[Calming fields | Cardinal.]

In a large green field, a man sat alone surrounded by flowers, looking up to the sky. He had dark red hair so long that it flowed in a ponytail and bright green eyes, he smiled softly as the soft breeze caressed his cheek.

He closed his eyes and let himself drift awash in his mind with peace and tranquility. The man could almost feel the warm sun on his skin and could imagine he was floating above a beautiful ocean, a gentle swell in the waves tickling his toes.

"Ahhhh…ahhh…" He laughed lightly, enjoying the sensations of peace and tranquility.

He could feel his sword being slipped from his fingers causing him to look to the back of him to find Fawn behind him smiling at him gently.

"Fawn," The fiery red-haired man greeted, turning around.

"Cardinal, I have a task for you," She explained.

He looked up at her curiously.

"Something has transpired and I need you to go and investigate," she told him.

"Is it something dangerous," Cardinal questioned. She smiled sadly.

"I need you to check the last scene where Pilot and Freeland were at last…I haven't heard the secret whisperers for a while," She stated.

Cardinal picked up his sword, sheathing it once again, and started heading off when Fawn suddenly stopped him,

"Cardinal," Fawn spoke.

He turned around and faced her and she looked him in the eye.

"Be careful…you mustn't get yourself killed," she warned.

"I'll be fine…don't worry," Cardinal replied.

He walked off humming a tune while twirling a flower between his fingers. Fawn watched him leave and watched as he vanished beyond the horizon.

"So far he hasn't changed," She whispered to herself.

"Freeland is supposed to be watching over that kid or something right?" Cardinal thought.

He stood on top of the grand stone with etchings of a bird flying in flight around it. There were four walls surrounding him with an opening in the middle; there were also four doors leading to each wall. Inside was nothing but darkness.

"I suppose I should just jump then," Cardinal thought.

A waterfall flowed down below into a large pond that sparkled in the morning sunlight that was shining into the valley. At the center of the clearing was an enormous boulder with a red crystal carved into it.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

There were signs placed by the boulder with 'Welcome to Redea' written on it and above it there was a statue with three faces. On the two sides of the boulder, there were statues with different attributes and each statue had a special symbol engraved on its chest and a sword strapped to its back. The top statue was a white lion.

"Pilot can't use quick travel yet so there is no way he would use the stones yet…" Cardinal noted.

He gawked around the perimeter of the cave before deciding he might as well get going now since he has wasted enough time. The waterfall echoed around the cavern as Cardinal started jumping across the chasm that separated the two sides of the rocks.

His boots hit the smooth stone floor with a thud as he took a deep breath before continuing through the dark corridors. The air grew colder the further he traveled. Cardinal shivered, pulling his cloak tighter around himself.

Cardinal was starting to get cold as he kept walking deeper into the caves. As the path opened up slightly more he noticed the cave walls were decorated with paintings. There were drawings of plants, animals, landscapes, buildings, and people. They seemed to be alive.

They moved around each other, chasing one another, playing, eating, fighting, singing… Everything seemed lively. they moved around each other, chasing one another, playing, eating, fighting, singing… Everything seemed lively.

As he continued his curiosity was getting the best of him. This cave must have held a powerful power. Maybe a magical force.

He stumbled backward when he realized he felt something in the cave with him. A figure slowly approached his direction. Before he knew it he could see the figure clearly.

The cloaked figure approached him cautiously as if he wanted to take notice of him first. It reached out with pale hands reaching toward him. Then suddenly it froze in place, as though paralyzed in fear, it couldn't move, it couldn't breathe, it couldn't do anything.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cardinal asked.

A rusty laugh could be heard.

"Why are you scared?" the figure taunted.

Cardinal backed away. The figure stepped closer. Cardinal couldn't move as the figure grabbed his arm with sharpened metal claws. He screamed as he felt pain run throughout his entire body.

"Who the hell are you?!" Cardinal shouted.

He swung his blade out and blocked the creature's attack before stabbing him in the chest with his sword, only for it to dissolve into black mist, vanishing in the blink of an eye. making him fall forward, landing face-first on the hard rock floor his sword flew out of his grip.

As he got up and rubbed the back of his head, trying to stop the pain, he saw the shadow from his sword rising up from the floor behind him. The shadow rose higher. The shadow raised its hand up. It was like it was reaching to grab his neck but it quickly dissolved into black smoke.

"You are looking for that kid that everyone is whispering about aren't you?" It asked.

Cardinal ran towards his sword, picking it up, and running down the pathway. The light of day disappeared completely, making him trip and fall face-first onto the ground he gasped for breath after falling the shadows surrounded him from all angles.

"I see you are the one who has no true gift…" It snickered.

He felt intimidated. "What is your name?" He asked as the voice growled threateningly.

The voice chuckled and sneered at the same time "My name...is not your concern….you will not survive long here!" The voice yelled angrily.

It charged towards him with blinding speed. As soon as it was inches away from him, the shadowy figure exploded into black smoke disappearing into thin air. With a gasp, Cardinal awoke with a start breathing heavily. He quickly glanced around the room and saw it was still dark he let out a shaky breath.

He realized quickly the surrounding oxygen was getting thinner each time he exhaled

He was gasping for air. He could hardly catch his breath, panicking. He looked around frantically for any kind of source of relief.

'Fuck…I am screwed if he continues…' Cardinal thought.

His heart raced, sweat trickled down his forehead. His breathing rate began rising and the blood pounding in his ears made his vision go blurry and he struggled to stand. With one swift motion, he used his sword to lift him up. His muscles burned and hurt. He gripped his sword tightly, leaning against the wall.

'Don't panic. Just keep moving...keep breathing…' He thought.

"It took you this long to realize…you know you are a goner Mr. No gift," a voice mocked in his head.

He tried to control his breathing, but he felt his throat tighten and he couldn't get enough air.

He gasped, trying to fill his lungs with as much air as possible. But he couldn't. He coughed harshly, tears gathering in his eyes.

Cardinal could no longer hear himself think. Everything began to spin he stumbled to the ground with a thump, hitting the ground so hard it knocked the wind out of him. He clutched his chest as his chest tightened painfully. It was almost painful but he didn't care anymore. All he wanted was to just die.

"That's enough Spire!" A voice chimed.

A tall skinny woman holding a teru teru bōzu in her hand with a smile on her face. Her eyes were piercing like daggers. Her face was contorted into an angry expression. She walked to him and crouched down, smiling at him warmly.

"Master Caym will surely reward me," She laughed.

He couldn't keep awake. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. As his world turned black, he felt his soul being sucked out of his body, leaving his body to lay lifeless and lifeless on the ground.

She ran her fingers through her long gold locks, her eyes filled with mirth and her lips curved upwards into a soft smile as she caught sight of him.

Cardinal awoke several hours later.His head hurt. He winced as he opened his eyes.

'Am I dead?' Cardinal thought in terror.

Suddenly he found himself sitting upright, his eyes wide open, looking around. The room was brightly lit and it was very warm. His whole body ached in pain. He felt stiff.

"Where am I? What happened?"

He noticed very quickly his sword was gone, he was in some sort of underground room with thick wooden beams hanging from the ceiling and wooden chairs lined up at the side. There were small holes in the wood where light seeped through. Some windows were on the roof high up.

"I gotta stop listening to Fawn!" He argued.