The rustling of leaves and the rhythmic beat of pantings reverberating throughout the forest alerted me to his presence. A dark-clothed figure, easily mistaken for a wild malnourished beast if not for the horrible humanoid silhouette, cut through the thick undergrowth of the forest while simultaneously scanning the area around him for any traps I may have put while he was gone.

"So you didn't run," he sneered, pacing about the meadow, twitching at the sudden sounds of the many birds chirping and soaring around him, seeking a spot to rest at the moss-filled branches like mighty gods prepared to contemplate themselves with puny mortal problems.

As I tried to balance the spear in my hands, a gentle sigh escaped my lips. Cold metal touched blood-searing flesh, responding to its cry for murder, imploring me to wield it in its misguided way, encouraging me to use its body for carnage.

My breath was speeding as I stared down at this monster in front of me.

The impulsive whistling of leaves functioned as an unofficial judge, igniting the terrible aroma of shredded flesh and blood, signalling our macabre dance of death between this crooked-looking man and me, knowing that only one of us would walk away alive from this woodland.

Nathan gripped his spear firmly, concentrating all of his strength in his hands and feet, his spear icy and quick like a metallic serpent, echoing with his determination to puncture the heart of anybody who dared to stand in his path. He propelled on the chest of this tomb-looking murderer with a rapid leap, intending to finish this fight as soon as possible, thinking that this enemy of his was most likely a practitioner of the black arts. The cloak-hooded figure deflected it with his dagger in a hail of sparks and advanced on Nathan's head. To obtain a little reprieve, he hurled one of the remaining arrowheads towards Nathan's left eye, diverting him long enough to drive one of his daggers into his leg.

Nathan parried in vain but was struck twice in one rapid strike. Knowing his rival was injured, the rot-filled figure skilfully spun his dagger as he rushed Nathan. Ignoring his exposed back, he failed to see the monstrous bear creeping from behind. He held his knife in both hands, but before he could strike, the colossal beast sprang over him.

As the massive bear buried its teeth into his shoulder blades and swung him several times against the blood-soaked branches, he struggled like a landed fish. The bear pounced on Nathan with a terrible snarl after dropping the now-dead carcass of this decaying man.

The beast's huge claw snapped out venomously at Nathan's face. He parried quickly with his spear as its blood-soaked metallic claws clanged harmlessly off it. The beast attempted again, this time flicking its tail at his damaged, exposed legs. Nathan jumped to one side and stabbed the spear in a dazzling arc. The enormous bear yelled in agony as it amputated part of his tail. The bleeding tail rested on the mossy leaves, its energy still coursing through it. The bear took the opportunity, hurling the decaying body at his attacker, and struck with its claws once again. Metal slammed against metal as Nathan desperately dodged the monstrous bear's barrages.

They fought their way across the meadow, right through the blood pool and the torn-apart body of the lady who couldn't find peace even in death. Ignoring the gruesome surroundings, they aimed to kill each other, hacking, stabbing, lunging, and swinging in the ultimate dance of death, Monster versus human.

Meanwhile, groups of Northmill warriors worked together to erase any evidence of their young master's wrongdoings from the forest. With Master Mudlark in charge of the out-of-control meadow scenario, their mission was nearly complete; all that remained was to carefully transport their young Lord, back to the castle.

They made a risky bet, and if they were discovered, losing their lives would be the least of their worries.

Nathan stood in the centre of the clearing, one eye straining to see the beast hiding near a fallen tree. Blood poured from the numerous wounds Nathan had inflicted on it during their combat. But now he knew he'd won; his intuition had been correct, and this deathmatch would soon be over. "Let us finish this, monster," he yelled, lunging for the deathly pale creature.

Nathan rose to his feet on the wooden log. With one mighty thrust from the spear that claimed so much blood under its tip, he severed the head from its shoulders. It looked to float in space for a split second before dropping like a gigantic stone.

Nathan remained glued to the location, his gaze fixed downward.

CLANG!!!

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My body trembles with adrenaline as the clamour of the battle-weary meadow is filled with the metallic scream of metal striking metal. A sudden sense of hopelessness surrounds me, as visions of death and decay flood my restless head.

It Invokes me to give up, drop my spear, and finally rest in their embrace, the entrancing dance of the trees around me worm their way closer and closer to my soul, trying to swallow me whole. They fill the air around me with the earthy scent of rotting limbs and soil.

The only way out is death.

I have to give up.

I am helpless against him; all I can do is watch while he rips me limb from limb.

All these thoughts, all this doubt simply flashed in my soul, eating away at my defences.

A swift and abrupt thunder, capable of shaking the very foundations of the forest, startled me wide awake, its flash gifting me the sight of Ciaphas, realizing I had been taken in by Mudlark's evil enchantment.

''How, exactly, are you still alive?''

I questioned while attempting to keep my hand firm and deflecting another of his blows with my spear as he dragged me farther behind him toward the blood lake. His magic was truly sinister, invading my mind slowly, edging me to give up, or even worse, kill myself.

Mudlark grinned, exposing the numerous wounds all over his body that were gushing pus and a blackened liquid that was crawling with flies. Half of his body was already surrounded by a horrible dark aura, making you wonder how he was still alive.

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'' Charming an Awakened indeed is hard,'' he playfully replied, finally revealing his red-coated head.

His skull resembled a devil from children's fairy tales that parents used to tell to frighten their children to sleep, and his hands were as white as a gravestone that had been long converted into a twisted combination of bone and flesh.

My ears were overwhelmed with the dripping sound of flesh touching the ground, and my nose felt assaulted by the foul smell of rot and decay, which completely overpowered any traces of the familiar earthy scent I was always welcomed with when I entered the woods.

The tip of my spear was chipped away as another dagger, this one covered in a black essence, wormed its way onto it before being deflected once again, along with my will to keep fighting.

A banshee-like shriek burst out of his skeleton-like neck, prompting me to shield my ears while rapidly withdrawing towards one of the stones Ciaphas was brutally knocked out.

The bottom of the death-infested clearing was smeared with grotesque fungus, and the fetid stink of the blood-soaked meadow flowed up to the dark shadows between the trees.

The suffocating atmosphere and deteriorating air offered the ideal environment for those who worshipped the darkness rather than the light. I could see him grasping his skeleton-like hands in the gloom. The bones shone like woven steel steeped in coal. They were ghostly eyes filled with hatred, seeking to eat on my tired soul and use me as its next meal.

The fight did not proceed as planned. Even though I had managed to strike him once or twice, giving him some damage, things were looking bleak for me. My opponent was far too powerful, wicked, and lethal. I locked my gaze on the man who was attempting to murder me. He had the ghostly eyes of a monster, shrewd and sly. They were enraged as I raised a fatigued spear arm to defend myself.

They appeared to be tundra-cold and ruthless, two pools of icy, blizzard-white. He laughed at my state, bringing with it a sense of embarrassment and death.

He motioned for me to strike him and talked with an odd, guttural accent. The fucker was taunting me. His effort at a whimpering voice was ridiculous. It was frigid and echoed like a banshee wailing, stifling my throat as he wanted to provoke me.

It had a gravelly texture, as though stones were rubbing against one another. His voice complimented his eerie stare and rot-worn body nicely. He had teeth that looked like fractured tree roots, more like fangs than teeth.

His crooked and deformed nose was covered in hanks of his fly-infested hair. He had slender legs that were formed like crescents. He had skin the colour of a winter moon, so it stood out. One of the characteristics of a dark arts practitioner is decay and grease. I attempted to break his skeletal jaw with my spear's broken tip but to no avail.

I noticed his lopsided grin as soon as I understood he was as strong as the mutated bear I fought earlier, probably stronger.

I was aware that I wouldn't last for very long. I was battle drunk and utterly exhausted. When he raised his dagger for the last blow, it was almost a relief. I waited while squinting my worn-out eyes, waiting for darkness to engulf me before the sound of thunder piercing the flesh brought me back to reality.

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''It's so cold,'' I murmured, the scenes of the arrow striking my guide's neck followed by the kick Nathan so unceremoniously delivered on my poor body flashed by in my head.

I tried to get up, only to realize I wasn't in the gloomy dark forest anymore, but rather in a vast expanse of darkness.

A white-lit path stood in front of me, reminding me of ancient tombs and snow-filled ossuaries scribbled with various mystical words of ages unknown, closely similar to Latin.

An enormous Cathedral, reaching out to the dark-filled sky of this realm, is visible on the horizon as if inviting me to unlock its doors and witness all the secrets obscured within its golden-light walls.

With each step, I felt my heart beat faster and faster, guiding me towards its marble-white gates, edging me to steal a glimpse, or better yet, step inside its sacred halls.

Humongous white-coloured Sculptures of heavenly beings and valiant heroes brandishing their shields were depicted all around the Cathedral, each one of them engraved with a mystical rune on them, shimmering rapidly with each passing moment, like metal meeting metal, defying until the end of time their unrelenting fates.

A minute felt like a day, and a day like a second, as I walked under the dark-coloured veil of this zone. With only the snow-white path as my guidance and the magnificent Temple as my goal, something deep inside my soul was rushing me to enter and close its gates shut before the darkness swallowed everything in this plane.

It was a strange feeling, like a gentle angelic voice softly whispering in your very essence of existence, urging you to safety, protecting you from primordial evils until you were all nice and safe under its soothing wings.

The cold was starting to form on my body as I rushed towards the cathedral, deciding to heed the warnings my soul emitted, not willing to risk it.

It was clear that whatever was happening around this mysterious place was not under my control so it would be wise to pick up my pace.

Took me a minute full of dread and agony to reach its steps when a blinding light, followed by a loud bang, stopped me right in my tracks.

In front of me were the gates of the Cathedral, with some words, clearly in Latin, pulsating vividly.

Schola lucis et diei Reserans divina teipsum assimulat Deos

Divine light started to surround me as I walked down the huge hall of the Cathedral guiding me towards a small mural of an angelic figure.

Apart from this mural, the Temple was empty and devoid of anything but holy light, flickering on and off like a symphony of droplets on a stormy night.

The mural, made of light and stone, depicted a faceless figure kneeling, staring at the starless sky while the feathers of its heavenly wings were slowly turning into dust, giving off a macabre feeling of loneliness, pain, and sadness.

''Suscipis me qui sum vere mortalis?''

the figure in the mural whispered in my soul, its voice soothing and angelic, calming any doubts and fears I had within me, prompting me to touch the mural, answering its call for salvation.

A blinding light, like the first ray of sunrise peeking out of the snowy mountains, announced its presence once again to the whole world while simultaneously casting away any semblance of darkness. It engulfed my soul and my very essence of existence as everything around me slowly turned into dust.

Cracks and fissures appeared across the cathedral, unleashing the divine light that was held into the walls and gates before they all came rushing towards my still beating heart, enveloping me once again with their radiating signature, jolting me back to reality.

Thunder rumbled, a howl of wrath like heaven's hammer ringing with tribulation. The blackened sky appeared to be stunned by a sudden flash. A lesion on its seething surface appeared as a gash of liquid light appeared from the breach above. As lightning spit and hissed like a sizzling maddened snake, the sky steamed like an angry red-faced God.

It resembled an inverted version of Poseidon's fiery fork. Nature's heavenly judgment, an electrostatic crackling, charged the atmosphere.

It hummed, screeched, and fizzed, searching up and down for the reason it awoke.

Suddenly I open my eyes.

In front of me stood a devilish face, stunned by everything that was happening around him, still holding a dagger in his skeleton-like hands, ready to plunge it deep into Nathan's heart.

Splayed tentacles of divine gold erupted as I hurriedly grabbed a tree branch, infusing it with divine magic. An explosion of lightning flame engulfed the Tirisean sky, scarring its obscurity. It squirmed in agony for a moment before shimmering into magical divine lightning.

A single vein arrowed towards the fly-infested creature as it skewered through the sky. He made a terrified squeak before rupturing, cracking, and finally bursting. The once-mighty Awakened One, split in two with a resounding crack, his heart tasered out and his remains charred black.

A red snake circulating a hand that was trying to reach the sky was pulsating above my heart before fading as silently as it emerged.

I stared at Nathan, visibly scared out of his mind, thinking his life was about to meet its end.

darkness engulfed me once more, collapsing onto the fleshy remains that were sprayed all across the meadow, too tired to even lift a finger, much less hold my consciousness together, closing my eyes…