After emerging from the depths of the mountain, with the oracle's enigmatic words still reverberating in his mind, Dinis felt that his journey had gained a new layer of mystery. Before moving forward, however, he decided that he should return to the city of Cahzar, where he had left Irina. He felt the need to share everything he had witnessed—every revelation, every fragment of enigma. The feeling of confusion tormented him, and perhaps talking about it would help him gain some clarity.
With this in mind, Dinis began his journey back without wasting any time. His first challenge would be to traverse again the treacherous swamp where, some time before, he had faced the colossal warrior covered in iron armor. As he advanced, his body experienced a mix of anxiety and impatience. A shadow of anger fueled his heart—anger for feeling incapable of solving the issues that tormented him, anger at the sensation that the answers were always beyond his reach. This frustration had been growing since his parents' disappearance, but now, after his encounter with the oracle, the weight of not having answers seemed even greater.
As his feet sank into the muddy ground, he approached the exact location where he had faced the warrior. The landscape there still seemed to carry the mark of his battle: broken trees, stained mud, deep cuts scattered on the ground like reminders of an almost fatal fight. Strangely, however, there was no sign of the warrior's body. It was as if he had been swallowed by the swamp itself, taking with him the mystery of his origin. This only increased Dinis's discomfort. He knew the swamp held secrets, but he wondered if the warrior could still be alive, lurking, or if another force had taken the body before he could confirm his death.
The young sentinel took a deep breath, trying to dissipate the feeling of discomfort, but felt the tension building in his shoulders and the weight of his sword beside him, as a reminder that danger still surrounded him. "Would that monster be another of the enigmas I need to solve?", he thought. And the discomfort of his own incapacity was growing. He yearned to test the enhanced skills from the confrontation, wanted to put to the test the lessons he had learned, but he couldn't deny that he felt a dark fear, a voice in his mind warning him that he might not be prepared for what he would encounter next.
Proceeding further, Dinis finally left the swamp behind and entered the forest again. The environment became dense, the shadows between the trees thicker, and the air seemed to vibrate with invisible tension. The feeling of danger was palpable, like an invisible hand pressing against his chest. He had walked only a few steps when a disturbing sound invaded the silence: thin, childish laughter echoing among the treetops. A shiver ran through his body. He knew that was no coincidence. He knew, on some instinctive level, what he was about to face.
Dinis looked up and saw almost a dozen dark figures moving between the trees. The Carniçais. Their mocking laughter and the glint in their eyes reflected a disturbing malice. Dinis felt adrenaline pulsating in his veins, his heart racing, and he clenched his fist around his sword, ready for any action.
As he observed the creatures, his eyes stopped on a familiar figure: a Carniçal with a single arm, holding an improvised weapon. He recognized him immediately. That was the same Carniçal he had faced before, the same one to whom he had severed the arm in the last fight. An expression of fury and vengeance crossed the creature's deformed face. There was a glint of recognition and challenge in his gaze, and Dinis knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was being awaited, hunted.
A mixture of conflicting emotions took hold of him. There was the evident concern for the numerical disadvantage—facing almost a dozen Carniçais alone was an almost suicidal task. But at the same time, something inside him filled with expectation, a dark excitement born from the need to prove his growth. He knew that the skills he had acquired during his battle with the warrior would be tested again, and his heart yearned to see how far he could go.
The shadow of anger he carried in his chest seemed to grow, fueled by the sight of the Carniçais. It was a silent, deep anger, a rage that had been building since childhood, with his parents' disappearance. That feeling of impotence, of the world always being beyond his control, seemed to create stronger roots with each adversity. He was tired of being challenged, of not having answers, of seeing those he loved disappear while he remained trapped in darkness.
Taking a deep breath, Dinis prepared himself, feeling the tension in every muscle of his body. "So, they want to test me? Let them all come…" he thought, his mind preparing for the inevitable combat. He was more ready than ever to face whatever came, even if the disadvantage was clear.
The Carniçais' laughter intensified, reverberating through the forest like a cruel and macabre melody. Dinis knew he couldn't retreat. The creatures jumped from branch to branch, each movement seeming like a dance of pure chaos and cruelty, and he watched them, his gaze cold and calculating. Fear was still there, but he felt it distant, almost insignificant. In its place, adrenaline and anger became the fuel that would drive him to face, without hesitation, the next challenge.
Dinis clenched his fist even tighter around his sword. He knew that his journey back to Cahzar would not be as peaceful as he had imagined.