Sometimes I stopped to look at the things around me. The sky, the rocks, the trees, the floor, all kinds of things. I thought of how everything could come to an end in an instant and yet nothing will change. Weird isn't? What is happening? How is this even possible? But I could not hold on those thoughts for long, for I live in a world that will not wait for me to get my mind together. I must keep moving forward, find the clues, learn about the mystery, and quickly resolve the conflict before it could cause some real damage. Oh how wonderful would it be if everything went as smoothly as that. However, I am once again faced by the reality that no matter how experienced I am, nothing could have prepared me for the sight of horror before me.
A body that once belong to a child, skewered in the most disturbing way by roots coming from the earth, in the middle of the dark forest. I shined my lamp towards the little boy's body, trying my best to identify it while holding the need to vomit. This isn't my first rodeo, I have seen many dead bodies in my journey to halt evil. It is only natural that the greater evil I face, the more horrifying my journey would be. Although I know I should be relieved that at least my humanity is still intact, I couldn't help but wish I have lost it long ago so that I may not have to feel so ill and disgusted by the act of evil such as this.
The boy's name was Carl, he was the kid that told me of the mysterious creature that resides in this forest. I have warned him that unknown creatures should not be taken lightly, but authors and the media these days seems to fantasized about being friends with these creatures perhaps too much. I have been planning to check on this forest for a while, but I didn't want to rush it. I want to take my time to prepare myself with any form of protection I could find to help me survive in this forest. If only I didn't take so much time, maybe the kid would still be alive.
I tried removing his body from the roots' grasped but quickly stopped as I realized it will tear his body even more. I may try to act cool and cold, but my heart still grows ache at the thought of damaging the poor boy's body even more. So I did the least I could do, I closed his eyes, sat down, and pray. I am not a religious person, I am not an atheist either. I know damn well that God is out there, but I wonder if it makes any real difference. But at times like this, I know that all I can do is pray that whoever up there actually cares enough to let the poor soul rest.
I got up and continue on my journey deeper into the woods, searching for the evil that was responsible. This forest is haunted, that is for sure, it had been messing with my senses the moment I entered it. My vision is blurry, my sense of balance is uncertain, and I couldn't hear anything. It is as if the forest did not harbor any life. This is the act of a powerful creature, trying to wear me down so that once my guard has fallen, it could sweep in and skewered me as well. But I could feel it, it is on guard as it realizes I am no ordinary man.
The creature has been following me for some time. I am well prepared to fight this creature, but if I am to survive this encounter, I must know for sure that my victory will be in an instant, for it will only work on its favor if the battle last any longer. There was no sound, no movement, no sighting of the creature. I am left with my instinct to know when the creature will begin its attack.
I wait and I wait, until I feel my neck about to be slit within a second. I immediately dodged it and casted the fire of Akpofure to light every root around me on fire and created a blazing fire walls. The creature was blinded by the sudden flash as I cast Zdenka lightning bolt through its chest, leaving a giant hole. I continued my attack by dropping the blade of Alof from the air to cut its head, limbs, and body in half. I then waited for a couple of seconds before I turned off the fire of Akpofure. I slowly approached the creature's body which is now separated to 7 pieces. I observed it for a while, looking for any sort of movement or response, to find nothing.
My mind was already celebrating my victory, but I can't help but feel the dreaded feeling of knowing it was never going to be that easy. Sure enough, the forest started to move, and the dark sky got even darker as the trees began to form a closed ceiling. Now not even the light could find its way to the forest. The trees around me started to connect with each other forming a dense barricade that slowly starts to fill every empty space in the forest. I stood in silence, trying to think of a way to escape from this situation, when the 7 pieces of the creature's body started to reattach with roots to form a clear sight of a humanoid creature standing before me.
The creature looked me in the eyes as his wooden like body started to crack. From those cracks, a liquid started to droll. I couldn't see it very clearly, but I can tell from the smell that it is blood. The blood didn't stop pouring as its entire body started to be fully covered in it. It was as if the creature was showing of the amount of blood it had claimed. The trees were getting closer with every second, but I couldn't think straight as the new threat was also moving towards me.
As the creature approached, I sat down and summoned the one thing I have in mind. The creature was about to swing its hand to decapitate me when all of the sudden the ground started shaking and the creature could feel an intense pressure from the sky. The creature looks to the sky trying to identify the incoming object. While it was distracted, I quickly resummoned the Akpofure flames all around me and began to run away as quickly as my skinny legs could carry me. The creature looked at me and was about to chase me when the ceiling formed by the trees was pierced by a massive giant construct, which was none other than an upside down pyramid. The creature was shocked and didn't have time to react as the giant construct dropped directly at its body, crushing it in an instant.
Although it may seem impressive to summon a real size pyramid, it is not actually the real thing, it was just a mere replica made in my mind, and it cost almost half the energy I have in me. I have to run as quickly as possible before the pyramid collapsed itself on me. The Flame of Akpofure burned through the trees that were barricading my way. However, I am not sure if I am going to make it as the pyramid's broken pieces started to shower towards me. A giant chunk fell right beside me and another one in front of me. I never run this fast in my life, but I am going to have to put every bit of strength if I do not want to die a painful death.
The path to the outside world had finally showed itself, all I have to do is endure the pain just a bit longer. I was cutting it close as a giant shadow appeared beneath me as a form of greeting from the giant chunk that was about to crushed me. I canceled the Akpofure flames and cast Euthymia's blessing to boost my speed, merely avoiding the giant chunk and escaping the dark forest. I am not sure if I could call it a forest anymore since every tree in there was either burned by me or crushed by the giant pyramid. Either way, I was finally safe. But, am I?
As the figure that sent chills down my spine appeared before me once more amidst the destruction and dust. However, with the forest being completely destroyed, the creature has lost its advantage. I slowly pull out the book of Mahesh and prepared myself for a final fight. But the creature spooked me as it began to speak actual words. "Who are you?" it said in a sore and creepy voice.
I replied, "Aslan Serapis, and you are?"
"Ruzica... I believe it was my human name, given by Carl."
Once I heard that, I was left speechless. Carl gave this creature a name. What is going on here?
"Are you friends with Carl?" I asked.
The creature thought to itself for a while before answering. "Yes... I am."
I gritted my teeth and asked, "Then why did you kill him?"
The creature seemed confused, but then it replied, "Killed him? I didn't kill him."
"What?"
"He is alive you see, he is inside of me."
"What do you mean by that?"
The creature smiled and answered, "He was being very nice to me, he told me all about the outside world, he told many wonderful tales, and he was very cheerful. But I couldn't help but feel sorrow as he was trapped inside that hideous and weak body. So I decided to break him open and set him free. Now he lives within me, forever. He could tell me every story he wanted to tell for all of eternity."
My God, I was too shocked to think straight in this situation. What sort of creature is this? Is there more of this creature in the realm? If so, the world is truly in grave danger.
"Do you wish to join him?" the creature offered me its bloody hand to me for a handshake, as if I was going to make a deal with that thing.
"What are you exactly?" I asked.
The creature didn't replied. I was afraid this was going to happen.
"You don't know do you?"
The creature didn't respond.
"Usually creatures like you would feel insulted to have been given a name by a mere human, and yet you gladly accept the name and even introduce yourself with said name."
The creature again refused to answer. Horrifying creatures like this is even more dangerous if it doesn't even know its name. Why you asked? One of the advantages a magician like me have when going up against these creatures is that we have the ability to overwhelm it with great and powerful spells if we know its True Name. There are a lot of opinion on what True Name actually means, but it is definitely not a name that was given by human child to a creature.
Most powerful creatures would be very much arrogant and confident of their power to defeat any magician and so will not hesitate to speak of its True Name believing that it will boost its power even more through the fears of man, which is not completely wrong. However, it gives us magician enough knowledge to plan an actual strategy and tactics to pull out the victory. Although magicians have the ability to alter the rules of the universe and therefore can be deemed as powerful beings, our greatest attributes comes from our knowledge and studies. When faced with a creature that doesn't even know its name, there are almost infinite amount of possibilities of what could happen next. I was hoping that this creature would be an Alherian, an unfriendly spirits that resides in dark and isolated forests, but there is definitely something more going on here.
The creature stood there silently, still extending its hand. I decided to see how it will respond if I deny its request. "Interesting offer!" I said, "But, unfortunately I must decline."
The creature's smile was gone and I was expecting a sudden outburst, but to my surprise, it cried? The creature started to pose as if it was crying and shaking with the most dreadful and painful voices that would have made me sympathize with the thing had I not known how dangerous it is to let my guard even for a second in the presence of this unknown creature.
It cried and cried for a few minutes. I observed it silently, without realizing what was happening. I was foolish to miss it, but when the realization hit me, it was too late. The sound of people walking towards us can be heard vividly as they thought the cry was a distress call from a child in the middle of the night. I missed this idea since the pyramid didn't seemed to caught anyone's attention, but apparently since it fell on the forest, it was within the creature's power to dampened the sound the same way it nullifies my hearing while I was in the forest. Now that the forest is gone, nothing was controlling the flow of sound.
I immediately shouted as loud as I can, "Get out of here, it is a trap!" but to my despair it was too late as the creature spawned numerous roots from the ground piercing through everyone's body, skewering them brutally. I quickly opened the book of Mahesh and started the incantation of Ismet the Wise. Violent winds gathered all around me, cutting through every roots that dare to approach me. I continued my incantation while the creature seemed to start gathering the bodies it had claimed towards it. I thought I have seen the worst and yet I have been proven wrong once more as the creature began feasting upon the dead bodies. I could feel it, it gained incredible amount of power from the blood it consumed.
I began to hurried my incantation in a desperate hope of killing the creature before it gained too much power. I finished the very last sentence and divine judgement in the form of black lightning struck the creature over and over again. Normally, it will only take once or twice to kill a creature that is found guilty of killing the innocents. So why won't this creature die?
The creature screamed in agony and yet it summons giant mouths formed by roots to devour the remaining dead bodies. It withstand the black lightning 40 times! The storm finally canceled itself and the attack has finally stopped. The creature was laying on the ground, roasted, but it moved. I was terrified beyond belief and began to scroll through another incantation as the creature began to stand up once more, looking more powerful than before.
My mind went blank as my entire body is telling me to run. I was shaking and finally ran away from it. I kept on looking for the right incantation, but fear got the best of me and scrambled any good plans I could have had. I ran towards the nearest village, without thinking about the consequents of such action. I kept on running without looking back. I ran through the village and to another village and to another one until I finally ran out of strength and collapsed to the ground in the middle of road.
I finally woke up and the sun was shinning. I was completely exhausted that I forgot what happened. I stood up and hear a lot of commotion coming from the village near me. As I went to checked what happened, I was met with the same horror as before. Dozens of villagers were skewered and their family members were crying and mourning as they struggle to remove the body from the roots. It was a disaster. All of my memories started coming back to me, as I fell to the ground crying out as the unbearable regret crushed my entire soul. I did this. Had I not run towards the villages, this would not have happened. Had I not enter the woods in the first place, this would not have happened. Had I paid more attention to what was happening, this would not have happened. Had I not lost to my fears, this would not have happened.
I can not hoped to survive being crushed by the weight of my sin! I have truly lost! I sat down in the ground, lying against a brick wall, trying to calm myself, trying to keep my soul from falling apart. I crossed my leg, closed my eyes, and meditated. I was trying to control my mind, restore the ideas, and conquer my fear and regret but to no avail. But then, it clicked! Why am I not dead yet? Why did the creature stopped? My messy mind stopped at the thought and began to reorganize itself. Perhaps it was the sun! The creature used the forest to cover itself from the light, perhaps it is something that I could use against it. If it really is the sun, the creature must have fled to the dark forest once more to rebuild its lair. I must confront it once more.
However, the idea of facing the creature again brought chills through my spine as my entire body tremble at the mere thought of fighting that creature. I can't and I don't want to. I will just flee and let someone else handles it. Yes, that is why I will do. I will tell the tale of this encounter and tell other magicians how to face the creature, I will be contributing to its inevitable defeat any way.
I stood up and sighed a huge relief as I decided to retreat. I began walking away when I was met by a small girl whom I recognized. She was none other than Carl's sister. She just stood there in the middle of the street, holding her doll as her father's dead body were on display in front of her, skewered by the roots. Her mother was screaming in agony as she hugs her husband's dead body and mourned her missing son.
"No..." I told myself. I did this, I will take responsibility, even if I am scared, I will not run away. I began walking toward the cursed forest. On the way, my body kept on throwing doubts upon my mind, telling me to go back, but I will rather die than bear the guilt of running away. I kept on walking until I saw the cursed forest. My earlier assumption turned out to be true. The creature have rebuild its lair as I stand before the newly summoned forest that was previously destroyed by me. I called out to the creature.
"Ruzica, I am here!"
The creature didn't replied, instead it laughed from the inner forest, inviting me to enter the dark forest once more. I thought about running away for the last time, but quickly shut that thought down as I entered the forest. I walked with caution as the sky gets darker and darker. The sound was dampened again and my vision became blurry just like before. I can feel it, the creature was more confident than before, it is well prepared to kill me. Perhaps it was just observing to see on whether or not I have come up with a way to kill it.
I then stopped, and sat down. The creature seemed to be confused. It laughed again hoping to caught my attention, but I ignored it. The creature was trying to figure out what I was up to but with no avail. It waited and waited but finally grew impatient and decided to show itself to me with a grand introduction. All of a sudden, the ground below me was wet and it was not water. Blood began to come up from the ground creating a lake of blood as the creature covered in blood appeared in front of me. I stared at it and it stared back. The creature was giggling out of control, confident that I have come out of despair as I have shown no real determination of killing it. It then stopped giggling and began to speak, "Have you come to live inside me? It is painful to live in such a dreadful flesh. Come join us! Carl is waiting for you!"
I realized something, this creature was not naïve like a child I thought it to be, it was malicious and evil. It had been using many ways to manipulate my mind into fear, despair, and madness. It knew exactly what it was doing. It knew that I know Carl hence why it didn't devour Carl's body and left it there to distract my thoughts and judgement, the same reason it didn't eat the villagers, instead it displayed them so that I could see it. The creature could have easily gain power by eating them but it was trying to destroy my chains of thought just like when the creature revealed it knew who Carl was just as I about to destroy it. Why else would it mention Carl's name to a random stranger that knows nothing of that name? Unless Carl once told the creature about me and it used that information in our battle. It cried back then in an effort to try to make me sympathize because it knew I could have ended it right that instant. This creature is not only a capable fighter, but also a talented manipulator.
Therefore, I must remain calm, regardless of what this creature said. Ignored it. Focus. Breath and, "Here comes the sun." As I finished my incantation in my mind, calling out the sun's blessing as it rained down the strongest light in history, piercing through the darkness of the forest, right at the the creature. The creature was shocked but didn't have time to react. The sun's light melted its wooden skin, evaporating all the blood, and burning it thoroughly. I turned my back and close my eyes as the sun did its job. The creature is whining asking for help with the voice of Carl. I was tempted for a moment, but then I cleared my mind and see right through its lies as the creature's voice turned from pleading to cursing. So much for a manipulator, I guess it realized that I knew what it was up to by then. The spell itself was really difficult and power consuming, after casting it, I wouldn't be able to cast any other spell. I took notes from the previous battle, and began casting it on my way to the forest and so I only need to trigger it once I have come face to face with the monster. If it didn't work, then I was as good as dead. Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately, fate would let me bear my sins longer as the creature was destroyed completely that not even a dust was left.
Normally, this spell wouldn't be so effective, it would blind people and perhaps burned them, but not to the extent of complete destruction. Perhaps the sun is the creature's kryptonite, but it didn't matter as it was all over. Without the creature, the forest quickly died and began to decay. It was never a real forest in the first place. Just an evil lair created by an evil creature. I returned to the villages and informed them of what happened in an effort to calm them. Although some of them were relieved that the creature is gone, most of them began to curse me as they deemed me responsible for the death of their loved ones. I could not deny their accusation. I gave my deepest apologies and tried to give them my riches as a way to atone my sins, but they denied it. With no other choice, I left the villages and was on my way home when Carl's sister appeared once more before me. I gave her one of my most powerful artifacts, Shyama's Divine Protection Amulet. I wished her good luck and continued my journey.
This incident will forever be in my memory as one of my greatest failures, but it also serves as a reminder of how important my mission is and why I should keep fighting for it, no matter how painful and scaring the coming trials would be.