...

After the training, an Ice snow started, you quickly go inside pictor's house.

As you start examining the Wakazashi that Chiyo gave you, trying to understand how to use it properly, Scriptor suggest that it's time for storytelling.

"Chosen one, I will tell thee... a story, about the disease that affected the land, the roots of it, The roots of... Ira.", Said Scriptor.

Pictor looks at you, you sound interested in that story.

Scriptor begin talking about the Ira roots.

"When the Cavums were banished from the Holy land of Flavius, they wanted revenge to prove themselves against the Pridful Knights, The Cavum, unleashed their true potential, creating sword techniques, gaining knowledge of the world around them, obsessed with having a child that are capable of killing Flavius himself, this envy lead to gluttony for power, discovering a Disease, capable of eating the mind, unleashing the monstrosity inside, from the human soul, leading to madness itself, a mindless creatures that only knows killing, and the Disease was casted at the Cavums, which even eated their own flesh..."

"The Cavum, went on a journey, to discover The Roots of Ira, to discover a cure, to show themselves amongest the Scholars, alas, they got infected, that's the price for Gluttony, and envy."

Pictor leans closer to Scriptor, you notice Pictor's movement, so you lean closer too.

Pictor looks at you again, she lets a soft, little smile.

Scriptor continues the story.

"After this madness happened to the Cavum, The Cavum scholars hadst some intelligence on them, and did try to cast the Disease to the Flavius knights, The Cavum succeeded, and infected the Captain of The Golden Army, Leander, turning him to a beast, a creature with no purpose, without feelings and hope."

"Hmm, perchance this story can help thee, Chosen one."

"The Ira lays in the Cavum hamlet, beware from the Ira, Chosen one, or it may consume your soul."

She looks down.

Pictor looks at her, she confronts her.

"Worry not, dear sister, The Chosen one cannot die, and cannot be distracted from their own goal." She said.

Scriptor replied, still nervous about the situation.

"But... Their soul can be consumed, it will cause pain and suffering, for e-eternity, Since they cannot die.."

You look at them, you don't know how to react, so you get outside, they look at you.

Scriptor Looks at her sister, and asks her a question that she feared to ask in front of you.

"Dear sister, The chosen one, was meant to suffer after what happened to Mera and Death itself, is that correct?"

Pictor looks away, as she answers her question.

"Yes, you are correct, Dear sister..."

Chapter 2.1: Cavum hamlet.

You get outside, and look at the way of Cavum hamlet, you think about getting there right now.

Your Journey is set to the Cavum Hamlet, to seek Your hometown.

You move towards the Cavum hamlet, with your Katana and Wakazashi, duel-welding them, you look cool with them, that's what you want, of course.

You encounter someone, eating a corpse, you walk closely to them, he sounds Pleased while eating it, you approach him, but unfortunately, you walk on a stick and broke it, they hear it and stop eating, they slowly turns at you.

It's a Beast, with yellow eyes, a half-humanoid creature with the behavior of a beast, with long horns and small physique, it's ribs are visible due to starvation, with a lot of fur in its back and arms, covered in blood, with long claws, ready to pierce through flesh.

He screams, His eyes sparkle, You examine the Beast, Yellow eyes?, it really looks weird on a beast, and those horns look like the horns of a Goat, Is this beast but a fusion of two things?, You're wondering.

The Beast runs towards you, launching at you to stab your eye, You quick-step to the side, The beast lets a sound, an angry roar, you get back, The beast charges at you, you quick-step then slash it's back, The beast falls down, crying.

The beast says, with a terrified sound:

"It burns... Flame... it burns... I-Ira.. Ira."

You stab the Beast while it's in the ground with your Katana, ending it's misery, you see it's soul leaving the body.

You wonder about what you will encounter next.

You examine the corpse The beast was eating, you don't see much, it looks like the beast ate the whole face.

You continue across the road, you see another beast, in a wagon, looking for something.

The Beast talks while searching in the wagon.

"Cure... Cure... for.. Flame."

"Daughter... Daughter... Cure... Burns.."

You look at the beast, You feel that the

Frozen peak of Giants is a dead land by now.

Suddenly, you look up, at the mountain above the wagon, someone with a sword, wearing a fancy garb and a featherd hat.

They jump at the Beast, piercing the sword in his eye, They look directly into the Beast eyes, and mutters.

"I'm sorry, but I have to."

Their face is covered from the blood of the Beast, They quiver from the situation.

They leave the Wagon, you gaze at them curiously, you sheath your katana, and approach them.

You try to interact with them, they notice you, they tried to talk, their shaking lips tried to move, some words escaped from them.

"H-Hello there, you are a..h-human, right?"

You nod, they start to calm down.

"Oh, yeah, what a question.."

"Accept my apology, for mistaken thee as a monster, I have never met a fellow human before.."

They nervously chuckle, you tilt your head.

"My name is Maria, the Beast hunter."

"..Art Thou, by any chance, a Cavum?"

You nod.

She looks suprised, she says in amusement.

"Oh?, a fellow Cavum?, interesting, indeed..."

"...I'm looking for my father in this forsaken land, perchance you have saw him?"

You don't know what she is talking about, you say No.

"Hmm, I apologize for my sudden question, Beast hunting art making me dry.." She replied, staring in the other direction.

"I may go now, be safe out there, those Ira beasts are thirsty for blood."

You simply nod and go.

Chapter 2.2: Inside the hamlet.

You see the door of the Hamlet, it's old and obsolete.

You open the door, you see a great deal of beasts, in the Hamlet square, looking at burned human bodies, you're wondering why..

You see the houses, they are in a terribly bad shape, the roads are covered with bodies and blood, the Hamlet looks horrific, is that what The Ira did to the Cavums?

You get near the square, The Beasts are strangely... weeping, groaning from sespair, perchance they know the bodies?

You slightly sneak past them, to the main building of the Hamlet, the house seems old, but not as derelict as the others.

Before you get to the house, a Vile Beast charges from the door, you take a glance at him, a one armed Beast with fur, surrounding his arm, with the face of a Fox, his gut is huge and full, His mouth is open, his fangs are Keen, growling, looking for a prey, they are named "Vile Beasts" due to their behaviour, a fox-human mixed behaviour.

He charges at you to bite you, you stab him with your Wakazashi, even though he is stabbed, he tries to eat your face, you pull your Wakazashi off and get back, He put his hand on the Wound, he lets an annoyed roar.

You are really wondering, how strong is the Ira?, He rushes at you to slash you with his Claws, you slash his chest with your Katana, your body gets covered with blood.

He falls to the ground, you continue and open the Main Building, you enter the House, you see nothing inside, however, there's a door at the end of the house, you decided to open it.

Before you open it, you hear the Vile Beast behind you, attempting to attack, he slashes your back.

Your back is injured, you stab the Beast with your Katana, then continue to exit your blade from the side of the Beast.

You open the door, to see another place, with a large bell at the end, you get close to the bell.

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Surprisingly, A wild ghost appears, it stares at you, and says:

"Ah, Thou art haft made it to the Bell of Revival, How brave art thou."

You are absolutely shocked by the Ghost, you decided not to say anything.

The Ghost continues With:

"Thou shalt ring the Bell, Thou shalt Seeketh the Blade, And Thou will accomplish thy duty."

"I believe in Thou, be safe."

The Ghost fades away, you walk to the large bell, then you ring it...

As it rings, you feel slightly dizzy, you fall to the ground, your vision blinded, You fall into a coma.

...

You slightly begin to wake up, it's Sundown, it was Morning when you arrived...

Chapter 2.3: Iudex Iovita of the Flavius Army.

You get up, and go to the main gate to exit, you enter through the door of the Main building, to go to the square then the Hamlet gate.

You see Beast corpses, in the streets, all dead, with serious cuts, ans you see a knight in golden armour, standing in the square, he looks familiar...

You get to him, he looks at you.

"Thou hasnt died, I assume."

"Foul Cavum, thy Journey last long, I will not let thee ring the Second Bell of Revival." He says.

You look at him, you really don't care about what he says.

He continues with:

"What doset Thou seeketh?, to acquire the Blade, and end King Flavius Life?"

You don't really know that much about it, but you nod anyway.

He looks desperately, and says:

"Oh, thou art have the courage to meet the King?"

"What a miserable creature art thou, I must havt killed thee long time ago."

He throws his shield at the ground, pulling his straight sword, a way The Flavius army do when the duel starts, and when the duel is about life and death.

You unsheath your Katana, and sheath your Wakazashi.

He circles around you, you wait for an opportunity to attack, he feints an upward slash, you try to block from above, he change suddenly to a thrust.

You Notice the attack, and quick step to the side and cover distance between you and him by getting back, you are wondering, those attacks... from a knight? sure something is seriously wrong.

He jumps and attacks you, you get back, he stays at the ground, you notice him looking at your stomach, he's going to do something..

He delivers a thrust at your gut, you deflect the attack, and thrust your sword towards his shoulder.

Sadly, your sword didn't reach, he gets back.

"Thou art a skilled warrior, alas, a vile Cavum shall not defeat the King!"

He runs at you to attack with an upward slash, you block it, he gets back and attack with another upward slash at the opposite direction, you parry it and try to get a hit in, you hit his helmet, he gets back.

You examine his body, he's light-armoured with golden armour, a soft metal, that's a weakpoint you can use to your advantage.

His moves are the Opposite of Octavius's moves, tricky, and fast, a high-skilled captain, indeed.

You gain confidence after knowing what to do know.

You approach him, trying to bait an attack, he steps, and deliver a thrust, you get to the side, unfortunately it was a feint thrust, he does a sweep, you get slashed in the gut, it's not deep, though.

You get back, putting your hand in your wound, what a outstandingly great Captain, indeed.

He glance at you, waiting for you to attack, you circle around him, looking for any opportunity to attack, you approach him with a sideways slash attack, he steps back, and delivers a thrust at you, you step to the side and look at his chest, it's your chance now to strike.

You thrust your Katana through his chest, it pierced through his Armour!

The wound isn't that deadly, though, he gets back, he falls to his knees.

You gaze into his eyes, he looks at you.

"Heh, thou art a true warrior indeed, a Cavum can fight, I assume."

He starts laughing, you feel weird.

He gets up.

"But, thou need more to defeat such a skilled warrior!"

He gets up in a fighting position, in a Pridful manner.

You prepare yourself for the fight.

Suddenly, someone stabs Iovita, piercing through his chest.

He says, before dying:

"Thou havt freed me from my duty, Thou hast proven your power, and shall meet the King."

He falls, and die, in a way no Knight want to be killed with.

After he falls, It turns out that Maria stabbed Iovita.

She adjusts her featherd hat, she says:

"Well, we have yet met again, Cavum, well done at slaying those Beasts."

"Remember, if it moves, it's a Beast, if not, Don't take any chances!"

She laughes.

You look at her, questioning what she is saying.

She notices you, and says:

"Oh, accept my apologize, Those Ira beasts took away my feelings..."

“Ira can take the mind of a human, such as guilt does to minds."

"..No matter, Thou shall continue through your journey, fear not the beasts, but fear the Disease Within them."

Chapter 2.4: Cassius, The sorcerer.

You walk towards the gate, suddenly, a ghost appears, you stop and look at the ghost.

"Hm, thou did defeat Iudex Iovita, a Pridful warrior indeed, yet intelligent enough to know the truth."

"He knew about the Ash Dragons, the Abyss, and the Immortal Soul inside his Only King, yet he did not cast his pride away."

You seem confused.

He says:

"Hm, thou shall continue thy journey, fear not the path, and walk with your head held high!"

He disappears.

Suddenly, a door of one of the houses opens, you examine it, and enter the house, you see someone, sitting, reading something.

You stand infront of him, he notices you and says:

"Ah!, you scared me off!, no matter, what do you want from a sorcerer like me?"

You look at him, a "sorcerer" he says.

"Hmm, perchance you want to learn with me?, or you want to steel my precious sorceries!?"

"Hmph, no matter, if you want to learn, you can say, if not, flee!"

He says.

You say that you want to know some sorceries, maybe you can use them?

"O-Oh.. sorry for my attitude then, I'm Cassius of the Regalis Academy of Helen the Great Master of Sorceries!"

"I, on my quest to make my own sorceries!, I can help you if you want!, if not, don't ever come by, I only study sorcery, nothing else!"

You ask him what is he doing here.

"Oh, I spent my time reading sorcery here, I didn't even consider to open the door up! hehe..."

"But, you know, I want a more calming place, perchance, you know one, do you?"

You tell him about Pictor's house.

"How wonderful!, When I get there, make sure to pass by, you will be blessed to have me as your Master!, I will teach you sorcery, my own sorcery!, to make great use of your skills and benefit my research!, even more!, we can accomplish my goal together!"

...He agreed to come.

You don't really understand what he is talking about, but you don't seem to care, you move on.

Before you, exit he said:

"Wait, you seem injured!, here, take of this magical potion, to help your wounds!"

Its really sound suspicious, but you take it anyway, you drink it, you suddenly feel dizzy...

It took off your wounds and healed them, but you feel really light-headed.

He says:

"Your welcome!, my apprentice!, come and visit me if you want to study with your Master!"

You get outside, what a weird lad, eh.

You notice Maria at the gate, you move to her to talk.

"Ah, thou art haft met Cassius, I do not have anything to say about this, lout sorcerer."

"I must move out now, fear the Ira, Cavum, fear the Ira."

"Also, there is a basement in the Main building, go check it, if thou want."

You seem curious about the Basement she talked about.

You get to the Main building, and see another door, you open it, and walk down the stairs.

You see some beasts, sitting, eating a corpse of a Goat, did they graft those horns from those Goats?

You jump on them, they notice you and gets back, they circle around you.

One is Infront of you, the other at your side, the other is behind you, you look at the Beasts chest, hes infront of you, so you think of killing him first.

You slash the Beast's chest, than stabs his chest, the other beast looks at you, he charges at you, you quick step to the side, so he attack the Beast who is behind you.

He pierces his Fangs inside the Beast eyes, he falls to the ground, in a very humaniod manner.

The Beast howls angrily, he tries to attack you, mixing attacks, like the mindless beast he is.

You step back, and then stabs the Beasts eye while he attacks, you can see the flame slowly leaving the beast's eyes.

You move on, you hear a sound, it's coming from the closet, nearby..

You examine it, and open the door of the closet, a man falls to the ground, he's alive and well, and looks like a fine Gentleman, with a fancy garb as well.

He stands up, saying:

"Oh, my dear God, Why does everyone know where I hide?"

"Oh, hello there, Are ya a Hunter of Beasts?, or an ambitious Knight wanting to end Flavius?"

You keep your mouth shut.

He looks disappointed.

"Ah, no matter, I'm Gabriel, a noble swordsman, from the Land of Flavius!, I can provide ya some sword techniques, if ya tell me about a place I can hi-.. Live in, can ya, my friend?"

You tell him about Pictor's house.

"How delightful!, I should see ya there, of course, we shall talk a lot there, about swordmanahip, of course!"

He Leaves the basement, what a weird lad.

You gaze at the Basement for a moment, it looks Archaic and Deserted.

You look at your foot, you see a Note, it looks dirty, but you can still read through it.

"Homines!, I have done It!, The Knights art no threat to us no more!, for my creation, wilt tear them, Thou wilt see Agony in their dark, souless eyes!"

"Prepare thyself for my mighty creation!"

You put it in your pocket.

You see a workshop tool in the Corner, you walk to it, you see a sword, a curved sword, with a very، nice handle, it doesn't look old at all, like if someone put it here days ago.

You take it, it's a one-handed Saber, you put it in your back.

You leave the Workshop, and get before the stairs that leads to the surface, but before you leave, You bump into an old shelf, a book falls at the ground, you notice it and pick it up, it looks old, but the pages arent harmed at all, you blew the dust away, the title says "The Scholars Forms of Miraculous Sorcery."

You take it with you, and leave the Basement.

Chapter 2.5: Pictorem Domum.

You return to Pictor's house, outside, you see Chiyo, you walk towards her.

"Oh, Thou has Ringed the Bell?, Wonderful news, I'm certain that Pictor and Scriptor will like the new, Brave Chosen one."

You tell her about the Saber you've got.

"Hm, a nicely weapon thou have here.. but, I'm sorry, I do not know how to use this weapon, forgive me for not being of any use, Choose one..."

You return the Katana and Wakizashi to her.

"Hm?, Thou wants to return them to me?, did they not make any use to thee?, I'm sorry, Brave Chosen one,I'll provide thee more better weapons, then.."

She looks down, disappointed, it doesn't like it bothers you.

She helda her face up, and says:

"Oh, did thou know about the New Guests here?, One of them claims that he knows about swordfighting, maybe thou can ask him about it?"

She points at Gabriel.

You nod, and go straight to Gabriel.

Gabriel sees you as you approach him, he says:

"Oh, look what we have here, it's nice that ya did not break our deal, but unfortunately, I'm tired right now, so, off ya go now!"

You look at him, while being silent.

He notices you, he says:

"Hm, ya wouldn't go, would ya?, how stubborn are ya, here, take this scroll, it can help ya with a sword technique."

You take it, and immediately leave, you see Cassius, sitting in the frozen ground, reading a scroll, you approach him.

"Hmmmmm.."

He didn't notice you, you still stand in front of him, without even moving.

"Hmmm, Oh!, my apprentice, I was waiting!, of course I was waiting.. Anyway, what do you want, can't you see I'm busy?!"

You lend him the book you've found in the basement.

"Oh, what do we have here?, the book of the Cavum's old magic, what a nice gift from you, my apprentice!, move along now, let me study it!"

You leave him immediately, what a jerk.

You also see Maria at the distance, you approach her.

She notices you.

"Oh..hello, Fellow Cavum, at which hour did thou cometh?, Ah, no matter, art thou the one that invited them?, that lout sorcerer and Timorous Knight?"

You seem confused, you ask about them.

"Cassius, He is but a lout, erratic sorcerer, his research will only lead to madness, and that Knight, Gabriel, just a weak Knight, playing as a Pridful Warrior, heh... not like I'm better."

"I will be what I will be, whatever it want to be, it will be what it will be, whatever I want

it to be."

You look at her. she sighs.

"Hunting beasts will make me forget myself, it already meaketh."

"Fear Ira, Cavum, Fear Ira."

She looks the other way, you leave her be.

You examine the Saber, and look at the scroll Gabriel gave it to you, it's a singular technique about closing distance with your own attack, and getting back with your own attack, seems interesting.

You don't know if you have to check for Pictor or not, you don't seem to care, anyway.

You look at your Saber again, you see a message at the handle, quoting:

"abyssus est prope", you wonder what does it mean...

End of Chapter 2.