It all started with a simple man begging a master of the arcane to teach him magic. A man without anything much to lived on, his knees dirtied; pleading that the master of the nether will help them in the war. He was just there in the right time and the right place. He was a veteran walker that was sent to ask a person of interest to join the war against the demons of the barren lands.
Maybe, he had a relationship with the War Maiden, but no one could remember him. He was just a shadow of her and it meant that she was not able to know about him at all. So he kowtowed in front of her until she agreed to teach them a stronger version of the runes. She taught them the ways of making use of one's body to overcome the strongest foes.
She fought with them as if she was the war maiden of the Six Elemental Heroes. She used her innate mastery to give them the edge they need to circulate their powers and acted as their conduit. She was the replacement of the War Maiden and it was odd that he had to follow her as the War Maiden's replacement.
He thought of the lessons he learned from her. The tactics he used were developed by the Light's army and was further developed by the Witch of the Nether through her mastery of knowledge. She was wise beyond her years and her knowledge resembled that of a modern person. Maybe it was this thought that he was able to communicate and understand the Witch of the Nether.
There was a load of difference and in the end, he could only follow like a tired dog. He was a husk of an old man who fought to finish the job. It was not much light but it beats the darkness that he wanted to end.
It could be said that she was one of the many lights that lit the way.
That's why as he could see her raining down attacks upon him. He could only deflect and evade. Not once he thought of doing anything other than stall her. He threw that spice to disorient her but he knew that would not stop the Witch of the Nether in her tracks.
He underestimated her. Truly, he thought that he could stand a chance against the full might of the Witch of the Nether, the one who could even conduit the powers of the Elemental Heroes in her body. It was foolish to think that just because he got stronger through making use of Tania's blood; that he'd be enough to match her abilities that were beyond anything that he could possibly imagine doing.
He knew her spells well, yet, he could only make use of the phantasmal oil to neutralize them or evade using the trees as cover. The trees served him well but it was truly not enough to deter the might of the person before Nolan.
The trees were cut down by strong sharp winds. The grass turned into a sea as the waves of energy destroyed anything that it touched. Nolan did a jungle sprint as he strafes from cover to cover. Behind him were the magic missiles tracking him down with this whistling sound.
Nolan evaded two of the spells and brought down the other missiles. He ran across the trees while trying to lose track of Audrey Cress.
Audrey Cress had already placed a tracking spell upon Nolan. This spell allowed her to follow Nolan throughout the forest without being misled. At first, she only wanted to make him talk his secrets out of curiosity. But yet as she saw him evade her attacks, she resolved into this attitude of defeating him down. It was her pride poorly convincing that she needed to win.
There are three weaknesses of the arcane users. First is their soul. Second are their body and lastly their mind. The soul is where they gather the energy; the mind is the where they bend the energy and the body acts as the conduit that releases the energy towards the target.
Nolan has been delaying her. He was using her frustration to loosen her control over her magic. It was working and because of this she was faltering on her attacks and her physical body was getting strained in every turn. Nolan knew of another secret, but he could not possibly alter fate again.
That secret would allow her to seek what she desires from this world. It was her holy grail and he could not possibly hand it to her no matter how cruel it may be. That Holy Grail is one of her reasons to get stronger and acquire magic. Telling her early would mean that her fixation towards achieving power would falter and dwindle.
He could not allow himself to exploit that weakness, therefore, he continued bolting through the forest while avoiding the attacks that Audrey was trying to hit him with. Her attacks were no joke and one single hit would mean that he'd be incapacitated in an instant. Although he has the power to endure grievous wounds and the most painful of tortures, he was not confident in being hit by Audrey Cress. He has become sturdy using the rune engraving he carved on his body and Tania's blood. Yet one single hit from Audrey could tear his 'tough' body and he would be captured by her.
That's why he could only continue to make use of the forest to evade and neutralize. He narrowly avoids every shot and whenever he saw signs of her using lightning he would immediately dive down and roll back to use the tree as a cover, splinters exploding in every direction, plants get torn by boots, the crackling of lightning resounded throughout the woods as Nolan avoided an area of effect by throwing a dagger and redirect the attack towards the dagger instead, the dagger acting as the conductor.
Nolan could her angry chanting behind his back. He narrowed his eyes and thought that he should immediately find a way to escape Audrey. He was completely locked by her sights. Any form of escaping tactics would not work unless he uses something that dispels the tracking spell.
He stood still in this grass. He looked up and placed his sword in front of him. "What should I do?"He thought. "I will be defeated by if I don't do something."
"Master, you really are something," he praised internally. "You've always been out of reach. Your power was enough to help this world truly. You already save this world once, Master. If you weren't too late then you wouldn't have seen them alive."
A choice has to be made by him.
He knew the feeling of fighting for what he desired. He desired to follow the Light's Army was because he had nothing going on without the person who made him feel alive. Maybe, if he forgot all about Ciara, he would have fallen in love with the lonesome Witch of Nether.
Then as if the world slowed down. The thumping of his heart hastens as he felt everything go white and black. He has chosen to save Vie knowing that she might affect the world. He has chosen to save Ciara from her despair, made her thought that she was not alone and changed her into a powerful woman.
The Sins of Oasis was still present in his heart. He knew that it will linger on his heart for a while. The things he did try to change the past made him thought of the people that suffered for it. He continued staring at the Witch of Nether, Audrey Cress, who was rather confused on what he was doing.
She simply didn't know what this man would do. She faced enemies that she was able to easily triumph upon yet this man was able to easily tell her attacks and patterns. It was like he was already used to fighting her. She truly wanted to neutralize him and ask him nicely who he truly was. It was unreasonable but she has done more unreasonable things than what she was doing right now.
"What are you up to?"
Nolan raised his head lightly, "What would you do in the name of those who you care for, Master?"
"Huh?" she furrowed her brows. "What do you mean by that?"
"Can you still the save world knowing that the world might not even be able to save itself?"
She shook her head in confusion, "I do not understand. Are you trying to make me lower my guard or take this time to rest? If so, then you are foolish if that would ever work."
"No," he shook his head. "Why are we fighting in the first place? Do you really want to know what I know?"
"At first," her hair fluttered madly. "Now I just want to beat you down. I've never been challenged like this for a while. I admit that you are beyond years and I can tell how experienced you are at fighting arcane users like me. That's enough for me to continue fighting you."
"She walks down the valley. Two hands that held her vanish as they separate," he said mildly.
She heard that. Her heart stopped for a second. She glared angrily at him, "Why do you know that phrase? Do you know something!? Speak!" her body erupted with the energy that could annihilate the area around him. She has become serious as a result of his provocations.
"Down the valley that I know you will find what you seek, Audrey Cress."
"Then speak!" she appeared in front of him with her eyes coldly open. "Tell me where are they!"
"A pack of silence and a promise," he said. "I do not fear death. But I fear that you would stop seeking the knowledge you crave to reach 'them'. I want you to promise that by the time I give you this information you will still fanatically crave for power to protect them."
"I do! So tell me where they are!" she clapped her hands and a promise was made with the world as the witness.
"The Valley of Destrier, near the crooked tree, three steps away from it you will find what you seek for!"
"There!?" she said loudly. "That makes sense! How could I ever be so blind to not deduce that?"
"The path is twisted and blocked. The two that you seek have done so deliberately in hopes that you will seek the power that you crave for. You can use that power of yours to break them."
"Break them..." she muttered grimly. "They always thought that there is a chance that the monsters can still be saved and that they must show mercy too. There are the greatest people that I know of. I cannot sense any lie from you, therefore I can truly believe that you do know where they are!"
She floated with her power rumbling madly, "You have given me something, Walker! I do not know who you are. I do not know what your plans are but they are much important to me than you. I will thank you for this information but I will not forget the shame that you have given me. You've wounded my pride and I cannot allow that."
He nodded, "I understand. I do hope that you find your happiness and the power to protect them, Audrey Cress, Witch of Nether."
She flew without minding Nolan. He stood there with his limbs trembling in pain. He kneeled down and held back the pain that he was suffering from. The thought of giving her that knowledge would surely cause the world to change. He didn't know why he had this knowledge but if it means that he could give those who he knew their happiness then what right does he have to keep them?
Maybe God placed him here to tell the lonesome Witch the thing that she wanted the most. Nolan stayed still and gazed at the sky whose rain could not stop falling. His vision blurred and shook. His legs trembled along with body as he presses his back on the ground and wondered what he was even doing anymore. The thought of happiness scares Nolan. The thought of spending time without danger and knowing that the dimming of the world would come scares him. How could he relax when he knew of a world of suffering will come for the people of this world?