I looked up at the gargantuan beast which rose from the ground as if the forest had manifested itself in the form of a beast. Its body was a massive, intertwined network of robust vines.
I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand at edge, as my heart began to beat faster as I looked at the vine like beast, my face twisted into a scowl as I quickly ushered Aurora to the side, she saw my panicked frown and without a word hid behind a shadow of a tree as I too tried to conceal my presence to not alert the beast of our location.
Mordian already had the cloak artifact to conceal his presence perfectly, but I stood beside him as I gave him time to recover.
But even as I tried to do so, to find a way to avoid a confrontation with the beast, the vine-like beast loomed ahead like a skyscraper, a towering monstrosity that dominated the forest around it. I tried to keep my breathing in check as my heart stirred with fear and panic. The Sentinel stood at the heart of the Eldergrove, its presence both commanding and ominous, as it skimmed through the area around it as if to find my bond.
I focused on its features and saw its massive trunk was twisted and gnarled, resembling a muscular, ancient titan rather than a tree. Its head was crowned with an intricate, thorny crown that resembled a regalia of the forest itself, giving it an imposing and regal presence.
The mouth of the tall monstrosity was hidden beneath a helmet-like formation of thick, vein-like vines. Its eyes glowed a deep, malevolent red, radiating dark intent and a palpable sense of malice.
The bark was a deep, almost dark green hue, rough and deeply furrowed, as its bulk consisted entirely of vines which encompassed and formed its gargantuan form.
Branches extended from its trunk like colossal, coiled serpents, each one twisting and curling in a maze of tangled wood that seemed to writhe and pulse with a life of its own.
As the beast moved, the branches which extended from its arms moved with a slow, deliberate grace, their serpentine forms casting eerie, shifting shadows on the ground as the light became more avid from the horizon. The leaves rustled softly, creating a haunting, almost musical sound that filled the air. Each leaf was dark and glossy, reflecting the moonlight and the light of rising sun in a way that made them shimmer like dark scales.
‘What the hell is that thing?’ I asked Mordian in a hurry which projected my panic and frustration.
By now he had consumed the potions I'd given him and they had already started taking their effects. He straightened inconspicuously and answered.
‘I had completely surveyed the area and was about to come back when I saw several vines wriggling on the ground like they were alive, and found it odd, and when I decided to follow them back to their lair, I found a ravine not too far, where an Eldergrove Sentinel resided.’
So this beast was called an Eldergrove Sentinel. I made a mental note as I maintained my demeanour and projected calm over my face to assure Aurora who had a frown over her face.
‘So what should we do?’ I asked, hoping that Mordian knew something about the Eldergrove Sentinel and a way to avoid it without getting exposed.
We didn’t have a lot options. We were stranded here until the system gave me the full details of the trial and also for how long were we stuck here.
Just by witnessing its mere size and seeing how even Mordian, a suppressed integration stage dragon, wasn’t able to put up a good fight against it, I don’t think we had much of a chance against it in a frontal battle.
And if things turned out for the worst, and a battle was inevitable, then the outcome wouldn’t be too good.
As if Mordian had understood my panic, he added right after. ‘The chances of our victory against an Eldergrove Sentinel are slim, even if we both confront it together. Because it’s a mana beast which not even adult ash’ari recklessly fight. Its a tough opponent.’
My frown widened, as I considered the inevitable.
‘But...’ Mordian added as he stood to his feet, as he stimulated the recovery of his wound by his mana. ‘This one is not yet an adult, its an infant, so it doesn’t have the robust strength and sharp intelligence of an adult Eldergrove Sentinel, that I’d seen before. But even as infants, Eldergroves are not to be underestimated and trifled with. They have a keen battle instincts and with their size, they have a complete control of the battlefield, making a harder time for the other party.’
I nodded as I listened to his explanation. I activated Mind’s Eye and once again observed the beast moving through the thick forest as it struck the canopies.
Standing beneath the Sentinel, I felt dwarfed by its sheer size, but even with this size and terror-inducing qualities, it was considered an infant. So what would an actual adult Eldergrove look like?
I thought as I shook my head and then turned to look at Mordian and swiftly turned to Aurora, whose complexion looked pale as her head was bent backward and looked straight up at the monstrosity.
Its roots, thick and sinuous, snaked across the forest floor, disappearing into the earth like the tendrils of some great, subterranean beast.
“So what do we do now?” Aurora asked, her voice filled with panic as she tried to appear calm and rational on the outside.
I turned to Mordian, already expecting him to question Aurora—or her disguised persona as Neil—, but I think he already had an idea that she was an elf—but not specifically her gender, as he gave a passing glace to her before shifting his gaze back at the Eldergrove, which was the more important matter at hand.
“Its best if we avoid it and retreat to someplace safe carefully, to not alert it,” Mordian said as I wholly agreed with him.
With the vines spreading through the entire forest the Eldergrove had a better grasp over the terrain and just like he had said our chances were slim, because the amount of mana—which was potent enough to be on equal terms with an
Master had told me something a long time that: Its better to fight a rational and trained fighter, because if we take that factor into account, they use rational thinking and have their accumulated experiences incorporated into their fighting styles, so we might be able to predict their attack pattern and way of fighting to somehow form countermeasures. But similarly, for a mana beast who is naturally reliant on its predatorily instincts under certain dangers, its almost impossible to deal with them and predict their next course of action and can make them a very tough opponent to deal with...But if you can overpower them with your strength alone, that’s the best and most optimal solution.
Not everyone can be as monstrously strong as you Master. I lampooned inwardly.
After we made the decision we carefully started to make way in the opposite direction to the Eldergrove, as quietly as possible, as we tried our best to hide our mana signatures—not Mordian, who was effortlessly able to do so with the help of my artifact.
But a deafening roar shot out in the distance, as the ground quaked below us as the vibrations were carried in our direction. I snapped my head sideways and saw a small horde of lizard-like skitter mana beasts rushing in our direction, escaping from the Eldergrove’s pursuit.
I grunted a curse as Mordian and Aurora became alert. I twisted my body as my mana worked and I stimulated the particles of water around me, as the particles grinded against each other in the air, working according to my will, and made the entire land around us to freeze as I flicked my wrist, feeling a push from my reserve and several icicle like spears immediately rose from the froze layer of ice and thrust into the mana beasts’ from below as the cluster of their life force released and they went still.
But this commotion had revealed our presence to the Eldergrove as it twisted its sky-high head covered with a grouted helmet made out of vines, and looked down at us, as its red eyes gazed at us with malevolence and bloodlust.
I felt cold sweat at the back of my neck, as I snapped my head and immediately grabbed Aurora in my arm and quickly took flight.
Mordian understood my intentions without even communicating as I lunged into the air and made way deeper and further away from the Eldergrove Sentinel.
But the mighty plant-like beast was hot on our tail, the entire forest in its path was trampled beneath it as the loud cries of mana beasts surged in the air.
First option was obviously to just confront it and defeat it with a frontal strategy, while the second option was to avoid it and wait until the timer ran and the system allowed us to leave, but I was getting a get premonition.
Because so far, I hadn’t gotten any update from the system of what type of trial this was. And I’d already expelled the possibility of it being a main trial, so it could either be a sub-trial or a survival based trial.
At that exact moment, a window popped open in front of me as I flew at top speed, cradling Aurora in my arms as she wrapped her hand around my neck tightly, her face was covered by a thick layer of silver gunmetal hair. Beside me was my bond, his speed matching mine as his mana surged, ready to attavk at any moment.
____
【Dungeon Trials】:「Sub-Trial」: 《Side Quest》
【Quest Type】: 「Survival」;
【Difficultly】: 「SS」;
【Requirements for Clearance】: 「Slay the Eldergrove Sentinel」;
【Rewards】: 「X10 Level Increase」; 「X10 All Stats Increase」; 「Synchronization Increase」; 「 Increase X5」;
____
The information was projected into my mind and my face twisted into a deep scowl as I cursed under my breath and allowed my speed to increase as I dodged several branches ahead, whilst also taking caution of the vines which were fast on our tail, and behind and above them the Eldergrove.
Tsk, out of all the quest and trials, it had to be the sub-trial. I grumbled as my scowl widened and I projected the sudden development to Mordian through our link.
His brows knitted as he too wore a frown. I panicked as a long shadow was cast over us as an uncountable amount of vines surged forward and almost engulfed us, before we swiftly evaded them.
We had no chose but to fight the Eldergrove now, now that the system had issued the quest, and unless it was not done we wouldn’t be able to escape this place.
‘So is that how you want to fu*k me over this time, system?’ I cursed as I made the window disappear from in front of me.
Mordian caught speed and flew ahead of me as I decided and loosened my grip around Aurora as I hurled her through the area and shouted at Mordian.
“Mordian catch!”
“Shun, Shun...nooooooo, aaaaaaaaa—” Aurora screamed as her body hurled through the air and Mordian caught her in his arms effortlessly as I stopped in my tracks and projected my thoughts to Mordian.
‘If the system want us to fight, then that’s what we need to do. And I know that it wouldn’t give me an unreasonable quest to perform, because all the quests and trials I’ve faced so far were always within the scope of my ability to complete them...well almost. So even if we have a slim chance, it would be better to make a gamble.’ I said as I released my limiter and all of my mana surged throughout my body like a beacon as the Eldergrove twisted and its eyes now landed over me.
‘I’ll distract it, so in the mean time let’s come up with a strategy to counterattack and win. Because even if its an Eldergrove, its an infant you said, so we might have a better chance at winning even if we are in a disadvantageous position.’ I hurriedly said to my bond through our link as my brows furrowed.
Mordian nodded back as he flew further away with Aurora as I steadily kept my mana output high and made the Eldergrove follow me instead as I lured it into a more packed terrain with more trees and water patches and a lake which a little distant away, which could work as good disguises in the mean time Mordian and Aurora came to do a surprise attack.
“Alright, let’s fight you creepy plant.” Right after saying, everything around me seemed to suddenly come to a standstill as I activated Ruler’s Authority and Mind’s Eye, as I saw the Eldergrove flinch slightly and its speed slow down, but kept coming my way as it thrashed the entire area in its wake.
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The mana around me rushed and started to take form as I circulated my own through my body and converged it toward my hands as a bright shimmering cascade of white light bloomed from my palms and sequentially my intent rushed out, several spears of fire blazed and took aim as they hurled forward and struck the Eldergrove, and imploded once away stabbed into its body.
Several of the vines encompassing the Eldergrove’s body jutted out and protected it from the explosions and shockwaves caused by my spells.
Just then, I stimulated the earth mana and the particles flared to life as I pulled at them in the distance and several pillars of earth thrust into the air and stopped the Eldergrove’s pursuit.
The Eldergrove struck against them and a deafening roar shot in the air, as I felt a push from my mana and I disappeared into the paths.
I navigated through the intricate highway of wormholes which connected each place to every other as I surged out and appeared right in front of the Eldergrove, a spell already forming in my hand as a blitz of lightning crackled around me as my arms blazed with a blinding glow as the water in the atmosphere around me froze and a mist spiralled around me, as my body began to shiver under the onslaught of ice taking form.
The Eldergrove lunged forward and launched several of its vines, as I also released my spell as the air itself froze and ice began to surge outward and the vines hurled at me froze with a thick layer of ice imprisoning them in their position mid-air.
I waved my arm and several blades of wind converged around me as I flicked my wrist and they took aim and pierced and slashed the Eldergrove as it struggled under the onslaught of my attack.
But even with this the beast wasn’t willing to back down.
I searched the Eldergrove thoroughly and found an energy source burning strongly inside its sternum, where a spherical shaped object was etched, shimmering with life and vitality.
‘It has a core.’ I exclaimed inwardly as I evaded a vine lunged at me and quickly conjured a fire spell and burned the vine to a crisp.
‘That makes things easier.’ I heard Mordian’s voice echo inside my mind, as I felt his presence nearby—despite him wearing the artifact to hide his mana, I was able to tell his presence through the connection of our mind.
‘Yeah. But that’s where the issue arises. How do we get to its core? And even if we somehow do, we would need a strong enough attack which can pierce its way to the core.’ I sent back as I distracted the Eldergrove and flew away as it pursued me without sop as it roared again and destroyed the forest below.
‘That’s where you have to think of and come up with something. I can provide you with support and hold back the vines moving at random, so use or think of some spell which has even power to reach the core in its sternum.' I felt my bond crack a smirk. 'I know you have one.'
Just then the vines around the Eldergrove’s hand tightened and swelled as several more coalesced around the previous ones and took a shape of a giant lance.
I released a blast of compressed wind from my palm as I withdrew my sword and took a swing to my left and severed several vines as they lifelessly crashed on to the ground.
I twisted my body as the Eldergrove swiftly launched the lance in my direction as several other vines took aim at me from all directions, a giant shadow cast over me as vines covered every aspect of the area around me, from the ground to the sky and in front of me the Eldergrove with its lance brandished in my direction.
A cage created of vines shrouded me as I severed several vines and evaded some as I tapped into the paths and disappeared from my position with a crackle and jolt of lightning and reappeared outside the cage of vines, as the Eldergrove twisted and moved its gnarled head in my direction, its scarlet eyes shimmering and glaring at me in fury and annoyance as the beast once again took aim at me with the lance growing bigger in its arm.
Just then its form flailed and it stumbled forward and several projectiles thrust into its bulk and head, expanding as more mana was dispatched to them, as it screamed in agony as the bundle of tightened vines forming its body swelled and slightly loosened and some gooey purple substance dripped from its severed vines.
Transparent barrier like tiles formed around it from all four directions only leaving a small square opening in the middle which revealed its sternum and core within, where a single person could attack through, as the barrier took a firm hold of the Eldergrove’s movements.
Desperation took a hold of the beast as its vines flailed uncontrollably, the ground quaked and several trees were hurled around as their roots twisted and they were sent flying.
The Eldergrove struggled and growled as the barriers started to grow cracks as Mordian grunted, holding the shape of the mana tightly as he reinforced the barriers as I felt him trying to supress the curse which held his true power back.
‘Hurry up. I can’t hold the barriers much longer.’
I sent my affirmation as wind compressed into the soles of my boots and I lunged forward at high speed as I appeared in front of the narrow opening which revealed the Eldergrove’s sternum.
I took a breath as my mana surged, as I felt the crackling energy of lightning spark between my fingers as I began to weave a lightning spell I had been working on since I acquired the ability to use all four attributes of mana and certain deviances.
The air around me hummed with electricity, my fingertips zapped with the fiery energy of lightning, the arcs dancing on the tip of my fingers, ready to unleash a fiery display on my command.
Understanding what I was trying to do, the Eldergrove’s struggle increased as more cracks grew over the barriers as the ground beneath me quaked and the entire area was subject to the onslaught of the Eldergrove’s vines which moved like individual monsters, destroying everything.
But all I could focus on right now was shaping the spell in my hand as the raw power of lightning was currently unstable and like a rampant beast bearing its fangs at me.
I had thought that after learning to manipulate mana from Mordian and hoping I had gotten a better understanding of all four attributes I would be able to create any kind of spell on will, but that’s where I lacked. Even if I had control over all four attributes of mana, I lacked the precise control and ability to manipulate them and shape them in a way which would bring about the most of the mana’s capabilities.
Consequently, my hold over the deviant arts of magic were still not perfect as the spells that I’d created were still incomplete and unstable, which needed considerable practice in order to be used on will.
It was the same with frost-fire, I had made a gamble when I used the spell during our fight against Vetustima. But it was a matter of doing it or not, because even then I had barely been able to control the deviant fire spell to some degree to be able to use it in an advantageous way, but it was not without any damage, I remembered that I'd taken considerable damage whilst manipulating frost-fire spell.
But pushing these thoughts to the back of my head, I concentrated on conjuring the lightning spell as I coalesced more mana into it as the tendrils shook the air and surged out.
But from the corner of my eyes I saw that several vines were lurched in my direction, their tips brandished ravenously at me as they closed the distance, my concentration waning for a split second as the arcs of lightning dancing around me hummed and slightly dissipated.
Ruler’s Authority began to work as several plans formulated inside my head whether to escape or keep on conjuring my spell—to trust my companions to protect me—, or some other option as my head began to split from the heavy pondering, but as the vines drew closer, I decided to step into the paths and redirect my attack to some other spot on the Eldergrove which could penetrate its body and reach the core.
But just when I decided, I saw several vines lurch upward as I saw a thin feminine figure dashing up with wind mana converging around her, making her movements fast and precise, as several vines rose from around her and attacked the ones about to reach me, stopping their movements.
I saw a cascade of silver gunmetal hair moving through the air as I focused on the pointy ears of the elven woman as she pivoted and a compressed wind spell hurled at the Eldergrove holding and distracting its struggle, as it was pushed back slightly.
I took that moment and placed all my concentration back into conjuring my spell, as arcs rose all around me, lifting my long hair as tendrils surged through the air and caught all the vines around me, creating a net of electricity to zap everything around me.
I lunged forward, my arm thrust out as it collided against the vines, bolts of lightning erupted from my hand converging into a concentrated beam of electricity as the vines sizzled and the thick, ancient vines, charred under the onslaught as the Eldergrove released a deafening scream as my arm dug deeper and the vines tore open.
The strong barriers around it gave out and cracked under the release of my rampaging mana as the Eldergrove Sentinel staggered under the relentless barrages of the electric fury and the vines which encompassed its mighty form flailed and sizzled as the vines which protected the core embedded in its sternum became slightly see through from the fewer vines, as a shimmering light released from its sternum.
I shouted as I released more of my mana, feeling my reserves drain faster as I reinforced my body and kept on pushing as Mordian and Aurora held back the rampaging vines from shooting in my direction, and distract me from my task.
‘Just a little more.’ I thought as my skin began to crack and bleed under the pressure of my mana building and the arcs of lightning which rampaged uncontrollably as my face twisted into a painful scowl but I kept pushing as the final layer of vines smouldered and a spherical shaped core revealed itself.
But as a final attempt to preserve its life the Eldergrove stirred, its vines tightened suddenly as the beast moved out of instinct and thrashed around without any care for itself or us.
Before I could reach the core and retrieve it, to end the beast’s life, as if the forest itself had responded to the desperation of the dying beast, the ground tore open as the entirety of the forest quaked and roots and vines began to jut out of everywhere as they moved and flailed uncontrollably.
I saw Aurora stagger and about to be engulfed by the sea of vines as I grunted, many vines lurched in my direction, as Mordian was occupied with his own battle, so he couldn't help Aurora.
My scowl widened under the pressure building as my mana circulated through my veins as I disappeared from my position, and reappeared right in front of Aurora as I grabbed her hand and took her into my arms and flew away as the lightning fading from around me.
The Eldergrove Sentinel staggered, the hole in its chest recovering but very slowly and a thin layer of vines shrouded the big hole in its chest which was burnt and charred as the purple goo dripped from it like blood.
“Shun what do we do?” Aurora asked, her panic palpable as I evaded the vines and tried to reach Mordian.
I frowned, as a wall of thick vines formed in front of us, trying to stop our way forward. I stepped into the paths—but my body rejected slightly as I could perfectly feel my reserves drain—myconcentration slightly waning from the growing pain, and the nasty wound on my hand was recovering, but due to the lack of mana the process was slow.
I appeared on the other side of the wall as I started to manipulate mana rotation to recover a fractionof the lost mana, as I answered.
“That was our only one chance at defeating the Eldergrove. I couldn’t take its core. Now it will be much harder to defeat it because it knows that we are trying to reach its sternum.”
And I was right, as almost all of the vines around it converged to its sternum, trying to protect its core, as the beast growled.
But my body stumbled in mid-air as I felt a strong grip over my ankle as I was hurled with Aurora in my arms.
I realised late that a stray vine had taken a hold of me as I crashed into a wall of thick vines as I grunted, my head felt numb and heavy as my consciousness drifted and mind blanked for a moment before I recovered.
Mordian was no better as he relentlessly fought against the vines, but I could tell that my bond’s stamina was waning as he gushed for air, his mana was similarly drained—despite him wearing the artifact, the Eldergrove was launching its vines at random so even Mordian wasn’t safe anymore.
‘We can’t fight this fight any longer, its trying to tire us down before it makes its final attack. We need to retreat.’ Mordian sent as his panic bled into me.
‘But where?’ I sent back as I stood back up and flew with Aurora. ‘This place is like its backyard. Even if we can escape it, we can’t hide for long.’
‘So what do you suggest?’ Mordian asked, his face twisting into a frown as sweat poured down his face. He wasn't looking any better than us.
I clenched my teeth as I rose higher and tried to think, but even with Ruler’s Authority’s cognitive augmentation to increase the speed at which I could think, I couldn’t come to a decisive conclusion regarding this matter. Because the fact remained that in order to escape we needed to kill the Eldergrove Sentinel.
The only option we had was to end this fight. But how?
This single mana beast was equal to a mystic stage individual, and just like Mordian had said, it was a gamble to fight this thing, with our chances of triumph as low as they can get.
Mordian understood my panic and frustration as he suggested a plan and I listened with seriousness. But it was again a gamble, with the threat of death if we made one mistake.
The Eldergrove Sentinel loomed ahead of us, it bared its gnarled head covered with a vine-like helmet as the lance in its hand grew bigger as more gnarled and twisted branches winded around it to create a more complex weapon.
Without a second’s delay, it launched the weapon in my direction as its vines took a hold of my feet as it held me in place as the speed at which the lance moved didn’t give me enough time to react.
“Aurora, I’m sorry.” I said, as Mordian watched helplessly, as I cradled Aurora in my arms, and in that split second I loosened grip around her and a wind spell formed in the palm of my hand—there was barely any mana left for me use so I decided to do what I could, and conjured a weak wind spell with the left over mana I had—as the typhoon of wind collided against her body and she went flying.
“Shun—!!” Aurora shouted desperately, her hand reaching out to me to grab a hold of me as the lance finally collided against me, the sheer force was strong enough to tear me apart, as I felt almost all of my ribs crack and shatter as I felt a tremendous surge of mana raging from beside me, as my consciousness blanked as blood rushed through my mouth and my eyes rolled back into my head as I went crashing on to the ground.
I crashed and rolled several times, my bones shattered and mind squirmed, but the damage was slightly cushioned by the relic armour which I had summoned at the last moment of collision as I mercilessly crashed, my screams were drowned by the pain which gripped at my entire body. I couldn’t perfectly tell what was happening to me.
Soon I touched the surface of water, most probably the lake I’d seen before, as I drowned to its depth, my body unresponsive as my bones healed and muscles reattached themselves using what little mana I had left.
My breathing unstable, sending pain to gush throughout my body as I spat blood, my ribs stabbed into my lungs but started to heal as the bones reconstructed and moved back to their postion, as air bubbles flew upwards as my body struggled to regain its control, but my mind just couldn’t seem to cope with the unimaginable pain which seared away at me.
Ruler’s Authority burned, the skill keeping me awake and rational even when my entire body was experiencing an unimaginable agony, enough to kill any sane person.
‘Just what can I do to win?’ I thought as I felt my connection with Mordian waning. I could barely feel his thoughts with my weakened mind as I felt my consciousness drift.
Under my pondering, Ruler’s Authority responded to my desperation, the skill burned more vividly as if acknowledging my words and trying to let loose.
Ever since I’d gained the ability to rationally manipulate the effects of my skill, it had become an irreplaceable power in my arsenal.
But I was still afraid of what this skill had made be become when I released its true capabilities. So after my outburst, I had decided to only use a portion of the skill’s power, before I could slowly start to release the limiter I placed over it to keep myself sane and under control, as I gained more insight and control to not loose myself under its alluring whispers.
But you need me! You need my power!
As if to counter my argument, my skill responded back, its voice sounded so much like my own, but filled with indifference and only a need for rational thinking, to do what was necessary without a care for the others and myself.
No, you have no other choice! Use me! Defeat that pathetic beast and claim your reward! Don't reject me!
Release me and win!
I gave in under the persuading and enchanting words of the malevolent power stirring within me, as it surged out and shrouded me as my entire body began to grow numb as all of my emotions were bottled up and sealed away, so was the pain which grew all over my body.
Only the thoughts of killing the Eldergrove remained in my mind.
I grasped the power which surged through me.
I felt a shadow cast over me in the water as a hand reached out to me and grabbed me as it pushed me up. I allowed it to as we soon reached the surface of the lake as Aurora dragged me to the edge.
She gasped for air as she stayed on the ground for a moment to catch her breath, but I stood immediately, not caring for my condition or checking on my companion as I manipulated mana rotation to recover some of my mana in the mean time to finish the Eldergrove whose form was perfectly visible even from here.
“Shun...y-you need to hurry, Mordian i-isn’t, he...” Aurora said through her chocked breathing as she laid eyes on me and gasped in fear rather out of surprise.
I could perfectly see the fright and horror palpably over her face as she sat there still, not moving an inch as her teal eyes bore into my mine, which were most probably burning amethyst with a stark of malevolence and indifference.
I cracked a grin, my lips curling upwards as a deadly smile played at my lips, with an animalistic edge to it as I took a deep breath, feeeling rejuvenated and alive.
“You stay here. It will all soon be more.” I said, my voice hoarse and indifferent, as Aurora looked at me with fearful eyes, unable to tell what change I'd suddenly undergone.