Little by little, my mind stabilized, and I regained control over my body.
"It's okay, I am fine now, thank you. " I said to Sylvester as I ran my hands into my hair, looking toward the roof.
I felt like crap but there was nothing I could do. The past was still done and I couldn't undo my past mistakes. Sometimes one just had to live with the shadows of his life.
These dreams were my punishment for the atrocities I committed. Some would call it divine punishment. Or maybe karma.
"Are you alright? What did you dream of?"
"Nothing. The sun is beginning to set."
"Yes, it will be night soon. But the snowstorm hasn't stopped yet."
"How long do you think it will last?"
I changed the discussion to avoid him asking me more questions. There were things that I couldn't tell to anyone as they were too heavy to share. And honestly, I didn't want to.
Maybe somehow I was afraid of their judgment. Afraid that they would see past my appearance and unshed my disgusting mask, see how dark my heart truly is.
Afraid that I would end alone.
Again.
"As it is right now, not until tomorrow. But it'll probably stop after that. This place is known for its fleeting storms."
"Grand but short, huh!" I said out loud, thinking about the weirdness of this territory.
This land looked like a bad imitation of a horror movie… uncanny, full of unknown monsters, and a place where mad people settled.
Who had the idea that sending teenagers to such places, even if it was to locate something, was a smart move?
The Gefya Empire should review its morality and standards.
"So we should go back or continue our journey tomorrow?" I asked Sylvester.
"I think it's better if we go back unless we want to be trapped again. I will make a report explaining our situation when we will be back."
"Okay, thank you, Sylvester."
" There's nothing to thank for. We should take care of our security first. And I am responsible for you, I can't act recklessly." He replied as he gave my shoulder a small tapping.
"Yeah…Thank you nonetheless." I continued as I looked at him, observing his expression.
Sylvester as always, even in perilous circumstances, had his same calm and slightly cold expression. Only this time, he seemed somehow more tender and warm, his eyes focused on me.
He looked less unapproachable and more open.
His dark and deep eyes seemed lighter and his long hair, contouring his beautifully shaped face, gave him less cut features as it habitually did.
"You know that you…" I began to say before stopping and looking out the window.
I thought I saw a fleeting shadow pass the hut. And it didn't look any way human-like.
"I think we are being observed."
Sylvester, without turning back, replied,
"Yes, I felt it. We better hope it's only magic beasts."
« Should we go check out? I will go on the left side and you on the right. »
« Alright, if anything happens, shout, I will come. »
'Oh, what a chevaleresque attitude…' I thought internally while smirking.
« Okay. »
I took out my sword, which was still in its ornament state, before brandishing it- tightly clasping it between my hands. I cut a few times in the air to test it and then held it in my right hand.
I was ready to go.
I threw a glance at Sylvester to signal him to open the door.
As he did so, we could hear the cracking door opening slowly and letting in the cold, harsh, and loud wind.
Out in the open stood a dark site, unknown lurking in the deep woods.
I took a step out after Sylvester before immediately going to the left of the hut, as I said.
I looked around as I let my magic out, slowly letting it pour to signal my presence.
If it was a law-level beast, it would go away immediately without second thoughts. It would make it easier for us.
If it was something else than a beast or a high-level one, it would probably defy my power and try to kill me. So there were only two options. I hoped it was the first one.
As I channeled my magic, I could feel their presence close to our location.
It meant that after getting closer it had decided to stay in a safe zone, where it could observe us first.
It wasn't a stupid beast.
'You better stay there, honey.'
Checking that Sylvester had departed, getting a little farther, I decided to use more of my magic power to try to spot what kind of creature it was.
'Let's see what I should prepare for …'
I used an ancient spell, one that I found during one of my too many missions, which permitted the user to control the shadows to manipulate their targets and find direct information from their memories.
Only, this magic had its backlash and couldn't be used often. Usually, I never used it but now, I was in a dangerous territory unknown to me and I had a teenager with me.
I couldn't just act as I wanted so I took precautions.
This spell, after its use, would in consequence take something away from me- whatever it wanted. And if the user was too weak, it could kill the target if he didn't know how to control it.
But my aim wasn't to kill him.
At least not for now.
I leaked my lips, letting the magic in. I grumbled incoherent thoughts to maintain my mind while I waited for it to figure out the species of the creature.
Soon, images from someone else's mind came to me.
Due to the avalanche of pictures and thoughts, I had to concentrate on a precise one, picking blindly in the lot.
From what I could see, it wasn't a beast. Or at least, not in its beast form. It looked like a kind of humanoid.
And from the memories, I figured that it wasn't from here either. It had traveled into the snowstorm and like us, had found this hut to take shelter.
It had come across us by chance and didn't seem to have any thoughts of fighting us. Maybe just blind curiosity.
'From his aura, I can feel that it's quite strong. Stronger than Sylvester by a whole level and maybe not far from me.'
Maybe a …demon?