Black shiny metal stuck out of the mud and it awakened Loran’s curiosity.
He had told his team to go on ahead, so it was unlikely they would look for him unless he would stay away for a day or longer.
The sky started to darken, suggesting that night fall was close.
He had no issues moving through the night, but other beings would also awaken in the jungle during the night, which would make travel unsafe.
It was a problem that many beast kin, who were nocturnal, had to settle with.
The moorlands would be no problem, however.
Accepting that help would appear the next morning at the earliest, he decided to feed his curiosity, then catch some fish and make a camp to recover.
Loran felt terrible, but life went on.
He willed up energy and started to fish with large [Wind Claws]. Every fish touching it got cut, slowing them down, making for an easy catch
Loran was too hungry to wait for the fish to fry, so he devoured them whole.
Beast kin had the same benefit as the animals they resembled; they had no issues eating raw meat. It wouldn’t make them ill, on the contrary, it made them taste the life force of their catch which could aid them in recovery.
Loran already felt better as energy returned to him.
“To catch more fish or to find out what’s buried under the mud?”
A growling stomach gave him the answer he needed. Loran rubbed his rumbling belly and returned to fishing.
----------------------------------------
The sun had set and Loran was sitting near a small campfire he had made.
His beast kin regenerative powers had ensured that he was in an acceptable state.
“I will dig up that strange object, then return home and apologize for losing our catch. But these moorlands are something. Makes me wonder what else this world has to offer,”
Loran had been to the Aquini Kingdom but that was all. The continent of Kaledon was vast. He had heard of the plains of Hjuva, a large mountain range separating east and west Kaledon.
The deserts of Zanyr, the magma pits of Zanyr or even the northern snowfields.
The Aquini kingdom had forests, jungle and a delta that was mainly marshlands.
He had heard of the floating city of Alledra, the capital city of the Aquini kingdom. It had been dubbed ‘the most beautiful city on Kaledon’ and he wished to see it one day but it was a bit too far.
His biggest obstacle was travel time and… humans.
The eastern parts of Kaledon were very receptive to non-humans, except for the Igrini kingdom in the north. The more west one would go, the more unfriendly society would become.
Loran had yet to experience unfavorable treatment, but he w was aware of how the humans of the Igrini kingdom treated beast kin, and he was a bit afraid to venture out in the fear to find out first hand.
He would also have to leave his friends behind, as none had any intention of leaving Lopahz.
Loran wasn’t ready to make the step yet due to all these reasons, but he was aware that nothing would happen if he didn’t take the first step.
These moorlands were his first steps, as it was the first time he had been here.
Mountains, forests and jungles had already been crossed off his list, but the moorlands were new.
“Does this count as mudlands?”
Loran removed the dried off mud off his clothing and glanced down at the bank of the stream, where a shiny object was shimmering in the moonlight.
“Earth magic would come in handy now…”
Loran sighed and started digging.
The object he was digging up was black, but blue glowing patterns appeared shortly after.
“What is this?!”
Loran’s curiosity grew and an arm got dug up after 20 minutes.
“Is this a person? Is he dead?”
Loran shook the arm but nothing suggested that anything was in what he assumed to be an armored man.
“Who would leave empty armor here?”
An hour passed and half of the armor had been dug up.
Loran wiped his forehead and noticed some blood on his hand.
“I must have bashed my head into something when I fell unconscious. No wonder my head felt light.”
Loran grabbed the waist of the armor to try and pull the lower body out of the mud when the blue patterns started to glow ominously.
“Huh? What?”
Black fog rolled out of hte armor and Loran fled instantly.
“What was that?!”
He passed by his camp but he didn’t care for it.
The feeling he got from that armor was bad news.
The ground shook as if someone had used [Earthquake].
Loran looked over his shoulder to spot the black armor with blue glowing patterns dash at him.
‘Thud thud thud’ went it’s heavy footsteps and it felt as if the ground shook at every step.
Loran used [Wind Walking] to speed up and he ran over the uneven ground.
He wasn’t as clumsy as Reia, so this wouldn’t pose any issue.
Loran hoped with all his heart that the armor would trip and fall, but no such thing happened. It was even gaining on him.
“Not like this….”
Loran gathered wind mana and used all of it to use [Tornado].
A spiraling wind column went out and went straight for the armor.
The black armor powered through the [Tornado] and loran stretched out his arm ot have the [Tornado] turn around.
“Shit, my mana control isn’t good enough!”
Loran abandoned the idea and sped up.
Chills ran through his spine as he spotted a wraith.
‘Is this what lives on moorlands?’ and ‘What other creatures that I’m unaware of live her?’ were the questions going through his mind.
His food got caught by something and he lost balance.
Some wind mana application to his feet and blasting wind at his torso made him regain balance.
More cold shivers.
Loran looked back to lock eyes with the armor and large hands made of black fog extending toward him as the front of the armor opened slowly to reveal blackness, so dark it gave off the feeling he had gone blind.
“I’m not going in there!”
Loran flung [Fireballs], [Flares] and [Flashes] at the armor in an attempt to banish the darkness, but nothing worked.
Both his shoulders got grabbed, and he got pulled back.
“Let… me go!”
Loran dug his heels into the ground and tried to break free with brute force.
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Beast kin boast a lot of physical strength, and Loran was ready to use it.
His left leg got grabbed and pulled backwards.
“I can’t go out like this!”
His right leg got clasped and pulled back.
Something colder than he had ever felt went through his body as something grabbed his head.
His whole body got pulled back and darkness enveloped his every fiber and being. A otherworldly cold sensation followed and a strong feeling of loneliness washed over him.
Would he ever see his friends again? Would he die like this? Was there anything he could have done differently?
Did his curiosity kill him?
“All I wanted to do was enjoy life with my friends and see the world…”
The outside world in front f him disappeared slowly as the armor was closing around him.
The faces of his friends and Reia flashed by.
“No! I haven’t told her yet how I feel!”
Unknown power awakened in Loran and his right arm made it out of the armor.
He tried to pull himself out as he yelled out to gather more power.
The dark fog tried to pull him back, but surely this couldn't be the end right?
Loran had heard many stories when he was just a brat. There was always a happy ending or always a hero helping those in need.
Either he had to push through for a favorable result, or he had to hold on until someone would come to help him.
“Wild Claw! It must be him!”
His friend was a weird guy, but he was strangely reliable. It wouldn't surprise him if his face appeared and would say. ‘What are you doing? We’re waiting for you.’ to then easily pull him out.
They would go home and laugh about how he had almost been swallowed by a strange armor.
Loran’s left arm made it out of the armor, and he was slowly pulling himself out of the armor.
Just a bit more. A bit more and he could be free, run home, tell Wild Claw that he was a weirdo and tell Reia that he loved her.
His left leg experienced a lot of resistance as the black fog was pulling at it.
Loran breathed heavily and his chest heaved.
“No effort… goes unrewarded…”
Loran’s lungs burned and all his focus was on escaping.
Unfortunately, he missed how the wraith had approached him.
The wraith’s appearance startled Loran, causing him to lose focus.
His arms got pulled back as his legs.
The outside world got further and further from him, and the armor closed around him.
“Noo! Let me out!”
Darkness enveloped Loran who tried to claw at the darkness.
The surrounding fog moved and something cold pressed into his body from all sides. His vision returned, and he was face to face with the wraith.
“I… I'm free? Get the fuck out of here, stupid wraith!”
His arm stretched, and the wraith got punched at the side, but what he saw was not his own arm. It was an armored arm.
Another arm appeared in his sight and was also armor.
His hands opened and closed, confirming that those were his hands.
The unfamiliar hands went to his head, but he didn't feel anything. The hands clanged into something metallic, which puzzled Loran.
His head failed to return feedback on something touching it.
Loran started to panic as he realized h had been trapped in the armor.
His arms moved to attempt to take it off, but he knew nothing about armor.
“How… how do I take it off?!”
His panic grew as none of his attempt resulted in the removal of the armor.
“This… this is a bad dream. Yes! This must be a bad dream! I overslept again, and I will wake up now!”
Loran stretched his arms to the sky as a gesture for him to get up, but nothing happened.
Black fog got expelled from the armor, which started to move against Loran’s will.
“Hey wait, what?!”
Loran was exhausted from his earlier feat and was unable to fight against the armor.
It creaked as it set a step. Then another step and another.
The armor picked up speed and not only the legs moved against Loran’s will but also the rest.
Loran tried to say ‘Where are you going?’ but his ability to speak had been sealed.
Things had turned out to be worse than he expected. Not only was he trapped, he was not allowed to act either.
Who made this armor? What was its purpose?
None of these questions were answered and wouldn't be asked either.
Loran’s fatigue caused him to give up. There was no point after all.
‘Thud thud’
Loran tried to ignore the sound.
‘Thud thud thud’
Ignoring it was impossible, but it interfered with Loran’s attempts to sleep.
‘Why can’t this armor stop running?’ were his thoughts.
And then… the armor stopped running.
‘So it listens after all’ was the next thought but alas.
Loran stared at 2 hikers that were out for an early morning hike.
The armor started running again, and the hikers noticed him.
‘Maybe these hikers can help me’ or ‘the armor must want to ask for help or directions’ got instantly disproved as a black armored hand plunged into the abdomen of one of the hikers and ripped out his innards.
Loran willed the armor to stop, but nothing worked.
The armor’s left arm smacked the bowel less hiker to the side and grabbed the head of the other hiker and gripped it until his eyes popped out, and his skull got crushed.
Loran wanted to scream and protest, but his voice had been silenced.
Control returned briefly, the armor dropped to its knees, and it grabbed its head.
Loran wasn’t very fond of humans, but he would never resort to mindless killing.
Black fog left the armor and his moment of control got stripped away, and the armor started to walk.
Any attempt to replicate the moment of control failed. Loran tormented himself with the fresh memories of killing 2 innocents, but it did not result in gaining control.
Another individual appeared an hour later, and Loran fought for control.
The armor slowed down considerably, but this act drained Loran immensely.
The young man managed to escape with claw slashes on his face. It would leave a scar, but he would live.
Loran’s exhaustion resulted in 4 more deaths, as he didn’t have the energy nor willpower to fight against the cursed armor.
The armor sat down as if it were resting.
Strange blue wisps approached the armor, but it was the first time the armor didn't react.
Loran had never seen anything like them, and the wisps appeared to be playing.
Several approached the armor, which stretched out its hand.
A wisp danced on the palm of the armors hand, and the others circled around the cursed armor.
Loran tried to ask what they were and what they were doing, but nothing came out.
The blue glow on the armor intensified and blue fire leaked out of it.
The wisps bathed in the strange fire and grew. Until
A wisp changed and turned into something Loran recognized as a lesser spirit.
Was this armor feeding these wisps so they could turn into lesser spirits? But why?
Loran knew hardly anything about spirits. Only that the elves were very close to them and that spirit mages were a thing.
Also, that they were only visible to spirit mages or other spirits, unless they deliberately showed themselves.
‘Did I die and become a spirit?’was one thought, while another was, ‘Is this armor a spirit?’
Both were unlikely as spirits were a separate race. Anything that was thought to be ghosts ended up being spirits. Rarely do spirits form out of deceased was all he knew, but that might have been inaccurate.
Nothing the armor or the spirits did gave Loran any answer. All the armor was doing was exuding strange blue fire in which the wisps bathed to then turn into weak lesser spirits.
The creatures danced, played and then left.
Most of them had blue adjacent colors and all left for the nearby stream.
Loran wanted to follow, but the armor stayed seated.
The sky turned gray and water poured down. A somber day, perfectly reflecting Loran’s state.
‘Pitter patter’ and ‘plink plink’ were the sounds the rain produced, intermixed with the sounds of the stream and several animal sounds.
Loran spotted frogs going through the mud and wondered how Reia would react to them.
A realisation set in.
Loran was able to perceive a wide area even though he was unable to turn his head.
There were animals he couldn’t see but sense. They resembled the wisps and spirits but had clear differences.
A large presence appeared in the difference, indicated by a messy pale orange flame in a large outline. It was too far to see butLoran noticed anyways.
It must be how the armor found it’s targets.
The armor got up and started running through the rain.
It was clear what would happen and Loran prepared himself mentally.
The presence disappeared, as did all others. Did they truly disappear, or did that ability slip through his grasp?
The area started to slope upwards, but the armor had yet to slip or make a misstep.
Black fog escaped from the armor, as if the armor expelled exhaust and sped up.
The blue patterns on the armor’s arms started glowing, and a confused voice came in earshot.
The confused voice said something along the lines of ‘who goes there?’ and ‘W…what are you?!’
Followed by a scream and a loud snap as the man’s head made an unhealthy angle before the body collapsed.
The body laid on the floor with the back facing the sky, yet the head was staring at Loran.
Mouth wide open with blood dripping out of it. Wide open eyes which had lost the light of life.
A moment of control returned as feelings of disgust, guilt and powerlessness came over him.but all it allowed him to do was drop to his knees and put his hands to his head.
Many similar events had happened in the coming weeks which had eventually brought him here, at the border between the moorlands and the jungle.
The vehicle carrying the corpses away had left almost a day ago, but the armor was still keeping guard.
The strange ability awakened momentarily and Loran detected some presences near the stream in the moorlands. Some gave off a feeling of being in distress, and the armor reacted.
The Moorland Menace turned around and started running.
Voices drew closer and Loran prepared himself again, but what he saw was different from what he expected.
Several humans were interacting with the spirits near the stream, but not the good kind.
Several lesser spirits were trapped, and the others were desperately trying to free their friends, but being unsuccessful.
The 2 humans used a special power to smack the spirits around.
The armor pulled back its arm and balled a fist, readying a punch.
Both humans came into action and summoning circles appeared behind them. One of them, however, got his skull caved in before it could finish.
The body flew away in a manner that made the scene unreal. Loran never had seen a body fly off like that.
The other human completed his summon, and it became clear to Loran what was going on.
A spirit in the form of a balloon with claws had appeared, which confirmed that this person was a spirit mage; a spirit mage that had been in a process of capturing spirits.