Sarah. Feylin. Sally. Raelith. Tobias.
Everyone sat in a circle staring at the fickle flames of a small campfire they had lit, calming their nerves under the cover of the boulder forest. Thoughts ran rampant through their minds, but no one took the initiative to speak.
After being healed and binding the demon within the cocoon, they quickly dragged it out of sight. The entire group felt more isolated than it had been before. However, not everyone was feeling particularly introspective in that moment.
Raelith Ringflower, despite being a lower level within the church, had lived for three times longer than anyone else in their party. She had been involved in an endless number of life or death battles in her long life. Gradually she became able to take them in stride.
It no longer affected her the way it used to. If anything, she felt guilty about her uselessness during the battle. If she had not lost consciousness, there was no way her weapon would have been taken and used to harm Tobias.
She snuck a glance at him. He sat quietly staring into the fire, the starlight coffin laid next to him. Despite having lost an arm, he was no less intimidating.
Sally still had a little adrenaline rush from the battle. Her leg quietly bounced up and down, trying to expel the energy in her body. She quietly rubbed her wrist which had been crushed to dust not even an hour before.
Although it had been healed to its prior state by Tobias, a shiver would pierce through her body when she thought back to the feeling. Every time her mind drifted to the memory, she would wince. During her life, she had suffered any number of injuries, but none of them felt so final as what happened earlier. She didn't even have a chance to pull away before her wrist was caught and crushed.
The three from Burian all kept an eye on the two acolytes. Some of the silence was calculated, they watched to see how Sarah and Feylin would react to the experience. This would be their first true life or death battle, no one could say how their psyche would react to it. Especially after.
Sarah and Feylin sat huddled together on a stone. They stared at the ceaselessly changing fire. Their eyes were both glazed over, their minds played back the fight over and over repeatedly. Like a movie reel which they could not shut off, they relived that moment of battle.
They thought about everything that occurred, and everything that they could have done differently.
"If only I hadn't lunged at that moment…" Feylin unconsciously gripped his sword.
"If only I had hit harder, reacted quicker…" Sarah admonished. When her mind thought back to the image of the man's face crushing her skull… fear built up in her heart. She gripped her bracelet tightly in her palm.
Logically, they knew that they performed as best they could. There was no turning back time, and everyone made it out alive. But doubts perforated their heart.
The fires warmth only eased their anxiety slightly. It was made worse though when they looked towards Tobias. He didn't make eye contact with them, but they couldn't even imagine how he was feeling right now. Losing an arm…
In reality, Tobias wasn't too bothered by the loss. It wasn't the most ideal scenario, but as he considered how much worse it could have been, he said a prayer in gratitude. He promised Jakobson he would keep the Acolytes safe. Keeping them alive was close enough.
The cocoon next to him laid silently, unconcerned of the world around it. He had locked his senses onto it, ready to react to any change. It seemed whatever the necklace was meant to do, it was doing it well.
Secretly, Tobias was less than happy with how little they knew about this assignment, but he also understood that he wasn't in a high enough position to know all the details. It was merely good enough they all survived.
"What is it?" Sarah's voice timidly broke through the silent circle. Her eyes looked towards the starlight coffin. Slowly her mind was clearing up, warmed by the fire. She reached out to anything else she could focus onto, anything that would break the cycle of self-doubt she felt overwhelmed by.
When the three from Burian looked at her eyes, they could see the confusion in them clearing like clouds after a rain. Feylin too broke out of his anxiety not long after.
Sally and Rae shared a look. Although not the fastest they had seen, it was more than enough to prove the resolute stability of their hearts and minds.
Breaking through the pain, doubt, anxiety. It wasn't easy and was something that countless adventurers have been crippled by.
Tobias finally smiled, a cheerful all-knowing smile that the acolytes had come to know him for.
"Feeling better?" He asked. Sarah and Feylin looked at each other, smiling wryly. They realized that the seniors were giving them silence and space to see how they would react.
Sarah nodded and Feylin gave a half-hearted shrug. They weren't feeling better.
"So… what was it? That thing… before you said it was some kind of demon, or a possession?" Feylin tilted his head towards it. He had heard numerous stories throughout the years, of deadly duels and fearsome beasts. He wasn't sure how to classify what they just went through.
"Hmm…" Tobias went silent for a while. Many thoughts were crossing through his mind. Not just him, but the other two as well.
"Honestly. I'm not sure. I have never seen or even heard of anything like it before. I think the closest comparison would be a devil, but there were differences. Devils come in a range of intelligence. You have the hyper intelligent, like Tieflings. And then you have grunts, demons, basic soldiers and summons from the nether. Despite being hostile and extremely aggressive, they aren't too different from beasts of this world. They know when to run, and when to fight. They react appropriately to being damaged and dismembered."
He thought back to how ferociously Noone continued to fight despite losing his arm. There wasn't even the consideration of retreat.
"It fought more like a weapon than a person." Raelith said. It had left a great impression on all of them, most of all on Raelith who believed she had seen most everything the world had to offer. She wasn't dumb and knew that in the vast world there were millions of things she had yet to experience. But never did she think she would discover something like Noone.
Tobias grunted in response.
Feylin and Sarah didn't know what to make of their words.
"Then… what now?" Sally asked. She couldn't help but stare at the starlight cocoon that the being was encased in. Was it a seal? How long would it hold? What kind of magic was it? At what level?
"I will contact the grand-priest to inform him of what happened. Most likely we will end up bringing this back with us to HQ… from here though, we will go back to the temple at Ardglass to regroup." When giving out his instructions, he gestured with his stump of an arm. He stared at it raised in the air and frowned.
"While I contact the Grand-priest, you all take some time to maintain your armor and weapons. The hard part is behind us, but we can't afford to get careless on the return trip."
Everyone nodded in response. Tobias spoke only the truth. They had to be prepared for whatever happened next.
"By the way, Sarah, Feylin." Tobias smiled reassuringly. "Both of you fought well and did not let me down. You lived up to the trainings we supplied you, and I will personally ensure your acceptance into the Burian, should you so desire it." He looked warmly at the two acolytes. Everything he said was true, they fought well especially considering they were only acolytes. It would be a waste of potential to not give them the chance.