I had adjusted my position and just, sat there on the ground. I stared at the giant dead flower, it felt as if time passed by slowly and the others had made a campfire. They had even put down the tents. Someone took my hand, “Steve?”

“Lory?”

“Yes, it's me, are you in there?”

“I think so.”

Lory smiled at me, “What is going on? What happened?”

I just stared at her, “I killed the flower.”

Lory sighed, “Yes, you have been repeating that every time I asked you what happened.”

I heard Abby talk, “What do you think happened to him Funk?”

“I don’t know, I think he went through something traumatic, I think getting eaten by a giant flower counts.”

“No, Funk, it’s not that. That’s not what is bothering me.”

“Oh, then what is?”

“I, I.”

Lory shushed me, “Just, hang against me, Steve.”

“Alright.” I let my head fall on Lory’s lap and she caressed my cheek.

As time passed by, I noticed Lory taking little naps. I tried to figure out what exactly happened. The roots came, then black. No something happened. It tied in with my rage. Am I that strong? Is it the voice in my head? At least, if I knew what happened, or how to control it, I would be very strong. But, whatever happened, it scares me to death.

Once morning came, Abby came over and handed me a glass of water, I sat upright and took it, “Thanks, Abby.”

Lory looked at me, “Are you feeling better?”

“Not really, but I think good enough.”

Lory smiled, “Let me get you some meat.”

I nodded, and after a while Lory came back with a grilled rabbit. “Thanks, Lory.”

Funk had cleaned up camp and stood in front of me after I finished my meal, “Are you ready to travel?”

“Yes, I am.”

Lory helped me up, “Are you certain?”

“Yes, we need to go on.”

We started continuing our journey towards the ghost village we were going to. I just stared at the ground, and occasionally at my hands. Something is hiding inside of me, but what? Is it, evil? Is that why I have dark energy? I looked at Abby, she just smiled at me. She has something evil inside of her, those black tentacles. She did not feel it happen to her like I did. And Funk, he uses dark energy. He also smiled. As if they are trying to show me, I am fine. But, I am not fine.

I spoke up, “Where are we going exactly?”

Funk pointed, “The village is in sight already, we had traveled quite far over the plains to find you. The flower tried to escape. Sorry, should I not talk about it?”

I sighed, “It’s fine.”

Something jumped out of the woods near us, it came for me at quite some speed. This curious creature seems to be some kind of reptile. It’s about the size of a triceratops, it has no arms or legs, like a snake and a long, strong tail. It has a thick, smooth skin covered in large, strong scales, which are dark purple. I raised my hands to shoot an energy beam, but nothing happened. What if, it surfaces?

The creature rammed me aside, and we rolled through the grass. It bit down on my left shoulder and blood splattered around. I grabbed my sword since I could not spawn my sword. What if seeing blood triggers it? I just looked at the weird snake like creature as it was about to pounce again. However, someone rammed it off me and stabbed the snake thing a few times, and it let out painful screeches. I was unable to find it in me to fight back.

Lory ran over and helped me up, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Why did you not stab it?”

I looked at the others, they walked away a bit. I looked at Lory, “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because, what if, it comes back?”

Lory shook her head, “What do you mean with, it?”

“I don’t know, but what if I lose control again?”

Lory leaned her head against me, “You will not lose control.”

“It completely took me over, Lory, there is nothing I can do against that power. I could feel it, if anyone else was near, I would kill them without blinking twice. Something dark is hidden inside of me. It lurks there, and I don’t think it’s friendly.”

Lory sighed, “Is that what is causing your energy block? You fear losing control?”

“Yes.”

Lory sat down, and I sat down next to her. Lory smiled and took my hand, “I am just glad that you are alive, but what held this thing back, how did you gain control?”

“I didn’t. Something inside of me is holding it caged, but it just slipped out for a moment and my mind blanked out. I have no clue what exactly happened. I will fight the next time, but I don’t plan to use any energy. Who knows, it might be just what unleashes the beast within me.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Lory grabbed a book out of her inventory. “Here, take a look through it, this is a book with unique races that my mom has been cataloging. Maybe it sparks something.”

I skipped through the book, it has chapters on all kinds of species, angels, demons, and even aliens. I looked at Lory, “Has your mom has seen a lot?”

Lory nodded, “She is a reality traveler. My dad was one as well, but I have learned, even the best can die, may it be in the heat of battle, or by a silly accident.”

“Shall we go on?”

Lory nodded, “If you ever need me, for anything, then I am here for you.”

“Thanks, Lory.”

I got up and helped Lory up. I brushed dirt off my pants, Lory used her tail for that. She looked at me, “Are you checking out my tail, again?”

I smiled, “It never gets old.”

We walked back to the others. Funk looked at me, “Are you doing alright?”

“Thank you for asking me, Yes, I am doing much better.”

Abby walked over, “The monsters are really gunning for you.”

“Yeah, I think they know something that I don’t.”

Funk sighed, “We should go on, the village is close. Let me tell you something about it. The now quiet road that leads to Kald is barely detectable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs, and leaves. The first thing we will see are the gardens, adjacent to the cemetery. As you can see in the distance already, they are now rough and overgrown, returning to their chaotic natural state.”

We continued walking and entered the village of Kald, and Funk went on with explaining more about this village. “Some doorways seem in relative decent condition, while others are destroyed. They are indistinguishable from other collapsed walls and piles of rubble. Window panes hang perilously from their hinges, and here are drapes that have been flung out by the wind. Kald, was once a major festival town and home to discos for the people that love to party. It is now a mere distant memory of better times before the void swept over this land and destroyed everything. It does not linger here, but no one has access to this village. Kald just, has been forgotten, only some older beings like me know about it. Silence has a taken hold and would’ve been deafening, were it not for the many animals that had made this place their home. Bird songs, rustling bushes and the occasional howl are now filling the air.”

I nodded, “You did great Funk, you might teach me some things about presenting a ghost village.”

He smiled, “I hope it made you feel better.”

I smiled, “It did help, thanks Funk.”

Abby looked around, “This seems like it used to be quite a major hub for activity.”

Funk nodded, “It was, back when I was much younger.”

Abby chuckled, “I just realized, I am the youngest here.”

I shook my head, “No, that is most likely Square.”

Abby sighed, “He is a dodo, I meant real sentient beings. Sorry, Square.” He just gobbled.

I laughed, “You would barely notice he is around. He did save our life once, I guess that means he is good to have around.” I found a broken down inn. Well, it is standing, for the most part. I walked inside, the others followed me. “Can we stay here for tonight? I need some rest.”

Abby nodded, “Alright.”

I found a decent room, it even had a bed, it looked a bit old and dusty, but I had looted the bed from the previous inn. Thus, I replaced the old bed with the good bed from the other inn. Lory sighed, “You are such a strange man, Steve.”

“Thanks, I take pride in that.” I sat down and opened the book that Lory had given me. I scrolled through the species list, there were names I had never heard of, or even expected to find in a book like this. Elver species? I am not going to read the details about. Then here we have the Dracover race. They are some kind of Draconians. Lory’s mom has indeed seen a lot, but nothing sparked something inside of me, or drew to me. There is even a section with extinct races.

I scrolled through extinct races. You had Lunians, some kind of special werewolf, then here we have some extinct demon races. Krarot, or something. It had a picture of a not too friendly looking demon.

Lory looked at me, “And does any of this spark something?”

“No, not at all, but it is interesting, I love reading books.” Lory moved her tail and started rubbing her tail against my arm. I smiled at her as I put down the book. “I know what that means.”

Slowly I leaned towards Lory and I kissed her. Then I gently pushed her down on the bed.

Lory smiled, “I can take your mind off things for a while, if you are interested.”

I grinned, “I bet you are glad I took that bed with me.”

Lory giggled, “Yes, I am.” She started undressing me, “Now shut up, Steve.”