"Hmmm, that's odd. The cave should be here. Did we go the wrong way?" Charon inquires. He then kneels down to examine the road, looking for traces of footsteps they might have left before on their way to the river. Much to his dismay, there was nothing.
They've been all over the place, seemingly losing their sense of direction.
Charon then would stand up and say, "Not only that, but I also haven't been able to sense any form of life around us for a while now. Stay alert."
"Something is stopping us from reaching our shelter, and I'm not sure what."
"Eva, if you see or sense anything suspicious, let me know." Charon instructs.
But no affirmation would come from Eva.
"Eva?" Charon calls out. Eva is nowhere to be seen.
Fearing for the worst, Charon would try to cast a spell.
It's been so long since he had casted magic. With his equipment losing almost all of its functionality, Charon can only rely on magic to find Eva's location.
Charon first transfers the mana from his mana core, which is his heart, to his brain. With the mana now in his neurons, he would visualize a certain array which has a unique design, and then form it inside his brain, more specifically the cerebrum with the mana available.
This creates a circular ball of mana to manifest on the palm of his hand. And then, he would clench the manifested mana, with all his might.
It causes Charon's eye to dilate, which is an indication of successfully casting the spell, Search. To activate it, one has to dedicate their thoughts towards the thing they're looking after.
And so, Charon dedicates his mind to Eva.
The circular mana, which is being held tightly in Charon's palm, slowly dissipates and is spread to the entirety of the forest.
In theory, the mana would examine and inspect every single atom in its casted area. Once the target is found, the mana would return to the user, and the information gathered would be transferred over to the brain.
Although Charon isn't the best at manipulating magic, he's capable of casting basic spells perfectly.
'I can never get how those maniacs are able to cast their spells almost instantaneously.' Charon would think while recalling his previous battle with grand mages.
Moments later, the mana Charon had spread returns to him with valuable information.
"Wait for me, Eva." Charon mutters to himself, hoping that she isn't harmed in any way.
~
~
~
*Boom* The source of the explosion was none other than Eva's concentrated balls of beam.
It was directed to a gigantic deer-like creature, which only has one big eye on its face.
It would appear that it had suffered no damage from the assault.
"Tsk, this is getting out of hand." Eva would say while panting heavily.
'No wonder we had trouble finding our way back to the shelter….. we've caught the attention of the tenacious Deeruks.'
Deeruks, a gargantuan deer that possesses the ability to disrupt one's sense of direction.
Not much else is known about it, as most that encountered it weren't so lucky to live to tell the tale.
Along the way, this so-called Deeruks was able to isolate Eva from her master. They've been trading attacks for about 10 minutes now, and Eva, still exhausted from the spar before, is barely holding on.
"Hgggrr. Raaaaaaaaagh" it would yell out whilst materializing spikes of ice on the ground Eva is standing on.
It wasn't instantaneous however, giving enough time for Eva to dodge to the side of it.
'That is scary. What else can it do?' Eva ponders, ruminating on its capability.
The answer would soon present itself up above.
Spikes of ice is rapidly forming and multiplying in the sky before,
They come crashing down towards Eva,
"I'm not going to be taken out by an aerial attack again!" Eva yells out while casting a radiant bright shield above her.
The spikes would fail to penetrate it,
Despite the attack being ineffective however, it would prolong its attempt.
As Eva fends herself from the spikes, she would realize that it's a ploy to distract her. She isn't sure what it's planning, but it can't be good.
She needs to act quickly and learn why. However, the shield she is currently employing takes up serious effort and full focus, occupying her fully.
The deer, taking full advantage of her inability to move, would charge up an attack with its eye. The black pupil that it has would flash in radiant blue.
The temperature of the surrounding drops significantly as a side effect, forming snowflakes and ice crystals near its proximity.
Eva, although still occupied by the ice spikes that's relentlessly raining down on her, would soon notice the looming danger.
'Ah, it's so cold. Why does it have to be so cold? My warmth is slipping away, body giving out, spirit dwindling away. I hate the cold. I hate it. I hate it. I hate this. I hate this. I hate myself.'
.
.
.
.
Roh, an extension to one's spirit. Not many can manifest their roh and utilize it. Each roh has their own distinct characteristic, and it is dependent on the host. A person whose spirit is as calm as the ocean is likely to manifest power attributed to water, which represents tranquility.
However, its full power can only be accessed when the host's emotion is in sync with their spirit.
"No." Eva utters in defiance of her demise.
She then withdraws the shield she had employed, which is a manifestation of Eva's roh, perseverance.
Not wanting to get hit by the incoming attack by Deeruk, she chooses to instead engage with the falling spikes up above by dodging them with precise and skillful footwork. Each one of them can prove to be fatal, so she has to calculate her moves very precisely. With great difficulty, she would find her way out of the spiky rain.
As she exits the area where the spikes are falling, she would simultaneously examine the gargantuan deer.
It's outputting even more energy into its eye now. Eva can tell that the climax of its preparation is but soon.
With seconds left at hand, she would have no choice but to once again employ her brilliant shield. This time, she won't hold back and empower it as much as she can. Unlike before, the shield now illuminates the dark forest with its light.
"Graaaaah" the deer shrieks, as it lets out a concentrated beam from its eye that would freeze anything in its way, directing it to its prey.
'Clang' is the sound produced from the clashing of the shield and the beam.
"Agh!" Eva yelps as she's holding the beam off with her shield. It appears to be completely resistant to the freezing cold, more so overpowering it with its own heat. However, the effort needed to maintain such a shield, while trying to hold her ground against the pressure of the blast is immense. Eva wouldn't be the only one struggling though, as launching out this powerful attack continuously is also incredibly strenuous for the deer.
This is now a battle of attrition, and only one of them will come out of it still standing.
"HrAAaAAH" the deer roars, increasing the output of its attack.
It doesn't understand how the human is still standing.
"HYAAAAH" Eva would scream in retaliation. Her body is slowly giving out as she defends herself against such a powerful attack. However, her spirit refuses to yield. She would only push on. She would persevere.
Suddenly, the shield grows brighter than ever. The pressure she's dealing with would lessen, allowing her to push forward.
With this newfound power, Eva is able to close the distance between them.
Holding her shield with full conviction, she would jump toward its face.
They are now only breaths apart.
Seeing this, the gargantuan deer pours out every single bit of energy it has left to its attack, in an attempt to foil the human's effort.
However, it would only empower her shield even more.
She then pushes onward without facing much resistance before pushing the beam back to the gargantuan deer.
The deer would start freezing slowly as a result of its own attack.
Sensing its approaching demise, it would impart its last howl to the world that echoes throughout the forest, "Hraaaaaaar"
Before completely freezing.
After confirming the kill, Eva slides down the gargantuan deer's ice sculpture and gracefully lands on the forest ground.
With almost all her energy spent, she would have trouble moving, but she can't fall now. Who knows what kind of danger is still lurking in this cursed forest, and more than that she needs to find Master Charon.
Moments before…
As Charon was progressing towards Eva, three small blades would stop him on his track, thrown behind his back.
He was able to dodge them thanks to his superhuman reflexes. Soon after, 3 mysterious men, equipped with sharp daggers and completely covered in black attire would make an appearance around him. He is now cornered with no room to escape.
Immediately Charon took a stance, preparing for the incoming exchange.
One of them then advanced, trying to aim for his head with the sharp-edged dagger, but Charon was able to predict the trajectory of the slash and countered it by disarming the mysterious man with a kick. Knowing they're here to kill, Charon wouldn't hold back and threw a killing blow with his fist. Charon had aimed for his heart.
In response, the other two charged forward, trying to cover for their comrade by relentlessly attacking with what seemed like an immaculate teamwork. And with that, the first assailant was able to retreat safely.
Charon, now clearly struggling from the ongoing assault by the two other assailants, would swiftly move his left hand to the watch on his right hand. He then infused mana to the watch while simultaneously dodging the persistent barrages of slashes.
This would cause the watch on his hand to transform into a sword with a simple hilt that is red in color. The black tinted blade with a hint of red on its edges would appear to be chipped however.
The blade itself is also dull, as it suffered serious damage from the previous battle it had partaken and hasn't been repaired since.
Nevertheless, it was enough to even the odds.
With it, the flow of the battle changed. With Charon now adopting a different stance suited for a sword, the two attackers lost their rhythm and struggled to follow up their attacks. They would find themselves completely on the defensive now.
The third assailant however wouldn't stand still as he watched his associates on the receiving end. With Charon fully occupied with the other two, he sneakily approached Charon, waiting for the perfect chance to strike from his back.
Seeing this, his associates lunged their dagger toward Charon together, hoping to give their comrade the golden opportunity to strike.
The third assailant would seize this opportunity and throw himself forward, hoping to chop Charon's head as the master defends himself against the other two.
Much to their dismay, the plan failed to be executed accordingly, as Charon would gather his strength in his lower body before
`Clink` the clashing sound of metal invaded their ears,
Skillfully carrying out a fast whirl with his sword, all three assailants' weapons went flying from the clash. Although disarmed, they continued attacking with their refined martial art, not wanting to back down.
And this would bring us to the present time.
"Tsk, just who are you!" Charon demands, wanting to know the identity of the group he's currently dancing with.
However, they would refuse to comply, and instead retreat a few steps back as Charon overpowers them with his swordplay.
"So be it, you guys won't see the next sunrise." Charon coldly states.
But then, the howling of a dying Deeruks reverberates across the forest, momentarily ceasing the ongoing battle.
"What the hell was that? Shit, that came from the place I'm heading to" Charon curses out, now concerned for Eva.
"It would appear the great deer had failed. The blizzard is upon us." One of the assailants finally speaks out.
Immediately after, he commands his group, saying, "Retreat."
They would then disperse and retreat separately.
Charon can pursue them with no difficulty, but there's a more urgent matter he has to tend to, Eva.
With that, the battle had abruptly been put to a stop as it began.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Charon would transform his sword into a pair of crimson boots. After hastily equipping them, he would march onto Eva.
The boot can boost his speed, as it's made of material that would allow the user to activate a buff on demand, which makes one completely weightless.
Using this buff, Charon is able to navigate across the forest much faster.
'Please be fine Eva. These masked men were probably here for you. But why did they retreat? Because of an incoming blizzard? Inside this damned forest? Just what the hell is happening. ' Charon shrouded by confusion would struggle to make sense of the chaos that is ensuing. The best thing he can do now is to reach Eva as soon as possible.
~
Going through the forest with his amazing parkour ability and speed, he would reach Eva in only seconds.
'Ah there you are!' It took no time for Charon to spot Eva thanks to his exceptional senses.
But Eva wasn't the only thing he'd spotted.
The surrounding environment he's currently in is a clear contrast to the one he's been to. Instead of the lush greenery with a canopy that would prevent light from piercing through,
The area would seem to be painted white all over by snow, in consequence of a strange phenomenon that is currently only happening in the middle of the forest, a blizzard.
The trees lost their leaves, leaving brittle branches on the once sturdy trees, and moonlight is irradiating the area as a result of the forest being more exposed to the sky.
More than that, there are hordes of cryogenic creatures trying to overpower the girl who is suffering from frostbite due to the cold.
These cryogenic creatures are only making the situation worse for the girl, as they are able to wield the elemental power of the cruel cold winter. Each with distinct albeit similar characteristics.
Most of them are blue in color, with some donning a white fur.
To list some of them, there are yetis, wolves, ice golems, blue hounds and ice claspers.
The girl who is valiantly fending them off with a shield that seems to melt the snow, is none other than Eva.
Combating the cold with her warmth, she would try to dismantle the horde by bashing them with her shield. However, she's at her wit's end. Not only suffering from the harsh frostbite, but she also sustained injuries that would restrict her movements greatly.
Seeing this, Charon would press through the horde of Cryogenics to reach Eva, dismantling every single hostile entity on his path with his fists. But the horde is unrelenting, with seemingly infinite waves of monsters, Charon would find it troubling to dispatch every single thing unarmed.
Luckily, the crimson boot allows him to skip through most of them and he was able to reach Eva not long after.
Not wanting to waste a single breath, he slaughters every cryonics that was overwhelming Eva efficiently with the immense speed he has.
Before Eva can even respond to Charon's unannounced appearance, he would give her a bridal carry after every mob was dispatched, trying to bring her to safety.
"Hey, I don't think we should linger around in this forest anymore. I'll get us out of it." Charon hurriedly says before striding past the hordes.
As he traverses the forest, he encounters several other creatures that are potentially dangerous. He would ignore them and marches on however.
He would run and run until,
a humongous natural wall which is estimated to be 300 meters would stop him on his track.
Charon would then question Eva who's been silent the whole time, "Do we have to climb this to exit the mountain?"
"Yes." With a short affirmation from Eva, Charon would reply,
"Ok. Get ready for a rough ride."