Leaping across the rooftops, Icarth felt the rush of wind across his face. An exhilarating feeling rushed through him as he closed in on his destination. The moonlight illuminated the slumbering city, exuding a calm vibe.
Absorbed in this rush of adrenaline, Icarth failed to notice a couple of dark hooded figures in an alleyway as he passed right over them.
The dark hooded figures jerked at the slight sound of him wooshing over their heads.
"What was that?!" One of them furiously whispered.
"I don't know!" An answer was shot back.
"No 2, check it out!" The first whisper ordered.
No 2, nodded and activated his gift. A string of universal energy was formed connecting the figure to somewhere deep in the sky.
No 2's eyes glowed as his vision shifted from his regular field of view to a birds-eye view of the city.
Scanning the area around their location, No 2 found nothing odd or out of place. Expanding his view, he caught sight of a blurred figure disappearing into the forest at the edge of the city.
"There was a figure that disappeared into the forest. I don't know if he was spying on us or not." No 2 reported.
The rest of the group went silent. If they were found out, their plan would fail in the worst way possible.
"Inform the rest of the members, we need to find out who that was and what their affiliation is." The first voice, likely the leader ordered.
"Disperse for now. Lay low for the next few days." Ending his orders, the group of cloaked men disappeared in different directions, leaving no trace of their existence in the first place.
----
Oblivious to everything, Icarth continued to journey deep into the forest. Finally, he reached the boundary which separated the inner forest and the outer forest.
There wasn't a visible boundary as such, but through trial and error and multiple trips out, Icarth had finally mapped the boundary in his head. The boundary was a physical one of universal energy which acted as a barrier and a sensor for people passing to and fro. It cut through half of the massive forest, making sure that half of it fell under the city's borders.
As mentioned previously the boundary acted as a sensor that detected all organisms that crossed its borders. Usually, it was transparent allowing for a free passage in and out with a sensor keeping track of any dangerous beings. But in times of emergency, it could be made opaque to prevent any intruders from entering the city.
To avoid tripping the sensor, Icarth took out an old coin-like object. It was worn and faded, the effects of time having taken their toll on the coin. But still, a faint engraving of a woman persisted on the coin, making its grandstand against the flow of time.
Gripping the coin, Icarth passed through the border like always. Pocketing the coin on the other side, Icarth expanded his senses.
The forest seemed to come alive as his senses picked up things that weren't there before. The dim moonlight didn't help at all to see anything in the forest. So Icarth closed his eyes and gave himself to his other senses.
The cold chill of the forest containing a small amount of dew permeated through his skin. The faint chirps of insects and the rustle of leaves in the wind brushed by his ears. The earthly smell of the forest penetrated his nose along with the scents of the animals that traversed through this place at one point in time.
Taking all this information in, Icarth zeroed in on the most important one: the innate sense of danger that hung thick in the air. It clung to his skin and coiled itself around him. Icarth shivered as he felt a pair of eyes gazing at him. The unblinking stare of the foreign creature analyzed Icarth from head to toe. Satisfied with its observation, the gaze on Icarth disappeared, and the sense of danger evaporated as if it was never there.
Icarth opened his eyes, his pale red eyes had contricted not only to adapt to the low light levels in the forest but also to the near brush of death that he had been subjected to.
That feeling was the guardian of the forest. Everyone who entered the forest was scrutinized by it at some point or the other. And those it deemed unworthy or a threat never returned from the forest.
Due to this sole reason, the forest in Aster City was avoided as much as possible, and if it was forced on them, no one would wander too deep.
Icarth, sweating slightly, glared in the direction of the danger. While the forest guardian had hidden itself, for now, Icarth still remembered where its presence had originated from.
He grit his teeth as his eyes smoldered. He was still too weak. The fact that the guardian hadn't acted on his presence here made it obvious that he wasn't a threat to it or the forest. Clenching his fist, Icarth asserted his vow to get stronger. So that he wouldn't be looked down on like this ever again. So that he could protect those he cared about. So that he wouldn't die as easily as his gramps.....
Shaking his head to clear it of all useless thoughts. Icarth set out to begin the hunt. He expanded his senses once more and now that the overbearing source of danger was removed from above his head, Icarht was able to detect lesser sources of danger that his senses warned him about. This was a special ability of his half-transformation that enabled him to visualize how dangerous something is based on his instincts and intuition.
Locking onto a moderately big source, Icarth prowled through the underbrush, sticking close to the tree line in case anything attacked him. Just because the guardian didn't act didn't mean that he was safe. There were plenty of other threats that could lead to his end if he wasn't cautious.
Finally closing in on the target, Icarth's senses started tingling like crazy, it was a crouched cat-like creature that blended into its background. The most curious thing was that it was crouched on the tree trunk, vertically positioned on the tree. Staying stock still, the sense of danger that it emitted was more than enough to make Icarht nervous.
But with nervousness, came an excitement like no other.
Adrenaline started to work its magic and Icarth contained a smile. He was going to fight something stronger than him.
Icarth knew what he was doing was dangerous on many levels. No one knew where he was, so if he got fatally injured, it would truly be the end for him.
But for this battle-crazed lunatic, the shadow of death was just a motivator to fight with all he had. It was truly exhilarating for him.