The head of an arctic wolf went flying through the air as a snake with arms writhed in agony, it's human appendages leading it in a desperate sprint towards a nearby stream where it drowned itself.
"You've got to stop doing that," Arteus grunted as he kicked the giant headless body of the arctic wolf to the ground.
"Its better than beheading everything, isn't it?" Ava said with a smirk, wiping the sweat from her brow as she surveyed the carnage. Her eyes gleamed with the fiery light of her power, the aftermath of her fierce battle with the creature.
Arteus couldn't argue with that. The sight of the snake's human arms flailing had been disturbing, to say the least. "At least it won't come back to bite us," he said, trying to make light of the grim situation.
Ava turned to him, her expression a mix of playfullnes and mischief. "So? What's on the menu today, wolf or snake?" she asked, her voice tinged with sarcasm. The question hung in the air, a satirical reminder of the harsh reality they faced in this corrupted world.
"Neither," Arteus said firmly. "There's something that feels fundamentally wrong about drowning your food." He glanced at the stream, where the water churned red with the snake's lifeblood. "Besides, we've got supplies. No need to waste our energy on unnecessary dramatics."
Ava rolled her eyes, her grin never faltering. "You're such a stick in the mud, Art," she teased, as a nearby bunny grew human appendages and choked itself out.
It had been at least two weeks since Arteus and Ava had left the relative safety of Sovereign behind them. And while travelling together wasn't on Arteus' agenda, he had to admit that he enjoyed the company. Ava's fiery spirit was infectious, and she had a way of lightening even the darkest moments with her sharp wit and unshakable optimism.
They were making good time. The landscape around them had changed from the barren wasteland that was the aftermath of the battle into rolling hills and sparse forests that hinted at the promise of spring. The air grew thicker with the scent of earth and growing things, a stark contrast to the harsh, cold winds of the southth.
They had encountered a few more of the corrupted creatures, but each encounter had ended swiftly and decisively. Ava's power had grown more precise with every battle, and Arteus had become a master of the axe, his swings cutting through the monsters with a grace that seemed almost inhuman. They had become a well-oiled machine, each movement anticipating the other's, each strike a perfect harmony of steel and fire.
Arteus and Ava were not far from Qliax now, the final destination of their journey's first leg. Just a few more days of travel and they would arrive at the bustling boon, and know the fate that had befallen it. They marched on, their steps growing more purposeful with each passing mile, the anticipation of what lay ahead thick in the air.
That night, they made camp in a small clearing, the trees above them whispering secrets in the gentle breeze. Arteus worked methodically, gathering firewood with a precision that spoke of his years spent in the wilderness. His movements were swift and sure, as if he had performed this task a hundred times before. With a spark from Ava's fingertip, the dry twigs and branches crackled to life, casting a warm, flickering glow across the campsite. The fire grew steadily, its warmth a comforting embrace that seemed to chase away the shadows of the impending battle.
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Ava sat across from him, her eyes focused on the flames as she roasted a rabbit on a makeshift spit. The creature had been a gift from the forest, if... that's what you want to call her weird way of killing stuff.
Meanwhile, beside her, Arteus had caught a few fish in the nearby stream, their scales shimmering like jewels in the firelight as they cooked over the open flame. The air was filled with the tantalizing aromas of their meal, a stark contrast to the stench of death that had become all too familiar.
"So," Arteus began, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled between them. "You believed Tobias, huh?" His question was casual, but the curiosity in his tone was palpable.
Ava paused in her roasting, her eyes meeting his. "N-no," she stuttered, the fire reflecting in her pupils. "I didn't believe him. Not really." She took a deep breath, her grip tightening on the stick. "But I wanted to. I wanted to believe that I was special, that there was some grand purpose for me beyond just... existing." Her voice was raw, the vulnerability in it stark against the backdrop of the crackling fire.
"Weren't your birthright and abilities enough of a sign that you're special?" Arteus asked dryly, his gaze never leaving the dancing flames.
"Look, I know you've got your reservations," Ava said, flipping the rabbit over the fire with a practiced flick of her wrist. "But cut me some slack, okay? It's the end of the world, after all."
Her attempt at humor fell flat between them, the silence stretching like the shadows thrown by the fire. The last couple of months had indeed been hard on Ava. Her life had been uprooted from the very foundation she had known. The prophecy had whispered sweet nothings into her ear, promising a destiny she desperately wanted to believe in. It had been a lifeline in the dark, something to cling to when everything else was lost. But with each passing day, the reality of the world's corruption and the prophecy's manipulation had chipped away at that hope.
Arteus understood. He knew what it was like to have your entire worldview shattered, to realize that the very essence of what you believed was a lie. "You shouldn't blame yourself," he said, his eyes finally meeting hers. "Tobias, in one word was... convincing."
"I don't," Ava said, her voice firm. "But I can't ignore what I've seen, what I've felt. And what I feel now is that I need to be with you, to help you find this... All-Sky. To stop whatever is happening to our world."
Arteus studied her, the flickering firelight playing across her features, highlighting the determination etched in her eyes. "So is that why you follow me now?" he asked, his voice softer this time.
"I'm not following you, Art," Ava said, her gaze never wavering from his. "I'm following my birthright. The same way you are." She paused, turning the rabbit once more before continuing. "That's if the whole thing is even real."
Her words hung in the air, the fire crackling a solemn response to her doubt. Arteus nodded thoughtfully, his eyes drifting to the horizon. "It's real," he said, his voice carrying a certainty that seemed to resonate through the very air.
"And you?" Ava pressed, the skepticism in her voice a gentle challenge. "What's your story, why are you chasing this birthright?"
Arteus took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the horizon. "You haven't told me your reason yet," he said, his voice carrying a gentle challenge of his own.
"You want me to lay it out for you?" Ava asked, her tone a mix of resignation and defiance. "Fine. After everything that's happened, after watching my own mother leave me behind, after the second birth... I've got nothing left. No home, no family, no... no destiny." She tossed a twig into the fire, the sparks flying up to meet the night sky like a silent declaration of her own lost innocence.
The silence that followed was thick, a living entity that wrapped around them like a heavy blanket. It was the kind of quiet that made you feel like you were the only two people left in the world, the kind that echoed in your bones. The crackle of the fire was the only sound, a stark counterpoint to the unspoken words that hung between them like a shroud.
"...nothing," Arteus echoed, his voice carrying a hint of sadness. "I have nothing left too." He stared into the fire, the flames casting flickering shadows across his face.
As the night faded into day, silence followed his declaration, the stars winking out one by one as the first light of dawn began to paint the sky with strokes of pink and gold.
-To Be Continued-