I cannot be sure how long it was before we reached what appeared to be a city. When we just had it in sight, Raidha stood right in front of me and extended her upper four limbs, with her back to the city.
"Welcome to Valdhoram, the heart of this beautiful world, Nilhemfir."
There is no doubt that this princess was proud of her city, and her big smile showed it, but…
"Is this really a city?", I asked.
"Yes, isn't it wonderful? Go!"
She grabbed my hand and pulled me at top speed into the city, which was creepy to say the least. From a distance, all I could see were structures similar to a lot of needles that came out of an immense and dark abyss, but as we got closer I realized that those were buildings, and right in the middle of all of them could be seen one that stood out quite a lot. Since the one who was pulling me was a spoiled princess, logic told me that that was her castle.
Once we entered the city I realized that the abyss was the completely black streets of the city itself. Furthermore, the roads were not limited to only going by land. In some parts, they rose several meters from the ground with no sign of pillars or anything holding them down. They just seemed to fly between the buildings. The normal would be that the materials could not support the weight and collapse, but that was not the case. What's more, everything seemed to be made in one piece. As much as I tried to find cracks, I could not see one.
'This is crazy…'
And worst of all, I could only see different shades of black wherever I looked. I already expected not to find light sources and accepted that as a logical option. After all, it was stupid to use light when the people around there were able to see in the dark, but everything being black was already too much. Saying that it was depressing was not enough.
"Everything around us looks exactly the same… How the hell do you find your way within this place?"
"Now that you say it, the truth is that I never asked myself this. For me it is just normal."
"Still, using more colors wouldn't hurt."
I tapped the wall of a building. The material was similar to metal, but at the same time, it didn't appear to be. It reminded me of the makeshift shield that Raidha used in the forest.
"What is all this made of?"
"We materialize dark energy and use it to build buildings, roads, or whatever we need, that's why everything is black. Even if I explain it to you, I don't think you will understand."
"Probably not…"
"After all, it could be said that we are the oldest life form of the universe. We get millions of years ahead of you."
"The oldest life form of the universe, eh? So, despite looking so young… are you a dinosaur?!"
"Of course not, stupid! I'm talking about my people, not myself!"
"There he is!"
A man's scream overlapped Raidha's scream. He was a man with the same characteristics as Raidha: red eyes, silver hair, and completely black wings. Anyway, that didn't matter much to me, what I was worried about is that he was running straight towards me… with a spear in his hands! And he was not alone. Before I could say anything I was surrounded by armed people with unfriendly faces.
"Who are you and how did you get here?"
One of those spears approached my neck. The princess had said they were millions of years ahead of us, though those spears didn't seem to say the same. Anyway, the slight pain I felt in my neck told me clearly that it was not a joke.
"I…"
I didn't even know how to respond, and having that thing pinching at my neck didn't help me think faster. Luckily, Raidha immediately pushed the spear away and stepped between me and that man.
"Wait, he's coming with me!"
For a moment these men silently stared at Raidha, until they finally seemed to recognize her.
"Princess? What are you doing here?!"
"Ah, this… Ehhhh... Never mind! We are in a hurry, let us pass!"
She again took my hand and pushed her way through the confused men. Then she dragged me running all over the city. Every time we came across one of these people I could notice a sharp look behind me. It was more than clear that I was not welcome.
'I don't want to be here either! Let me go home!'
"Please, don't blame them. Most of them lived through difficult times. It is normal for them to be on guard when they see something other than a silphen walking through the city."
"Well… but why are they going with spears? Even in my world there are firearms, and according to what you say, you had millions of years of advantage over us."
"Ah? Why would we use such things? Most soldiers could avoid a bullet easily. It's better to use a weapon that does not rely on projectiles and can move at the same time as your body, don't you think? And in case you need distant attacks is enough for us throwing projectiles of dark energy."
"I don't even know why I'm asking…"
I ended up letting myself be silently dragged into what, as I had imagined, was her castle. Raidha immediately opened the door and as we entered she closed it again as fast as the light. We both let out a sigh of relief, but just a couple of seconds after feeling safe, another group of those guys approached us.
"Um… I'm back."
Raidha greeted them with a smile, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Princess, your father wants to see you in the throne room right now."
"Ehhhhhhh? Why right there? And how fast did he notice our arrival?"
"Come with this human."
"Yes…"
Raidha resigned herself and began to walk between those two men. I followed her instantly, although it could better be said that I was pushed to follow her by the guy who stayed behind us.
"Um, I wanted to take you with my father anyway. He is usually hard to find, so this saves us time… And for him to call us to the throne room… He just wants to look important! So don't worry, okay?"
"You seem more worried than me…"
She was practically shaking as she spoke, so it didn't help me to calm down… I thought a couple of times about running, but soon we reached a huge room. In the back was a chair, though it would probably be better to call it a throne, and sitting in it a middle-aged man.
Unsurprising, like everyone in that place, he had silver hair and red eyes. He wore a suit-like outfit that couldn't quite hide what appears to be fairly defined muscles, which didn't match my mental image of a king in the least. Added to his imposing body, his huge black wings on his back made him look like a true angel of death. Everything about him was scary without needing to do anything.
'This is Raidha's father?'
His gaze locked on mine and an unpleasant sensation struck me almost instantly. I couldn't help getting completely paralyzed without being able to take my eyes off his, I even practically forgot how to speak or directly breathe.
"Don't stare at the king so blatantly!"
I barely regained control of my body after receiving a tremendous blow that threw me to the ground, cutting off our eye contact. I didn't know if I should thank or blame the guy who hit me.
"Why are you hitting him?!"
Raidha walked toward me and crouched down, trying to help me to my knees.
"Raidha!"
At the sudden cry, Raidha practically hid behind me. When I looked up I met her father's gaze again, although this time was fixed on Raidha instead of me… and he seemed to be quite angry…
"Where did you go? And why did you bring this human with you?"
"Ah! Dad, certain things happened… Although now is not the time to fully explain them! Turns out… Uhm… this… ehhhh…"
"Raidha, speak out for once."
"This… I don't understand what happened but… he touched my sword and the dark energy… and…"
"Your sword…"
"Vurtalis…", Raidha replied with an uncomfortable laugh.
Her father slapped his forehead and gave a great sigh of despair. It seems that the little princess was annoying even to her own family.
"I just want to go home… Could I just go away?"
I decided to speak by myself. If I let Raidha keep talking we wouldn't advance.
"I already told you that if you come back with dark energy in your body, you'll be in trouble. Don't you get it yet?"
"The hell, no! I don't even understand what you are, much less what those katryde you said are. Why should they attack me? What the hell is going on between you?!"
"Dad, tell him about it!"
The king let out another heavy sigh and leaned back on the throne, staring across the room before speaking regretfully.
"We silphen and katryde are two peoples at odds. For millennia we have been fighting wherever we find ourselves. Silphen are strong but fewer than the katryde. With their superiority in numbers, we could hardly stand up to them. In the end, we had no choice but to flee from them, and yet they pursued us across all known worlds. We were mercilessly hunted and exterminated until we managed to establish ourselves here in Nilhemfir, a world sheltered by darkness and the only place where they have not yet found us. Therefore, since we do not want to be found we cannot…"
"They are selfish and sadistic. The moment they notice the dark energy in you, you will be dead!", Raidha interrupted him.
"The only change in my body is that now I can see in the dark… What a great and dangerous power to be wanted dead..."
"Just because someone has traces of darkness on him is enough for them to attack!"
"Raidha, that's not…"
The king looked at her doubtfully and what appeared to be an attempt to replicate something, however, he closed his mouth and sighed as he shook his head from side to side.
"Boy, what did you do to make this happen?", the king asked me directly.
"I couldn't say… I touched that sword Raidha carries. Then a black smoke came out and got into my body… Then I don't know what happened anymore."
They both looked at me with a thoughtful expression.
"Dad, it probably absorbed some of my dark energy stored in Vurtalis."
"No, that sword is.."
Again, he stared at me with a frown, and once again I was paralyzed in place by that unpleasant sensation until he turned his gaze to Raidha, and still, I couldn't stop shaking. I cannot be sure if it was fear or something else, I could simply say that his look felt as if it could see to the depths of my being, without me being able to hide anything at all.
"Well, I don't have time to waste with him right now and we can't afford the risk to take him into his world."
"But dad, he's here because of me!"
"Shut up, Raidha! What you did is more serious than you think. This is not the moment to waste time investigating how this human acquired dark energy. The important now is to have a good talk with you," he said in an extremely severe tone, "a very important talk." He changed to a sad whisper.
"So… what will happen to him? If we leave him with that dark energy inside…"
"We will keep him here for now and then I'll see what to do with him. That dark energy he has inside is not something to worry about, what worries me is the other thing he has inside…"
Again, he stared at me and waved his hand at the guard, who began to walk toward me in silence. I felt pure terror assailing me for the first time since I had arrived in that world.
'What is this supposed to mean? They are not going to help me get home? So what am I going to do?'
I took a step back when I saw those guys approaching. In front of me was Raidha with a complicated expression. She probably didn't know what to do to help me either.
'I can't stay here… I don't want to stay here!'
I looked everywhere, searching for a way out, a solution, something, whatever! So there it was, dangling from her belt, the sword which started it all, Vurtalis.
'That sword.'
I had no knowledge of how to use a sword or basic notions off fence, but in desperation, I did not care. I stole the sword almost by reflex and, taking a step back, I prepared to use it, either to open a hole that would allow me to escape from that place or simply to start a desperate fight… impossible to win...
"I just want to get out of here…", I murmured.
Suddenly, a general malaise began to cloud my senses. I noticed something expanding throughout my body at great speed as my consciousness became increasingly dim.
—Moron, what would you do? You're weak. But don't worry, I'll get you out of here.