Avic stretched his arms and let out a satisfying yawn. His eyes slowly opened to see the stars hanging in the distant night sky. The cool night air hung over his face and the sound of crickets and other nightly insects came into play.
"Humph..." He groaned, trying to relieve himself of the discomfort in his back. Sleeping in a wooden carriage was not something he would be doing again any time soon.
Carefully, Avic then looked around realizing that the carriage hadn't moved since he had fallen asleep. Instead, they were parked by the side of the road with small yellow lanterns around them to provide them with a little light.
"What the..? Why haven't we moved? We're never going to make it to Discite at this rate..."
Not seeing anyone around, Avic slowly picked himself up. The carriage was strangely quiet.
"I know it's nighttime but where is everyone..? Are they all asleep or something..?"
Slowly, Avic then moved toward the driver's seat of the carriage to see if anyone was there. However, the only thing that met him was the sound of an ominous wind that sent shivers running down his spine. The carriage creaked like an old door and a strange feeling of loneliness wrapped its arms around him.
Avic shuddered and took a deep breath. It didn't make sense for the carriage to be empty. Something didn't feel quite right.
"Hey, where is everyone? I hope you all didn't go outside... I heard the Wilderness can be extremely dangerous at night..!"
Starting to feel a little intimidated by the lack of answers, Avic wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his dagger and pulled it from his waist. He then carefully jumped from the driver's seat, out into the open, in front of the carriage. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he heard a strange splash.
Thinking he had stepped into a pool of water, Avic gazed down at his feet. This was when he realized he had stepped into a strange red liquid. His heart skipped a beat. He had stepped in a large pool of blood. He then shifted his gaze a few feet in front of him to see the horrific scene of a dead horse. He jumped in fright, hitting his back on the carriage which let out another long creak in response. The horse before him was one of the two that had been pulling the carriage.
"W-what the hell is going on here..?" He muttered in fright.
Gritting his teeth, Avic ran to the side of the carriage. He was now breathing heavily. His heart rate had increased significantly. He needed to know where Eliisabet and Custos were. This was when he gazed upon another strange sight in the distance.
A small flame flickered in the darkness. It was surrounded by a bunch of small rocks with droplets of blood sprinkled around the edges. It looked like some kind of ritual.
With each step, Avic drew closer to the small flame. He wasn't too eager to approach it but if he wanted to find the others then he didn't have much of a choice. As he drew closer, the hairs on his skin stood upright, covering him in goosebumps.
He could feel it. It was as if a dark presence was slowly swallowing him alive. It felt like someone was wiping their finger down the middle of his back. From the corner of his eye, Avic then saw a shadow move past him in the darkness.
He jumped in shock before swinging himself around. However, by this time, the shadow was already gone.
"I have a bad feeling about this... I should have just continued my nap..!" Cursed Avic quietly.
Deciding that his eyes had tricked him, Avic turned back toward the small flame. This was when something wet fell on his forehead. Wiping it away with his finger, he quickly realized it was a drop of blood.
Finally, he then fixed his eyes above his head. The gruesome scene of a dead man caught in a web of sharp strings immediately met his eyes.
"Shit..!" Exclaimed Avic, stumbling backward in fright.
The threads were soaked into the man's skin, wrapping around his bones. Blood pitter-pattered to the ground like soft raindrops, sizzling the fire below. But this wasn't the most frightening thing of all.
Taking a closer look at the man's half-closed green eyes, Avic noticed that it was the merchant they had helped earlier.
"The merchant's dead..? Damn it! I'm done with this shit! Custos! Eliisabet! Where are you?!"
Silence answered Avic's call. This started to make him extremely worried. Something terrible had happened and he could feel it in his bones. Suddenly, just like before, a shadow zipped past Avic before disappearing again into the dark.
Avic swung himself around, trying to keep up. However, the shadow was much too quick. It was impossible to keep up. He was now certain that something was watching him and he wasn't about to wait for it to attack.
Gritting his teeth, Avic turned around and ran back toward the carriage as fast as he could. He then moved toward the lanterns to surround himself with light. If he was going to fight, he needed to see what he was up against.
Avic then steadied his breathing and placed his dagger before him, ready for battle. However, this was when he noticed something that made him panic. For some strange reason, his body couldn't move. It was as if he had been paralyzed on the spot. He then looked down at his arms and feet, seeing that he was being held in place by a bunch of sturdy threads.
"What the hell?! This is such a pain in the ass! If only I had continued to sleep, this wouldn't have happened to me!"
Avic struggled to break free from the threads. They held him in place like a sturdy piece of rope. The more he struggled, the more the threads seeped through his skin. He groaned and fought in pain but it was to no avail.
A strange humanoid then stepped toward him from out of the darkness. It looked like a teenage girl who had pale grey skin and long messy black hair. Its hair swung from side to side, revealing a figure with no face. It had long unkempt fingernails and its body was wrapped in thread.
At first, Avic believed he was being hunted by a monster. But the thing before him was far worse. With his heart threatening to burst from his chest, Avic muttered with fear grappling onto his soul.
"This thing... It's... a Demon..!"