We seemed to have a blood moon tonight.
The heavy wind made the atmosphere look even more eerie.
The forest could be called "lively" tonight as the only sound that could be heard is the gawking of crows, which definitely would fit a horror scene.
I couldn't care less about the state of this damned jungle, but what worried me more was the current darkness of the sky.
The old man always told me to not stay beyond the last tree from the path deviation after sunset.
I was so immersed in practicing a few of my spells that I didn't notice when nighttime came.
"Looks like I'm going to get another earful tonight, but come on, I shouldn't be blamed for this one... He told me to perfect it, so it couldn't be helped right? If only he'd understand that," I say out loud to no one in particular, still sprinting towards the house.
If I arrived earlier, perhaps my punishment would be lessened,' is what I placed my hopes on, even though I instinctively knew it was a vain consolation.
Our shabby duplex is situated a few kilometers from the center of the latent groove.
A forest that's considered one of the most prominent landmarks of the continent and also one of the most mysterious.
The mystery of this grove lies in the fact that all the trees and grasslands could be considered extensions of the roots and vines of the originator tree at the very center, Avan, the source of life in latent grove.
Put simply, Avan could be described as a gateway leading to heaven knows where. Nothing ever did come out, including the things that went in.
The tree could not be uprooted, or cut down. Attempts to do this in the past led to the perpetrator swiftly being swept into the gateway, so in the end, it was quarantined.
This was where I lived.
I approached the entrance to the house, my attention is captured by glistening silver feathers scattered across the ground, an unusual sight indeed.
I walked over and extended my arm to pick one before a sudden repulsion hit me. It is as though the feather wouldn't allow my hand to approach it, causing a strange spatial disturbance whenever I put my hands towards it.
And there were more than 5 littered across the entrance space.
As I walked through the gate, sudden fear began to encroach into my thoughts, when two swords lying on the ground and shattered wall fragments come across my searching gaze.
I observed the design of the two weapons and recognize immediately that they aren't normal swords, They belong to the old man.
My mind raced rapidly to find interpretations of the situation laid out in front of me. There was obviously a battle, but against who and why?
The feathers could only mean a winged animal, but in all my years, I've never known of any bird with these kinds of feathers.
But, would it cause him to bring out the swords he valued as much as his title..?
Maybe it was because I didn't want to believe that our peaceful life here was being threatened, it was causing my rationality to slip away.
To begin with, it was already very unlikely and probably impossible for the old man to unveil those swords except we were under an attack where our lives were in mortal danger.
I already knew there was no way he would, but I wasn't prepared to face reality.
Whilst still lost in thought, I took off my shoes and decided to proceed as normal, hoping it was all a lie.
I ran towards the hole in the wall to inspect the interior. It's just another bizarre evening, nothing more. Please let there be nothing more.
"Old man, Why is there a man-sized hole in the wal…"
I stopped in my tracks, and my eyes opened so widely that I thought they were going to pop out of their sockets.
My smile rapidly turned back to its former position. I observed the scene in front of my eyes and concluded it was probably an illusion, yes, it had to be because there was no other explanation.
Three figures stood before me with their backs turned glowing a transcendent colour I couldn't fathom.
Two of them had a very muscular build and were dressed in steadied and full set armor, veils over their heads.
Both exuded an intense atmosphere, a presence that I couldn't even hope to understand, it was more than clear that they weren't of this world.
No, they were far more powerful than that definition, they felt like heavenly beings.
The one in front of them had a feminine build, she was clad in the same white armor but instead had a bright light that surrounded her face that made it impossible to make out what she looked like.
She was in a different league from the other two. It felt like I could fall dead at any given moment from just looking, her Ether was incomprehensible.
It was calming but overwhelmingly chaotic, it was Divine. The sword in her hand reflected her essence as well, of the same color as she was.
"God…?" My mouth moved on its own to praise her even though I had no prior thoughts.
I shifted my gaze towards her beautiful white sword, noticing the red streak that ran around the lower half, A blood stain on such an instrument of perfection. Human blood.
The droplets of blood slowly dripped from the upper edges of the blade to the sides to the very tip before falling into a small puddle of the same blood.
In this deafening silence, every drop echoed around the room.
They all turned their attention to me and I glanced at them all one after the other, trying to make out their thoughts and expressions, checking out which one of them the blood belonged to, until it dawned on me that none of them were bleeding.
A pointless act, I knew. I already knew.
I looked down at my feet only to see The Old man, Jhio, lying in a pool of blood still holding onto his necklace and his eyes still open but lifeless.
My heart must have skipped a beat,
My entire body shook. Fear. I didn't understand anything thus far, except fear. Genuine Fear.
However, this fear felt all too familiar.
Ok let's back up a bit