I have tried countless times to tap into it, but it seems to not want to answer my call… It gave of a similar feeling to one from… when He talked to us and guided us. Oh, God, how long ago was that?
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Onyx’s muffled, fast, scared footsteps rang through the forest as he dashed as fast as possible. We need to get away! Kai thought urgently, his emotions seemingly received by the Obborik as he pushed for even greater speed. He left a trail of fluff behind as his fur got caught up in bushes and branches, his beautiful coat slowly becoming patched as he ignored the damage he did to himself.
Kai’s situation proved to be similarly miserable, as his fatigued body shivered, not from the cold, but from the heat. His skin burned up, especially so on the areas where scales covered him. Fuck, it wasn’t this bad when he did it, why not?! He thought through gritted teeth as his muscles ached with every little movement or spasm. It hurts so much! Yelling inwardly, he forced himself to touch the ring on his index finger, however, his face fell as he looked within.
Gone… we used them all up. The vitality pills he consumed to keep himself alive had all been used up, and he was only left with an empty bag, sitting next to the one that once contained mana pills.
A pit formed in Kai’s stomach as he swallowed, and inwardly apologized to Onyx for forcing him to go through all of this. His arm trembled from pain as he reached out toward the Obborik’s head and affectionately pat its fur. “Just a little bit further…” He whispered, grabbing onto his scruff and inching him to go faster.
Fear and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he thought about all the images Lazharus showed him, and how none of them turned out to be true, or at least, none were allowed to become true. Fuck, fuck, was that actually a God? Wasn’t Lumiera the Goddess? What the fuck… Lazharus… wasn’t… fuck, wasn’t that name mentioned in the diary?! Ach!
His train of thought was interrupted suddenly, as Onyx’s body suddenly flung forward after he tripped on a rock. Kai flew off his back a couple of meters away, and a light cry echoed in his mind. Bwer… it…hurt…
“Onyx!” Kai cried out, desperate, ignoring the paralyzing pain jolting through his body as he dragged himself toward his companion with great difficulty. He barely lifted himself enough to crawl on his knees, a horrified expression plastered on his face. Trace amounts of blood seeped out of Onyx’s mouth, clear signs of internal damage.
After quickly checking his body, Kai shivered upon finding the reason for the Obborik’s distress. On his chest, around the lung area, a circular patch of fur completely disappeared, replaced by red, bleeding skin. How did this happen… Then, it suddenly hit him, the image of Onyx getting hit while trying to save him turned out to be true, after all.
Fuck, this isn’t an easy wound to treat either… what to do, what to do. As he thought, a light yelp rang in his ears and met Onyx’s pitiful, pained gaze. “Onyx, stay with me!” He yelled out and forced himself to his feet, lifting the large Onyx on his back, and ran with great difficulty.
The forest’s terrain wasn’t a place one could easily traverse alone, let alone carrying a giant animal on their back. Large roots hidden by tall grass and spiky bushes covered the ground, within which animals, both small and large hid in order to catch prey. One wrong step and Kai could get bitten by a snake, or mauled by a bear, as he was in no condition to fight.
He bore through the pain caused by his now contracted muscles and the wounds he had suffered from the woman. His neck still held a faint outline from her strangling, despite the power granted to him by the entity that called himself his God. Sweat dripped down his blazing body in a feeble attempt to cool him down, however that did close to nothing. His heart threatened to jump out of his chest as he heard the sound of running water, and he immediately darted toward it.
If she is still on our tracks, this could throw her off, even if slightly. Quickly reaching it, he threw himself in without hesitation, swimming with an ailing Onyx on his back, and swiftly exiting on the other side. His disheveled hair somewhat settled after getting wet, and he entered a more forgiving part of the forest, with shorter trees and grass.
His pupils flashed as he caught something moving with the corner of his eye, and he quickly took a step back and to the side, as an arrow lodged itself into a nearby tree, and he cursed under his breath before dashing away. However, not long after taking a few steps, another arrow swooshed toward him, which he barely avoided by spinning on his heel.
Then another, and another. In total, five arrows shot toward him, and he threw caution to the wind, running with even greater vigor, hoping that none of them would reach him. Yet, despite his hopes, one of the arrows hit him right in his thigh, sending a shocking amount of pain coursing through his body.
“Garh!” A groan escaped his lips, however, doing his best to ignore it, he kept on running, blood dripping down his leg. Fuck, what’s going on? He cried out, beginning to limp and stumbling under Onyx’s weight. Thankfully, the terrain wasn’t as difficult to traverse as the one from before, however with an extremely exhausted body, crumbling mana reserves, a giant Obborik on his back, and now with a wounded leg, it made little to no difference.
His adrenaline spiked as the rough cackling of a familiar creature rang in his ears, and he dared not turn to look, afraid of what he might see. It can’t be, no, not here! Crying internally, he barely mustered the strength to dodge another wave of arrows by hiding behind a larger tree. One of them flew right past Onyx’s tail, taking with it a good patch of fur. He yelped softly, his breathing soft and faint.
Hold on boy, we’ll make it out… I promise!
Without waiting for his assailants to find him, he dashed through the forest, crawling past bushes, evading rocks and holes, and taking great caution to always stop behind a tree every chance he could.
Intense amounts of sweat covered his bare body, yet the adrenaline, cortisol, and unwillingness to give up that flowed through his veins kept him going, just barely.
However, his heart sank as the forest before him reached an end. Not to an open field or cascading waterfall, but a large wall made of earth. A hill about thirty meters tall put a stop to his momentum, seemingly cut in two by something or someone, and a large chunk was taken out of it. What the hell- But the familiar cackling once again rang in his ears, and he hesitated slightly, yet turned anyway, meeting the creatures that lurked in his nightmares.
Gobelins!
A group of five gobelins, two red, two green, and one purple, encircled him and Onyx, forcing him to face his back toward a dead end. Have I been lured here?! The thought alone made his skin crawl, yet he couldn’t deny the fact that the creatures before him led him exactly where they wanted him to be. How could there be so many of them?
His trembling pupils quickly scanned the group, as, out of the five, all of them had bows and arrows, while three had short daggers, one a rusted sword and the other what used to be a long spear, now split in two. They looked similar to the one that attacked Kai, with long ears and short stature, yet with slight facial gestures such as teeth sticking out, unsymmetrical eyes, or busted lips. Some had a wider jaw, whilst some had a rounder face. However, all of them, without exception, had a sadistic expression plastered on their faces.
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Licking their lips, they put their bows away and slowly made their way to Kai, chuckling to themselves. What are they doing? They can kill me without risking anything if they want to… He didn’t understand why these five gobelins, whose eyes were filled with malice and the desire to kill, chose to fight him one on one. Are they making fun of me?!
Rage flared in his chest, and he put Onyx down as pain coursed through his body. Then, touching his ring, he pulled out the silver sword, unsheathed, shining under the moonlight. However, the light quickly disappeared as clouds covered it, putting the group in almost pitch-black darkness.
Thunder boomed.
Lighting struck.
The sky lit up for a split second, allowing Kai to see the five creatures dash toward him, weapon in his hands. As rain poured down from the stars, he bit his tongue, forcing blood to flow down his throat. I… However, he had no time to contemplate his decision as he heard one of them fling his dagger at him, then another.
Kai jumped backward, another flash of thunder allowing him to see the position of his enemies, and a pair of fangs protruded out of his upper lip, while another set of canines grew from his lower lip. With much hesitation and a feeling of self-disgust, he prepared himself to commit to what he had not done for years. However, deep inside he knew, he had no other choice.
His hearing and smell heightened slightly, allowing him to estimate the location of his enemies. What bad timing, hunted again and again… Lumiera if I get you… He threatened emptily in the brief respite he had to think, and, with much pain, swung his sword forward in a vertical motion as he stepped to the side.
A horrified groan of pain echoed in the darkness, and lighting flashed once again, revealing one of the green gobelins with a terrified expression decorating his ugly face. His hands, the one that held a dagger, fell to the ground, bleeding, while his arm spurted out blood. It locked gazes with Kai, whose crimson pupils shone even brighter due to the darkness.
Without a moment to hesitate, Kai dodged a swing from the sword wielded by the purple gobelin, the one he knew for sure would explode if killed and lunged at the wounded one with the ferocity of a beast. In but a few moments, his fangs bit into its flesh, and in mere seconds his body turned into a husk of dried meat and skin.
Kai licked his lips as he threw the corpse to the ground, and a large amount of newfound strength coursed through his body. A satisfied smile creased his lips as another flash of lightning revealed his figure, with a bloody mouth and chest covered in the crimson liquid.
The other gobelins glared at Kai with intense ferocity, and backed away, pulling out their bows.
Swish
‘Grah!” A pained groan rang amidst the thunder and rain, accompanied by a furious growl that sent a shiver running down the gobelins back.
Swish Swish Swish
One arrow after another shot toward Kai, however this time he expected them, and he leaped forward, jumping past all of them. The arrow in his thigh embedded itself even deeper in, fresh blood flowing out, leaving a trail mid-air as Kai landed on one of the gobelins. Unsure of which one it was, he pushed his sword into where he thought its heart to be, then swiftly jumped away, barely dodging another wave of arrows.
A bright, red light shot out from the corpse, spore-like particles shooting toward the rest of the gobelins. Red madness appeared in their eyes, and their size increased twofold as muscles expanded and bones cracked. What the hell is going on?! He thought, unable to fully see the changes they underwent.
However, one of the green gobelins dashed toward him, its short dagger presenting itself as a cooking knife instead of a weapon due to the difference in size.
Kai backed away, however, he felt himself being pulled forward by an unknown force, and before he knew it, he faced the giant green gobelin, alongside its dagger.
It swung it at his abdomen, and Kai had no choice but to take it right in his kidneys. He let out a muffled ground as he grit his teeth, and with a ferocious look in his eyes, thrust the sword at its heart. The silver blade barely penetrated its skin, now as tough as leather and scale, however, the gobelin hadn’t grabbed him and had lost its weapon, which remained stuck in Kai’s side.
The boy jumped with one leg and kicked the sword deeper into the gobelin, which stumbled backward but didn’t die immediately. Kai then plunged the dagger even deeper, avoiding any vitals, plugging up the whole it created. He coughed a mouthful of blood and dodged as the last of the red gobelins rushed him with the spear.
A lighting bolt flashed the sky once again, provoking the rain to fall even harder, revealing the carnage surrounding Kai, and the blood and wounds covering his body. As his nails turned into claws, he grabbed the thrusting spear with his left hand, his arm trembling fighting against the gobelin’s strength, and pulled back his right hand.
Mustering his core to spit out mana, and gathering some from the outside, a light tornado-like pressure gathered around his fist, which ignited in flames as he punched. The fist connected with the gobelin’s abdomen, creating a thundering explosion and illuminating the macabre surroundings briefly. Bits of flesh and crushed bone flew out everywhere as half of its body disintegrated into bits, and it fell to the ground.
Kai quickly dashed forward, bearing through the shock of pain he received from the dagger, arrow, and his muscles, then dug his fangs into the creature, drinking a small amount of blood before it exploded into particles that the rest of the gobelins absorbed. He had no time to observe the changes, as a new, more forceful type of strength flowed through his veins. His muscles expanded once again, and the ferocity and insanity within his eyes grew stronger than before.
Lighting hissed.
In the brief flash of light, Kai’s figure revealed itself again, now dressed with bits of flesh and bony shrapnel, as well as a slightly scorched front. He watched in horror as the creatures grew even bigger in size, more feral. The green one took the sword and plunged it into its chest, yet no blood flowed.
The purple one, on the other hand, changed to a faint shade of black, with two nibs of horns growing out of its head.
Kai panted, drenched in blood and gore, the furious rain barely cleansing him of the viscous liquid and bits of flesh. He grit his teeth, and his pupils constrict as frustration and anger course through his body like a broken dam, and a primordial roar escapes his body as he yelled out toward the sky.
The claws on his hands grew even larger, seemingly to adapt to his enemies. Strong, sturdy talons grew out of his feet, and only then did he dare pull out the arrow. However, unlike the gobelin, his blood started pouring like a fountain, and, in a quick attempt at getting it under control, he summoned a spark between his fingers. Without hesitation, he brought it to the wound and cauterized it, then did the same for the dagger, and the arrow in his thigh.
He didn’t throw them away but instead stowed them in the minimal amount of clothing he had. His head snapped toward his right, and he instantly jumped, avoiding the green gobelin’s mad charge, then landed on its back.
Taking the dagger he collected, he aimed it right at its neck, however, its blade bent and became crooked. What?! He instantly jumped off, fleeting and throwing away the useless weapon. That’s going to be annoying, then. The other one didn’t act yet, but I can’t even see him right now. Fuck, my Beast Spirit Sword was probably the best chance I had at killing them… Wait!
He quickly dashed backward and touched his ring, and a pitch-black longsword appeared in his hand. Its blunt blade made it almost useless, almost enough for a bat of some sort, as its weight had also more than quadrupled since last Kai used it.
That sword was Ray’s sword, the one that gave him the nickname ‘Violet Night’. However, that same sword became a useless chunk of metal in Kai’s hand. With much effort, he sent mana inside it, yet it didn’t reply, not even lighting up faintly. Please! He thought as he hid behind a tree, which quickly fell, severed in two by a sharp, strong slash. Fuck, that’s my sword, you bastard!
Anger flared within him.
Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down his spine as he felt a presence lurking behind him, and he snapped back, the sharp tip of a sword aiming straight at his head. With little time to react and no room to dodge, he raised up the purple sword and sent all the mana he had left into it.
The two objects clashed, pushing Kai backward into the severed trunk, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, most of it landing on the dark sword. In that moment, the green gobelin swung once again, and Kai weakly raised the sword to defend himself.
As the two blades clashed, a cracking sound erupted from Ray’s sword, accompanied by a bright flash of violet light. Kai’s heart stopped for a moment as he stared at his father’s sword once again booming with life. Then, his body shuddered as the purple-black horned gobelin roared with a paralyzing strength, and its shadow rose up above Kai, crashing its fists downward.