The heavy snow creeped on to Cain’s legs, slowing him down as he trudged through the white covered forest. The light hint of the afternoon light shined down on silent trees as he followed the trail of recently made hooven tracks. The prey he had been hunting for almost an hour now had been quite elusive so far, but Cain was adamant on tracking it to the end. Prey had been scarce lately due to the winter, and he wanted to have enough food to last until spring. Else he would have to enter back into Sanctuary to get supplies, and deal with that nonsense again. Society after the Rapture was annoying to deal with, especially to a creature like Cain.
“Munch.” Cain’s ears perked up to a loud sound a small distance further north. He immediately recognized the kind of noise. It was of a wild animal or creature consuming its meal, chewing through flesh and breaking bones. He instinctively lowered to the ground as he grasped his shortsword from his belt, readying it in preparation. The sword gleamed an unnatural black in the sunlight, its edge a perfect sharpness despite using it for over a year now. Cain slowly walked towards the noise, cautiously approaching to not give away his position. The beast could potentially be even more dangerous than what Cain expected, and he did not want to risk it. The sound of the chewing grew louder and louder as Cain made his way, until he could finally see it.
About 20 feet away, in a small clearing in the woods, was a large wolf-like creature. The spotted gray fur that clinged onto its skinny frame was matted with dirt, its rib cage practically protruding out from its stomach. It was feasting on the corpse of the Giant Deer that Cain had been hunting, the corpse now a massive bloody mess on the ground, the bones spread wild across the clearing. Cain easily recognized the wolf creature as a Lesser Direwolf, a low ranked monster, even despite its sad state. Cain had thought he had hunted them all out from the forest already, but he was apparently wrong. However, it was strange to see one alone. All the Lesser Direwolves he had encountered worked in packs, and never abandoned one of their own. A whole pack of them could be feasting on the Giant Deer and have left to spare, but here there was only one eating on its lonesome. Wait. How did it even take it down? This kill had to have been recent. The Giant Deer, when sensing danger, can sometimes even outrun a whole pack of Lesser Direwolves. This whole situation is strange. The safe move would just be going back to his shelter. No. Cain shook his head. I’m confident I won’t lose to anything in this forest. Resolved, he took a deep breath and made his way closer to the clearing, hoping to get a better assessment of the bizarre nature of the current scenario.
Easily closing the distance between him and the wolf in seconds, Cain couldn’t see anything that stood out from the trees around the clearing. There might be nothing now, but there could be something later. I’ll have to end this quickly then. Cain wielded his sword and threw caution to the wind as he stepped out into the clearing, placing his left hand over his right. A slight crunching of leaves rang out. The wolf’s ears perked up to the noise, its head immediately raising and turning towards the disturbance. But it was too late. The last thing it saw was a black shadow, the scarlet eyes of a wild beast charging towards it. With a quick obsidian flash, the wolf’s head flopped to the floor. Without hesitation, the wild beast followed up with a stab into the chest of the wolf’s corpse, piercing through the crystal within its heart. Cain's breathing was heavy as he recovered from the kill, posturing himself back up as his vision glowed a violent red. He could feel the burning hot sensation of his Mark on his back as it quaked in deep hunger, an inhuman growling that Cain had learned to ignore quietly echoing in his mind. Or was that his growling? He couldn’t tell anymore. This damned tattoo. Ruined the crystal. Cain inwardly cursed as the pain slowly cooled down as it settled back. He barely tapped into the Mark’s power and it still threatened to take over his consciousness. I won’t let it control me. I am stronger. His breathing slowed down as his vision cleared. After a few more crucial moments, Cain’s senses returned to normal and he became sane. He straightened up. Damn it. I was too focused on controlling it. His eyes wildly scanned his surroundings. The woods were seemingly empty. Wait, no. For the briefest second, Cain had caught a glimpse of a shadow disappearing further into the forest to his far right. It had been too fast for him to see what it was exactly before it escaped deeper into the woods, hidden by all the giant trees.
“Shit!” Cain hesitated. Do I chase it down? If he used more of his Mark's powers, he could definitely attempt to follow the shadow. His left hand hovered over the red scar placed on his right hand, the scar that signified the once former location of the Mark. Cain’s back shivered as the Mark began to stir and rumble, hungering to be unleashed. All he had to do was listen to its lull, and give in. Was it really that hard? No. I shouldn’t. Cain quickly shook his head, letting his arm dangle back down, the growling stopping. It could be another trap. The risk was too great, and Cain didn’t know what or more specifically, where he would get himself into if he did use the Mark’s power. Sighing, Cain looked down to see the soulless black eyes of the Giant Deer, its pitiful body broken and mangled. It was so red. Was it hers? Or his? Cain shook his head.
“I won’t let it control me.” He whispered to himself as he turned to where he came from, sheathing his sword as he ran back onto his tracks.
-
Despite nightfall quickly approaching, Cain was extra cautious as he returned back to his cabin, taking his time. Keeping his senses alert as he ran, he decided to take a haphazard path back. While there was some snow that fell on the way back, Cain had to be sure himself that he wouldn’t be able to be followed back. It took around two hours before he made it back to the clearing of his home, half that time was spent on safety measures, but it satisfied his paranoia. There was still some remnant of sunlight when Cain saw the old wooden fence in the distance, and the slightly exhausted Cain could only smile in relief. However, that smile quickly turned sour when he saw the usually locked gate slightly ajar. Panic surged throughout Cain’s body. Did it know who I was? Did it follow me back without me seeing? His head raced through millions of different possibilities as his hands reached for his blade. Wait. Why was he afraid again? Cain took a slow, deep breath, exhaling it out as he slowly moved towards the gate, his eyes flickering for any danger in the trees as he took silent steps. The forest was seemingly empty as he finally made it to the gate, when he could finally take in the sight of his home. The old log cabin was covered in snow and looked normal to Cain. However, what stood out was the man sitting on the chair on the cabin’s porch. Short, silky golden hair was moped atop a handsome and smooth face, while bored blue eyes turned to look at Cain. The young man immediately perked up, his golden coat glittering despite the limited sunlight that basked it.
“Ah, Cain, hello! I’ve been waitin’ for ya!” The man yelled, waving with a grin plastered on his face that was brighter than the sun. Cain didn’t lower his weapon, his shoulders tense.
“Jason. Leave.” He growled aloud. The most annoying headache had decided to visit Cain today. He had just lost his prey that he had tracked for an hour, and now he had to deal with one of the biggest disturbances in his life.
“Woah, woah, calm down! I come in peace.” Jason raised his arms in an attempt to show that he was unarmed, his smile bright like the sun. It didn’t help. Cain sighed, sheathing his sword. Jason wasn’t a danger, in reality he was the keeper of peace. But it wasn’t what Cain really wanted or frankly, needed.
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“Go. I am not in the mood.”
“But don’t you want to know why I came to visit you?” Jason laughed as he jumped off the porch, but Cain’s stare was blank. Jason faked a cough, his grin dissipating as his face became serious.
“Ok, fine. I was going to ask you about an expedition into the Argos Tower but…” Jason’s voice trailed off as he quickly passed by Cain. Those words gave Cain pause. Anything about the Towers was extremely dangerous, and Cain rarely, if ever, willingly entered a Tower. Not especially after the incident that occurred a year ago.
“And what does it have to do with me?” Cain’s voice barked with impatience.
“Well, do you want to come?”
“Hah, the golden boy of Sanctuary needs help?” Cain gave a crude laugh upon hearing Jason’s words. Jason shook his head.
“No, really Cain. But I wanted you to be there when we cleared it.” Cain froze.
“Clear it? You think your band of make-believe heroes can clear it?” Cain’s anger flared like a raging fire. It felt like he was being mocked.
“Yes, I do. We are on the same level that you had gone to, and we will surpass it by the end of this month.” To Cain, at that very moment, Jason’s smile was like that of an arrogant bastard. It was only a brief moment of red before Cain realized he was grabbing Jason by the coat.
“Quick to anger as always, huh.” Jason stared Cain down with calm blue eyes, his smile still plastered on his face. Cain let go and pushed him away, his vision slowly returning to normal as he struggled to calm down.
“Go. Now.” Cain’s growl was a threat as he glared at Jason, who had easily regained his posture.
“Alright, alright! But my offer still stands. The old man would have wanted to be you there.” Jason turned and walked away into the woods. Cain watched until he could see the golden coat disappear from his sight, before opening the door to the cabin and entering inside. The shutting of the door was so hard, some snow fell off the roof. Then, an hour later, night fell as well, basking the world in darkness once more.
-
Cain could not sleep. Not like he ever had a peaceful sleep ever since the Rapture, but tonight was one of the worst. His thoughts seemed to run endlessly, pounding his head in a cycle of hate and doubt as he laid on his bed. And even for that brief moment he did fall asleep, the screams of the past woke him back up. They always did.
Eventually, after hours staring at the ceiling, Cain gave up on sleeping. It was useless, and he could feel the hunger that stabbed at his stomach. I have to go to that damned place. Since Cain missed hunting down the Giant Deer, he was left with no food for the night. Cain sighed as he climbed off his bed, the floorboard creaking loudly as his feet landed on the rough wood. Despite his room being completely basked in darkness, Cain could perfectly see, his eyes glowing ruby red. His room was quite simple, only containing his bed, the table beside him, and a small closet that contained some of his minor belongings. He didn’t need to change, as everything like his armor and weapon were still equipped. Cain rarely changed out of his leather armor, even if it was blood stained or covered in dirt. His paranoia did not allow him to, after all. Besides, he felt the most comfortable in it as well, having worn it for years now. After making sure everything was in order, Cain grabbed his black cloak and bag from the closet. He deftly draped both over his shoulders, and put up the hood before leaving his room, entering the small hallway that led to the living room of the log cabin. Cain kept his head down as he quickly made his way towards the entrance door. He couldn’t bear to look at the old man’s former belongings for too long. Thankfully, it took only a few moments before Cain could feel the cold blast of the winter air as he opened the cabin door, the forest dark and gloomy before him. From what Cain could tell, it was early morning, maybe three o’clock. Not like the time matters. Cain scoffed to himself as closed the door, locking it with a silver key. With that, he was ready to make the trip to one of his least liked places in the world, Sanctuary, taking a heavy step once again onto the heavy snow. It would only be half an hour before he would get there.
-
Even in the dark early morning, Cain could still see the first sign of Sanctuary from his position at the forest tree lines. Far away in a clear snow covered plain, stood something that had once broken the world itself. It was a dark tower that impossibly reached towards the sky, basked by the moonlight. At the bottom and surrounding the entirety of the tower, was an illuminated fortress with torchlight, the so-called Sanctuary. It was a stone behemoth fit with giant walls to protect the city and people within. A gate stood prominently in the middle of the walls, with a dirt path paved with stone at the forefront. Cain could barely see from his distance, but he could make out shapes of a caravan of some sorts being interrogated by the armored guards of Sanctuary. New visitors, at this time of day? That’s rare. It was peculiar but not impossible, due the reputation of Sanctuary and all. He made his way down to the path, hood up and mulling in his thoughts. Cain had always scoffed at the idea of Sanctuary that it sold. It was said to be a place to rebuild and reclaim humanity, one of few places in the world that were the bastions of the remaining humans after the Rapture ten years ago. But Cain thought it to be foolish. It was an impossible idea, an impossible ideal. The people, the world, all have already changed. There were many monsters now, both that came from the Rapture, and the humans who have given into their sins. Including Cain, the worst of them all. But, he couldn’t deny that Sanctuary was something that held some semblance of society. Cain hated to admit it, but the annoying golden boy made sure to keep law and order in Sanctuary, especially with his team of so-called Argonauts. After all, there were definitely places that Cain saw that were far more terrible than Sanctuary.
It took a little over five minutes of brisk walking through light snow but eventually, Cain made it to the path and was quickly approaching the entrance to Sanctuary. The shapes that he had seen were still there, much clearer in sight. However, Cain stopped a slight distance away, keeping himself a bit off. The situation seemed to have escalated. The armored guards of Sanctuary were now surrounding the caravan, seeming to be thoroughly checking everything in the main carriage. From what Cain could see, the caravan seemed to consist of at least fifteen humans and twelve horses, a much larger group of travelers than usual. What stood out to Cain, however, was what the people were wearing each a hooded black robe that covered their entire body. On the backs of their robes, was a star embossed in gold, glimmering with a strange light.
“Like we have said, we are on a pilgrimage from Avalon’s Tower. Did the Sanctuary's master not receive word from our envoy?” Cain caught a deep baritone voice from the carriage in the middle of the caravan. He tried to catch who had spoken those words, but unfortunately the carriage was covered, and there were too many bodies to look through. Avalon. Cain knew that place as another human territory, ruled by a religious organization calling themselves the Church of the Light, but Cain never had encountered them before.
“Yes, I understand that. But we can’t break the procedure for everyone.” A cheerful voice that Cain recognized came from the armored man in the front as they searched through the boxes placed to the side of the carriage. Even Heracles came out? Cain’s eyes widened, surprised to see the gold cape flowed from Heracles's back, a lion shaped helmet looking through the boxes. To Cain, it only seemed like it was just trinkets and miscellaneous strange looking clothes as Heracles breezed through inspection, so the situation didn’t really need to bring out one of the members of the Argonauts.
“Besides myself, we have no weapons. The Light that our Saintess provides keeps us safe.” The voice came again, this time it's tone was filled with what seemed like reverence. With the mere mention of the ‘Light’ and ‘Saintess’, every single member of the caravan that Cain could see immediately did a quick bow, slightly startling the guards of Sanctuary that stood beside each member. The only one that didn’t get surprised was Heracles, who seemed to finish looking through.
“Alright, everything looks good. Let them through.” The cheerful Heracles shouted at the guards as he turned back to walk towards the fortress’s gates, his gold cloak shimmering even in the darkness. With that, the surrounding guards helped the caravan members in quickly returning the caravan’s items back to their carriage and bags, before leading them towards the gates. Cain watched in silence as the giant gate opened, swallowing the pilgrimage of Avalon whole. He finally let out a deep sigh when he saw the gate closed, having forced himself to stay quiet due to the situation.
“Why has everything been so chaotic lately?” Cain muttered out loud, shaking his head as he followed suit in attempting to enter Sanctuary.