Amidst the sea of white, my eyes landed on the one speck of red.
Golden hair glowing in the wind, helmet by his side. Riding on an elegant horse, daunted in red armour. He was the captain of the Orford corps. Captain Rudriger.
The Orford corps weren't revered as the strongest just because their individual troops were strong. No, that would be too superficial. They were considered to be at the pinnacle because they were disciplined and united. Moving as one unit. Every single soldier combined to form something akin to a true monster.
Unity. That is where their true strength lied.
"Say Fool. Is there a limit to the Art of Illusions as to how far the target can be?"
The fool thought for a second, his skeletal hands rubbing his sharp chin.
"No. Not that I know off. You can use it on anyone no matter the number or distance. The only thing that varies is amount of essence used." He replied, his voice cryptic as usual.
Good.
"What is it that you are scheming little godling?" He smiled.
"Well, like you said it's impossible to kill them all and running is stupid. So why not do both?"
"I don't really get it but your eyes tell me it's gonna be something fun." He said, hanging from a tree branch like a monkey.
Soon a crowd formed around the shack. Gods of the slums, their faces filled with excitement as if they found a really fun show to escape their mundane lives.
"They want a show? I'll give them one." I smirked.
Captain Rudriger. The man in charge. The one who ran this beast of an army. If I get him out, their formation crumbles. Of course they are not stupid enough to not protect him and even if someone were to get to him, they have counter measures like su captains and all.
There was no chance of winning this fight. I was going to die, but that was only if I actually planned to win. My goal right now was survival.
A smile tugged at my cheeks.
Take Rudriger out and their formation crumbles, gaps emerge. Gaps that need a few moments to be plugged. Those few moments are all I need.
"Is he a devil or what? Smiling like that in front of certain death"
"Has Cairith lost it?"
"Well, when you think about it he is facing, the Orford corps. I'd be surprised if he didn't."
Whispers. Jokes. Gossip. Is that all these fools know how to do?
"Hey Fool, the target is the guy in red." I pointed.
I closed my eyes. Gathering the essence. Cooking up dread inside of my head. Pure dread. Mutilated corpses, screams and rivers of blood were just the beginning. I was gonna show Rudriger a scene worse than the seventh strandum of hell. A scene where he loses everything he ever cared for.
With a wide grin I signalled The Fool.
Within seconds. Rudriger was on the ground. Crawling. Begging. His elegance reduced to misery. Heck even I pitied him for a second, but there was no time. If I were to escape it had to be now.
Rudriger screamed, clutching at his head as if to tear the images from his mind. 'No… not them… Please, gods, not my family, not my kids!' His voice cracked, and his red armour seemed to dim under the weight of invisible horrors.
The soldiers froze, their rigid discipline shattered by Rudriger's agonised cries. Some dropped their lances, rushing to their captain's side, while others looked around in confusion, their unity unraveling like a frayed rope.
Meanwhile me? Well I… ran. Ran like my life depended on it, cause it really did.
"That grand of a spectacle, only for you to run like a coward. Guess you really did give up on morals huh?" Said the Fool, laughing. Floating through the air, lazily. His hands behind his head. One leg draped over the other.
"Morals? Fuck morals. What use are they if you don't live long enough to abide by them. Pride and morals are either for the strong or for the foolish. In my case I am neither."
I had barely slipped into the forests when I heard shouts like "where is he?" The scene felt oddly familiar.
The underbrush clawed at my legs as I stumbled forward, branches snapping underfoot. The metallic clatter of armour rang out behind me, growing louder with each passing second. My breath came in short, ragged bursts, the taste of dirt and blood clinging to my tongue.
"Guess the sub captain took control. Where are you gonna run off to? With their numbers it won't take long for them to sweep the entire forest."
I frowned, my mind looking for escape opportunities.
"I expected them to reorganise but not this soon. The stories give them way less credit than they actually deserve."
"Run faster little godling or they will catch up." He chuckled. "Or would you rather have me carry you like a small little baby."
I didn't pay attention to his offhand comments. My mind was preoccupied. I had originally thought of escaping out of the forests into the mortal realm, while they were disoriented, but that's impossible now. The journey to the gates, Hiemrich would take two days and two days of being chased by trained soldiers? That was asking to get caught.
Is fighting my only option?
The Fool smiled, jumping in front of me, upside down. His mismatched eyes, glaring into mine.
"How about another trade?" He said his tone serious. "I can give you another ability like. Let's see… Oo! how about 'the eyes of the forgotten'."
"They allow you to see and interact with the world of the dead. Spirits, you know. Beings of essence who have long since left this world. Invisible forces who with the right price will destroy an army of a few thousand in mere minutes. Oo! Or or 'shadow manipulati—"
"What's the price." I cut him off.
He smiled in return.
"Straight to business huh? Ain't that way too cold?"
"It's the same. A bit of your sanity and well one of your eyes if you choose something like 'the eyes of the forgotten'. It varies from power to power." He said, his voice serious again.
My sanity again? Come to think of it. Did the last transaction even have an effect? I don't feel any different. How does he even take someone's sanity? Heck! What does e even do with it.
It's too unpredictable. I'll hold for now.
As for the situation at hand. Let's see I can hide for a while. Wait for them to split up. I am sure I can take on at least four to five of them at the same time. I was able to show illusions to all of Dorian's lackeys at the same time, with moderate effort.
This will work. It has to.
......…
"Cairith how much longer… you have been hiding for two hours already. This is getting boring." The Fool complained like a child, coiling around me.
"This should be long enough, I am not hearing any more sounds. They must have formed a boundary and started sweeping through the entire forest."
I carefully slipped out from the exposed roots of a large tree, scanning my environment.
"No enemies." I sighed in relief, as I started to walk towards the outskirts of the forest. I had to be careful, each step, each sound I made could prove to be fatal.
It wasn't long before I finally reached the outskirts of the forest, the trees thinned as the barren plains came into view and so did the soldiers. Their white armour gleaming under the hot sun.
One, two, three… I counted. There were seven of them. Two more than what I had anticipated.
I crouched behind a tree, watching their disciplined formation. They weren't scattered like Dorian's lackeys, each man holding his position with precision. This wasn't going to be easy. If even one of them saw through the illusions, I was dead.
My chest tightened. Was killing them my only option?
"C'mon, Cairith. Let me give you another gift. Something flashy. Something fun!" The Fool whispered in my ear, grinning. "How about—"
"Not now!" I snapped, cutting him off. I needed to focus. I shut my eyes, pulling the essence into my hands. The familiar warmth coursed through my veins as I wove the illusions, each one sharper and more horrifying than the last.
When I opened my eyes, I picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it toward them. The soft thunk against a soldier's helmet was enough to draw their attention.
The Fool cackled. "Showtime."
The illusions hit them like a tidal wave.
One soldier stumbled back, his lance falling from his trembling hands. "What is this? Where am I?!" His voice cracked as he clutched his head, his eyes wide with terror.
Another spun in circles, his breaths ragged and shallow. "They're… everywhere. Gods, they're everywhere!" He swung his lance wildly at shadows only he could see, his movements growing frantic as though fending off a swarm of invisible horrors.
One man turned toward me, his eyes glazed and distant. His voice came out hollow, like a broken thing. "Captain Rudriger… he's dead. They… they got him…" His body collapsed to the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
The forest buzzed with the sound of their agony, but I didn't hesitate. While they were distracted, I moved toward the nearest soldier. His helmet had slipped off in the chaos, revealing a young face streaked with sweat and tears. He couldn't have been older than twenty, his features soft, unscarred by battle.
I raised the jagged rock in my hand, my fingers trembling.
This wasn't like Dorian. This wasn't revenge. This was survival. That's what I told myself as I stood over him. But still, my arm felt heavy. I saw his face. I saw his fear. I saw his humanity.
"Why are you hesitating, little godling?" The Fool's voice slithered into my thoughts. "Don't tell me you're getting soft. Remember what I told you—true power isn't strength. It's knowing when to use it."
My grip on the rock tightened. The young soldier whimpered, his eyes darting to mine. "P-please," he whispered, his voice cracking. "I have a family…"
My chest tightened. A family. Like my father. Like my mother. Like me.
And yet… his family hadn't hesitated to send him here. The Orford Corps didn't care about his life. His family might not even know where he was. In their eyes, he was just another weapon to wield. Another pawn.
If I let him live, would he hesitate the next time he raised his lance? Or would he strike me down, no questions asked? This was the world I lived in now—a world where hesitation was death.
But more than that, I felt something shift inside me. An anger that went beyond this single soldier, beyond the Orford Corps. A fury that burned against the gods who had stolen my parents, who had cast me to the slums like trash.
And this boy? He was part of their machine. A cog in the system that had left me broken and powerless.
I raised the rock higher, my breath coming in shallow gasps. "I'm sorry," I whispered, though I didn't know if I meant it. For him. For me. For everything.
The rock came down. The sound of bone cracking against stone was wet and sickening, echoing louder in my ears than his screams ever could. He slumped forward, his body twitching before going still.
I staggered back, my hands shaking. Blood dripped from the rock, splattering onto the dirt like the first drops of rain before a storm.
The Fool clapped slowly, his grin stretching wider than ever. "Well done, Cairith. You're learning."
I clenched my fists, dropping the rock as bile rose in my throat. I didn't answer him. I couldn't.
"Don't look so grim, little godling," the Fool teased, floating beside me. "This is just the beginning. You wanted power, didn't you? Well… power always comes at a price."
I turned away, stumbling toward the plains. Behind me, the remaining soldiers lay still, dead.
I didn't look back, more like I couldn't look back. My body felt heavy. My eyes shutting, till darkness engulfed me and I fell to the ground.