ARTHUR LEYWIN POV:
"Are we in the right place?", Caera asked, as we stepped out of the relic portal.
I looked around the zone we had just entered, already searching for any signs of the Djinns. We were teleported to what looked to be a large hall that was covered in matte black tiles, as it encompassed the entire walls and the ceiling. The only source of light were from the large sized glass windows placed on one side of the room, that took up almost the entire wall area. "I'm not sure, but the room looks familiar from the memories that I received from the relic. Let's get down."
The portal that we had just entered, was hovering above a large stone pedestal, that was lifted several feet above the ground level. Caera and I jumped down, clearing the height swiftly without making any noise.
"Be on guard." I said to Caera without looking at her.
We stood up, looking around the hall to find an exit out of this place. It was already a proof that we are somewhere different, seeing the many tables and furniture arranged around the hall, all looking towards the central space where the pedestal containing the portal stood. Caera spoke up. "Wait, why does it look similar to—"
"...a sanctuary room? Yeah, I noticed it too." I finished. "Let's find a way ou—"
"Look. There's a door!" Caera exclaimed, gaining my attention. Turning to the direction she was pointing at, I saw a large white coloured door, which seemed to be made of some polished stone as it reflected off the natural light that was coming in from the large fenestrations.
"Alright! Let's go outside, take a look."
The white door was surprisingly easy to push, even without having to reinforcing myself with aether. As the door slid off smoothly without making any sound, our vision was quickly covered with the canvas of bright yellow.
Blinking away the uncomfortable light, I focused on the view in front of me. Series of colourful structures, ranging from different sizes stood on both sides of the building we had just come out of. There were more of them on the other side, as a straight, narrow pathway in the middle intersected and divided them.
It looked like we were standing in the middle of a city street.
"Wow, what new world did we just jump into?" Regis mused. I had the same thought, as the entire colourful—city scape—looked glamorous to the eyes...only if it weren't for the eerie silence it carried. "That is true. With so many buildings, you'd expect lots of people walking around."
"At least the place isn't dangerous, right?" Regis spoke to break the building-up tension.
Without a word, I moved forward to one side of the street, while Caera followed me closely behind.
All the buildings looked distinctively different from the other, in terms of shape, as well as size; but there was one common—no, two common elements between them all....every building had several runic symbols drawn on their facade and, they all housed a circular cavity—albeit of different sizes—carved out, inside those symbols.
'Not all cavities are empty though', Regis pointed out. 'Look at that building; there's a gem embedded on the cavity'.
But, my eyes were drawn back to the empty cavities...which had some sort of 'claw' mark's on them; as if someone with large nails tried to pluck the gems off of the wall surface.
"Look there!" Caera's suddenly spoke up from behind.
I turned to look at the direction she was pointing at, as my eyes caught sight of few pieces of gem-like stones scattered on the floor. She continued. "Are those..."
"...the same 'crystals' we found in the previous zones?" I finished her question, while I walked forward and knelt down, before picking a piece of, what looked like pale purple—almost grayish coloured broken crystal. 'Looks like a dead crystal' Regis commented. 'Yeah, but it once must've had aether inside it.' I added, before getting up and walking over to another pile of same type of crystals piled on the ground.
And they weren't the only ones, as I looked around to find a lot more of them strewn across the ground randomly in front of the buildings.
That's when it all clicked.
My eyes studied the rune symbols that covered the cavity—like a tattoo or a brand, where these crystals are supposed to be. And watching closely, I could see these runic symbols from each building run up to meet with each other...as they all formed a single connection.
"I-Is this...some sort of electric line?!" I said out loud to no one in particular. But Caera had caught it, as she asked back with a confused tone. "What's that? Electric line...?"
I could feel her burning gaze on my back, but I didn't turn back. Biting my own tongue, I lied. "It's—something related to aether; Regis came up with that name. You know how he is..." I laughed nervously, not wanting to see her face as I was confident that she would catch my lie.
'It's cute how you're already afraid of the missus... But what are you thinking? Like...a common power source?' Regis asked in anticipation.
'Yeah, seems like it.' Ignoring his first remark, I answered his question. 'Then where do you think the main—'
'That's what we need to find out. With how organised the place seems to be, the power grid—or whatever these runic-lines lead to...must be connected to a common place, probably on the outskirts.'
"Grey?" I felt a tug at my arm, as Caera's concerned voice cut in my mental conversation with Regis. Turning back, I saw her worried look. "Did you notice? The sky—it's starting to get dark..." she said, while shifting her gaze up. Following hers, I noticed the same.
The sky had started to lose its yellowish tint as it slowly turned black.
I wasn't sure if there was any light source, or artificial sun of sorts like how it was in my previous ascents. I was concerned about what would happen when the night falls. 'We could always stay inside one of these buildings' Regis said.
I shook my head. 'This place seems weird; something is off.' I countered. 'What do you mean? I don't see any problem.' Regis spoke, his confusion evident in our mental link. 'Did you notice how the buildings seems to be untouched; yet the crystal stones are clawed off from their slots?'
'Are you saying...that someone is taking these crystals and feeding on them?' He questioned with obvious doubts. 'Someone, or something. This is still a Relictomb Regis, so we should expect monsters, which—now seems more plausible than encountering the ancient mages.' I said, gritting my teeth.
'Don't lose your hope yet princess. We have yet to explore the zone.' Regis said consolingly.
Nodding at his words, I walked towards Caera, who was looking around the zone searching for something. I placed my hand on her shoulder, making her body jerk. "Come on, let's go." She let out a sigh and mutely nodded, as we started walking together.
It didn't take longer for the sky to turn pitch dark.
'Regis.' I called out to my companion as he leapt off my core and landed on the ground in front of us. Caera took a step back in surprise at his sudden appearance and pulled out her scarlet sword. I quickly stepped to my side and grabbed her hand, making her gaze turn to me in confusion. "It's Regis." I said as our eyes met.
"S-Sorry..." she tumbled at her words; her face turning red in embarrassment.
I couldn't blame her, since Regis had fired up his purple mane to light up our pathway. He looked menacing, and very noticeable; as the only light source was now coming from him.
My hand felt a shake, making me turn to look at the source; and that's when I noticed—I was still holding onto Caera's wrist. She looked up at me; and mine were drawn to hers.
Our eyes met....and I froze at the sight.
Her ruby eyes...were shining brightly—like two red jewels—reflecting off the shadow wolf's purple flames.
I was clearly caught off-guard by their brilliance.
All of my previous thoughts seemingly vanished in an instance at that sight...for some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off of hers. The world, only seemed to dull and blur, in contrast to her radiance. It was equivalent to being immersed in a trance state...just watching her eyes...seemingly float, vividly—like two fireflies—lighting all the surrounding darkness, wherever they travelled.
So beautiful. I thought in awe.
"A-Are you okay? W-What is it?" she asked, snapping me out of my reverie.
Her free hand went to her face as she touched it with confusion. "Is there—something on my face?" she asked while looking at me for an answer.
I wordlessly shook my head, while my eyes stayed on hers.
Her cheeks turned red in return, as she noticed my still—fixed—gaze; yet she didn't break our lock.
"Uh, Grey, let the lady go. Unless you want to camp here for the night."
Realisation hit me a little late, as my companion's words sunk in me. I immediately released Caera's hand and finally averted my gaze. Although from the corner of my eyes I saw her hand still frozen on air, just where I had left it. "I'm—sorry..." I muttered, hoping she wouldn't think weirdly of me.
My words seemed to snap her back, as she jerked a little before lowering her lofted hand, and turned to the front. Her voice came as a soft whisper. "I-It's okay..."
Why the hell did I do that?! I rebuked myself. Regis laughed out loud, earning my glare and Caera's curious gaze, as she flickered it between my companion and me.
We walked the next few hours silently as I tried to trace the runic pathways, that slowly led us to the outskirts of the city. "Everything seems dandy, isn't it?" Regis suddenly asked, breaking the long silence. Just as I was about to answer him back...
That's when it all started.
A soft hum reverberated through the air, catching my attention. I turned to look at a particular direction from where the sound was coming from. It was very faint and far-off. Caera noticed my sudden action as she snapped her head to me curiously. Ignoring her, I tried to focus on the humming noise.
Just as I did that, my eyes widened in shock and terror as I suddenly felt something—hit me; to be exact—hit my core. Shit!
My knees buckled as I felt a sharp stinging pain radiating from my sternum...it was something I haven't felt in a long time. "GREY! WHAT THE HELL—ARE YOU OKAY?" I heard Caera scream as she ran towards me. My insides were in a mess as I felt the aether in my core suddenly destabilise, and running wild through my veins.
Caera put down her sword on the ground as she knelt down to meet my level. Her hands reached my face, as she leaned closer to study me. "What happened? What is it?" she asked in panic, while her eyes looked around my body for the source of my obvious discomfort; my eyes went up to meet hers in return...still mesmerized by those glittering gems.
Shaking my head to leap out of those thoughts, I spoke. My voice came out strained. "I-I don't know. Something hit me, hit my core. It was invisible—" "What!? Invisible?" her body jerked at my words. One of her hands left the side of my face, as she tightly grabbed her fallen sword to look around.
'Arthur! Are you okay? Did you feel that? It's felt like an aether wave, but it was affecting our magic, not our physical body.' I cocked my head to the side to see Regis...but he was in his noncorporeal form. 'What the hell Regis?! What happened to you?' 'Same thing as you, probably. I felt like my form was being scattered away. I was in a panic, but before I even knew it, I was reverted back to my basic form.' The will-o-wisp said as its glowing eyes visibly drooped.
Grunting, I lifted myself up off the ground.
"Grey what should we do?" Caera asked stiffly, her hands not letting mine go as she held it firmly. Just as I was about to answer her, a movement caught my eyes. It was from the far-off distance that my eyes were able to see.
My brows furrowed as I tried to figure out just what it was.
Caera shifted her gaze to where I was looking at. Squinting my eyes, I focused on what looked like dark silhouettes seemingly rushing forward...towards our direction. Shit.
"What is it, Grey? Do you see anything?" Caera asked in haste.
My eyes widened in response when I saw the black silhouettes approaching close-by. There were several of them, each looking almost identical to the other as they jumped off the buildings, and on one another, in a wild attempt to catch up to its prey—which in this case...was us.
Caera yelped, before taking a step back when the approaching dark figured creatures let out a shrill noise as their hollowed-out eyes which were gleaming faint purple, locked on our position. "Caera, let's get ou—" before I could finish that sentence, the familiar feeling of pain and disarray hit my insides, making me stumble and fall to my knees.
My eyes teared up as I felt the air getting squeezed out of my lungs.
I groaned in absolute pain, like never before.
"GREY!" the voices of my companions rung inside my ears, though it felt nothing more than a muffle as I focused all of my willpower to keep myself from falling unconscious. 'Just what the hell is causing this?' I thought in desperation as I looked up at the direction the invisible—aetheric—wave was flowing from.
'Whatever it is, it must be powerful enough to affect my core.' I thought in a sudden realisation, making my mood darken further.
It felt like I would explode if I even move, let alone try to use aether. But it may very well have been my mind playing tricks at me.
Caera was standing in front of me, I noticed. Her body was slightly shaking in fear despite the fighting stance she had taken. I saw her slightly titling her head to the side to keep an eye on me, while I tried doing the same from the ground that I was struggling in.
Anytime now, I thought as I turned to look at the dark creatures, almost upon us.
Grunting in pain, I pushed myself up and dragged close to Caera before pulling her towards me. She yelped when my arms wrapped around her waist, as she turned her head back to look at me in confusion. "Grey what are you—"
"We have no time. They're too large in numbers, let's leave." I spat out the words painfully and tried to activate my god rune. But instead, a sharp pain stung from my core as the aether went chaotic inside me.
Gritting my teeth, I tried again. And again. But only the pain out came. "Dammit!"
"G-Grey?" Caera's voice stopped me on my failures, as her hands tried to move mine away.
But before we could do anything, the first wave of the dark creatures jumped up on air, aiming for us with its sharp black claws outstretched.
Resisting my urge to panic, I tried to manifest an aether sword in my right hand, but failed. Before I could even curse at my own bad luck, I heard Caera scream and push me back with her arms. Just as I landed on the ground, I saw two of the dark creature's pounce on her, as they made their first contact.
"CAERA JUST RUN AWAY!" I yelled, despite the pain causing me to fluster. But, she didn't listen, as she held her position and swung her sword at hand, to intercept the dark creatures aiming for her.
The creature's lanky front legs clashed against Caera's crimson blade, causing a rattling noise that reverberated throughout the open field we were in.
Her sharp blade sent the first few of the creatures tumbling back on the ground, as they let out a cry of pain. Dark red blood gushed out of their injuries, but they didn't back away.
Advantage in numbers were on their side. And they knew it.
My eyes fell on the creatures. Now that they were up close, their features were visible clearly. They stood on their four legs, all armed with sharp, pointy claws. Their entire body was covered in pitch darkness, while their face, feature-less, only had two hollowed sockets for eyes, that glowed in purple.
Caera glanced at me with desperation in her eyes; yet she pushed herself forward, to meet the next set of creatures that were trying to reach our position.
Her blade buzzed through the air, cutting down at the claws and the legs of creatures that were aiming for her organs. Her movements were as fluid as efficient, without any margin for error as she pressed against the creatures.
Despite their bulky build, the creatures didn't seem to be physically strong as they were cut and sliced down, swiftly.
Cacophony of wails and cries erupted throughout the bloody battlefield as Caera's blade danced around, cutting, and slashing at the dark creatures as their bodies simply vanished into the ground, just as her red blade pierced their insides.
Yet, despite her brilliant show of swordsmanship, the creatures only increased in their numbers as minutes passed by.
They soon surrounded Caera—us—but she kept moving on her feet, to keep the creatures at bay: to make sure the creatures doesn't enter the invisible circle she was patrolling, with me in the middle.
She was protecting me.
Her eyes never failed to keep a look at me, while she kept pushing back the horde of dark creatures. I peeled my eyes away from her back, not wanting to give up so soon.
If I did, Caera might get hurt. She could die.
What do I do? I questioned myself inwardly.
'REGIS!' I exclaimed in sudden revelation about my companion's existence. But, no answer came. I swept my eyes all around the battlefield, to spot the small, floating will-o-wisp, but he was nowhere to be found. I could feel our connection, still on and strong, but all my messages were met with an eerie silence.
Cursing my bad luck again, I tried to coalesce aether.
Yet, it wouldn't obey. Damn it!
It felt like I was back in time—the time, when I had failed multiple times to grasp the knowledge and power needed to wield the aether.
I felt powerless again.
Those thoughts were shaken out of me when I felt my neck tingle; I quickly lifted my head back up to see either, Caera pushed down, or escape.
But, neither of those two had happened.
Caera was now holding her blade with both her hands—burning, black soul fire—now dancing on its metallic surface, much darker than the dark creatures that were trying to kill us.
Just as the horde of creatures hurled down further, Caera swung her soul fire-fuelled sword.
The creature in the front tried to swing its dark claws at her face, but she side-stepped, letting it pass through harmlessly. She followed it up with a kick to its neck, thus pushing the creature down and pinning it to the ground with her leg.
And then, she brought down her sword to its neck.
When her burning blade and fire came into contact with the creature, it let out a howl of pain and cry, before it disintegrated into dust.
A sudden eerie silence followed that killing. I felt a cold sweat run down my back.
At that sight, the other creatures stopped pouncing down like they did before; and looked cautious at the pressure and the aura emitted from those hellish flames.
The creatures were now scared.
Caera didn't stop though. She ran forward as the soul fire made a trail blaze; she made a wide arc, slashing the fiery sword in a horizontal swipe. Her blade shone much darker than before, while the fire intensified more than ever. The creatures, noticing the power behind the slash, started to hurl back, not wanting to be on its track.
But she didn't relent as she finished her arc, as the black flames made a trail, while it moved forward with an instant pace as it reached the first of the creatures. Just as they came in contact, their bodies started to burn...slowly turning into dust as they were erased from existence.
Watching this scene unfold, my heart calmed down a bit; while I couldn't say the same for the creatures, as they now kept their distance. Caera looked back at me through a side glance. While I wanted to let her know that I'm okay, I also didn't want to break her concentration.
Fine, let's try again. I thought to myself in a new fervour, courtesy of my partner, Caera.
Focusing on the inside, I studied my core. The aether in the layers have started to settle down after the atheric wave had stopped affecting it. I took some aether from my core to circulate through my veins, hoping it would work.
All while keeping an eye on Caera.
Just as I was about to test, I felt a familiar voice inside my head, trying to reach out to me. 'Regis!?'
'Arthur? Can you hear me now?' I felt my body relax as my companion's voice echoed inside my mind. It felt odd, to think about how having a voice inside your head, gives you such peace and comfort. 'Yeah buddy, I can hear you. What happened? I couldn't—'
'Uh no clue. I was hiding inside your core, that's what! I don't want to turn back to my stone form, due to that shitty wave of 'whatever the hell that is.' He said in a voice soaked with tiredness and annoyance.
I chuckled at his words, much unlike the situation we were in.
My eyes darted to Caera—her form was less reflexive than before; her movements, dull. She was starting to sweat, and the soul fire on her sword was much less intimidating than before.
It didn't take much to understand that she was reaching her end.
Stopping myself from cursing out loud, I lifted myself off the ground. Focusing on my core again, I let the aether run through my veins, as I tried to reinforce myself with aether.
It worked.
Though, it wasn't much denser like usual; it was also flickering in and out. 'I guess I need more cool down time', I thought in annoyance.
'Why not use your armour? It should let you use aether effectively.' Regis commented.
My body froze in a daze. Why didn't I think of that?! I thought in embarrassment, laced with anger.
Regis chortled. 'Hey, maybe you were so distracted watching that badass woman fight. I don't blame you though, when that woman is Lady Caera.' He snickered.
For some reason, my face blushed.
He wasn't wrong, I thought, as the vision of her body dancing around the battlefield, as she cut down the creatures, came to my mind. I felt my heart starting to beat faster all of a sudden. Why am I feeling like this? Is it because...she saved my life now? But then...she has saved me lot more times before... More than anyone has ever done for me. I thought as a feeling of warm elation slowly sprouted, from the depths of my deep, cold-heart.
But soon, I shook my head to dismiss such questions. Not the right time. I thought.
Though I couldn't keep a smile from forming on my face.
My eyes turned to Caera. She was being pushed back, her body completely soaked in sweat and grime. Her dress, a colour of dark red, from the creature's blood. Yet, she kept moving, fighting, as she worked the creatures to their ends.
Just as I watched her fight; my mind in a trance...I was soon pushed out of it when a creature managed pass through her defence.
My heart sank before skipping a beat, as the creature swung its sharp claws at Caera's open shoulders. In a movement of reflex, I God-Stepped from my position, to appear behind her.
To protect her.
Purple lighting sparkled around me, as I was now covered in my relic armour; the aether on its surface keeping, and feeding my core with stable aether source. My arms wrapped around Caera's body, making her flinch as she swung her sword in a back arc. "H-Hey. It's me!" I yelled, making her stop from cutting my armour with her soul-fire blade.
She yelped as my voice reached her ears, while her body stopped resisting, before she froze to my touch. I was holding her, kind of—inappropriately—but, this wasn't the time for that. The creatures in front of us moved in time—to use the sudden break of attack, yet I didn't let that happen as Caera and I vanished from their sight.
Reappearing on a rooftop of a building near the field where we were fighting, I heaved a sigh of relief, before closing my eyes to relax.
"Grey...", a soft voice came out, making me open my eyes. Caera was still in my embrace, with her back facing me. I could smell her shampoo; its scent, something 'new and foreign' to me...yet, pleasantly calming in ways.
Before losing my control, I unwrapped my arms around her as she took a step away from me.
"Is something wrong?" I asked in concern, noticing that she wouldn't turn around to face me.
But Caera didn't answer and stood there, mutely. My heart started beating faster due to the sudden worry...so, I walked closer and placed my hand gently on her shoulder.
Her body jerked a little at my touch, but she stood there, still, unmoving otherwise.
"Caera, what's wrong?" I asked again, as I moved to her front this time. I then noticed that her face was lowered and hidden behind the long curtain of her navy-blue hair.
She still kept her silence, not answering me.
Not waiting for anymore, I reached out to her face, and parted her hair to the sides. She flinched, clearly taken aback by my action. Her wide eyes lifted up to meet mine.
That's when I noticed that her face was covered in blood.
I was about to panic at the sight, worrying for the worst; but soon, it was clear that the blood wasn't hers. Without waiting, I used the sleeve of my shirt to wipe off the blood from her face. "G-Grey it-it's okay I-I can do—"
"Shhh. It's alright. This is the least I could do for you."—I paused as my eyes looked into hers—"...for saving me", I said with a smile. A sort of smile that I haven't used in a very long time, I realised immediately.
Now I was giving it for her; for Caera. I questioned why?
Caera turned red, on cue, grabbing my attention and making me chuckle. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" I asked her, as my eyes ran all over her body, looking for any injuries.
This only made her turn red even more, as she started fidgeting with her sword. Knowing that she was clearly embarrassed by my action, I stopped checking out her body, and looked back up at her face.
She was blushing, as she mutely shook her head to my previous question. My eyes stayed on hers. Her red, cute face was a sight to see, that I just didn't want to miss.
My hand rose up to tuck back the strands of hair that kept falling on her face. Her eyes watched my actions, with curiosity and nervousness. It made me doubt my actions. Do I.....like her?! Why am I doing all this? I pondered about my previous actions.
But soon I shook my head dismissively. No, it can't be. Several, near-death experiences, has clearly brought us—this closer—and strengthened our bonds. Our bonds as friends! That's it. That's all it is.
Shaking away those confusing thoughts, I focused back on Caera. I wanted to tell her something—something, that has been weighing on my mind lately. So, I simply tried to speak. But turns out, it wasn't so easy.
"I...um..."—I froze, unable to let out the words I wanted to. Her eyes were studying me with much curiosity, expecting to hear my words—"...thank you. Thank you for saving me!" I actually said, though half-heartedly, as I wanted to say something else.
Her eyes slightly shook in surprise at my words, before a soft smile appeared on her face. "It's okay, Grey. You're my...partner." She said, emphasising her last of the words, very clearly. I pushed myself hard to not blush, as her eyes were clearly studying my face for any reactions. Though, she didn't look like she was finished. "It's—my duty—as much as yours...to protect you...to protect each other. I know I'm not stronger, yet...but—I won't stop until I am strong enough..." She said, looking at my eyes, with a determined tone...surprising me.
Right about now, I was blushing, like I have done never before. What the fuck!? My heart, clearly beating twice its rate; the sound of it hitting against my ribs clearly eminent to my ears. Strong enough for what?! I wanted to ask, but I stopped myself.
My usual stoic face faltered for n-th time. Something that has been occurring lately, when I'm with Caera. Regis would've mocked me till no ends, if he was awake, I thought in relief at my companion's absence.
Outwardly, I gave Caera a gentle smile that was as genuine as it could get—I was truly happy. Her face mirrored mine, though, her smile was something to behold. I questioned myself whether this was the first time I'm watching her smile.
"L-Let's go." I said, pushing down all the blooming up thoughts. 'We are not on the clear yet' I thought inwardly.
Caera's face switched back to normal; her previous shyness now masked under the cold façade of a warrior woman. It reminded me of my own persona as Grey and Arthur; and how effectively I could switch between the two.
Finding someone to be able to do the same...is rare. I thought, for no particular reason.
We both looked at each other and nodded; clearly having the same thought. We are going to follow the dark creatures; they had started to run away right after Caera and I teleported out of their sight. And it didn't take much to figure out where they were running to.
They were running to the source of that powerful aetheric wave.
It even made me question whether they were actually after us, or maybe we were simply on their way as they were trying to get to the source. I shook my head in exasperation.
Either way we will find out soon, I thought as I turned my gaze back to Caera.
Her eyes met mine, as she soon understood what I was trying to do. Without any sense of hesitation, she closed in, and swung her arms tightly around my neck. I felt my breathing stop for an instance, before I forced myself back to normality.
I was thankful somehow, that I was wearing my armour on top.
Caera's face faltered for a second as she held me, before going back to normal.
My hand wrapped around her, gently, as I activated my god rune.
We reappeared back on the open field. Following that, a series of God Step took us closer to the source.
After a few rounds, I stopped, when sounds of screaming and howling caught my attention. Letting Caera go, we both looked at the direction the noise was coming from.
There was a large vertical structure at the front. It could have very well passed as one of the towers in my old world. The noise seems to be coming from the other side of it.
I looked at Caera. With a single nod, we started to sprint to the area behind the structure.
Just as we got past the final pillar of the structure, the source of the noise came to view for us to see. What caught my—our—attention, was the endless piles of the same dark creatures we had tried to fight a while earlier.
A slight shiver ran down my spine as I stopped my breathing to watch the scene in front of me.
There was a whole mountain of the dark creatures; each trying to climb on top of the other, to get to the top. But what caught my eyes was the 'figure' present at the top.
It was a child. A boy.
He was sitting on his back, arms, holding his knees; face buried between his thighs. I could see his body shiver uncontrollably as he involuntarily flinched every time a creature tried to jump up to his position.
My heart started to beat faster at the sudden thought of realisation. A child inside the Relictombs; inside, one of the zones that were supposed to be the Djinn hideouts.
He must be a Djinn. An ancient mage. I smiled faintly as I activated my God Step.