On the way back home, Neal was silent as he observed the weapons that were created just for him. The daggers had a dark hue which was not natural in the slightest, as well as a straight line indented into their sides.
The ash colored handles were rough but did not make it uncomfortable to hold in anyway. He only saw it as a way for him to improve his grip on his weapons.
Evans who was walking in the front of Neal could not help but notice the way he stared at the blades. He did not dare interrupt him though, as he had been in the same position once before.
As Neal continued to stare at the daggers, an aura unlike anything he had felt before drew his attention. Far to their left side was a cave that was made of pure black crystals. No form of light escaped from it's depth, and it gave off a feeling he knew all too well.
For some reason, he felt like he had to enter this place. His body moved on it's own causing him to head straight for the cave.
Not even taking five steps towards it, Evans interrupted by placing his hand on his shoulder. This snapped Neal out of his trance, drawing his attention to him.
"I can't allow you to do that. That place is off limits."
"What's in there?" Neal could not help but ask.
"We don't know; however, it was there when we all came to the tower. It screams nothing but bad news. You should probably avoid it as well," Evans explained as he let go of his shoulder.
After thinking long and hard, Neal continued the walk back home. He failed to remove the feeling he had back then out of his mind though. So far his bodily instincts had been spot on. He could not see any reason why it would be wrong now.
Even though he had this thoughts, he had no intention of going against the rules the others had set. Causing problems for them this early was the worst thing he could probably do at the moment.
Upon getting to the living area, Neal entered his new home before taking a quick look around the place. The size of the room was similar to a one room apartment. Only few things were present in the room so he did not see any problem with that.
His bed was made out of straw and covered with a bedsheet that was made out of cotton. On top of it, some clothes laid still. He could tell that they were probably his now. By the side was a chair and a pair of shoes similar to the one he already had.
Jumping on the bed, Neal stared at the ceiling with several thoughts running through his mind. The fact that he was fighting his first monster the next day excited and sacred him at the same time.
Though the major question on his mind though was, "when was it going to be the next day?" Neal's thoughts soon exhausted him, ultimately causing him to fall asleep.
*****
Few hours had past and Neal woke up in what appeared to be a dark room. It did not make any sense since he fell asleep in his room earlier.
"Where am I?" He asked himself to no avail.
Just then, the top of the room lighted up resulting in him staring upwards. The sight above only sent shivers down his spine. Light emanated from a massive eye ball up above. An eye that was obviously staring straight at him.
In quick panicked movements, Neal looked around the place, trying to find a way to escape. This was useless as majority of the room was still in the dark. The light from above only acted as a spotlight on Neal.
With no other option, he dashed off into the dark in hopes that he could outrun it's gaze. This was for naught however, as the eye still followed him with ease.
Eventually running out of steam, Neal fell to the ground trying to catch his breath. His once intense fear reduced the moment he realized the massive eye ball had no intention of harming him.
That could not be said though, for another person he noticed in the distance. A spotlight shone upon the individual as well, revealing it to be some kind of monster.
Out of nowhere, shackles emerged from below, cuffing multiple areas of Neal's body. At this point, he was incapable of screaming even if he wanted to. If he had to guess, he believed the massive eye was responsible for this.
Covered with a dark cloth from top to bottom, the creature's body was mostly concealed. This did nothing to hide it's massive elongated metallic nails or it's face which was similar to that of a skeleton. Several cavities ran along the sides of it's teeth and it's nose. A faint glow escaped it's eye holes as it stared down Neal.
With no form of warning whatsoever, the beast charged at him with the clear intent to kill. A sharp thrust of it's hand embedding it's claws deep into his heart, causing him to cough out blood.
Jolting up from his bed, sweat ran down all through Neal's body as he gasped desperately for air.
He secured a strong grip on his chest as he looked around the environment. From what he could see, he was still in his room.
"It was all a dream," Neal sighed in relief. "But it felt so real.."
Knocks echoed on his door out of the blue, catching his attention. He couldn't tell how long it had been there though.
"Is it the next day already?" He questioned himself as he headed for the door.
The nightmare from earlier seemed to have drained any form of energy he gained from his sleep. Unlocking the door, Neal drew the door out of the way revealing Evans who was by the other side.
"Morning Neal. You are up earlier than I expected. You should get prepared, it's time," Evans informed.
Just as Evans left the premises, Neal gave off an audible sigh. He could feel the ache in his joints and weakness in his muscles as well. Though it obvious, he had no choice.
Grabbing his blades and a new pair of clothes, he dashed out of the house, eventually catching up with Evans who was heading in the direction of the massive door at the end of the dungeon.
Upon reaching their destination, Neal was surprised to see the other four at the exit. Each of them had armor and their weapons on, which only puzzled him.
Xavier who stood out among all of them stared at him with his usual intimidating gaze. This did nothing to frightened him though, since he was already expecting it.
After Evans put on his own equipment, the two prominent shields he had on caught Neal's attention. He had a hard time believing that those were actually his weapons.
'Is this what it means to be a Guardian?' He could not help but wonder.
Following Xavier's lead, the rest of the group followed behind as they walked through the door.