It has been two days since Ben and Angus have been travelling together from Ben's home in Florentia. Since then they have passed through beautiful fields of flowers, small towns and have ridden a boat to sail towards the small Island village of Cinque Terre, a beautiful village with houses and buildings painted in a rainbow of colors ascending the rolling hills that surrounded it all, all of this just sitting across a rugged coastline.
Ben leans over the side of the boat with his hair blowing through the fresh sea breeze, his eyes sparkle and he smiles in joy. "This is amazing!" says Ben happily.
"Is this your first time on a boat?" Angus says chuckling.
"Sorry, I haven't really traveled around before." chuckles Ben, scratching his head feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Well, you better get use to it. We will be doing a lot of this from now on." Angus says happily
"So what do we do once we get to the shore?"
"Well, we buy a few supplies, maybe have a nice meal then we can take the next boat to Dacia."
"Uhm Angus? Who are we meeting at the temple?" asked Ben
Angus stands beside him leaning his back on the rail of the ship. "We are going to meet up with three others like us. They became friends of mine and they really helped me get a hold of my abilities. I'm sure they can help you a lot as well."
"Really?" Ben says in amazement and curiosity "What are their names? What can they do?"
Angus chuckles at Ben's eagerness "Well first off there's Asher Zilpah, the wielder of the Halberd of Cassiel, the spirit of Temperance. He can manipulate wood and trees. He looks like a thug really, but he is an all-around nice guy.
Then there is Lily Naga. She is wielder of the Scythe of Azrael, the spirit of Patience. She has the ability to create venom and poison. One could say she is the assassin of the group. She mostly keeps to herself, but she is pretty reliable."
"Wow, those two sound amazing." said Ben in awe as he pictures the two in his mind.
"Well they are, I met them after I met Bowen." laughed Angus.
"Bowen?"
"He's the one who helped me back then. Bowen Drago. He is the wielder of the Sword of Gabriel, the spirit of Diligence. He was actually a knight."
"Like an actual knight?"
"Well, but when he found his stone and it merged with him, he knew he had a greater responsibility and with the permission of his king, he left the Order.
Anyway, he is able to produce flames, and among all of us so far, I believe he is the strongest with regards to experience and ability. We spared several times and I haven't beaten him once." explained Angus.
Ben falls silent in amazement. He recalls Angus' power of how it made a stone home in an instant and created a small earthquake at the swing of his axe. Imagining someone stronger… "I wonder what kind of man he is." Ben says
"He is a great man. Oh! Hey look we're here." Angus exclaimed as he notices they are close to shore.
The two travelers walk out the boat and start to wander around the beautiful village. The people we're all smiling, vendors selling beautiful jewelry, restaurants filled the air with an alluring aroma, and suddenly Ben feels as if he is being watched. Sure enough, several girls he and Angus pass by all stare at Ben, intrigued by his appearance.
"Hey do you see that handsome young man over there?" whispered one of the ladies
"You mean the one with the white hair? He looks so cute doesn't he?" the young woman giggled along with her friends.
Ben starts to blush pink overhearing the soft whispers of the women, and Angus having also heard nudged him with his elbow and smiled at him "You lady's man you."
""No I am not!" Ben retorts still blushing.
"No need to be embarrassed." laughed Angus.
Their day continues on as they go around collecting supplies they need. Later, after they have finished buying their supplies they entered a small pub called The Cauldron to have a bite to eat. The pub had a homey feeling to it.
Both Ben and Angus sit by the counter and an old lady behind the counter asks for their order. "So, what will you gentleman be having?"
"I think I'll have one order of the Soup with mussels and the Sausage with Broccoli Rabe." said Angus
"Alright then, how about you my dear?" asks the old lady
"I guess I'll have the Grilled vegetable salad and the Cod with tomato." replied Ben
"Coming right up you two." she said smiling at the two of them. The old lady walks back to the kitchen to deliver their order. After a few minutes she comes back with their food. Everything in front of them on the plate looked very appetizing and smelled wonderful. The aroma made their mouths water and the smell made their stomachs growl. They both started eating and each bite they took tasted better and better.
"Delicious!" they both exclaimed.
"Why thank you very much you two. Everything on this menu is my special recipe." said the old lady smiling in gratitude.
"It's very good ma'am!" said Ben ever so politely.
"It most certainly is! I can almost feel it in my soul!" inserted Angus.
""You boys are sweet. Where are nice men like you headed anyways?"
"We're headed to the Temple of Yamabushi in the mountains in Kumano." said Angus
"Oh my, that's a pretty long ways to go. What ever will you boys be doing there?"
"We're meeting up with some friends of mine. In fact, after we finish here were getting on the next boat to Dacia. Once we get there, if we cut through the forest path we should be able to make it to the next town in two days. Still a pretty long way to go though."
"Oh, I best be careful if I were you. There have been a lot of mysterious things that happen in the forest lately."
"Mysterious? How so?" asked Ben out of curiosity.
"Well recently, there have been rumors that men who go in to that forest had all come out screaming. Others were found trembling and were unable to move and a few have gone missing."
"Ohh….that's how…" Ben says feeling a bit worried.
"Does it happen all day?" asked Angus seriously
"Uhm no, far as I know it only happens at night or so they say. I don't really like to think about all that. Many folks here are pretty superstitious after all, but still best be careful on your travels."
Angus' face looks somewhat serious and concerned then suddenly turns bright and cheerful and says "Thank you for the meal ma'am! We need to get going now."
"Anytime my dear, come back soon!"
They walk out of the restaurant and hurry over to the boat that will carry them to Dacia. The boat cuts through the sea and starts heading to their next destination as the sun slowly begins to set in the sky.
"Hey Angus are you ok?" asked Ben seeing Angus with a somewhat worried face.
"I'm just a little concerned. Hey…do me a favor and try to summon your daggers."
"Now?"
"Just try." Angus says with a smile
Ben closes his eyes, breaths in, and in a flash raises his arms with his palms open wide and tries to grip down. He opens his eyes and nothing had actually happened.
"Huh?" Ben says puzzled. Ben tries again, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, throws his hands and grips down and when he opens his eyes he sees that in his hand he is holding absolutely nothing.
"W-What!?Why can't I summon my weapon?" he wonders
"I was worried about that. You see there might be something in that forest. I don't know what yet but we need to be prepared."
Ben feels disappointed in himself.
"Don't worry though." said Angus in a cheerful voice "You just need a little practice. I did too. When the time comes I know you can use your power. I have faith in you."
Ben smiles and decides to try and get the hang of it. "What can I do to master this?"
Angus looks into the eyes of Ben filled with motivation "Well it's hard to explain but I guess you stand and clear your mind. Feel the spirit inside you and channel that power through your body."
Angus closes his eyes, takes a deep breath then in a bright light the giant axe appears in Angus' hands.
"So...do I just focus and picture my weapon?"
"Not really. Basically you have to feel the spirit inside you. Work with it, and feel it."
"It sounds so simple..yet its complicated." says Ben as his thought begin to race. "How can I borrow the spirit's power again?" he thinks to himself.
"Well, you did it before I'm sure you can do it again." replied Angus. However in his mind he feels rather worried.
They finally arrived on the shores of Dacia as the sun slowly sets in the horizon, all the while Ben continues to ponder how to use his ability, and how to connect with the spirit. He has tried over and over while they were on the boat, but nothing seems to be working.
They made there way through the town, where all the houses and buildings had their windows and doors locked shut.
The town was quiet, almost as if no one was around. No torch was out, and the only source of light was the moon and the stars in the sky. Ben and Angus made their way to the forest. The closer they got, the colder it became and mist slowly creep around. The mist became thick and eventually surrounded them, so much so that the moonlight could barely shine through.
They walk through the path carefully, only silence filled the air. Ben looked around seeing trees close to them and the shadows of trees in the mist.
They walk through the path as they pass through dried bushes and a boulder. They continue to walk and after a few minutes Angus looks around and stops as his face fills with caution as something caught his eye.
"Stay close." said Angus " This isn't good."
"What do you mean?"
"Something is here."
"What do you mean something?"
"Let's.." Angus lifts his hands and the Battle axe appears at his palms "..find out!" He strikes at the ground with his axe causing a shockwave to burst from the ground. The mist blows away to reveal black, flying, cloaked apparitions already surrounding them.
Ben sees the creatures and a cold chill runs up and down his spine. "W-What are those things?"
"Wraiths."
The wraiths' eyes started to glow red and swarm around them. As they swarm, some charge towards Ben and Angus, revealing their face which appeared as a deformed skull wrapped in rotten flesh. One by one as they charge, Angus swings his blade slicing them apart while Ben stands stiff in both shock and fear.
"This isn't good, Ben isn't prepared for this yet!" Angus thinks to himself. With his guard down and his mind frozen with fear a wraith charges at Ben with its razor claws out ready to cut him down.
"BEN! WATCH OUT!" Angus yells as he pushed Ben to the ground. As Ben falls he snaps out of his frozen state of mind just in time to see Angus slashed across his arm by the creature. As it returns to strike again with one swing from Angus' axe the wraith was sliced in two.
"Angus! Are you ok?" Ben says "This is all my fault! If only I hadn't spaced out, but I didn't know what to do!"
Angus taps him on the shoulder and says in a smile "Hey it's fine. Besides we have bigger things to worry about." Angus forces himself up with his axe as blood drips from his arm. "I can take these things alone but I can't do it if they start attacking Ben...what should I do?" Angus thinks to himself looking at Ben with his head down.
Meanwhile Ben closes his eyes and thinks trying to contact the spirit within him. "Spirit...are you there? I need to borrow your power ? Please help me out. I need to borrow your strength now!"
Suddenly he hears a voice answering his thoughts "That's where you're wrong. You can't borrow this power."
"Spirit please..."
"You can't borrow what's already yours."
"What?"
"You and I are one and the same. It's about time you accepted that."
"That's right...All this time I have been thinking I won't be able to do it, and I guess I haven't really accepted it. But right now, I don't have the ability yet!" A surge of power flows through Ben.
"I'll guide you. We are one remember."
"Right. Let's do this partner."
"Angus?" said Ben
"Yea?"
"Why don't you take a break, I don't want to see you hurt anymore." he explains with a slight change in his tone. As Angus looks back at Ben, who lifts up his head now with his eyes glowing bright red.
Angus seeing this, smiles and makes his battle axe disappear. "Ok then, I'll leave the rest to you." He says seeing clear determination in Ben's face.
Ben steps in front of Angus and focuses on the swarm. "I'm getting rid of all of you!" As he yells the whole swarm charges in, but is halted when smoke erupted from his body and surrounds the horde of dark creatures.
Ben dashes forward twin daggers appear in his hands and in an instant Ben vanishes in to the cloud of smoke.
One by one, bodies of wraiths fall from the cloud of smoke that now surrounds Angus. As the corpses hit the ground they quickly dissolve in to thin air. Angus squats relaxed trying to wrap up his wound with bandages he got from his bag. Suddenly a wraith bursts out of the smoke and dives towards Angus. It lifts its arm poised to strike towards the temple of Angus. Before it could strike, a stream of smoke rushes through the creature. Angus sat still, calm, and relaxed while the halves of the creature passed across his head and vanished as it hit the ground. He looks over to his side seeing Ben who had just landed on the ground with his daggers dripping in black blood.
"I knew you could do it." said Angus with a big smile.
"I still need to get use to it though." replied Ben as he tried to catch his breath and his eyes slowly fade back to normal.
Angus had just finished wrapping his arm in bandages as Ben stares at the freshly wrapped arm while clenching his fist. He couldn't make eye contact with Angus. His eyes were caught between staring at the arm or the ground.
"Uhmm...A-Angus?" Ben says nervously
"Hmm? What is it?" Angus replies
"I-It's j-just....I'm sorry!"
"What? About this?" Angus says smiling pointing out his arm "This is nothing man. This will heal over time. It's just a little scratch. If anything I should be thanking you. You saved us you know."
"Still..."
Angus stands up and walks over to Ben and gives him a friendly smack on the back with his bandaged arm while laughing "Don't be so serious man! Hahaha! It's really ok. Stuff like this always happens. Besides does it look like I'm hurt that badly?" says Angus as Ben rubs his back from the slight pain while chuckling. "I guess not."
They start making there way out of the forest. The mist slowly clears and the path becomes clearer. "I can't believe we were awake all night. Can't we just rest here?" asked Ben.
"It's not that far. Let's rest when we get to the next town."
"Hey Angus. Those black things we fought back there they were wraiths? What exactly are they?"
"They are one of the dark creatures, said to be corrupted souls that feed off the flesh of people. They also have the ability to cause their victims to hallucinate and see either their worst nightmare or their perfect paradise. Its a way for them to feast on their prey and tear away their flesh without them running away."
"Why weren't we affected like that?" said Ben relieved that didn't happen to them.
"We have something inside us. Remember?"
"Yea you're right." said Ben as he looks at his palm. "So we aren't affected by their abilities at all?"
"To a certain extent so we still have to be careful. Anyway, what we found here means there is trouble ahead."
"Why? Don't you guys fight things like this a lot?"
"Not as often as you think, but lately more and more of these dark creatures have shown up."
"You think something is calling them here?"
They reach the clearing at the end of the forest and the light from the the sun rising beams across the land, the sky streaked with bright orange, and the air smelling as fresh as ever.
"As much as I'd hate to ruin this beautiful sun rise, Yea...I think trouble is coming."