The sound of my boots crunched against sticks and leaves as I followed the crow to a clearing, where a fog clung low to the ground. My heart hammered in my chest, my blood pumping after sprinting across rooftops to just keep the bird in sight.
'Thank Gods for superhuman stamina and reflexes, or I probably wouldn't be here and still be back on the street wheezing for breath, maybe a little worse for wear after slipping on the shingles of me of the houses-Yes, that totally didn't happen.'
I look around, glancing down at the shard in my hand, which still glowed with a fair light. Taking a deep breath, I start to jog further into the eerie mist, my feet hitting a stone path as I move deeper into the fog. After an uncertain amount of time running in the dim darkness, I realize I lost the light to the crystal, and no sound of flapping wings can be heard. The silence seems to press in on me, and the fog denser than before.
"Well, isn't this great..."I slow to a walk, careful to keep an eye for anything that could jump out at me, "That damn bird seemed to have got away..." Not watching where I was stepping, I nearly trip over a flat slab of stone, causing my arms to instinctively reach out for something to steady myself, and I find myself grabbing hold onto another stone slab, this one propped upwards and looking suspiciously like a headstone. I retract my hand hastily, edging to the side. "Just my luck to wander into some spooky cemetery..." The fog blocked out any moonlight that could have been, and the faint sound of leaves rustling only contributing to the creepy factor. Again, following the stone path, where more slabs of stone can be observed, most worn by the elements of nature, donned by moss, or eroded by rain. If there was any writing on the surface to begin with, it was already long gone. Continuing forward, my feet hit the base of what appeared to be stairs leading up. Putting one foot on the first step, a sudden case of chills make the hair on the back of my neck do corkscrews. I look over my shoulder, unsure what made me pause, then I heard it.
"...Ooo..Oo..."
I whirl around, attempting to pinpoint the sound, "...Could have been the wind, my mind must be playing tricks on me..." Being the idiot I am, I venture forward, taking another step, and another until I finally reach the top of the stairs. The fog seemed to have thinned to the point where I can actually see two feet in front of me, and the night sky barely peeks out above my head, the stars twinkling merrily even in this dark gloomy most probably burial ground. I walk another five feet, to see a spirit in my sights.
It wasn't exactly your neighborhood ghost kind of spirit, but exactly like the one, we had encountered during the mission. The worse kind in my opinion.
This one seemed to carry a different kind of energy, the same thing with the shadowy aura and humanoid stature, but not as deranged as its mad cousin. Its face appeared expressionless, but it held itself with almost clear stoic energy. Unlike the child-like behavior of the other.
It didn't seem to notice me yet, its attention focused on its upraised hand, where a familiar crow flies down, promptly dropping the glowing crystal I was painstakingly chasing after, into its palm. The shadows around the spirit twist and writhe, even its hair seemed like tendrils of shadow matter, curling around its body.
I take a step back, debating either to fight or flight, but the sudden sound of a leaf crunches under my boot. I wince.
The crow cries out, flapping its wings on its perch on the spirit's shoulder, "CAW!"
The humanoid turns its chilling gaze on me, instantly making me freeze in place. It glides towards me with surprising grace, feet literally not even touching the ground. As it comes closer, the air noticeably drops several degrees in temperature.
Before I can react, it was already in front of me.
"..." It stares at me as if silently assessing what I might do next.
I take a step back, hand reaching for my dagger, "..D..don't come closer...!" My voice wavers slightly, despite how hard I tried to keep it firm and steady. I stumble over the steps as the spirit advances again, and I fall backward onto my bum, again like the idiot I am.
The humanoid approaches slowly, opening its mouth to speak.
'You...who are you?'
Its voice was cold and monotone, and it echoed weirdly in my head, almost like a second voice. It seemed to talk in a different kind of language, but somehow, I understand exactly what it was saying. In my head at least, and if it is not me going crazy.
"...Who are YOU? I think you should answer that for me first," I returned, hand drifting to my knife again, steeling my nerves and keeping a level gaze with the spirit.
It cocks its head, peering at me almost curiously, 'How...? You understand me, my language.' The crystal pulses brightly in its enclosed hand as it comes closer, and I can feel the shard in my hand becoming colder and colder in response.
But I barely notice, and the spirit glides ever closer, to the point where I can feel the cold and shadows practically radiating from its form. Suddenly a sharp pain spikes through my head, making me gasp. My surroundings warp as my vision starts to blur at the corners, I clutch my head and shut my eyes. The image of a burning forest flits across my mind, and I swear I can smell the smoke in the air. The sound of blade on blade clashes in my ears, and groans of dying men, and the screams of women and children being slaughtered is all I hear for a moment. I force open my eyes, and all of that fades as quickly as it came. My chest heaves as I was left reeling, from what I knew, were memories. Things that had happened. Then I realize was holding the shard in my hand with a white-knuckled grip, the sharp edge cutting my skin and wisps of dark smoke seeping between my fingers. I drop it abruptly, and it clatters to the stone path still pulsing brightly along with the crystal.
A dark tendril from the spirit picks it up, which then it examines the shard closely, '...Another piece...' It turns its attention to me again, moving within a foot of me now. 'You know...about them, this place...' A couple of shadow arms extend from the spirit, snaking towards me as I just stare, frozen.
'...So now you must die.'