The screams and destructive sounds echoed loudly in Velkarn's heart. The voices of despair and the roar of chaos intensified, drawing ever closer to the house where the man and his young daughter stood.
From the window, the light from the fires dyed the sky an ominous red. Outside, the guards watching the house kept communication through small devices in their ears.
—What's going on out there? —the man asked, his voice filled with a tense calm.
—Sir, the situation is chaotic —one of the guards replied—. There are people running in all directions, there are fires... but we can't determine the cause.
The man clenched his jaw, his mind working rapidly as he questioned. Was it an invasion? Some enemy nation taking advantage of the chaos? However, his thought was interrupted by the urgent voice of another guard.
—Sir, we're seeing something! —the guard's voice trembled—. Shadows... creatures coming this way. They're not human and I think they're almost as tall as us, we've never seen anything like this.
Fear went through him like an icy cold. Non-human creatures? Something never seen before... His mind tried to process the words, but terror paralyzed him for a moment. His daughter, noticing the expression on her father's face, looked at him with concern.
—Dad, what's wrong? —she asked with a trembling voice.
—Nothing, my love, don't worry —he said, sketching a reassuring smile—. Everything will be fine, just stay close to me.
The screams of the guards interrupted his attempt to remain calm.
—Contact with the enemy! I repeat, contact! —The communication was filled with deafening noises, gunshots, and then bestial roars that echoed on the frequency. Finally, only the agonized screams of the guards could be heard before silence and static took over the channel.
The man stood still, his breathing labored. The guards had fallen. The threat was already at the doors of his home.
Without hesitation, he lifted his daughter into his arms and ran to the second floor of the house, his heart pounding as he took the stairs two at a time. Upon reaching his daughter's room, he opened the closet and carefully placed her inside.
—Listen, honey —he said, forcing a smile to hide his distress—, I need you to stay here for a moment, okay? Keep quiet and wait for me to come back for you.
Her daughter nodded, though her eyes reflected fear and doubt. Her father kissed her forehead, trying to burn that serene image into his memory, before slowly closing the closet door. He stood there for a few seconds, resting his hand on the wood, breathing deeply to calm himself. He knew he had no time to waste.
As he walked down the stairs, the tension grew with each step. A crash shook the house and the sound of the front door being smashed warned him that there was no turning back.
With no weapons at hand, he concentrated on visualizing a sword in his mind, every detail of its shape. The materialization magic came to life, and in a flash, the blade appeared in his hand. His plan was clear: confront these unknown creatures and keep them away from his daughter at all costs.
He positioned himself behind a wall near the entrance, keeping to the shadows as he watched cautiously. Then he saw it for the first time. The creature moved forward, shrouded in a dark mist, its figure barely defined, like a shadow slipping through the air. It had no face, just a humanoid appearance that twisted with each step. The man felt a chill run down his spine. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.
He took a deep breath, assessing the situation. He knew that any uncontrolled attack could damage the house and with it, put his daughter at risk. He forced himself to remain calm, and quickly materialized a small glass object in his hand. He threw it to a corner of the living room, the sound of glass crashing to the floor echoing in the space.
The creature turned its attention to the noise with its fluid, erratic movements. Taking advantage of the distraction, the man raised his hand and threw a sphere of fire in the direction of the entity. The impact was immediate, and for a moment it seemed as if the flames were devouring the shadow. Wasting no time, he lunged forward and, with a cry, lashed out with his sword, slicing through the nebulous figure.
But in the blink of an eye, the flames dissipated and the creature stood there, untouched. The blade of his sword had made no dent; it was as if he had tried to cut through the air itself. The man felt panic wash over him as he backed away, his eyes fixed on the entity that seemed to mock his efforts.
Suddenly, the creature lunged at him with unbridled speed and fury. He barely dodged the attack, and he saw out of the corner of his eye how the shadow's claws left deep marks on the wall.
The man ran down the first floor, moving away from the stairs to get its attention and thus keep that thing as far away as possible from the second floor, where his daughter was. He stopped at the other side of the room, taking a moment to analyze the situation, his breathing labored and his mind working at full capacity.
How could he defeat something that didn't seem to be affected by conventional physical or magical attacks? The chances of survival were low, but giving up was not an option.