The family was panting, trying to catch their breath. Erik was sitting next to his wife, trying to heal her by injecting energy.
-"Sadly I don't know how to use healing energy, damned! It would be much more effective than to just crudely inject you with my attributeless energy! Fortunately, even if it's serious, you should be able to stay awake until we reach home, then I would try to find someone to help us when I stabilized your injury! The claw seems to have just pierced through the peritoneum but the organs seem uninjured, you will have to endure for a little longer!"
He was trying to comfort her, not concerned about his shocking wounds dripping with blood, tinting the soil in dark red.
Cilis wasn't answering but her eyes show sign of comprehension and a little nod could even be seen.
Alix joins with the trio, walking slowly, helping Méline with his arms, she had trouble maintaining herself, coming surely from her ruptured eardrums. He was nearing the group at a weird pace, his breathing unsteady, gritting his teeth to seal the bloodthirst that had exploded during the attack, his mind still assailed by unpleasant memories.
Fearfull pulsion of death and destruction were rampaging in his head, turning over a hard nucleus, a lovely family helping him and bosom friend waiting for him. Like in the eye of a storm, Alix was here, trying to regain control of these mighty emotions.
Suddenly a powerful feeling washed against his mind, a green storm of energy was flowing inside his body, sealing whatever had tried to awoke previously, disappearing as soon as it appeared.
Gradually his state stabilized, his eyes lost their red tint as the little shining dark red veins that had begun to develop under his skin. He awoke from his stupor to look around, taking a great breath at the sight of the enormous Tiger he fearlessly hit in his state of madness.
"How could I even send it this far? Am I this strong already?" Trembling a little while remembering in detail what he previously did, he was shocked at his own decision to attack a creature four grand level above him without a care.
No one was aware of his state, their mind focusing on healing Cilis. Even Méline in Alix's arms was oblivious to the situation and the threat looming just a moment ago above her head that was warded off.
Lor was looking at the enormous carcass, knowing he couldn't do anything for his mother aside from impeding his father. With his dagger, he checked if the beast was truly dead. With renewed confidence, he began to examine it.
-"It's truly a Thunder Tiger, the purple mark under the throat is sufficient proof! But it's strange it didn't use its more deadly particularity, its fearful control of thunder...Lucky for us should I said..." He was whispering while trying to remove a claw from its gigantic paw.
-"Lor! Let the beast alone, we have more urgent matters to address right now! We will try later to bring back this treasure of a corpse but it would only slow us down at the moment. Your mother and sister are injured, gravely even in the case of your mother. I'm not any better, I used all my strength in the last hit and all my muscles fiber exploded under the impact in my right arm. You and Alix are the only ones not gravely wounded so I will rely on you to help us reach our home without any more sequels. We can't speed up, it would heighten the wounds of your mother and I can't sustain a forced march for long either."
Before the serious ton of his father, Lor had approached while nodding his head, a grave expression on his face. He was aware of the danger of the situation laying now on Alix's shoulders and his. Looking toward his new friend, he could see he was in the same state of solemn mood, waiting for more instruction.
-" I will take care of your mother and transport her myself, as for you two, one of you must do the same for Mel, she isn't in a state to move correctly, the other must stay alert and lead the group by being particularly aware of your surrounding, I can't help you much, I must focus on making the less tremor possible as to not aggravate your mother condition...We must depart now, are you ready?"
-"Yes, dad !" "Yes, Erik!"
-"Alix, take care of Mel, I have a deeper experience in the exploration of forests I think, and even if your body is stronger than mine, my reflexes are much higher with the help of my Gaseous level, what do you say?"
-"That's fine by me, I will still try to remain aware, an additional pair of eyes could be useful!"
-"Good, let's go, dad?"
-"I'm ready!"
Alix lifts Méline in his arm without effort, she quickly grabs his neck with her two arms while blushing. Even if she couldn't hear a thing, she could see the seriousness of the situation and the likely decision taken by her family. Clutching him tightly, she burrows her head against his muscled chest, feeling his powerful heartbeat vibrating through her body.
The whole group departed in a controlled hurry, trying to make the fewer noises possible. They soon vanished in the forest, not seeing its beauty anymore, just trying to remain conscious of the smallest threats. From the shadow behind them, black figures could be seen approaching the carcass without a noise to be heard, their movements weightless as if floating above the mossy soil.
Under the tree's shadow, the group of five was running carefully, two of them in the arms of two others, one speedily moving while turning over the two strange duos. They shuffled between the trunk, trying to remain hidden in the dark while Lor was opening the way, wary and focus on his surroundings.
Méline was shamelessly and secretly smiling at the situation, paradoxically happy with these terrible circumstances. Cilis tried to maintain her eyes open, forcing herself to look at her husband's face, losing herself in this stern but loving faces, his brown eyes detailing with great care the least shiver he could feel on his wife.
Darkness could be seen creeping on his front, proof of his foreboding feeling and the terrible memory surfacing in his mind. Looking at Cilis lovely, he assured his grip on her while whispering, some bribes of conversation erratically reaching Alix'ears.
-"Don't leave...I can't ... Not again..."
Alix was startled by the entire situation. Moments before his mind had regained its clarity thanks to his green energy remaining now hidden in his body. But just a minute later he had to carry a beautiful woman in his arm who clearly attract him more than just a little and who didn't hesitate to hug him all along.
His mind dived again in its thought, even if he tried to remain aware of his surroundings, having learned sufficiently enough his lesson.
Now he could hear a weird conversation between Erik and his wife and slowly he understood that a terrible accident had already befallen this family, explaining probably the distance they maintain toward the village.
It was probably due to its enhance sense since his consumption of abyss creature that he was able to hear this conversation. Indeed Lor who was much nearer to its father didn't seem to twitch a little and Alix couldn't even see Erik's lip moving, proof of his low voice.
The group finally arrived at the outskirt of the forest, their home could be seen, the atmosphere strangely eerie around it. They were clearly in bad shape, their energy totally spent, trying to heal themselves with the absorbed one on the way.
Alix didn't have this problem, his black energy not consume yet under his skin. His body was still totally black except for his face where he gets his energy in priorities to fed his cells.
Slowly allowing Méline to regain her footing, he slows down as the whole group had, feeling his surroundings. A peculiar feeling was manifesting in his body, a foreboding sensation making all his hairs erect.
-"Careful everyone, something is clearly not right !" said Alix in a low voice.
The group nod, aware too of the strange situation. Tendrils of fogs were exiting the forest, slowly moving toward their house. An uncanny silence makes the scene even more surreal, as the forest was habitually full of noise.
Erik delicately put his wife on the moist green grass because of the mist. The three men were looking toward the forest, their two wounded members behind their backs, trying to understand what was going on.
-"It can't be..." Erik suddenly had a supposition, his eyes bulging under the psychological blow.
-"What is it, dad? Did you discover anything?" Lor had cold drops of sweat running on his back, turning his head from right to left.
-"No no, I must be wrong, it can't happen again!"
-"Stop it, Dad, you make me scared with your unfinished sentences!" Lor was frantically looking toward his other family member, waiting for help but nothing was coming"
The air's temperature was quickly dropping, freezing the moist atmosphere. Mists could be seen exiting their mouth as they look at each other with questions in their eyes.
Suddenly, a powerful warm feeling wash against their face with a bright light.
"WHOOSH"
Erik's body was warped in blue flame from head to toes. The effort was clearly important for him, having just battled against a strong beast and emptied most of his energy's reserve. Sweat was soon appearing on his head but he remains still, his eyes glued to the outskirt waiting for something, his fists contracting.
He didn't say anything anymore, tension clearly visible under his bulging blacksmith muscles. Lor was gripping his dagger with renewed attention while Alix was fidgeting on his feet clearly not feeling well.
He was in fact assailed from all other his body by powerful energies, trying to ravage his body. His Dark Emanation had finally awake again, stimulated by the weird situation outside and his green blood was in ebullition, trying to put it back in place.
Red tendril crept under his skin, coming from his heart, speeding his blood flow and increasing his desire for blood. A strange thirst was making its way in his throat despite his fight to retain his clarity and expulse the pictures of his mind.
They depict his bury memories when he was biting and eating creature alive, ripping their flesh and delighting himself of the blood dripping from his mouth. He had killed without stopping, simply for the joy it created when he ended one of these creature's life.
"It was to survive, I didn't have a choice..." Alix was repeating, again and again, this few sentences as to ward off these memories, not wanting to fall against their yokes again.
"I succeed once, I don't think I would be able to do it twice! They saved me, I don't want to become their bane !"
Looking toward them he could see the terrorized gaze of Méline, not knowing what was happening and why they all stopped before entering the house. Now she could see something happened with the weird fog and she was all the more anguished. Her mother lay unmoving on the grass, her eyes closed but tears seem falling down from them.
The mist had already covered the entire clearing, the trees had disappeared behind it. Sole a ten-meter sphere was free of this moisture, the effect of Erik's fire body warding it off. He was on his last strength, trembling but strangely calm.
The family wasn't sure if what they saw was real or not, their mind under the influence of the strange situation but they could see weird figures and moving shadows dancing behind the mist.
Lor grabbed his dad's tense arm wanting to wake him up from his spooky stupor.
-"Dad, come on, how can we help? This strange phenomenon can't be this strong, right? What is it even?"
-"This, my son, is your brother..."