner of the shop swore by all the gods, by his mother, by her future grave, by his teddy bear, that he definitely did not have such a map. But when something burst, and his voice went into coloratura, the map was found in a safe behind an inconspicuous picture. The elves were far away from that mountain where they saw their wonderful city. The map indicated that was surrounded by protective barriers, squads of monsters and demihumans. And the drawing of a giant standing on a pile of human bones hinted at the complexity of this journey. And now they are experiencing it.

The archmage was losing mana when he was on edge, so he couldn't travel without stopping. Asura carried him on her back, but even so, he needed an overnight stay. And now she was stalking rabbits, trying to make a decent stew.

 

Ripples ran through the leaves. Someone approached them. Asura woke up the magician, who had begun to doze.

- “Master, we are surrounded. Don't move, I'll try to lead them away, she whispered in his ear”

- “Wait, it's too dangerous! I'll take off the bandage” - His hand reached out to his face, but Asura caught it and squeezed her wrist.

- “I won't let you hurt yourself!” - She lost control of her voice and it sounded much louder than planned.

A tall man with long dark hair stepped out to them and bowed. A smile played on his face. Raising one hand up, he whispered something incomprehensible, and then the light dimmed. A dense dome formed in the air, blocking all escape routes. Behind the wall were vague silhouettes, covering the entire perimeter in a dense ring.

 

- “Good afternoon, I hope I didn't disturb you?” - He politely greeted, performing a deep bow – “My name is Cylo, I represent the church, our goddess Airiya . Could you come with me, pretty please?”

Asura assumed a fighting stance.

- "Go to hell, I won't let you lay a finger on your master!" - With these words, she rushed at the monk, aiming at his head.

- “Woah” - He said, suddenly appearing close to her. The fists slammed into Asura's abdomen, knocking her into the air. The blow was so strong that it tore her clothes and left dents in her stone body. She collapsed to the ground, unable to move – “You know, I really do not like violence, but you need to be captured”

Zee pulled the bandage down and froze. The monk stood before him, holding up two fingers.

- “I'm afraid this won't help you, my boy” - The monk's hand has completed a spin around the axis. The gesture had an immediate effect. The magician's body was pressed to the ground, and his hands were pulled behind his back. Blind and paralyzed, he tried to find a way out.

The next movement bound Asura. She tried to break free and almost succeeded, as the monk again said something in a whisper. A hole in the air appeared above her back, spewing out a stream of centipedes tightly wrapped around her body.

- “Well, well. Everything went easier than I expected ... I jinxed” - A battle broke out behind the barrier. There were many more silhouettes, the quiet rumble of blades, the screams of people could be heard.

The monk raised his eyes to look up at the top of the dome, which was covered with cracks. Like glass, it shattered into pieces and through a gaping gap, an elf burst into space, armed with a flaming spear.

- “Accept your death, dirty eater!” - Ophelia picked up speed, approaching Cylo's face.

At the last moment, he dodged the blow, which caused a powerful wave.

- “Good to see you, princess. To what do I owe your visit?” - He maintained a friendly smile as he regarded the furious elf.

- “Don't you dare contact me! You filthy brat who doesn't deserve to exist!” - Her eyes blazed with anger as she yelled at the monk.

- “You know, I would prefer to resolve everything peacefully ...”

- “Shut up!” - Ophelia attacked, delivering lightning strikes that cut through the air. The tip of the spear, engulfed in flames, almost touched the face of Cylo, dodging deadly attacks. The smile never left his face.

One movement of the hand, and several dark daggers appeared behind the elf's back, rushing towards her with great speed. Without slowing down, she spun around the axis and repulsed them with a spun spear that had already returned to the attacking stance. Several small circles appeared next to the tip, firing a series of glowing arrows in the direction of the monk. His forearms were bare as he parried the spell with his bare hands. He performed an intricate gesture and slammed his palms into the air. A wave of energy passed through the elf, knocking her off her feet. She quickly regained her breath and spit out the blood accumulated in her mouth, creating a new magic circle.

The vertical strike unleashed a bright beam that cut through everything that touched it. The monk threw his leg up, forming a split, parrying the blow. His boot evaporated, but the spell was stopped.

- “Violence, it's bad, but what can't you do for the sake of a beautiful lady?’’ - His eyes widened, and he whispered intensely, stretching his arms forward and clenching his palms. The elf's spear was held in place by ugly hands hanging in the air. Unable to move it, she glanced at Cylo, who had curled his fingers into a triangle and was blowing through it. An invisible force hit her chest, breaking through her armor. A splash of blood and a scream erupted from her.

- “Ah, I failed again!” - The monk said grinning and began to whisper again.

Ophelia gathered her strength, grabbed her spear and began to cast the spell. Another blow touched her cheek, leaving a deep wound, but this did not stop her.

- “…May my wrath consume you! I sacrifice!” - Blood gushed from her wounds, and the spear shaft was covered with cracks. The ground opened up, revealing a tree creature. Like a man, with elongated and gnarled limbs, it turned its empty eye sockets on Cylo. The creature let out spikes, writhing, sharp and fast, ready to pierce the monk.

- “And this is serious!” - He dodged while moving around the limited battlefield. His hands flashed through the air, splintering spikes that could not be avoided. The creature's eyes filled with light, like many fireflies. A branch appeared on the monk's hand, rooting deep into his flesh. With a sharp movement, he pulled it out, tearing the flesh. But a new branch was already growing from his leg.

Silo tried to close the distance by slowly approaching the creature. But a lot of attacks made it difficult to move. The grass, as if having gained intelligence, reached out to his feet, entangling them, trying to rise higher and higher.

A vein popped up on his forehead, and a single word came out of his mouth. The spikes pierced the void. It appeared above the creature's head and struck with an energy-wrapped fist, then landed on his feet, brushing off the remnants of grass from clothes.

- “Ohh, well, you make me a problem. You could make an excellent druid “- He approached Ophelia, who lay on the ground in a pool of blood. She gave her last strength to this summon and the plan failed.

The creature froze in place. After a few seconds, its woody flesh began to curl, tighter and tighter, until it cracked and fell apart.

The monk lifted the elf by her hair and drew her face up to his.

- “Do not ... do not touch me, eater...” - She stopped feeling the body, her tongue barely turned in her mouth, filled with blood.

- “Well, well, don't be so mean. We've got a long evening ahead of us” - His tongue brushed the elf's cheek, licking off a trickle of blood. He extended his hand forward, holding Ophelia off the ground and forming a sign with his other hand.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The list of spells was blurry, Zee couldn't read a single word. He tried to watch the battle through the small space of a bandage that had come off. The figures moved at great speed, now and then disappearing from his limited view.

Something had to be done, but the mind imposed its limitations. Magic is formed in the imagination, if the magician is used to making gestures, then the spell cannot be repeated without them.

The list is frozen. One word hung in the air. The symbols changed, changing order, disappearing and reappearing. He saw Cylo holding Ophelia at arm's length and screamed with the last of his strength, letting the unfamiliar word come to life.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

A distant scream was heard. The sky took on a purple hue and froze. The whole environment seemed to stop in time, only the three of them could move.

Zee 's body cracked like parched earth. A stream of blood escaped from each crack, evaporating before reaching the ground. Each of his joints, starting with his fingers, slowly rotated around, tearing the skin and muscles, until completed three twists. Then, the next joint followed.

Cylo noticed a figure a few meters away from the corner of his eye. He didn't want to look, his body and mind joined together, to close his eyes, don't turn around. The elf in his hand passed out, and he unclenched his fingers, letting the body fall.

He strained his muscles to the limit, but an unknown force slowly turned him towards the creature.

Hanging in the air, woven from fog, it was a heap of human bodies, tightly woven. Their hands, digging into the flesh of the monster, pulled it towards them, trying to get out of hell. The face of the creature, devoid of eyes, ears and nose, opened its mouth, expelling a cloud of white ash. One of the arms moved with a crunch of broken bones. The fingers slowly extended and made a gesture calling the monk to him.

The thin layer of skin from his face pulled tight and was torn out. A piece of flesh and drops of blood slowly floated towards the monster. The nail followed the skin. His body was torn into small pieces, inexorably floating into the monster's mouth. Cylo sensed something different. Pain outside the body. It’s ate him whole. Body, memory, knowledge, strength, energy, soul. Piece by piece.

The monk roared and plunged his palm into the region of the heart, tearing off the seal placed inside him. A whirlwind of energy swept through the entire forest.

- Back! – his voice sounded for many kilometers around.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Asura instantly appeared near the screaming owner.

- "Master, are you having a nightmare again?" - She supported his back with one hand.

- “Where are they? What happened?” - Zee tore off the blindfold.

- “What are you speaking about? We are alone here “- Her face expressed bewilderment.

- “But Monk, elves?!” - He looked down at his arms, which were intact but still pulsed with pain from the dream. Zee tried to calm down, looking around – “I'm sorry, apparently it really was a nightmare ...”

He was still thinking about it as Asura fed him t and put on a new blindfold. Everything was too real.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Somewhere in the forest, a detachment of priests stopped. The commander spurred his horse, ordering the soldiers and scouts to return, going deeper into the forest along the path.

- “Cylo, what's wrong with you?” - The old man bent over the monk, who was lying in a muddy puddle, breathing heavily.

- “We’ll have to postpone our journey, holy father…”

- “Hmm, again one of your visions? Well, this is a sign from our Goddess! Let's wait for the main forces, but for now let's offer a prayer!” - The old man knelt down, right in the dirt, quickly absorbed into his snow-white robe, and began to praise Airya.