The screams of the crewmembers reverberated across the dark caverns, sending chills down my spine. I was running alongside many crewmembers filled to the brim with the treasures from the cavern, the demonic screeching would get louder as many loud bangs accompanied by the sounds of necks snapping could be heard.
Every pirate around me knew that death was close at hand, so the atmosphere was extremely solemn, a large figure started knocking away the running pirates and taking the lead in the race back to the ship. The figure was the fatty, he was running faster than every crewmember.
"I'll be heading out first to scout ahead for dangers! Place your trust in me!" the fatty shouted shamelessly before disappearing as fast as lightning into the distance.
I was speechless. I couldn't fathom just how such a person was able to run at breakneck speeds, and how he would act so valiant upon committing such a cowardly act.
I continued to run at a stable pace, I was able to maintain a high speed for prolonged periods of time due to my core energy replenishing my stamina as I ran. This was a really good perk of core energy.
As we ran along the dimly lit blue caverns, we finally saw the light of the sea at the end of the tunnel. We were almost out of here; every crewmember had a glimmer of hope in their eyes as they ran closer towards the exit of the cave.
Once we arrived outside the cave, everyone subconsciously let out a breath of relief as they felt safer when they were no longer withing the depths of the cave.
As we arrived at the place we came from, by the barrier of water, a shout was heard as the crewmembers repeatedly shouted to defend.
"Block the creature! We must make time for our brothers to retreat!" They roared in valiance. I couldn't help but feel touched deep down in my heart as these people who I don't even know fully are risking their life for me and many others to escape.
I couldn't let them suffer through this alone, I felt as if I could provide some help too and possibly slay this beast. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to search for the beast. Just in front of the defensive line formed by some of the crewmembers, a vicious and scaly basilisk wreaked havoc on the defensive line. Many of the crew members were seriously injured as the tail of the creature would flail around, viciously whipping them. The creature would bite off the heads of some crewmembers that got too close.
The scene was truly terrifying, there seemed to be no end to the horrors. I prepared my new spear to fight off the basilisk, I realized that I couldn't call upon the blessings of Helen yet as the ten minute cooldown had not elapsed yet.
So I simply roared out as I charged towards the beast, pushing past the defensive line and buying time for the retreating crew. The creature's reflexes were quite sharp, just as I approached, it had flicked it's tail towards me. I skillfully used my spear to block the tail as I quickly pierced towards the basilisk. My spear's tip crackled with thunder and lightning as it pierced the basilisk, managing to go just two feet in before stopping.
The defense of this beast was just too thick!
I immediately pulled the spear out and jumped back a few feet based on my instinct. The place I was standing on a second ago was ravaged by the claw of the basilisk, coming down and leaving a large fissure on the ground. This basilisk was stronger than I thought, no wonder the fatty said it was a baron level monster.
An I idea suddenly surfaced in my mind, Angela told me earlier that the average strength of the crew was baron, so we had a chance to defeat this basilisk if we took the advantage of numbers.
I looked around to see a few men retreating upwards with the treasure they looted from the basilisk's cave, they augmented their legs with energy before jumping up a few feet and swimming up through the barrier of the sea.
"All men! Halt and help us slay this beast, we can kill it with our combined numbers." I roared as I raised up spear in bravery. A few men stopped to help us, their eyes lighting up with fighting spirit while some snickered as they disregarded me, running off while treating me as a joke.
"This child thinks he can order us around" a man with a deep scar on his face said mockingly before jumping upwards with his sack filled with loot.
"KYLE, you bastard! How could you abandon us at this crucial moment?!" Jack screamed as he slashed at the bleeding basilisk.
"Let him go, we have enough men to slay this beast" I said as I lead 5 men to encircle the basilisk and hack at it from all sides.
Our attacks couldn't pierce too deep into the beast's skin, however, we were inflicting a ton of damage over time, so we seemed to be killing it gradually. I kept dodging the basilisk's attacks fervently as it kept targeting me for some reason. The basilisk made a quick sweep at me with it's claw, and I decided to parry it and rush in to stab at it's heart. My spear parried the basilisk's claw, producing sparks as I swept it's hard claws away, just as I was about to stab at its heart, a tail flicked at my face, I could see it slowly approaching me, but I had no way to avoid it.
The tail whipped my face, leaving long gash across my face, instantly disorienting me. Just as the basilisk followed up with a finishing smash with its claws, I lost my vision due to the trauma caused by the whip. So I couldn't see what happened next, but the pain I was expecting from the final claw strike didn't connect with me.
The claw hit the floor, narrowly avoiding me. 'Huh? It was supposed to hit me' I thought to myself.
"You've done well once again kid, it's my turn to teach this tasty….I mean vicious beast a lesson", the fatty's voice sounded from in front of me. I slightly regained my vision and saw the fatty's silhouette standing imposingly infront of me. Energy encircled his sword as it came slashing down onto the basilisk's neck, following up with a swift punch towards it's face, instantly stunning the already-injured beast and grievously wounding it, putting it at the edge of life.
Within moments, the other crewmembers encircling the beast put it to death.
I completely regained my vision despite the pain on my face and saw the mutilated bodies of the men who I led into battle. Waves of guilt rushed throughout me as I had felt a deep sense of connection to these men. They gave up on their chance to easily return back to the ship just so that they could help me kill they basilisk. I felt as if this guilt could not be easily washed away from my heart. Tears formed up in my eyes as I mourned the brothers who I never knew the names of.
From the bottom of my heart, I pledged to myself that I will risk my life for any brother that viewed me in a good light, I would brave through storms if it meant that they would live to fight another day.
As if in response to my emotional state, the energy in my core started circulating chaotically, rushing through my veins and making several rounds around my body, healing my wounds and making me feel more powerful.
The atmosphere turned solemn as all the surrounding energy in the air started congregating towards me, forming a whirlpool and entering my core. My core seemed to be like a whale swallowing large amounts of water, sucking in energy in large swathes.
My core seemed to be like a bottomless abyss as it kept devouring energy, I could feel my core glow golden as the purity of the energy in my core and the capacity kept increasing. It suddenly stopped as if it had devoured enough energy and stabilized.
All the crewmembers in the vicinity who noticed this had looks of respect in the faces, even the fatty seemed like he had seen a ghost. "You've broken through to middle tier baron that quickly?! It takes years of careful training, and the final push to baron is life threatening. Just how did you do it?" the fatty said in reverence as he looked at me awestruck.
"I'm not too sure" I replied strangely.
We all got back onto the ship quietly, the phenomenon I produced was simply too unprecedented. I didn't even bother cleaning up myself, I was covered in blood and I let out an aura of sadness for the men that sacrificed their lives for me. I stared ahead at the horizon, the sun was just starting to set and I could feel tranquility as the day shifted into night. My thoughts started to wander, tossing about in the seas in front of me. A set of words surfaced in my mind, words that defined my current state of emotions.
" Without selflessness, there can be no bond,
Without mutual sacrifice, there can be no progress.
We would brave through storms for one another,
Just for an opportunity to drink together again.
The sorrow of losing someone who you shared a bond with is nothing trivial,
It tears your soul from bottom to top, eating at your very existence.
It tears your soul that they were lost at your hands; so close, yet so distant.
The only driving force in my soul,
Would be for us to reunite once more, for us to revel as we used to.
Let me keep on living just so I could create a legacy,
A legacy that the ones who I lost would place pride in.
For that, is my driving force."
Rousing from my melancholic state, I suddenly felt as if I was enlightened, however, the feeling quickly vanished before I could grasp at it. 'That was weird' I said to myself. Before I discarded that thought, if I was destined to something, I would get it, so I did not search too intently for that feeling again.
I realized that my perception of whatever was around me had increased drastically. Particles of dust around me would be clearly 'sensed' by me, it was as if my senses had become sharper by leaps and bounds.
I could even sense somebody approaching me from the distance. I did turn around as I was not in a mood to talk to anyone.
"Owen…." a familiar and soft voice said from behind me. I knew this was Angela, I turned around to see her standing two feet away from me. Her black hair flailing gracefully in the wind, a shine in her beautiful round eyes caused by the fiery sunset created a magnificent sight. Her smooth brown skin that would entrap the soul of any man revealed itself from the attire she wore.
Her eyes met mine as we both stared at each other in wonder, I honestly forgot how heavenly I would feel upon being met with the gaze of the woman I loved. There would be no better place I would rather be than by her side. To be wrapped up in her warmth and care was everything to me. Time seemed to stop as I kept staring at her.
Her face slightly turned red as she turned her eyes away, avoiding my gaze.
She lightly coughed and said "You've outdone yourself once more, meet me in the mess hall during dinner to claim your prize. Getting the basilisk egg is no small deed, you will be rewarded accordingly. Oh, and keep the spear, you've earned it". She said, back to her original commanding voice and quickly left.
I stood there in desolation as I itched to solve the mystery behind Angela. It was clear to me that there were too many traces of her former self in her. However it seemed like she was a completely different person at certain times, which confused me to a whole new level.
I felt like directly confronting her about this, but something inside me told me that it would be an extremely bad idea. So I kept waiting for the opportune moment.
I could hear the laughs of revelry from the mess hall, however, I was in no mood to go drink and dance. I wanted to sort through myself and everything that I've been through in the past few days. Even though I have found new bonds, I have yet to come to terms with the mysteries around me.
The feeling of a secret being hidden from me wasn't the best feeling, it made me feel empty and desolate.