"Sire!!! The bandits as we expected of them, they are here!!!" a soldier drenched in sweat came rushing into the building.
The old knight looked at Alex and answered "Stay here, you are going to be safe---"
Before he could continue to say anything, Alex rushed out.
"Bandits???!!! No no no no!!! it can't be!!!" Alex pale now, even more than the earlier time when he experienced such strange phenomena rushed out.
He was so fast he didn't even notice how he jumped over some soldiers.
"Stop him!!!!" Old knight yelled out but even aa trained soldier they couldn't cacatchp, Alex was just too fast.
"How is this possible isn't he just a kid?" Everyone was flabbergasted.
--
"Kakakakakakakakaka!!!!" The city walls were surrounded by aan rmy of Bandits.
One in the middle was a muscular-looking man who had scars on his face, he looked like a monster.
"VILLAGE OF KARNOS!!! Head my words, we!!! the Night Rangers will go back if you give us 500 maidens 150,000 gold coins and.... uh..." The man stopped.
One other, younger-looking bandit came closer and said.
"Lord Kael, and food." He whispered in his ears.
"And the food!!!" Kael, the leader bandit said this.
The walls of the village were filled with soldiers.
"There are so many, at least 500 here..." The knight in the middle grunted in discomfort, this would be a terrible battle.
"Sir do we..." the younger soldier shook in his legs.
"Silence!!! Don't even think about it, do you think we will give up so much wealth for this???!! do we have that much wealth!!!!" The Grandmaster knight gritted his teeth.
"Here, let's let the Knight's Guildia take this over." They looked back to seewell-dressedd knights to come.
--
"Agh.... are we going to die!!!"
"What is happening!!!"
The village was shaken,and people were screaming all around as knights tried to calm them down, this was not the first time this happened, Night's Rangers were an infamous group of Bandits that the royal family tried to exterminate countless times, but just like cockroaches that would crawl out of an explosion, they kept coming back over and over, annoyingly, they were strong too.
Alex rushed towards the exit.
"Mother doesn't know how to defend herself, I hope shes fine!!!" He knew he couldn't run too fastly or Knights would stop him, he didn't have single second to waste here.
But he wasn't about to wait around when his mother was in danger.
As the chaos erupted around him, Alex pushed past soldiers and villagers alike, his feet pounding against the cobblestone streets. His mind was fixed only on one thing: reaching home.
Alex arrived at the edge of the village, his breath ragged as he slowed to a stop. He was just a short distance from the village square, but his mind was already racing. His mother would be at home, alone, vulnerable. He couldn't let anything happen to her.
The sounds of battle were growing louder behind him. The bandits were closing in, their bloodthirsty demands still ringing in his ears.
"Focus, Alex," he muttered to himself, clenching his fists. His eyes darted around, scanning the streets for any sign of danger.
The tension in the air was palpable as the village stood on the brink of chaos. The cries of the villagers, the clash of steel, the shouts of the bandits—it all merged into one overwhelming sound. But through it all, Alex's thoughts remained fixed on one thing.
His mother.
Suddenly, as Alex neared his home, a sharp, strange sensation gripped him—a pulse in the air, like an electric charge, something that felt deep within his chest. It wasn't physical. It wasn't even something he could describe with words. But it was there.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
His eyes widened.
For a split second, his mind flashed with a strange image—a city, towering over the land, consumed by fire, its once-great structures crumbling to the ground. Then, just as quickly, the vision vanished, leaving him disoriented.
"W-What was that?" Alex breathed, his heart pounding as the images faded. He felt... strange, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, yet something else was now pressing on his soul.
"Doesn't matter, I need to leave." He looked over to the wall, he knew a opening, Alex was smart enough to understand he wouldn't be able to go from the main gate since it would become a bloodshed soon, he need to leave from another way.
And then, as if the world itself had decided to turn against him, a thunderous crash echoed from behind the walls. The Night Rangers had breached the gates.
"So soon???!!! The village... its done..." Alex gritted his teeth and jumped over the gate, he left the village.
What followed was a sound of cries, burning and fighting, the village was turned into a battlefield, the battle came so quickly the villagers couldn't evacuate.
"Die SCUM!!!" The Old Knight yelled out in anger.
BzsssTT!!!
BZsssTTTT!!!
Moving around even in his old body like a lightning he cut down bandits left and right.
"Aaaghhh!!!" Villagers cried in pain as bandits invaded their homes.
"Kekekekekeke!!! what a beautiful woman, I wonder... HOW YOU TASTE!!!" One knight was closing up to a woman.
"Help..."
BzssssTTT!!!
Young soldier cut the bandit and yelled.
"STOP!!!! EVERYONE!!! Run to the south, only this part of the village is breached, escape from the south!!!" He was a Tamplier, only Tamplier this village ever produced.
---
"Mom..." Alex looked back to see the village burning, his heart beating, but not too much, he knew that while the house was on a hill and could be seen from the distance, why would any bandit waste their time running up the hill when they would have to deal with the situation down bellow.
But still... what if he was wrong? What if they found her? His stomach twisted as he pushed forward, determined to get to her before anything could happen.
The village was falling apart, and time was running out.
Alex rushed up the hill, his breath ragged, his chest tight with anticipation. His home stood just as he had left it—untouched, safe... for now.
He pounded on the door. Knock! Knock!
"It's me, Mom! Calm down!" He kept his voice steady, knowing she'd be terrified.
The door swung open instantly, and before he could say another word, his mother threw her arms around him.
"Oh my god, Alex!!! What's happening?!" Mery's voice was shaky, her grip on him tight.
Alex swallowed hard. He had to be strong. He had to be the man now.
"Calm down, Mom. It's alright," he lied, keeping his voice even. "The bandits breached the western gate... I think... the village is done." The words felt like stones on his tongue.
Mery's eyes welled with tears, her body trembling. "What… what will we do?" she whispered.
Alex clenched his fists. There was no time for fear.
"Take every ounce of food we have and pack it," he instructed, his voice firm. "Put seeds in the bag too. I'll get the weapons Father left us. And don't start the fireplace—we need to stay quiet. No light. No sound."
Mery nodded, wiping her eyes. "Alright."
They were leaving. There was no other choice.
Alex moved quickly, heading toward the small storage room where his father's weapons were kept. Dust clung to the air as he pushed open the wooden chest, revealing a worn longsword, a hunting knife, and a rusted crossbow with only a handful of bolts. Not much, but better than nothing.
He grabbed the sword first, testing its weight in his hand. It felt familiar—too familiar. His fingers curled around the hilt, and for a moment, something shifted.
A whisper.
Not here. Not now.
Alex froze. His breath hitched, and a strange pressure settled at the back of his mind, like a door barely holding something back. It felt like he had held this sword before, had swung it countless times, had—
No. He shook his head. This wasn't the time to lose himself in strange thoughts.
He slung the crossbow over his shoulder, grabbed the knife, and rushed back to his mother.
Mery had already stuffed a bag with food, spare clothes, and anything useful. Her hands shook as she worked, but she kept moving.
"We need to leave now," Alex said, tightening the straps on his own pack.
Mery glanced at him, hesitating. "Where will we go?"
Alex looked toward the distant mountains, their jagged peaks shrouded in mist. They were dangerous, but they were far from the bandits' reach.
"North," he said firmly. "Into the wilds."
A deep, thunderous sound suddenly rumbled through the village below, like something massive collapsing. Screams followed.
Mery gasped. "What was that?"
Alex didn't answer. He didn't need to. His chest tightened as an unnatural chill ran down his spine.
And then, just as before—
A flicker of something else.
A memory that wasn't his.
A battlefield. A city engulfed in flames. A monstrous shadow looming over broken walls. And his own voice, older, hardened, screaming a name—
It vanished as quickly as it came.
Alex staggered, gripping the sword tighter.
"Alex?" Mery's worried voice snapped him back to the present.
"We need to move," he said quickly, leading her toward the back door.
Behind them, another explosion rocked the village, sending embers into the night sky. The bandits were slaughtering everything in their path.
And for the first time since this nightmare started, Alex had the creeping suspicion—
This had all happened before.
"What..." He looked over and couldn't remove the sense of Deja Vu.
"Alex?" Mery looked worried.
"Nothing... Lets go!!!" He pulled the hand of his mother and escaped back in the forest that he knew every knoock and croonie off.
Alex and his mother pushed deeper into the forest, the sounds of the burning village fading into the distance. The only sounds now were the crunch of leaves underfoot and the heavy, labored breaths of Alex and Mery. But something was off. The air felt charged, thick with tension. The world around them seemed to hold its breath.
"Alex…" Mery's voice trembled as she looked around, her eyes wide with fear. "What if they follow us? What if they—"
"We'll be fine," Alex said, his voice steady, though doubt crept at the edges of his thoughts. The forest was thick, and the mountains to the north were still far away, but in his gut, he felt a gnawing uncertainty.
His mind kept replaying the strange vision—images of a burning city, the monstrous shadow, and that whisper. Not here. Not now. What did it mean? Why did he feel like it was something he had already experienced?
But there was no time to dwell on it. He had to keep moving.
The forest grew darker, the shadows stretching longer as they ventured deeper. The path narrowed, and the trees seemed to close in on them, their gnarled branches reaching out like skeletal fingers.
Suddenly, a faint sound reached Alex's ears—a soft, rhythmic thud, like footsteps. His body went rigid, every sense on high alert.
"Mom…" he whispered, his voice barely a breath. "Stay behind me."
He turned, scanning the area, but saw nothing. The sound grew louder, closer. A whisper of movement in the underbrush. His heart raced.
Then, through the dense trees, a figure emerged. Tall, cloaked in black, its face hidden in shadow.
Alex's breath caught in his throat. The figure didn't speak. It didn't need to. The presence was chilling, like something ancient, something not of this world.
It can't be…
The figure stepped closer, its movements deliberate, the very air growing heavier with each step. Alex's hand tightened around the hilt of the sword, his mind racing for a plan.
"Who... who are you?" Alex called, his voice steady, though his heart pounded in his chest.
The figure didn't answer, only moved closer, its steps echoing in the silence of the forest.
"Alex…" Mery whispered, her voice cracking. "What is that?"
Alex took a cautious step forward, then another. His body tensed, ready to strike if necessary, but something in the air—something about the figure—made him hesitate.
The figure reached up slowly, pulling back its hood.
Alex's eyes widened in shock.
It was a woman. Her eyes, glowing with an eerie light, locked onto his.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said, her voice a soft, otherworldly whisper.
Before Alex could react, the ground beneath his feet trembled.
A low, rumbling growl echoed from somewhere deep in the forest, like the roar of something massive. The woman's eyes narrowed, her lips curling into a faint, almost imperceptible smile.
The forest was unnervingly quiet now, the sounds of battle fading behind them. Alex gripped his sword tighter, his heart pounding, every instinct telling him something was wrong. The air felt heavier, thicker—charged with a presence he couldn't quite place.
Mery's breath hitched beside him as she clutched his sleeve. "Alex, what's happening? What was that?"
Alex glanced back at her, his thoughts racing. He couldn't explain what was happening, not without putting her in more danger. He just needed to keep moving.
Suddenly, a rustling came from behind them—sharp, deliberate footsteps.
Alex spun around, heart leaping into his throat.
Nothing.
The trees swayed gently in the wind, casting shadows in every direction, but there was no sign of what had made the noise. His mind was playing tricks on him, that's all. The stress, the fear—everything was blurring together.
But then, he heard it again.
A soft whisper, like the wind, but distinct.
"Alex..."
His blood ran cold. That voice—he knew that voice.
He whipped around, scanning the darkness. No one was there, but the feeling lingered—too close, too familiar.
"Stay behind me," he ordered Mery, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword.
The whisper came again, this time louder. Closer.
"Alex..."
His breath caught in his throat, his grip on the sword tightening until his knuckles ached. Something was moving in the darkness—something, or someone, watching him.
"Mery, stay quiet," Alex muttered, his voice low, strained.
The whisper came again, now unmistakably clear, chilling him to his core.
"You're not supposed to be here, Alex."
He froze.
End Of Chapter.