Behind him, an unexpected figure materialized, brandishing a gleaming sword that sliced through the air above the man in black. The blade missed its target, as the mysterious figure swiftly vanished, reappearing a short distance away. Their Shadows danced and intermingled, making it difficult to tell each one of them apart from my position.
I cautiously shifted my position, going closer to them while hiding behind the veil of trees to get a better view.
"Octus, why don't you sharpen your sword more before coming after me?" the man in all black taunted, a subtle gesture of confusion on his face or so I interpreted through the veil. Yet, the glimmer in his eyes betrayed his confusion, revealing a twisted humor in them.
Octus, swiftly took a combat stance, bending his knees in preparation for action. Extending his arm, he drew his sword back, the steel glinting in the dim light that made through the leaves. "I will when we have killed you, Eadric," Octus retorted, his voice laced with a mix of confidence and disdain.
Octus propelled himself into the air, utilizing the force generated by his powerful leg muscles which bulged even through the clothes covering them. The branch beneath him snapped under the intensity of his leap, granting him an instant arrival in front of the man in black.
Eadric tsked, displaying a hint of annoyance, and took a step back. Just as I expected him to fall off the branch, Eadric's body suddenly vanished, dissipating into thin air before my very eyes. In an instant, he reappeared behind Octus, using his newfound advantage.
Octus, caught off guard didn't manage to stop his momentum, and swung his sword in a powerful arc where Eadric had stood mere moments ago, only to find empty air. Before Octus could react again, Eadric delivered a thunderous punch aimed at Octus's unguarded back.
A resounding thud filled the air as Eadric's clenched fist connected with Octus's flesh, driving deep into his back. The impact caused Octus's body to lurch forward, propelled by the force of the blow. He crashed against a tree in front, the sound of the impact made dozens of birds fly away.
The remnants of drowsiness that I'd already evaporated were replaced by confusion.
The sheer pressure emanating from Eadric's body was palpable. The intensity of that power reverberated through the air, causing my knees to tremble slightly and weaken beneath me.
I clutched the tree bark tightly, stabilizing my feet and refocusing on them.
A Dream? I wondered.
Sirius appeared again with a long glistening spear in his hand. He made a swift swing aimed at Eadric but Eadric easily sidestepped, avoiding the sharp silver blade.
Sirius place his right foot forward as some threads floating around us became visible to me. They rushed into his legs, strengthening them, and with an attacker's stance he closed his body off, hands extended and forearms tightening around the grip.
And then with a flash, he dashed toward Eadric. Eadric had his sword turned sideways as Sirius's spear glided over his.
Sirius's spear blade glistened for the last time as slowly the fine silken threads present inside disappeared. The glowing threads dimmed and disappeared from my vision as a severe pain assaulted my eyes. Opening my eyes I didn't find them, making me think if I'd imagined all of it.
By now it was quite clear to me that both Sirius and Octus together were no match for Eadric. Instead, it felt like he was just playing with them.
"Is that all you've got? I am getting bored now," Eadric nonchalantly yawned, using one hand to pick at his ear while wearing an expression of casual indifference.
Sirius, upon hearing Eadric's words, clenched his teeth in what initially appeared to be frustration. However, upon closer look, I discerned no trace of anger or irritation in his piercing blue eyes. Instead, an eerie calmness was present within them, reminiscent of the serene stillness of a lifeless sky.
Sirius opened his mouth slowly, "They should have told you about our pathfinder, but that seems not to be the case..." His words trailed off, leaving Eadric visibly taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise.
He was buying time all along!
Just as the realization hit me, my eyes darted around in search of the fourth person present around us.
"You son of a bitch!"Eadric cursed, his voice laced with anger and frustration.
However, before he could say anything else, a deafening noise resonated through the surroundings, cutting his voice and filling the air with an overwhelming cacophony.
And then a bright fire evolved my entire vision, forcing me to close both my eyes and ears with my hand.
I felt a warm, liquid substance trickling down from my ears, seeping through the gaps between my fingers. A mixture of blood and pus stained my fingertips, leaving them sticky and gross.
Opening my eyes I caught sight of three people who were responsible for the blast. I knew two of them Sirius and Octus but the third one was a boy no older than 11 or 12 years of age. I became quite certain this boy was the third person whose footmarks I followed here.
"Is he dead, Darren?" Sirius asked, his eyes glued to the clearing smoke.
"No, he isn't." The boy, Darren, deadpanned.
As the smoke started to clear, the first thing that my eyes picked up from behind its veil was the glowing figure of Eadric's body. Small silken threads coursed through his body like blood, following along the invisible channels inside. I doubted my eyes at first but then as the smoke started to clear up, I was able to make out his charred body.
Small pieces of burnt clothes fell on the ground, revealing Eadric's toned body. Black and grey marks were all over his body burned by the flicker of ashes.
As I tried to inspect the threads coursing through his body better, a sharp pain in my eyes cut me off for a moment, my vision turning normal for a second and then it was back.
Some threads like tendrils were revolving around Eadric's body. They were slowly seeping into the wounds in his body, mending and caressing them.
My eyes stung with a sharp, almost blinding pain once more, but I fought through it. The silken threads, akin to shimmering tendrils, spiraled and twisted around Eadric's wounded form, gradually permeating his injuries.
But there was more. A glowing mass of threads packed together in one place just right above his chest. It wasn't a part of this body. No, I could tell it was above his flesh, hidden behind the leftover clothing. From the structure, it had a round body.
Eadric's neck let out a loud crack as a twisted smile crept across his face. "That was quite impressive, I must admit," he sneered. "You nearly had me there. Almost turned me to ashes. But alas," he paused, his grin widening, "it is you all now who will be turned into such." With those words, both his form and his voice vanished into thin air, leaving behind an eerie silence.
Sirius and the others tensed, weapons held straight, ready for an incoming attack. But there was none at all. Instead, an ominous presence loomed over me—a glowing mass of ethereal threads swirling towards me from where Eadric stood moments ago. A searing pain radiated through my head, intensifying with each passing moment with its approach as if my skull was on the verge of imploding.
I realized that Eadric's target was none other than me. He had somehow noticed my presence here which the others failed to and then used his 'teleportation'!
I took an instinctive step back but it was too late. I found myself caught in a vice-like grip, a hand encircling my neck from behind. A hot burning sensation sourced from where his sharp long nails dug into my neck flesh.
Time seemed to slow down as breathing became harder with each passing second his grip tightening around my neck, choking my breath away.
With an inhuman display of strength, he effortlessly lifted me off the ground, but he wasn't tall enough for my feet to raise more than a couple of inches above ground. I clawed at his hand, my fingers desperate to loosen his grip, but it did not affect him.
As my legs started to turn limp, The world around me grew blurry, the edges of my vision slowly fading away.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed Sirius and the others had fixed their gaze upon me, their expressions riddled with confusion. It was easy to tell they were quite surprised by my presence here amid a forest where they were fighting for their lives. But it wasn't like I was any less surprised than them.
When I woke up I found myself here and then found them. Who knew that their enemy would become my enemy too?
"I was informed that there were three individuals on this expedition, but, I was misled," Eadric stated quietly enough for only me to hear, his voice laced with a tinge of annoyance. Under his breath, he muttered the rest, "He also neglected to mention the power possessed by that boy."
He knew Darren was here? My eyes turned toward Darren who was behind Sirius, standing with his eyes glued on me. His eyes met mine and I read his moving lips.
Move when Sirius attacks? I read his mouth movement as much as I could but it became harder and harder to do so.
I watched Sirius, whose body was similarly glowing, and the threads slowly reached up to the spear's blade. Realizing that he was preparing for an attack, I decided to take the chance using the last bit of strength left in my body.
With my vision active, I saw the threads ground me and with intent, I tried bringing them closer to me how Sirius did but they did not respond to me. Instead, the silken threads continued floating around me.
I raised my leg hitting Eadric's elbow with as much force as I could muster at the moment.
Being unprepared for an attack from me, his grip loosened for a moment and a gust of wind sliced through the hand that was holding me from above. My body fell to the ground as the grip disappeared.
I gasped for the air, clutching my neck.
From my kneeling position, I saw Eadric's form flickered into existence a short distance away, a playful smirk on his face. "Well, would you look at that? By any chance did you get faster, Sirius?" He thoughtfully stroked his chin but his words showed he was more amused than anything.
Octus, who was behind me, dashed toward Eadric in a semi-circle arc."I wonder if that will be enough to sever your neck, though," Octus taunted, a grin stretching across his face.
"We'll have to see, don't we?" Eadric's voice rang out, his tone filled with amusement.
From behind me, Darren appeared surprising me for a moment but he stopped me from reacting. He gently touched my back and soon warmth flowed from his hand into my flesh and all over my body.
I hadn't realized it but my legs were slightly hurt from before. The warmth from Darren's hand reached up to my legs, causing the pain to disappear. The pain in my head and ears also ceased to exist.
With my eyes glued to his hand, I watched the threads flow into my body but I couldn't see anything like that in my own body. It was as if they disappeared into me. I could feel them but couldn't see them.
Octus and Sirius managed to push Eadric further back, creating a distance between us. But it wasn't that hard for me to see them. It was like my vision had been enhanced…
Octus's sword ignited with a bluish flame, illuminating his surroundings. Octus lunged forward, his blade slicing through the air just as lightning would. However, as the flames subsided, Eadric was no longer in his original position. My gaze darted around, searching for any sign of his presence, wondering if he would come after me again.
But Darren said from behind me, "Don't worry, he won't be able to 'teleport' here now."
I looked at him and asked," Why?"
"Because he is outside his teleportation range. I can't be certain how much it is but it's not more than 100 meters," he said, his eyes following the ongoing fight.
"How does his 'teleportation' work?" I asked what seemed to be the most obvious question right now.
"As a 'Mindless Wanderer', he should be able to teleport within a range of a maximum of 100 meters. But that said it does not matter as I can sense his bondor signature and tell where he will teleport next." Darren said.
The word 'Mindless Wanderer' stood out to me and the gears of my mind turned to figure out the meaning behind it. The first thought that came to my mind was that people who were able to use these kinds of sorcerers were called 'Mindless Wanderers' but then that made little to no sense.
I couldn't tell what 'Mindless' meant there but 'Wanderer' probably had something to do with Eadric's teleportation ability. Does that mean, being a 'Mindless Wanderer' gives him the ability to teleport?
I remembered back when Sirius mentioned something about a Pathfinder. Was he talking about Darren there?
I asked Darren, "You are a pathfinder?"
At my question, he was silent for a second and I started to think if I'd said something wrong but then he opened his mouth.
"Yes. From the sub-domain 'Concealment'." Darren replied, his later words going above my head.
That made sense. 'Mindless Wanderer' and 'Pathfinder' were two names and belonged to different kinds of sorcerers who have different abilities. It was like both were human but spoke different languages.
By how Sirius and Octus used different powers I concluded that they weren't 'Mindless Wanderers' or 'Pathfinders'. But something else.
I was certain about one thing at least. No matter what kind of powers they used it was still based on the usage of the floating threads around us. That seemed to be the source of these powers. I wasn't able to control them but they were still visible to me.
Darren is a 'Pathfinder' which allowed him to sense Eadric's teleportation. But I was able to 'see' it. Was his abilities only limited to sensing them or did he lie to me? I couldn't confirm it, so I decided to keep the fact that I was able to 'see' those 'bondors'.
From his mention of the Sub-domain 'Concealment', I could tell there was a domain too. After all, if there was a domain only then would there be a sub-domain.
I didn't bother about asking about those unimportant topics and instead asked, "If his range was a hundred meters why didn't he kill all of you by now?"
It took a while to realize this now but Eadric intended to kill everyone here. And Sirius and the others were trying to do the same. They weren't joking when saying about it.
"He is playing with us but that itself will be his downfall. He had miscalculated my presence here. You see, for a 'Mindless Wanderer' their greatest enemy is 'Pathfinder' like me," Darren said with conviction.
I could tell by the way Darren was speaking that he was very confident about himself and his companion's abilities but I knew what he didn't. Eadric did know about Darren. He just hid that fact.