The Hero and Kulana faced forward, watching as the night sky illuminated their path once more, The Hand of Garima pointing to their destination Through the darkness, they saw the island begin to take shape; a large stone spire taking the centerpiece of this island. The Hero was expecting a small rock, but this island was massive; he assumed that it would take days to search the island for this fallen god. Kulana was taken aback as the island continued to grow the closer they got, the spire blocking out the constellation.
"This island is massive. How are we going to find this god here?" She asked, looking to the Hero. Even in the moon light, his new markings stood out, the moon seemingly brightening the red marks. The Hero looked back to Kulana, shrugging.
"I'm not sure, but I know that we must, or else the world burns." He reminded her, looking back to the island. He then looked down, seeing that they were close to the shore line. He hopped off the canoe, feeling the wet sand envelope his feet, and began pulling the canoe to the dry shore. He focused his gaze past the shore and to the tree line; the dense foliage causing him to try and make out any animals. Smaller prey would be good game for fresh food, while bigger beasts could cause an issue. He could hold his own with his trusty axe, but he did not know what Kulana could do. It didn't look like she had any weapon on her, but maybe there was one in the canoe she packed.
He continued to pull the canoe, feeling the water level slowly lower as he pushed onwards out of the ocean. He felt the canoe begin to resist his pull as the sand entered its path, digging itself into the beach as it continued forward. Kulana hopped out as well and pulled alongside him, only stopping when the canoe was safely out of the reach of the waves. The Hero released the canoe and began moving up the beach, closing the distance between him and the dense foliage. Kulana was close behind, holding a small dagger, scanning the beach and the lands beyond.
The stone spire was monolithic now, as if it was a passage to the heavens. It appeared to touch the stars, and there looked to be no way to reach the summit. The Hero looked back to Kulana and shrugged. "I suppose we could start there." The maiden nodded in agreement and the two began moving forward once more.
The coconut trees covered their path, shrouding them in darkness. Both would stop in their tracks when they heard something in the darkness, trying to find the culprit who emitted said noise. Unconsciously, Kulana began to close the gab between her and the Hero, grabbing hold of his free arm, unknowingly causing him pain due to the fresh markings. The ointment had worn off after he jumped into the ocean, and he was regretting it.
There was a louder noise, and the two stopped once more, placing their backs together, and trying to spot the beast. This noise they heard sounded big, and the fact that both of them could feel the ground shake with each sound disturbed them.
Suddenly, a large tail swung at them, colliding with the sides of their bodies and sending them out into a clearing where the moonlight was on them like a spotlight. The Hero stood up, looking to Kulana and seeing that there was a large needle protruding from her shoulder. Blood stained the green grass that surrounded them, and only after another needle flew past him did he collect himself, turning to face the beast that had just assaulted them.
One massive paw revealed itself as the monster emerged from the forest of trees, four large red eyes focused on him as the beast lion-like maw snarled at him. Sharp stained fangs gleamed in the moonlight, and the large tail came into view, another fresh needle emerging from the tip. The beast entered a pouncing stance and flicked its tail, firing off a new needle. The Hero swung his axe up, knocking the projectile up and altering its path before running towards the beast. The beast in return charged, its paws slamming into the ground.
The beast lunged at the hero, sharp nails emerging to shred the Hero into pieces. The Hero, however, did not allow the beast to sink his claws into him, sliding underneath the air born monster and swinging his axe at his underbelly. The beast howled in pain, failing to land on its paws and crashing onto the surface. The Hero stood back up, swinging his axe to clean the fresh blood off of it. The Beast struggled to get back up, blood seeping out of its fresh wound. It growled at the Hero and snarled at his foe. Its tail began to form another needle, ready to fire at the Hero once more.
The Hero chose to charge, not allowing the beast to continue. The monster in return ran forward once more, roaring in anger.
Surprisingly, a figure landed on the back of the beast, a large blade running the beast through. The monster instantly went limp, tumbling to the floor. The figure jumped off the beasts back and landed on solid ground, cutting the beast in two when he stopped moving. The corpse of the beast slid toward the Hero and almost slammed into him. It stopped only a few inches in front of him, the dead eyes sliding forwards and looking at him. The Hero jumped in shock, hopping back a few inches to distance himself from the monster's body. The then focused on the figure, who was sheathing its large blade into a scabbard slung across its back. "Hey, who are you?" The Hero asked, giving the corpse a wide birth and approaching the figure.
The figure had not answered, instead moving to Kulana, who had become unconscious. Her shoulder had a new color staining it, a yellow mixing with the crimson. "She's been poisoned. I can cure her." The figure spoke, a masculine voice filling the air. The Hero was unsure why, but he felt a strange power to the man's words. The Hero approached the figure, seeing that he was missing an arm, his right arm to be exact. His limb ended halfway down his upper arm, the limb ending in a strange shiny cap. The man grabbed Kulana, surprisingly lifting her up and placing her on his shoulder, walking away from the field and towards the spire.
"Hey, I said, who are you!" The Hero shouted, moving to stop this stranger from taking Kulana. The man turned to face him, his face becoming visible. The man's face was covered in hair, a leaf covering his left eye, acting as a patch. The man sighed, blinking hard.
"My name is Arkanos, and I believe you are here for me."