Chapter 113 - The True Power of the Special Eyes

Wherever I looked, I saw the monstrous gray panthers. All of them stared at me without making a single sound, not even the sound of their breathing. Even in broad daylight, and right in front of me, the way they stood so still, like statues, made me question if they were real. I looked at the shadows near me and saw only eyes in them. At that moment, I understood better the power these panthers possess.

They become invisible in the shadows...

"Okay... I'm a friend of Carnellian. He's a bit shy, not sure if you know him..." I tried saying to them. I knew the Moon Panthers were intelligent, but even so, I felt a tightness in my chest, being completely surrounded and defenseless, without my magic.

Even with magic, I wouldn't stand a chance against them.

Something touched my back, and when I looked behind me, I saw a giant Moon Panther, much larger than Carnellian, standing there.

How? She made no sound!

The panther was enormous, passing by me silently, without the leaves under her paws making any noise. She had two tails and three eyes, distinguishing her from the others. As she walked, the panthers that had been so still, like statues, began to move, making way. I realized that this must be the leader of the Moon Panthers.

The leader panther stopped and then turned her face to look at me, as if waiting. She made a gesture with her head, pointing in a direction, and began to follow it. I followed her, taking light steps, unsure of how to behave around these creatures. I realized I was completely surrounded; wherever I looked, there were panthers hidden, watching me. Even from the tops of the trees, they spied on me, completely motionless.

I followed the leader Moon Panther along the path, and she made no sound, not even the sound of her breathing or her steps. The other panthers moved in silence as well, and when I looked back, I saw that small army of panthers gliding through the forest without making a single noise as they followed me.

I am completely defenseless... a single Moon Panther is capable of fighting off a troop of mages, and here there’s an army of them...

The leader Moon Panther stopped again and stared at me. She pointed in another direction with her head and started walking that way.

She’s really guiding me.

I and that army of Moon Panthers walked through the forest for quite some time, and at no point did they make any noise. When we crossed a river, they walked over the stones and through the water without making a sound. As I walked, I began to feel my mana flowing through my body, but I didn’t dare use magic against them, since they were treating me well. I knew that my species, humans, didn’t have a good relationship with Moon Panthers due to attempts to hunt them, so I kept quiet and followed the path.

Did my ancestor really befriend these creatures?

I watched that army of killer panthers as I recalled my family’s history. An ancient Evenhart king befriended the panthers and placed them in a protected region of our territory. They aren’t very numerous, and humans try to hunt them when they discover where they live. To avoid the extinction of the species, my family made a pact, allowing them to live in the forbidden areas of our territory. There, they could live freely, tending to the wild nature and monsters without worrying about human presence. It was through this agreement that the friendship with Carnellian was born, as he offered to look after the descendants of my ancestor and began living in the castle.

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I touched my stomach, feeling the warmth of my Gem as it began to fill again as mana flowed through it. Then, I touched my face. Inside my eyes, I felt the same warmth, but something was different.

They’re asleep...

My Celestial Eyes, which were a Mana Gem, were resting. Somehow, I had an instinctual understanding of how they worked.

The giant Moon Panther stopped walking and turned to me. In the silence of the forest, I began to hear human voices in the distance.

"We’ve arrived?" I asked, running to get a better view.

"The village!" I exclaimed, spotting the people in the distance.

Mom! Cylla!

As soon as I saw the people, a lump formed in my throat; I needed to see them. I needed to confirm that they were real. Ever since I dreamed of my former life as Icarus, I had been anxious, longing to see them again. Then, I approached Sisika, only to watch her die in my arms as a little girl, discovering that she was my Cylla.

"Th-thank you," I said, emotional, turning around.

But when I looked, no one was there. The Moon Panthers had disappeared, leaving without a sound.

I ran back into the forest and stopped.

"Thank you," I murmured. "You brought me back to my family... I’ll never forget this."

My words echoed in the surroundings, but I knew that, even from afar, they would hear me.

I sat on the ground, nervous and overwhelmed with my feelings.

"My family..."

I don’t want to lose what I love again.

Images of Helen in my arms flooded my mind. The day I lost my sun was the moment I felt the greatest pain of my life. No sword or spear wound compared to that. My world had died along with Helen, and my reason for existing vanished with her. In this new world, I had regained what I had lost, but the fear of losing it again consumed me. I feared losing this hell, just as Charon had warned me.

I stood up from the ground, having made my decision.

"Icarus... I don’t know what we are anymore. My time here, in this world, has taught me so much that, for the first time in a long time, I’m starting to feel fear again. I’m not afraid of dying; I’m afraid of being alive and witnessing these people die. I fear that this is my hell, repeating my former life as a twisted reflection of fate. I fear that death will once again come for those I love."

I concentrated my magic into my fist.

Sisika’s words came back to me. She had told me that she dreamed of the future and saw a war coming.

"I don’t know what the future holds, but whoever comes for me and my family had better be prepared. Because I will become General Nathan Evenhart!"

As soon as I said that, the mana I had gathered in my fist went out of control, and something gray shot into the sky, exploding.

'KABOOM!' A blinding white light and a deafening sound erupted.

Above me, a black cloud grew as it exploded, and the rain began to fall, drenching me.

"Storm!" I exclaimed, realizing what I had done. "Impossible! A storm can only be born from the combination of Wind, Thunder, and Water elements."

Something was flowing inside me, and I immediately knew what it was.

"My Special Eyes!" I touched my face, and the information came to me instinctively, as if I simply knew it, the same way a child is born knowing how to breathe.

I focused, feeling the mana flowing from my eyes, passing through my Mana Gem and circulating through my entire body.

I looked at my hand and generated a small dark gray ball, unable to believe what I was seeing.

"A storm cloud..."

At that moment, I realized I possessed all the elements, and they responded to me, ready to be used and combined.

Suddenly, the dark cloud ball formed a monstrous face.

"What is that?" The dark cloud ball lost the shape of the face.

It was a golem!

"Summoner... your Mana Category is Summoner..." I said, touching my eye.

I had to stop focusing mana into the cloud ball because it was becoming blacker and more dangerous.

I felt that if I continued, I might create something powerful and unstable.

"Elemental servants... like the Titans..." I murmured. "I’m the Lord of Titans even in this world..."

I heard the sounds of people nearby.

I ran back toward civilization; I needed to see those people I loved again.

"Nathan!" A familiar voice called out to me.

As soon as I heard those words, my heart tightened, and the memory of losing Cylla overwhelmed me. I felt my eyes fill with tears. That voice... it was the reason I changed, the reason I began to feel fully human again since I arrived in this world.

"Mom!" I shouted, running toward her, and as soon as I saw her, I embraced her.

"What happened, Nathan!? Where have you been?" she asked me.

"I’m never going to lose anyone again."