“The male one is carryin’ somethin’!”
“It’s a sack!”
The warriors on the wall are preparing for a fight, though they don’t think it’ll be a big one. Two humans won’t be much of a hassle. One rain of arrows will kill them.
A leader-like viking yells. “Stop right there!”
The two figures stop, one male, one female. They appear to have bloodied clothes. Dangerous, the vikings reason.
“Who are you!?”
The male intruder answers, “Priests of the Dragoni!”
“Go back to your land! We have no business with ya! We haven’t even raided you for the past decades!”
“That is true, but your men tried to kill us in the forest!”
“Then you must have crossed the border! ‘Tis our land!”
“And we’re just passing by! Where’s Poer Haem?”
“Fuck off! Drop your valuables and go away!”
“If we drop our valuables, will you tell us where it is!?”
Silence follows. The vikings discuss something. They are afraid of the Dragoni, so they won’t attack if they can avoid it.
“Fine! Drop your sack to the gate and leave it there! We’ll tell you where Poer Haem is!”
They take the sack to the gate as they’re told. Once they’ve retreated without it, the viking leader yells, “Go South-East until you reach a mountainless land! Ask some villagers there!”
The two leave quietly, heading South-East. The vikings aren’t lying about the direction, but they haven’t mentioned there are others waiting in ambush. The leader climbs down to see what’s in the sack.
He opens it, pouring the contents out.
“What the...”
However, there are no valuables.
“Just what...”
Even the ruthless leader is taken aback.
“Why...”
There’s a head, a severed one, and human hearts that were torn from the dead bodies.
“Those... murderers! Men, ready your arms! We’re going after them! Kill them! Rape the woman! Torture the man!”
In less than half an hour, most of the clan is hunting the two Priests of the Dragoni. Their leader is determined to avenge his brethren, and especially his son.
Once I lay my hands on them, it’ll be a bloody mess!
***
It’s the Dragoni affecting them. If not for it, they’d never even consider doing such, much less tolerate it. However, the Dragoni’s insanity makes them do things they wouldn’t normally do. If either of them died, the Serpent Emperor would gain full control over the remaining Priest, and that would spell the death of thousands.
“Hey, Tereahn, what do you think of my legs?” Ohan lifts her skirt, showing off her legs, walking in front of Tereahn.
“Charming.”
“You think so? They’re quite scaly, though.”
The way they talk sounds as if they had a deeper meaning to their conversation, one that’s not related to the actual subject at all. They lost their sanity, after all, so there’s no telling what they truly mean by their words. If they were normal humans, they’d look like a flirting pair, but that’s not the case.
“The black scales make it look like you had some tight trousers, like the ones used in the Full Moon Ritual.”
“So, I could walk around with panties only, telling people these are my pants? These scales, I mean.”
“At least use some shorts. But I agree people wouldn’t care if you said those are pants. Poer Haem people haven’t heard of the Dragoni anyway, I bet.”
“By the way...” Ohan begins, lowering her skirt and taking a pose that suggests she’s begging, her feline nature surfacing. Maybe the Dragoni is partly a cat? No, it’s just Ohan’s hidden personality.
“So you heard them, too?” Tereahn smirks.
The implicit is that they both can hear the vikings chasing after them, and Ohan is begging for permission to kill them. Literally.
“Fine,” Tereahn lets her do as she likes.
Ohan replies back with body language alone, “Can’t take back your words now!” And then she dashes off into the foliage.
“She better come back soon. I want to get out of this land, and soon,” Tereahn talks to himself.
***
The vikings, led by their leader, Bruak, hunt the two Priests. They are heavily armed. They know the terrain well, so they’ll catch up to them soon.
“Whoever sees them first will get a gold coin!”
The vikings are driven by many reasons, such as greed and thirst for vengeance. Some of them might want to rape the female Priest, and for those individuals, it’s the sole reason for the chase.
Suddenly, blood is sprayed upon Bruak. “The hell was that!?”
“Die!” A monster tears apart the viking she’s caught.
Ohan, whose eyes are flaming, hands replaced by deadly claws, looks for the next target. If she had a tail, she’d look like a humanoid cat, if not for the scaly legs.
“Kill her!”
Dozens of vikings charge at her. Ohan welcomes them all. The first one to come too close has his right arm torn off faster than he can react to. His shriek plants terror in the hearts of others.
Ohan steals his sword, hurling it at another target. It hits its mark, the blade sinking into a fertilizer.
Eyeing for the next prey, she decides to lunge at their leader. However, he dodges the foolish slash. But before he can strike back, she’s already vaulted away, looking for an easier opponent. Cats are lazy, and so is Ohan too.
“She’s too fast!” A viking cries.
“Fight with all you’ve got!”
In the blink of an eye, another viking is eviscerated, his guts splattering all over the woods. She slashes her prey violently with an intent to inspire terror, and the best way to do that is to show as much gore as she can.
“How‘bout frying you?”
A flaming aura surrounds her, a raging inferno. The vikings start falling back. They don’t know how to fight a monster, much less living fire.
Now, Bruak understands why his fellows didn’t stand a chance, and why raiding the monastery was prohibited by the elders he respects. For the first time in his life, he feels genuine fear.
“Retreat!” He shouts.
Ohan incinerates as many as she can find before they can flee. After some eight vikings, she runs out of targets. Too bad, I had fun. She returns back to Tereahn. Maybe he’ll pat me for doing a good job.
Chapter Four
Wolves
Three hours after the rising of the Titan in the morning, in a small clan of Wolves of Poer Haem, there’s an uproar. No, those Wolves aren’t just ‘wolves,’ they are the Wolves of Poer Haem. They’re huge and capable of shapeshifting between a human form and a Wolf form. Their size can be large in the predator shape, but if it’s a female, their size is usually smaller than male’s. A big patriarch is towering in comparison to a bear.
There is a story behind their race. Originally, they didn’t exist, but when magic was discovered for the first time in this world, an experiment was carried out, one that made a human turn into a wolf. Though it’s only a legend, that’s what they say about Wolves of Poer Haem. Even they themself have no idea how their race truly came to be.
“Found any?” an elder asks in the form of a Wolf.
“Nothing, your Wiseness.” The Wolves of Poer Haem have developed a culture of their own, and therefore, the young Wolf uses ‘your wiseness’ in similar fashion a human would use ‘your highness.’
“So, the quake made all the animals flee somewhere. I wonder where they all fled to.”
Although they are Wolves, they are also humans, so they do have houses in their clan. However, their buildings are mostly just shelters from the wind, except for the house of elders. That is the only building a human can call a house.
A female dashes through the clan and enters the house of elders in the Wolf form. “I saw some animals flee to Mount Hiphlor!”
>
“Mount Hiphlor? Why would they flee there? Did you catch any?” The elder asks.
“No. Should I go hunting?”
“Yes. Bring as many as you can. Do not waste.”
“On my way!” The young wolf darts back into the woods.
The other wolf who came in earlier without any news asks the elder, “Should I help her?”
“You must. The earthquake we experienced a while ago has made the air ominous. Some flowers are withering away as fast as within an hour. The wind has been blowing furiously. And what puzzles me the most is that my tail is itching.”
“Isn’t it so because you don’t bathe often?”
“No, it is because something is not right.”
“Understood. I will follow Ti to the mountain.”
***
Ti is dashing towards Hiphlor faster than ever. Here and there, she gets a quick look at the mountain through the foliage. She’ll have to hurry, lest the animals climb too high. The terrain up there isn’t ideal for a Wolf, nor for a human.
She is 76 inches tall in her Wolf form, whereas in human form, she is 60 inches. She is seventeen years old, so by no means is she a child. She is often teased for being so short. What’s even more puzzling is that her Wolf shape is tall for a female, though not by much. The average female height is 72 inches in Wolf form. Males have the average of 83 inches.
The closer she gets to the mountain, the worse the view becomes. Dark clouds are gathering above Hiphlor as if something terrible were happening there. Ti’s heard tales of the Demoni that can summon lesser ones from heaven. She fears that might be the case. If so, then the land will likely be consumed by the evil creatures.
I must go faster...! Every hair of her fur is standing on the edge. She’s sensing something, but can’t quite grasp what.
“Ti!” Someone shouts after her.
“Huh?”
“It’s me, Ek! The elder told me I must go with you!”
“Then you better make use of your swiftness! Dash to the mountain ahead of me! Catch the first animal you see and come back. There’s something bad happening on top of that mountain! Something really terrible.”
“Something evil?”
“I think so.”
“Alright.”
Ek hastens, darting towards the mountain. With a single exertion, he is covering a great distance. In a few seconds, he is far ahead of Ti. In the wilderness, he is unrivaled in terms of speed. Ek is the fastest of all the Wolves in Poer Haem. Ti’s been admiring him for years. To her dismay, he already has a mate.
A few minutes later, Ti gets to the root of the mountain. She can’t see Ek anywhere. He’s probably climbed up the slope. Trees grow way up the mountainside, so the terrain isn’t too rocky for her just yet. Sometimes, Elders climb up to the plateau of Hiplor.
Ti howls, asking for Ek’s whereabouts. As she waits for his response, the wind is growing stronger, and the clouds above the mountain are getting worse. Her heart is racing. She’s never been so scared of the weather.
Once she meets up with him, Ek has already gotten a prey: a stag. One is enough for several, but they can’t feed the whole clan with it. They need more than that.
“Let’s go back!” Ti suggests.
“No. I saw more animals a little higher. They’re trapped up there, so we can easily get another. Are you with me?”
“But...! Fine. If we can’t get another one quickly, we go back. There’s something bad happening up there.”
Chapter Five
Ancient Sorrow
Far to the South, the colossal existence, the Titan, advances. It’s a dark entity, incorporeal yet not transparent, resembling a humanoid with three eyes that are like stars in the night sky. The middle eye is on its forehead. Its face has no shape, just the eerie eyes that never, ever blink.
It looks like a massive ghost, through which one cannot see. It’s a Shadowphantom. An existence that has two forms, the Shadow and the Phantom. As a Phantom, though incorporeal, it’s capable of causing physical harm. As a Shadow, it’s literally just a Shadow. However, no shadow in this world is big enough to hide it, and thus the Titan is forced to remain a Phantom.
In the First World, the servants of the Old One feasted on Spirit. In this Third World, they consume Arcana. However, there is only one Shadowphantom in the Third World: the Titan. More precisely, it’s an amalgamation of each and every Shadowphantom in this world. Because of that, its existence is unstable, incapable of evolving into a Black Demon. The Demoni of this world aren’t the same; they’re servants of an Elementi, whereas the Demons are minions of the Old Ones.
The figure of the Titan is towering, high above the clouds, blotting out the Sun. Its eerie, lengthy arms dangle loosely. With each step, the land around its massive feet corrupts, it’s existence draining life out of everything.
Though a destroyer, its thoughts aren’t what one might imagine. Yes, it does have a mind of its own—nay, it has two separate minds. In addition to the Shadowphantoms, three other entities are residing within the amalgamation. One serves as the foundation, the two as its two minds.
Someone, anyone...
The Titan advances, its eerie face hiding its true emotions.
Please, free us...!
The Titan’s cry is genuine, but unseen and unheard. Although it doesn’t want to annihilate the world, it cannot disobey the Old One. It can only march on.
I don’t want this...
I want to see my darling...
The Titan wishes it could shed tears. The two souls locked within the malevolent abomination have been crying for help ever since the Titan came to be. For thousands of years, they’ve been tormented in such a way.
However, the cause is benevolent.
Chapter Six
Plan
Lou and Ion have managed to shake off their pursuers, though only temporarily. Using the Earth Elementi, Lou hides their tracks. Of course, if they were to send hounds after them, they won’t be able to hide. Air Elementi could help them with hiding their smell, but it wouldn’t serve as a guarantee.
“How far?” Ion asks, secretly thinking of food.
“An hour more.” In fact, Lou’s just as hungry.
They’ve been riding on rough terrain, avoiding the roads. Ion still can’t tell where Poer Haem is located on the world map. He shouldn’t be far from the Titan’s Prison since the language is all the same, if some differences in pronunciation don’t count. He’s heard a few new words as well.
A little later they find a pond in the middle of nowhere, a pond Lou’s apparently known to be there for a long time. She lets the horse drink for a moment. Lou has a destination in her mind, though she hasn’t mentioned it just yet. As long as he gets to eat, Ion doesn’t care.
“We should be there soon.”
Ion hopes she speaks the truth. He hasn’t eaten for twelve hours. Lou, in turn, has eaten prison food for the past day, so her appetite for a proper meal is just as strong.
“There!”
Ion doesn’t see anything that hints of food, just a shallow river. “What? I see a river, that’s all.”
“Exactly! We’ll ride upstream in the river. It’s shallow, you see. Hounds can’t track us if we do so. A mile upstream, and we’ll leave the horse. I’ve trained it to head to a nearby stable. I’ve paid the owner quite a sum, so he won’t mind if my horse happens to appear in his stable without any notice. Also, we can head to my house without worries. The hounds will go after the horse. I’ve used a certain oil on this one’s hooves, which leaves a scent dogs can’t resist. Of course, it’s not a strong scent, so it won’t attract them from a distance.”
“You sure know your tricks.”
“Of course. I’m an assassin, after all. I worked for the Order.”
Once they’ve ridden upstream, they let the horse go and continue on foot, not leaving the river just yet. After a hundred yards, they climb the embankment on their left, finally heading to Lou’s house. Ion’s mouth is watering a
s he thinks of food.
***
“And I thought you were speaking of a house.” Ion isn’t happy about the sight of Lou’s home.
“It’s kinda messy, yeah.” Lou can’t deny it.
The thing they’re looking at should be Lou’s house. More like, it’s a door that leads to an underground basement. The only source of light down there is the light of lamps. Lou lights them with the aid of the Elementi. Bathing is done in the river, just like laundry. The kitchen is a part of the living room. As for the bedroom, it’s a small one. That’s all there is to her home. Then again, it isn’t the only house she owns.
The walls are made of stone, the ceiling is wooden, and the floor is paved. Furniture makes the place look comfortable in its own charming way, but it won’t remove the feeling of a cellar. Lou has also built air conditioning on her own, which are small pipes that go all the way up to the surface. They bring some fresh air, but still, the air isn’t nice.
“Well, I kinda lived underground as well, though I had a window.”
“Why did you live underground?”
“Do you know what’s the Titan?”
“Eh? There’s a myth about it, why?”
“Just how far am I if the Titan is considered a myth!?”
“Wait, it’s real? Really?”
“Of course it is! I’m a Shadow myself! I’ve been watching the Prison for my life. The worst part is that less than ten hours ago, that damned colossus woke up and most likely destroyed my home.”
“Whoa, there! So you’re saying that you’re immortal?”
“I’m not, but I do have an extended lifespan. I think I have a hundred years to go before I die. At least.”
“Wait there, I’ll get changed.” Entering the bedroom, she closes the door behind her. “I think you’re, like, reeeally far from home. From what I hear, the Prison is tens of thousands of leagues away.”
“So she teleported me to the other side of the world? I’m so going to protest once I see her!”
“She? Don’t tell me, you met her too?”
“Huh? Yeah, some scary little girl with a stalagmite stuck to her head came to my house, warning about a guy whom she was referring to as he.”
Apocalyptic Life (Era Series Book 2) Page 6