"Ferox? Who are you? I don't know you. Where did En go?"
Confusion painted my face, hearing the deep and brutish voice that had replaced En's calm and gentle voice.
"I'm here Phil. Sorry for leaving you like that. The being tasked me with contacting Ferox to try and teach you to use your energy more efficiently."
I sighed in relief after hearing En's voice. Although mere minutes ago I resented him for leaving and not telling me anything.
"I thought you left. I almost died because of a hallucination since you weren't there to protect my mind."
"Sorry Phil, it was a rash decision by the being and I did not have any time to tell you."
"Stop your yapping boy! Let's see how good you are."
The brutish voice interrupted our conversation.
"Uhm Ferox sir. How are you gonna teach me? Are you going to manifest yourself in front of me like an artifact's soul form?"
"Nonsense kid. Although we could do that after some time. But..."
"Shut up Ferox."
En interrupted Ferox's words. I scratched my head, confused why En would do such a thing.
"Well, you heard it, boy, cant particularly talk about it."
"En is this because of the being that you cant let Ferox speak his words."
"I'm sorry Phil, but please stop asking. All you need to know is that this is for your own good."
I nodded after listening to En's words. Although I'm in the dark, as long as it won't bring me to harm or to those that were close to me then it wouldn't be a problem. I hope it won't be.
"So how is he Ferox?"
"Hmmm. As I see it, it's quite hard for him to take the first step. There's a great possibility that he might lose himself in the process. But dire times bring the potential of a person, it doesn't hurt to try."
Ferox casually observed Phil and grinned. Doubt can be seen in his face after his observation but after a moment madness and excitement took over.
"Hey Enthymema, how about we use the miasma to temper the boy. It would be a wonderful sight no? Cruelty from Ferox plus madness from the miasma. Oh!, how great of a final product would it be."
I shivered as I heard Ferox's deranged plan.
"En you wouldn't do that would you."
En did not answer my question since he was in deep thought.
"Are there any other way? Preferably not the one you just suggested and a little safer for Phil."
"Of course Enthymema, there are other ways. Safe ways at that."
I sighed in relief after hearing Forex's words.
"If you are willing to spend years inside the deepest abyss that is. HAHAHAHA. Then it would be a contest between isolation and the miasma, which thing will drive the boy mad first. HAHAHA!!"
"Then are you telling me there are no other ways to train the boy?"
"To be frank with you, there really are ways to train the boy, but much more dangerous than the one I suggested first. We could have trained him slow and steady if we are not inside the deepest abyss that is."
"I see."
"And one more thing Enthymema. If we take our sweet time, the audience outside might get bored and throw a tantrum worse than the maelstrom. And I am sure the boy would not survive that."
En sighed audibly and looked at Phil.
"I'm sorry Phil, but it seems we are out of options. This will be very hard for you and quite dangerous, but your chances of successfully escaping this prison would be greater. And don't worry, I am here and Eclaireuse to if ever something happens. Right Eclaireuse? I know you can hear us."
"Yeah, don't worry too much kid. I will try and protect you."
Eclaireuse uttered but a lack of confidence in her voice made me panic a little.
"Are you sure I will survive?"
"Stop being a wimp boy! Do you want to stay here inside this wretched place or go back home to your family?"
"Stop it Ferox. Phil is just a boy, unlike the previous ones you taught, he had just received his power and non the wiser towards our kind."
I thought of it hard as En and Ferox kept on bickering inside my head. The longer I am trapped inside the plains of sleep the more worried my parent would be since I would be in a state of coma without my soul. And Eric might blame himself and would do stupid things after hearing my eternal sleep. Sonja would be sad as well. Although it would be dangerous, I have a lot of people in the real world waiting for my return. And I don't want them to be worried because of me.
"Hmm. It seems you have decided boy."
I just noticed that both En and Ferox had stopped bickering and was rather quiet.
"Don't worry Phil, I will do my best to protect you and I would stop the process if ever it endangers your life, while Eclaireuse would control the amount of miasma to the degree you could tolerate and cut it off if ever things get worse."
Eclaireuse nodded after hearing what she need to do.
"Okay then, I decided to proceed with what Ferox just said. I have a lot of people that is waiting for me in the real world and it would be bad to make them worry."
"Now that's more like it boy. HAHAHA!!"
I breathed out in anticipation, I tried preparing myself but I could not help and stop my hands from shaking.
"First things first boy. I know you could at least visualize En since you had grown accustomed to him."
I nodded. Ferox was right. Somehow I could picture out En the first moment we met. I would always visualize him as having the same image as me. But when Ferox started to speak inside my mind, I could not see how he looks, all I could picture was a red flame floating inside my head.
"Then let's start with that boy. I am Ferox, cruelty incarnate. My domain is filled with carcasses and a river of blood. Crimson is what I see when I hunt. A body filled with barbaric power, able to slay giants with one swipe. My arms, an ever-changing weapon, are hungry for the blood of my victim. Can you see it boy, sitting on a throne of bones, waiting for the time for his next hunt?"
An image slowly appeared inside my head. A majestic and cruel person, he sits on his throne bored waiting for his next hunt, his body full of scars, muscular and full of barbaric aura. He slowly opened his eyes and grinned. His crimson eyes glowed in excitement, as I saw his presence.
"HAHAHA! It seems you can finally see my visage boy."
The figure sitting on the throne of bones, Ferox. Stood and made his way towards me. I could not help but raise my head as he slowly made his way towards me. I could see that he was at least 3 meters or more, the oppressive aura radiated from his body and I could not help but hold my breath.
I woke up after a few seconds and found myself back inside the cave.
"It seems you are successful in visualizing Ferox's image."
"En? What happened there?"
"Well as you just experienced, Ferox has just imprinted on you. Now he would hear whenever you call for him, but know this, whenever you call him I would not be there, your mind is too weak to accommodate two beings inside and you will suffer a splitting headache enough to drive you mad."
"What? But you two were just speaking inside my head right?"
"Well that was before you could see his image, in a sense he was not really there and was still in his domain, I just connected him with you using my abilities. But now that you had successfully connected him and the weight of his and my soul would be too much for you to bear at the same time."
"Then how would you help me if you both of you could not exist inside my mind at the same time?"
"Well, the being would help you at that. The being said that it would help you this time since this event had no precedence."
"Event? Precedence?"
"Sorry Phil, I could not say any word other than the ones I previously said to you."
I could not help but frown after hearing what En has just said.
"Okay then let us proceed to the next step. Call for Ferox and I would contact the being after that tell Ferox that you are ready and he will tell me and I will inform the being in order for me to help manage your mind. And Eclaireuse, follow what Ferox will tell you, he has his own method and knows his thing, don't worry."
"Okay boss!"
I could picture Eclaireuse saluting towards En.
"So how could I call for Ferox?"
"Just call for him and picture his image. Stating his titles would help paint the picture as well since it will be the first time you will call for him."
"Okay. Here goes."
I stood up and closed my eyes, trying to make the image of Ferox clear inside my mind.
"Ferox, cruel incarnate, butcher of many, I call upon you!"
I could hear rumbling inside my head as I called for Ferox.
"HAHAHA!! I ANSWER YOUR CALL!"