Cra-cra-crack-cra-crack!
Something is making too much noise.
Crackling and bumping.
He opens his eyes real slowly, as slow as an eternity stretching out to its never-reaching end.
He blinks.
He feels the soft plush sensation across his face.
It is a blanket, he realizes as his eyes dart to his right, the side he was laying on.
The cracking continues.
It is disturbing.
He can't get a rest and fall back to sleep.
Sleep?
What is sleep?
Blanket?
Resting?
Traveling?
He questions within his mind.
Does anything make sense?
Is anything even real?
I don't know.
He thinks so to himself.
Will I want to know? I'm also not sure.
He thinks again, his eyes opening and closing as he rests.
Is that a bird?
A bird?
What is that?
He continues to question anything and everything he sees. His mind, rather unclear and lost throughout the wonders of existence.
Of his existence.
Crack-cra-crack!
Again.
He feels a gurgling sensation in his stomach that makes his feet shake in annoyance.
He's getting… frustrated?
The sound, annoying.
It doesn't allow him to have the peace of his mind.
Peace.
Peace?
He begins to straighten up, sitting on his butt as he crosses his legs.
A huge tied… bird?
Bleeding, if not dead.
Dead?
"... Hm?"
His mouth finally makes a noise, and then, he recalls spoken language.
"What exactly is this thing?"
His right brow raises unconsciously as he looks at the humanoid bird.
"Anyways."
He looks to the right and left of his covered carriage.
On the left side, there were two wooden doors, on the right side, there was a small open section where you could see… "Light?"
He softly moves towards it.
He closes his distance with the hole that is bringing in light.
"..."
He brought a hand to shield his eyes when sudden sunlight came into contact with them.
After squinting and gaining focus, he saw a human, just like him.
"..."
Kieek!
"Kgh!"
The carriage suddenly stops and he hits his head against the wood, grunting loudly without meaning to.
"I see you've woken up…"
"Yes, I've woken up." He repeated the same words the female said without even letting her finish her sentence.
"...Cole. Are you feeling alright?"
Cole.
Who is Cole?
Cole.
Me? He pointed towards himself after the woman said that name, wondering if she was really talking to him.
Then, memories flashed, and he understood.
He realized.
He is the one who is called Cole.
***
The carriage came to a halt and Cole exited it alongside Lyra who helped him properly move by offering her hand after opening the two wooden doors of the carriage.
"I'm fine," Cole replied shortly to Lyra's earlier question, his expression even more so unchanging than before.
"We're currently in…" He began to speak, not recalling the name.
"We're in the Forest of Skyleaves, the place you wanted me to get you to after escaping the Castle of Silvindor."
"... I see."
Cole nodded his head once, looking down at his body and taking notice of whatever clothes had remained on his upper body.
"This is all torn. Do we have any spare clothes, erm …?"
"Lyra. And we don't. You'll have to make do with that for now."
"But it reveals my upper body a lot. I might get a cold."
"... You'll just consume some herbs if that comes to happen." Replied Lyra after taking a second to think about what response to find.
"For now, we have something to do."
She said, looking to her right, which made Cole follow her actions.
What lay before them, was a… village? Town? City?
Whatever it might've been, it was a place only ruled by Blightbringers who had reached the level of making their own civilized system inside the walls and trees of Skyleaves.
And as for what business Cole and Lyra have here… They'll be conquering this place for their benefit.
***
As the morning sun painted the skies with hues of warmth, Lyra led Cole through the outskirts of the Blightbringer settlement within the Forest of Skyleaves.
The small village, nestled amidst the towering trees, bore an air of deceptive tranquility. Yet, Lyra's intent gaze hinted at the impending chaos about to be unleashed.
Well, frankly, her gaze didn't portray anything since her expression was as stoic as an unmoving stone.
Albeit, her eyes slightly narrowed as she observed the lone Blightbringer, unconscious and bound, lying in the carriage they had used to get here.
A predatory glint flashed in her eyes as she approached the creature, recalling something they had done to their own bodies the night before.
With a swift motion, Lyra took hold of one of his feathers and–
S-schlap!
She ripped it apart from his skin and sharpened it once with a small ice knife she conjured instantly.
"This is a Feather Blade, you'll be using that as a weapon against the enemies we're about to face," she explained. "But remember, their breath carries disease. Do not let it touch you or your skin will decay."
She raised her bandaged hand to show the wound from the battle she had gone through a few hours ago and how it happened.
"Alright." Cole voiced shortly as he was offered a weapon to use.
With a curt nod, he hefted the Blade. Its alien weight surprised him since it really was as light as a feather.
"We're going to tear through their ranks. You follow my lead, protect yourself from their breath, and cut them down. Leave the houses intact; we might need them."
Cole didn't question her. He didn't feel any pity or remorse for the Blightbringers, he just decided to do what Lyra asked of him.
And so, it began.
The duo approached the outskirts of the Blightbringer settlement, a collection of modest clay and hay houses surrounded by a natural barrier of trees. The villagers, unaware of the impending onslaught, went about their daily routines.
Lyra didn't care about any of that, and neither did Cole. She only saw targets to eliminate.
This chaos, it commenced as soon as they saw the two figures walking boldly across the small town.
She raised her hand and unleashed a blast of ice magic, freezing several bulked Blightbringers in their tracks.
Tap, tap tap– Cra-Krack!
She then ran towards them and shattered them with her sword, sending shards of ice and blood flying. She moved on to the next group, repeating the process.
Cole followed her, and he was equally ruthless and efficient. He used the Feather Blade to slash the Blightbringers in half, but he also dodged their attacks and avoided their breaths, which were like jets of fire or acid.
"It feels quite easy to do this…" He whispered to himself, wondering how his body could react so quickly to his thoughts, and how he knew where to slash to kill them.
He felt a rush of adrenaline and power as he cut through the Blightbringers like butter. He even…
"This might not be so bad, haha!" Enjoyed the sight and sound of their screams and agony.
Without warning, Lyra unleashed her ice magic. Frost erupted from her fingertips, creating a shimmering wave that cascaded through the air. Blightbringers caught in the icy tempest froze on the spot, their grotesque forms encased in crystalline ice.
Lyra's mild control over ice proved devastating for the Blightbringers.
Her movements were, in a word, a dance of destruction, leaving a trail of frozen chaos in her wake.
A beautiful, frozen chaos.
A carnage so wonderful, that anyone who would be under its attack and witnessed that being laying destruction with her white, shining, and glittering snow mana, would mistake her for an angel.
A false Angel of Destruction that they would not regret being killed from.
***
[Author's Note: Hello everyone, how is the trip so far, enjoyable? Now, I know you all might be mad that I'm not elaborating on what Cole has seen and might ask 'Was that rebirth just a fling thing?'
No, it is not. You just have to see in the upcoming chapters, the change of his mental state, and then later on, the physical thing and the cause of what happened– I've put a lot of thought into this story, so if something doesn't make sense now, just know it will make sense when the event in correlation with it happens, it will fully clear it up.
You will come across this type of writing that will leave you with question marks in my writing a lot, and just so you know, it is not a forgotten detail but something that will surface at the most unexpected times, so, be braced for enjoyable twists at random times.
Also, if anyone has opinions on the story, never hesitate to leave comments and let me know your opinions, ideas, etcetera– It will be helpful and I love to engage in conversations with my readers!]