Early mornings on the island were really nice.
The cool ocean breeze appeared to come from all sides no matter where you were. It was an island after all. The lightless glowing sky is usually clear and of multiple colours so one could marvel at its beauty till it disappears. The atmosphere was quite calm but it disguised so perfectly the myriad of people living in it. The calamity the future would face because of this place and it's occupants.
But before that, it is beautiful to live here and that was what was running through the mind of joker.
' too bad I'm about to do something grim'
Jester had just received an email. He was currently on top of the big house. The only spot where a signal was possible.
He dismantled the large contraption used to get the information. (*What you thought he used a phone?*)
He couldn't help but think about it. The bad thing he was soon going to do.
But he didn't really have a choice. If the clan wished then he couldn't but obey. If not...
It was disobedience that got him stuck on this island in the first place.
He couldn't wait though.
He was about to engage in something he too had experienced.
' aah, nothing can match the experience of Watching your first friends die'
The shades had all been called that morning. They weren't taken to the big house like usual instead caster had led them all to the river.
The river was an oddity on the island. It divided the otherwise joined island together. It wasn't like the ocean passed their middle. It was however that it flowed through a carved path. The river was used as the initiation process for all the shades. Each of them had experienced almost drowning in it.
No one had any idea why they were summoned so early but they couldn't complain. Literally, caster had left. He had jumped across the river without saying a word immediately after bringing them here. It even seemed like he was in a hurry to get away from them.
Cly was with Kris standing behind the crowd.
He hadn't intentionally stood beside her and neither did she, they just happened to land beside each other. After noticing each other they mutually agreed without words to not bother eachother.
" Hey"
Cly looked over at her.
' I thought we mutually agreed. I guess the six sense doesn't grant you telepathy'
" yeah hi"
She came closer to exclude others from their conversation.
" Yeah so I noticed you and decided to not be a stranger and say hi"
Cly sighed
" Since we're talking, do you know why we're here?"
She shrugged indicating that she didn't know.
Cly sighed again
" Guess we'll have to wait and find out"
After a while jester came and called all their attentions.
" Good morning. Isn't it a wonderful morning today?"
" Atchuuu!"
Someone in the crowd sneezed.
Jester side eyed the culprit but immediately went back to talking.
" If you didn't know before let me tell you now. Some of you are going to die."
He let that sink in before continuing whatever it was he had to say.
Murmurs went throughout the crowd but nobody dared question him.
" Alright. You see, till date all you've done was the theoretical part of things. You haven't gotten any experience whatsoever. No, I'm not talking about the death everyone faces eventually, I'm saying that you are going to die really soon. Don't think about it yet.
Don't get worried yet. From every thing you've been taught you have to survive three beasts of my choosing that would be released on the island. Yeah, no this isn't America. It's not going to be a survival training. Today you are tasked with destroying these three beasts. No instructor would intervene unless you are all deemed incompetent or the creature tries to escape the island. There's also the option of you all dying though"
Just like that he started to walk away. A student chased after him and asked what was everyone's minds.
" What!?, how?! And when "
Jester unlike usual smiled and replied the shade.
" I'm only at liberty to answer one. Now "
He immediately disengaged the shade and hopped away. Literally, he hopped as if a rabbit but ten times higher.
Nathan was the first to recover. He immediately got everyone's attention.
" Urm, guys!... And ladies! I don't think he was, as much I and most of you want to believe, joking. We have to tackle this with rationale..."
While he was still talking chaos broke out. Some of the shades started to storm away.
Cly couldn't help but stand still. He was shocked to his core.
' are these people crazy!? How are we supposed to kill these things?'
He then noticed that everyone else was in the same state of panic, but a few weren't. The elves and some humans seemed to have Started analysing the situation.
' yeah, calm down.'
He had exceptional control over his feelings or thoughts so calming down was something he could do on command.
' if this was back home it would have been run and hide, putting yourself first. This isn't Furyō, although the principle applies, preservation.'
He realised then that the location of the beasts weren't fixed
' wait. What are we even doing close to the river?...'
The realisation dawned on him.
Then someone shouted.
" Everyone! Get away from the water!!!"
Just as cly was about to bolt he saw with the side of his eye a ripple in the water.
He didn't have much time left to discern what it was fully.
He was running as fast as he could away from the river.
Screams were already flooding his ears. At a point he couldn't bear it so he turned to see, to see what had happened.
The scene was chaos. He couldn't get a clear view instantly because of the running shades who trampled each other trying to escape.
A large length of the river had separated itself from the whole and stroke the shore.
On another side of the river three more of such tentacles escaped the river. Grabbing on to some shades on its path it rapped around trees and pulled.
The unfortunate people in it's grasp were being crushed. It seemed to be pulling out it's body from the river.
Soon two more tentacles stretched out on the shore. Then a slimy eye followed.
It used it's tentacles to prop itself up a bit.
Underneath the eye on the other side of the apparition, a lady's figure was created. The figure as well as the beasts whole body was made out of water.
Cly got a good look of the figure. The lady's figure was malformed but the most outstanding feature was the razor scales moving across it's body and the vertical mouth that extended the length of the creature.
The tentacles rapped around the trees loosened and released the bodies in between it.
Cly couldn't tell if they were alive or not but it didn't matter cause in the next moment it used it's tentacles to grab a few.
Bringing the unmoving bodies closer to it's lady figure, then in a simple but very bestial motion it consumed them.
Cly believed they were dead, he had seen too much of similar things happen in Furyō.
' what is this? How are we supposed to kill it and where are the others'
His realisation of the situation made him turn around and run.
' we are supposed to become shadows. I guess this is the training.'