The sky was a blanket of black clouds, and the air thick with fog. The trees in the forest stood tall and silent, their twisted branches reaching out like the claws of some ancient beast. The path through the forest was narrow, the ground soft beneath the weight of two soldiers who marched side by side. Their footsteps made soft, uneasy sounds, as if even the earth beneath them was warning them to turn back.
One of the soldiers, a wiry man with wide, nervous eyes, kept glancing over his shoulder, his grip tightening on his sword. His voice trembled as he spoke, barely louder than a whisper.
"We shouldn't be passing through here at this time. If he sees us, this will be our last day!"
The second soldier, taller and broader, let out a short bark of laughter.
"Man, if I knew you were such a coward, I wouldn't have brought you with me!"
The nervous soldier didn't laugh. He swallowed hard, fear in his eyes.
"Don't you know what happened? Just yesterday, three soldiers went down this path, and they were brutally murdered. One of them had his eyes gouged out, and his… you know, private part was cut off and stuffed in his mouth. The others had their limbs hacked off and were hung by spears through their… you know. Just thinking about it gives me the chills!"
The second soldier shrugged, unfazed.
"That's exactly why we're here! We're going to put a spear through that demon's heart. Don't worry! Once we take him down, the king will reward us handsomely. I'll buy myself a few more luxuries after this—women, wine, everything!" He laughed loudly, his voice echoing through the forest. "Hahaha!"
The first soldier flinched at the sound, his eyes darting around. His voice was barely a whisper now.
"Please, don't laugh so loudly... He might hear us!"
The wind stirred. The leaves in the trees rustled, sending a chill through the air. The nervous soldier froze, eyes wide, his hand trembling as it gripped the hilt of his sword.
"Who… who's there?" His voice cracked. "Show yourself!"
Both soldiers drew their swords, standing back-to-back as they scanned the dark forest around them. The silence was heavy, broken only by the soft rustling of the leaves. Then, without warning, an arrow sliced through the air, striking the first soldier across the forehead. Blood dripped down his face as he crumpled to the ground, groaning in pain.
The second soldier, heart pounding in his chest, shouted into the darkness.
"Who's there? Who are you?!"
From the shadows, a figure emerged. It moved with unnatural grace, its body cloaked in darkness. The second soldier, desperate and terrified, charged forward with his sword. But the figure vanished, disappearing in a blur of motion. Before the soldier could react, the figure reappeared behind him, a dagger gleaming in its hand. In one swift movement, the dagger sliced through the soldier's neck, severing his head clean from his body.
The shadowy figure stood over the fallen soldiers, its eyes cold and merciless. With a chilling precision, it began the gruesome work of mutilation. The bodies were stripped and defiled, their limbs hacked off and eyes gouged out. The figure impaled their remains on spears, hanging them from the twisted branches of the trees, leaving behind a macabre display of death.
His eyes were dark, deep as the night itself, and his long black hair flowed wildly in the breeze. His clothing blended into the shadows, making him seem like part of the night. With his grim task completed, he vanished into the forest, leaving behind only silence and the horrifying evidence of his brutality.