"The tower looked closer from afar..." Galen mumbled.
He was getting tired from walking all day, but he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to know why the goddess wanted him to retrieve this boy and give him back to them.
Aspen stopped Galen and Karma from moving further ahead. She pointed at something that caught his attention. It looked like a small crowd of people had gathered around one spot. A loud moaning could be heard from the crowd, and it wasn't long before Galen realized they are most likely glitches.
The hoarde leaned over a shrub where they could hear crying from the small cavity inside. Galen squinted and focused on the area as a small pair of hands could be seen reaching for the surface of the hole. A girl, no older than 13 years old, was struggling to climb out.
"Incinerating Flash!" Galen shouted.
[-10 Mana 390/400]
As he ran toward the mob with a burst of fire engulfing everything in flames attracting the glitches ' attention. His aim was clear as his flames engulfed the girl who fell to her feet immediately coughing and shaking her head.
"Idiot! You are gonna kill the kid by being reckless!" Karma yelled.
Her blades appeared in her hands with confidence that only the Goddess can provide. The glitch turned their attention to their target which gave the girl enough time to jump away. As soon as she touched ground, she sprinted away as fast as her legs can carry her away from them. Once she is safely away, Karma rushed into the crowd to rescue the child.
"Incinerating Flash!! Take my flames!" Galen screamed.
[-10 Mana 380/400]
The spell sparked from his fingertips causing a massive amount of flames to erupt from the ground slowly killing one glitch after another as Aspen jumped in with his massive blades swinging around like a whirlwind. They easily fell under the force of the blades slicing through whatever is in front of them. They were unable to get up until they were cut to pieces.
[EXP 300]
[EXP 400]
[EXP 200]
Galen was excited to use his simple fire based spells feeling the power mounting in his veins taking out the remaining glitches.
"That was too easy!" Galen celebrated.
Karma held the girl tightly in her arms trying not to cry from the shock of seeing what was left of those poor souls who didn't deserve to die like that. Aspen stood next to her observing how Karma's expression changes from sorrow to anger to relief to happiness.
The little girl gazed into Galen's eyes noticing a glimmer of light reflecting off of them. She noticed how Galen tried to look away when she caught him looking back. A sense of dread washed over Galen. She suddenly felt like she knew everything about him even though she never met him before.
"You are getting closer, but will you be enough, Galen?" She spoke.
Her words were enough to make his skin crawl. Galen couldn't understand where the question came from. He never thought the girl would recognize him since she didn't even have a hint of recognition on her face.
She looked behind her and stared at Aspen with an unknown emotion on her face before turning back to look at Galen.
"Who are you?" Galen asked.
"Be prepared to fight..." She warned.
Her body faded away shocking Karma and Aspen who didn't understand what happened when they saw she became nothing more than mist drifting past them towards Galen.
"Galen, what was that?" Aspen asked.
"Don't tell me this was a quest too!" Karma glared.
There was nothing else he could think of to say or do to explain that situation. Even if there was, he knew it would still take some time before the truth sinks in.
"Let's keep going..." Galen spoke.
Karma was impressed by this new sudden change in his personality. Before he'd been quiet and hesitant to talk much but now he's acting completely different. She decided that it was better not to ask about the odd change.
Galen took the lead a head of Aspen and Karma as they followed close behind. Galen glanced at Karma who was following behind him, her gaze glued to the ground. Her hand rested near the hilt of a dagger that is strapped to her waist as she clutched onto the leather strap that holds the blade in place.
Moving forward through the wooded forest ahead of them was slow going. Every time Galen and his friends came to a fork in the road they would have to decide on where to go next.
Gawking up the twisted gnarled tree branches high above them as they walked under them to hear the birds stop chirping the further they got from civilization. The woods started to grow darker and creepier, the trees towering above them. It's almost as if they're surrounded by a wall of darkness the silence between the three men and the girl grew heavier and heavier as they continued their trek.
"This way," Galen whispered.
Deep in his mind he knew the way as he crossed gently through the woods with ease guiding his friends through thickets of thorn bushes and twigs that blocked his path and made him trip and fall numerous times but he pushed onward until he came across a stone bridge and led them straight ahead where sunlight shone brightly illuminating the path.
"We're almost there" Galen said.
"I hope, Master Christian is okay...the slacker!" Aspen said angrily.
"Hopefully this is nothing!" Galen smiled.
The stone bridge was long and narrow allowing them to walk side by side. In the distance near the end of the bridge they could make out a shadow growing larger and bigger and bigger till it took shape of a man with dark brown hair with streaks of white.
Galen slowed down in pace as he walked toward the person waiting for them to answer. They were silent motioning towards the hazel haired boy to come closer.
He stepped in front of the strangers and stopped abruptly the stranger looked over him and then behind him before turning to his friends.
"What took you so long?" He asked.
Galen could feel himself stiffen with every step and each word until he finally understood the reason why.