A literal corpse with rotting flesh and muscles wrapped around its body and protruding ribs appeared beneath their clothing, a smile permanently formed on its face as it moved.
It approached me and reached out and caught hold of my arm with one of it's bone hand, Gripping it tightly in my hand as the other bone hand reached out for my other trembling hand,
They grinned and began correcting my grip on the sword handle.
My heart was beating fast in my chest, my entire body stiff and tense, ready to spring apart at any second.
I stared at our joined hands intently trying to steady my breath but my muscles were trembling so much that my bones ached with pain.
After a while, It finally stepped away, satisfied with my hold, and I watched as the rotting pieces of flesh sticking to my skin disappeared, turning into dust.
"That was good". The rabbit praised and clapped his paws together
"Now swing that blade like this and hit it, the force will propel your weapon forwards", as the rabbit began explaining sword swings another skeleton materialized and showed me what the rabbit wanted before me,
I nodded silently, clenching my jaw tightly and swinging the sword as if my life depended on it. After a minute of repeatedly hitting the rock over and over again until it became easier, I was finally able to do it flawlessly, although my arms hurt badly and the muscles burned from continuously pressing my shoulders against the wooden shaft, which resulted in painful throbbing pains throughout my body whenever I moved.
However, it still didn't hurt as bad as it had when I first came here and the god damm rabbit only made me stand there with the correct grip in an single stance and so I was determined to try my hardest.
"That was great, now we'll try doing that with another grip next".
The rabbit said and motioned toward another skeleton. This went on for a long time, the only thing I was really able to do right in each and every scenario was swinging the sword or hit with the bow which resulted in many injuries but I couldn't care less, I kept going.
Even after the bruises blossomed upon my body, it was worth it to feel like I was truly doing something for once.
"well done now swing the first grip, now with the second grip again with the first now the second.......and then swing again..."
The rabbit ranted non-stop about different combinations of swings that I needed to learn.
I kept listening as I kept swinging the sword, and eventually, the fatigue started to take effect as my knees began to tremble.
I lowered my arms and dropped the sword onto the floor with a heavy thud.
"That wasn't so hard, how weak are you!" The bunny growled as I looked down with dull eyes.
I grunted and pushed myself onto my feet, my legs shaking violently.
My body was too weak to keep itself up anymore, and as my eyes glanced around I noticed how all of the bones were beginning to rot and fall apart.
I stumbled my way toward the entrance of the cave and fell flat on my face, my whole body convulsing painfully as I coughed up the blood from my mouth and spat some more.
"This too slow, too slow I tell you, haven't even begun your mystic art training only martial have you like this!", The rabbit yelled angrily as he stomped towards me grabbed my arm, and dragged me away with ease.
I gasped in alarm, I tried to shake him off, struggling to stand up, but my body was still weak.
He ignored my struggles and continued dragging me away.
I struggled to pull myself away from his grasp but he held firm.
With an angry grunt, he shoved me roughly into the makeshift bed designated for my sleeping and I lay there unable to react as the bone stumps covering his body rose and fell rhythmically, creating a hollow echo reverberating in the stone caves. The echoes sounded like someone breathing in deep gulps and grunts while the echoes created the feeling of having just fallen asleep.
I shut my eyes tightly attempting to block out the sounds but the images in my mind wouldn't leave me alone no matter how hard I tried to block them.
The image of my mother smiling encouragingly, her beautiful hair flowing softly in the wind, her beautiful blue gaze piercing me like laser beams.
In these few days, the memories of Job from Mātāya and Daniel Faust of New York had merged into one it was getting difficult to distinguish who was Daniel and who was Job, and yet both were me.
"You're starting to lose the rhythm" a soft whisper whispered behind me in a gentle voice.
"Rember what I taught you first never lose control of your breathing, focus on keeping your breath steady and remember it is a vital part of the fighting. Remember the technique I taught you, breath slowly and evenly, and focus on maintaining the flow of air in and out."
I opened my eyes to meet his gaze, my breathing slowing down and becoming steady, as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Suddenly, my sight darkened and I felt a strong presence of comfort around me,
"Sleep now...it's alright, everything will be alright.", He spoke softly, as my vision became completely black.
"Goodnight, my dear pumpkin", hands tightened slightly against my waist, pulling me closer to him, "sleep peacefully my child, you are safe with us here with us."
"My son......my precious little man", I heard Rebecca saying in my dreams,
"We love you so, my beautiful man.....my wonderful lover."
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My heart ached as I fell asleep, wishing that she was real.
I longed for her so much, even though I knew it wouldn't come true. But still, I dreamed of her,
I dreamt of the beautiful blue of her eyes, I dreamt of the warmth of her touch, I dreamt of her kisses and her hugs, and everything about her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't just run around, fight properly like I showed, slash and cut slash and cut!", The sound of the battle axe slicing through the air echoed throughout the room, filling the air with screams and roars as I fought my way through the endless rows of skeletons.
I didn't notice anything at first and continued to strike and attack with vigour, but as the numbers decreased rapidly I finally got tired of constantly moving around without knowing where I was headed.
"Stop! We want you alive", A low male voice roared, as I turned sharply to see a group of men dressed in all black approaching me in a straight line. Their expressions were stern as they raised their swords and pointed them toward me menacingly.
As soon as they got close enough I attacked them furiously slashing with all my strength, using all the skill I possessed as best as I could, but it seemed that they were prepared and easily deflected every single blow coming at them.
The only time I could land a hit was when one of them came too near to me, the axe slicing clean through his arm and making a large hole in it.
I pulled back the axe as quickly as possible, wiping the sweat from my brows. I stood panting heavily and wiped the blood from my lips, looking around as I spotted a small crevice between two rocks to hide behind in case anyone decided to follow me.
Once I found it, I ducked inside, and sat huddled up against the wall. I looked around cautiously peering over my shoulder every couple of seconds to see if anyone was there.
I took a moment to catch my breath before peeking my head out slightly, taking a quick look around to ensure I hadn't been followed, even all this was some sort of training for me, the skeletons, the men made out of clay, the weapons, the illusion, the monsters, and the traps were all too real and so was the pain,
just within the last hour or so only I had died twice,
once when I was gutted I half by a skeleton another when one of the wolves tore me apart with its sharp claws while I was unconscious from exhaustion, but it was still not enough to break me.
I looked up, noticing that I had arrived at my destination and carefully exited the crevice, careful not to make any unnecessary noise, and walked along the narrow tunnel.
I passed several smaller alcoves where some skeletons waited patiently in silence.
Some of them gazed in my direction with a hint of hatred or annoyance on their faces. Good, I was getting good at telling what skeletons were thinking
I guess they were probably wondering why I wasn't dead already.
Eventually, I reached an opening, where a huge cavern lit by torches and candles illuminated the interior area.
It reminded me of a medieval dungeon with old cobwebs draped around the walls and a few stalactites hanging above me, but unlike my previous nightmares where I'd been trapped and left to die,
I saw nothing in the room except a soft orange glow. It was empty save for a lone person standing a distance away from the wall.
As I approached him, I realized he was the leader of this place, he appeared very similar to the other skeletons except he wore a simple white robe, which covered him nearly from head to toe.
"well done, you found a wizard now kill it"
I looked up to see a wide-open skyline with god dammed rabbit peering down at me munching on something,
The bastard was playing D&D with me!
that motherfucker convening little peace of shit
the first chance I was getting I was going to spit that motherfucker slowly on a slow flame, this whole scenario is bullshit if it isn't! I know he did something it wasn't so simple.
He was definitely plotting something...
"Come closer".
A dark shadowy figure beckoned me, beckoned to walk closer, to come closer and let him show me what exactly he meant. I hesitantly stepped forward.
"So..what if I am in a sick game? this was still real if the pain was real".
Without any hesitation I charged forward at full speed, running faster than any human could and leaping into the air with all my might.
The wind whipped mercilessly against my face, pushing me backward as fast as possible, as my body flew across the sky and landed harshly on the ground far below me.
Even though the pain caused me a great amount of distress, it was nothing compared to the agony I felt a moment later when a fireball smashed into me.
I screamed in agony as hot searing pain filled my entire body; I could feel my skin burning like hot sandpaper as my muscles began contracting and tearing.
I writhed uncontrollably trying to get rid of the excruciating pain, but it was useless. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, I couldn't do anything. I was helpless.
I closed my eyes tightly, trying to block out the pain, but it was impossible.
I could hear the laughter of the rabbit echoing in my ears as my vision darkened and my hearing faded to silence.
I could vaguely sense the sound of water rushing through the tunnels around me as my vision faded to darkness.
As my consciousness faded further, I thought I felt something warm touching me gently.
It felt nice, really nice.
It felt so comfortable...so peaceful....so nice....
then I was back I looked my uninjured naked form lying on wet cold stone floor holding a melted lump of iron that used to be a battle axe tightly in my hands.
I gasped for air trying to fill my lungs with as much oxygen as possible, trying to escape the overwhelming dizziness that overwhelmed me.
I struggled to open my eyes and take a glance at my surroundings, but the blurry vision I received only brought more intense waves of dizziness.
As I attempted to raise myself up onto my elbows and legs, I winced in pain as my wounds flared again causing new bursts of intense burning.
The stinging sensation intensified momentarily causing tears to stream down my cheeks as I tried desperately to suppress the scream of agony threatening to escape my throat.
As the pain lessened slightly I slowly opened my eyes, squinting my eyes to try and gain more clarity in the world around me.
I took a moment to study my surroundings, the giant skeleton was standing before me, blocking my view.
He held two long wooden swords in hand, with each blade being at least 3 feet long and 1 foot thick. His arms were covered in a thin layer of dust and ash, yet he still managed to hold himself upright.
there were a dozen fireballs dancing around him in circles like tiny golden fireflies.
They weren't moving like normal fireballs and instead moved in sync with each other, creating different shapes and patterns in mid-air, creating sparks every once in a while.
suddenly I felt this rage inside of me and without much thought, I once again ran toward it fumbling for my magic.
Fortunately using it was as easy as I’d hoped, taking no more effort than moving an arm I hadn’t had before.
I threw a blast of wind at my feet propelling me forward quicker than ever before, my movements becoming even more precise and powerful.
With renewed power, I dashed directly toward the skeleton who as quick as lightning attacked me with its blades.
This time I was ready for it, dodging it just as swiftly before throwing a flurry of blows at it, attacking with precision and ferocity, sending waves of ready fire and wind blasts in all directions until he dropped onto the ground, lifeless.
Then before I even touched the ground I sent a giant wave of delay fire melting the very bones that had been holding it together, and then with a quick flick of my finger, I created an orb of fire that engulfed the skeleton completely, burning away its remains into ashes and scattering it around the room leaving only charred skeletons scattered everywhere.
As soon as I noticed my actions everyone else in the room immediately fell to the ground and lay motionless.
I fell to my knees as I landed on the ground feeling triumphant and happy at how well I had taken care of him until I heard the angry yelling
"NO! NO!, you were supposed to defeat it using your martial skills not your mystical skill! I specifically told you not to use your mystic skills!"
"Sorry my lord", I said in defeat, "it was the best I could come up with on short notice".
He continued to stare at me, silently staring and waiting for me to say something else as I stared at the ground refusing to meet his rabbit eyes.
"Again from the beginning, we shall begin again". he sighed deeply.