Kingdom of Zuland, The South Border, Present day.
Roy pushed Anaria forward as they continued down a trail of darkness. The trees around them were an unnatural size, even their shape resembled something out of a nightmare when combined with the darkness. Luckily the storm had been reduced to light rainfall.
"Roy, wait," said Anaria as she suddenly stopped.
"What's the matter? Can you walk?" He gritted his teeth. "I can't believe Xeto would do something like that."
"We have to go back for him."
"We can't, you heard him, he can take care of himself. My first priority is getting you out of here." He took her arm. "Let's go—"
She pulled free from his grasp. "No. He's our friend, we can't just leave him."
"I can't bear to see you hurt again." The mention of his friend's name only heighted his anger. This was what he had feared, that bloodshed would only beget more bloodshed. He'd only hoped Xeto would have opened his eyes to it, rather than be blinded by his anger.
Anaria squeezed her shoulder as a warm glow surrounded her hand. The glow slowly faded as the remaining light revealed her miraculous recovery. Smooth skin and dry blood was all that remained.
"How did you…"
Anaria looked into his eye. "The bullet only grazed me; I'll be ok. We need to go back."
Roy shook his head. "It was a strike of luck then, not a gamble I'm willing to reenact."
"I'm going back. It's ok to be afraid, I am too. But I promise you that you'll never forgive yourself if something happened to Xeto."
It felt as if she had pulled out his deepest inner thoughts. Damn it. He couldn't refuse her. "Fine," but don't leave my side, understand?" He took short rapid breaths.
"Thank you, Roy."
They retraced their steps as best they could but to no avail. The castle was nowhere in sight. How was this possible? Nothing of what he saw was the same as before. We're lost… His flicker of hope reignited as he saw a distant torchlight. Gods, let it be you, lad. His prayers went unanswered as he heard the echo of multiple voices.
"They went this way! Find them and kill them!" said a voice.
The orange light drew closer, revealing the shadows of five men.
"Anaria quickly, in here." Roy quickly took hold of his sister as he guided her into a collection of chest-high shrubbery.
The men were now inches from them, breathing loudly over the rattle of their armor.
"I know I saw them escape this way," said one.
"To solitude with this," said another between breaths. "I'm not going any deeper into this demon-infested hive."
"You heard Giase, orders are orders!"
"Fuck all. I'd rather be a deserter than be ripped apart by demons." The man ran back the way he came, the echo of his armor faded by the second.
"To solitude with you then, coward!"
Roy squinted as he thought he saw something move through the darkness behind the men.
"The rest of you span out and—" The man's commands were replaced by gurgles.
Roy's heart dropped as he saw the outline of something massive lifting the man off his feet, a large claw dug through his abdomen.
Screams filled the air as the torch fell to the ground and the men scattered in a panic.
The large silhouette stepped into the light; its grim appearance illuminated clearly. It resembled the skeleton of a stag with only patches of hide remained throughout its body. It stood on its hind legs, allowing it to tower over the nearby undergrowth. The man's corpse dangled from its pitchfork-like claws. It let out a vicious growl before tossing the body aside and giving chase to the remaining men.
A pit of disgust formed in his gut. "Anaria, quick, this way," he shuddered. He kept his eye on the trail while remaining within the foliage.
"Please no!" yelled another guard before his head was cleaved from his shoulders, releasing a fountain of crimson.
Roy's heart beat even faster. "Don't look back, Anaria."
The creature's footsteps grew louder.
Did it see us? We can't outrun this thing! Roy pulled Anaria behind a large stone and hugged her close.
She trembled uncontrollably as she dug her face into his shoulder.
"Don't worry, little sylph. I won't let anything hurt you," he whispered.
The creature screeched loudly as it drew closer.
Roy noticed one of the earlier guards hiding only a few feet away from them, his body spread out across the forest floor.
The creature's heavy breathing inched closer followed by the sound of snapping twigs.
The guard's horrified eyes locked on Roy as he pointed a shaky finger behind them.
Roy swallowed hard as he slowly put a finger up to his lips. A droplet of sweat rolled down his cheek as he shook his head, signaling the man to remain quiet.
The man's teeth clattered as he slowly crawled backwards.
No no no no! What are you doing? Roy shook his head once more but to no avail.
The man's armor rattled loudly as he jumped to his feet and dashed in the opposite direction.
Roy's ears rung as the creature let out an ear-wrenching shriek.
It's large claw-like foot stepped over them before running for its new prey.
Roy quickly took this chance to escape.
The man's screams echoed behind them before it was overruled by the sound of tearing flesh.
"We have to keep moving," said Roy with a dry throat. He ran back for the trail as his legs begged for respite. Beside them was a steep slope dotted with large stones.
Anaria yelped as she fell to the muddy floor.
"Are you ok? Come now." He reached for her hand.
"I'm fine, I just—"
The ground quaked as the floor gave way, dragging Anaria down in a mudslide.
"No!" Roy quickly caught her wrist but the combination of sweat and water loosened his grasp, allowing the wave of earth to take her.
Her amethyst eyes locked onto his. "Run, Roy! Find Xeto." Those were her final words before she was pulled into the abyss of darkness below.
"Anaria!" No no no no, this isn't real! He desperately looked for sign, anything to signal she was that she was ok. He received no such gift. This nightmare knew no end as he heard the screech of the creature bounce through the forest at his flank.
The large shadow stood as before him once more, deep growls resonating from its throat.
"Come on then!" Roy took firm hold of his bow and knocked an arrow. "Let's finish this, monster!"
Provoked, the skeletal beast roared before charging, causing nearby leaves fall from the canopy.
Roy stood at the center of a clearing, perhaps being in the open could give him a minor advantage. I can— I will kill you… His heart pounded with a combination of fear and anger. He pulled the arrow further back, aligning the tail alongside his ear. "Die…" The arrow flew at breakneck speed, emitting a satisfying sound as it cut through the air. Seconds before it reached its mark, there was a light glow at its tip. In seconds it grew to blinding light as bright as daybreak before bursting into flames. What in the—
The creature screeched loudly as the flaming arrow pierced into its forearm. It wriggled in place as flames climbed up its forearm. The blaze grew brighter before quickly solidifying into flame-filled crystals and exploding. The bright blast sent shards of the orange crystal in all directions alongside fragments of the creature's bones. It screeched once more at the loss of its arm before glaring at the one responsible.
"Was that me?" Roy fumbled back, almost falling over the exposed tree roots at his feet.
The creature shook its head as if trying to refocus on its prey. It breathed heavily, though unlike Roy, its breath wasn't visible in the night's cold air. It growled as it began its trek once more. Undoubtably, this creature was not accustomed to having to fight for its prey. It may have been a monster, but the way it was provoked was almost human-like. The ground shook once more as it came in for a second attempt.
Roy took careful steps back as he knocked another arrow, this one carrying his newfound confidence. "C'mon, I'll blow your other claw from your wrist!" Before he could loose the arrow, a sudden shadow dashed passed from behind him.
There was a bright flash of violet coming from the newcomer's sword. The light was as bright as Roy's earlier flames; it revealed the shadow's identity as none other than his childhood friend.
"Xeto!?" exclaimed Roy.
Xeto's focus remained on his target as he slid under the creature and swung, cleaving its leg clean off.
It fell to the ground, pulled down by the very momentum it had just built. But before it had a chance to retaliate, Xeto quickly leapt from behind it and plunged his sword into its nape, pinning it to the soil.
Roy took this as his cue and fired another arrow. It pierced into the center of the creature's forehead. Just like his prior shot, this one ignited just as it made contact, bursting into flames before solidifying.
Xeto quickly pulled his sword free and rolled out of the following explosion.
The now headless creature spasmed on the ground like an earthworm. The unsettling scene came to an abrupt end as the body froze in place.
Roy released a sigh as the burden of immediate danger was removed from his shoulders. Though he shivered at the thought of Anaria being lost alone in this danger-infested woodland.
Small clouds of Xeto's breath dissipated into the night as he looked around in all directions. "Where's Anaria?" he said with widened eyes.
Roy shook his head as his ears grew warm. "As if you care."
"What?" stammered Xeto. "Of course I care. Where is she?"
"I don't bloody know, lad! We were being chased by some guards when that thing showed up!" The cold night's grasp was washed away by Roy's growing agitation. "I thought you were our friend. How could you do something like that? You hurt my sister, and now she's lost in this pit of solitude. If you weren't so blinded by your anger and your bloodlust."
"What!" Xeto now mirrored Roy's glare. "Bloodlust? I'm doing my sworn duty in hunting these monsters!" His face was now red with anger.
"Much good that did, eh? You left your friend, Rebecca, worried that she let her commander walk into his own death. We came to help you!" Roy closed the gap between them.
"I didn't ask for your help. This is my duty; I know the consequences. This would have never happened had you not brought Anaria with you— Better yet, you could have killed that pompous general but you hesitated." Xeto pointed an accusing finger at him.
"I'm not a soldier like you, I can't just take a life," exclaimed Roy, with a crack in his voice. "The Xeto I knew two years ago would never take a life as you do. How would that amount to anything? He wouldn't have worried his friends so much so as to have them follow him into a place like this. I tried keeping Anaria home, but you know she would never leave a friend in need."
"Don't use Anaria to bandage your mistakes," said Xeto with a clenched jaw. "You don't anything beside a simple village life. My duty is to hunt and kill demons, if that means killing the men puppeteering them as well, so be it. The world isn't as pretty as you may believe." Xeto gave his back as he sheathed his sword and neared the steep edge of an incline. "Go home, Roy, I'll find Anaria."
"The damn I will," he answered, as he took firm hold of Xeto's shoulder.
"Get your hand off of me," yelled Xeto as he turned and took clutched Roy's collar. "What could you possibly do other than get yourself killed!"
Warm spit landed on Roy's face, stoking his anger further. "You—"
A stone at their feet came loose, giving way to another small rockslide.
Xeto fell back, landing on his shoulder before rolling down the incline.
Roy followed suit as he lost his balance and fell onto the rocky incline. He shielded his face from the offense of sharp stones and thorn-filled bushes as he tumbled down the edge. After the descent that had seemed to last ages, Roy found his footing. His ears thumped loudly as his body ached from its new collection of cuts and scrapes.
The area around him was a completely different from where they just were. The trees that surrounded him were much wider and had a layer of thick sludge coating the bark. As a matter of fact, his surroundings resembled a marsh. From thick mist to moderately sized pools of muddied water. The temperature too, had dropped significantly.
Roy shivered aloud, a combination of his damp clothes alongside the eerie fog. "Xeto where are you?"
As if on cue, Xeto appeared from behind one of the trees, his armor covered in layers of mud and grass. He clutched his left wrist as it trembled lightly. A river of dark blood dripped through his fingers.
"Xeto, are you—"
"Get away from me," he said in a low growl. He grimaced before taking heavy steps into the ankle-deep water. "I'm going to find Anaria. Stay out of my way…"
Roy felt a ting of guilt as his friend walked with a slight limp. How injured was he? Forget that. He'll be alright. I need to focus on Anaria. Nightmares were a glee when compared to the night's events. But like a nightmare, he wanted nothing more than to wake from it.