“You are among the many summoned. Chosen by the will of the many Gods within our humble world. We beseech thee, stand with us and aid us in preparing for a coming evil. One that has never graced our lands before!”

- King Asairos Basalos; Eve of Summoning

Panic ran across the forest, as a herd of strange beasts fled from an unseen predator. The eyeless things galloped in desperation, as their large ears twitched constantly for the sound of grass being disturbed. Their unnatural bodies, lithe in almost every way possible showed their speed, displaying it with unerring steps. With the black color of their skin, they nearly seamlessly disappeared into the shade of the forests, but the deep blackness of their pelts gave away their position.

Despite moving like living shadows, letting out shrieks in strange intervals, their pursuer was nowhere to be seen. Yet they still ran, fearful of what chased them. They were docile animals, ones that rarely disturbed anyone as they lived peacefully within the forest, barely being hunted by anything within their home. And yet now their peaceful lives were threatened by something.

Breaking the silence with a guttural roar, a figure came hurtling through the bushes with inhuman savagery. The rattling of metal rang out, further terrifying the poor beasts that pushed themselves to run further. The figure chased after them, a strange gait lent its cloaked form an eerie feel. From its back disturbing limbs protruded out of its cloak, bony spider-like limbs wrapped in flesh, ending with a cruel scythe-like blade made from bone.

They hit the ground almost silently, only making a soft ‘thud’ as they acted as another set of legs. It was a twisted thing, clawing against the ground as the entity chased after the beings. It could not hope to catch them, as his speed was far slower than the animals he chased after. Yet with feral determination it continued to give chase.

The hood that nearly covered the entire of the figure’s face shifted slightly, revealing the frowning face of Benedict. His features showing a rage barely held back, as his brown eyes seemed to gleam with a murderous need. Such a need was obviously that to devour, and as the chase continued it grew maddening. To the point that he did not know if it was whether his desire, or something else, regardless he was consumed by this, egging him on to continue running.

He was akin to a beast, shaped in the form of a human but clearly something else now. The beasts he chased knew the land very well, despite their lack of sight. In contrast he fumbled around like a mindless monster, passing through bushes in a violent flurry of rage. Quite literally lashing out at them as if they would simply be destroyed. Yet such a reaction proved less effective on fallen trees, requiring him to vault over them or find a new route entirely.

Without a semblance of self, he followed them deeper into the forest. The light that passed through the canopy slowly dimmed, the area slowly being engulfed in a gentle dark. This did not deter the maddened boy, his eyes perpetually glancing towards the many beasts of the herd, waiting for a chance to take one of them. Soon however, something else began to light the forest as he continued his chase.

Hanging plants, almost like typical orchids set the darkening forest in luminescent light. Their form wrapped around the trunk of the trees, or even covering the entirety of it. They were beautiful as their strange bodies was covered with flowers, varying in both size and design. But all emitting a gentle glow that helped shine the way for Benedict, who did not even notice the strange plants.

Their glow was natural in this world, far greater than that found in the plants and animals of earth. Most likely in thanks to the thick mana present around this forest, which Benedict cared not for. He vaulted another fallen tree, almost tripping over as his scything-blades worked to keep him balance in that savage slouch of his. He growled in frustration, he could not properly keep in pace with the things he hunted.

A chance to feed would then present itself, as he witnessed one of the beasts start to slow. It was a barely noticeable thing to see, underneath the gloom of the forest. Even when the glow of the hanging plants lit the path, the panicked creatures prove to hard targets under the dark. Their close formation did not allow Benedict to properly see them as individual entities, but more akin to a mass of moving dark, desperately fleeing from him.

But as the chase went on, deeper into the forest where new plants showed itself, that the slowing beast became more obvious. Until it was joined by three others, eventually slowing down to the point that he could possibly leap at one of them. His eyes widened in unmistakable glee, his steps almost gaining more speed as he prepared to strike one of them down.

He continued the chase for a little bit more, looking around for anything that may hinder him for a moment. There was nothing that could properly stop him, as long as he wasn’t careless in this chase of his. Taking his chance, just as the lagging animals tried to catch up to the main herd, Benedict raised his scything-blades.

With a leap, alongside with his scything-blades quickly slamming down on the ground to aid him in that, he tackled one of the beasts. Slamming against its hindquarters with such force that he groaned in pain, with the creature he had hit buckling under the force. Almost instantly they crashed on the ground, with the sound of terrified squeals coming from the creature.

It begun to struggle as Benedict held onto it. His body being near it when they had crashed, his hands darting out to grab on one of its hindlegs. He looked to it, as it tried to kick his hand away. He roared at the beast, sending out spittle as he pulled it roughly towards him. His scything-limbs pushed him up as his other hand grabbed its other leg.

The beast whined and started to struggle, the poor thing trying to escape the clutches of the hungry Benedict. It was a futile act as he held onto its hind legs tightly, his armored fingers wrapped around tightly on it. With startling ease, Benedict suddenly lifted the beast up, allowing it to yelp in surprise. Before slamming it back down, making its particularly large torso hit the ground.

It yelped again, letting out a distressed cry. Trying to call for its kind to come back and help it, yet none would dare come back. As their kind had not evolved to deal with any predators, not even in the thousands of years they had existed. This was a glaring mistake in their part, and a strange thing. But it was a great boon to Benedict, as this animal was an easy meal now.

For a moment, he looked at the animal. His eyes looking on with fascination and unmistakable confusion, as if the previous display of rabid hunger, was not of his own accord. The animal’s whines was unnervingly human to his ears, its constant struggling and attempt to escape his clutches implied it was more than some strange beast. But that fascination and confusion on his eyes would only last for a solid minute, quickly being replaced with that unnatural intensity of a hungry beast.

Without hesitation, his scything-blades lifted up high. Before it was slammed down to the poor animal, hitting it right in its chest, effortlessly piercing through its thick skin and into the organs within. The animal screamed then, only for the scything-blades to sink deeper as Benedict let its legs go. Clearly he had pierced through its ribcage, but he felt as if it was not enough.

The scything-blades lifted themselves up, allowing him to see clearly the two puncture wounds he had inflicted on the beast. One was located on its belly, the other near its chest. Thick red blood would come bleeding out after, as a momentary flash of amusement came across his face.

He looked up to the scything-blades of his, and found them covered in the blood of the creature. Gently the blood dripped down from it, splattering all over the ground. He turned his attention back to the animal, and found it to be still alive. Hanging on despite the deep wounds he had given to it. It had even stopped bleeding, an occurrence he could not accept and one that made him angry.

With another inhuman roar, he brought down his scything-blades. At first they would hit the same point, into its middle. Before he lifted them again, and slammed them back down to its lower belly and neck. Slowly he began hacking away at the body, splattering blood all over the ground he was in. Painting nearly everything that was near in red.

Pieces of the animal was flung around the area, hitting the trees and plants with a sickening splat. As the scything-blades themselves worked not to kill the animal, but to feed an anger that urged them tear the animal apart.

He then would stop, when the animal was barely whole. Where its entrails pooled disgustingly on the ground, alongside the rest of its blood. Pieces of its ribcage littered the same place, and its lungs, heart and other organs was almost fully intact. With its head being left whole, whilst the neck that connected it was torn into many pieces.

Following that, his hands picked up some pieces of the creature. The smell of fresh blood and viscera permeated the place, surely drawing in other hungry beasts that would smell it. But Benedict was occupied with his kill, the aroma of its rich bloodied parts sent him to a frenzy. Without any hesitation he shoveled them into his mouth, greedily munching on them as he swallowed them into his gullet.

The flesh he ate was delicious to him, making him desire more. Its taste being like that of typically raw venison, but with a sweet after-taste to it, most likely due to its blood, or simply due to his hunger. For a time he just sat there on his knees, shoving pieces of his kill into his mouth.

His mind was slowly becoming clear as he continued to eat. Each consumption of flesh was reinvigorating, as if the very being of the beast was fueling him. To Benedict, this would seem be just the effect of finally filling his hunger. But it was another thing, as he was directly consuming the mana within the beast, mana which soaked the entire body of every single living thing in this world. He was in essence, devouring what made a being unique in this world.

“I… need.. More..”

On his knees he allowed himself to relish in the feeling of being full. It was a peaceful moment for him, amongst the bloodied earth and plants, he was there, basking in the afterglow of what he had just committed. It felt as if he was at home, sitting within the white painted walls of his home, enjoying the sheer monotony of his life. Even going as far as to close his eyes, smiling contentedly

Then he opened them slowly, the look of hunger to them was truly fading now. Slowly the hunger that overtook him faded, and with it his sanity returned. First he blankly stared at the scene he had just caused. He did not feel anything from it, aside form a sense of happiness and pride, alongside a desire to taste more of the creature. It is as if it was a casual thing to him, similar to eating a normal meal in his old life.

“It.. can’t be..”

He chuckled, bringing his bloodied hands to cover his face. He could smell the blood clearly, more clearly than before. It was like a sweet perfume to him, that led him to almost drool. He could remember everything that happened, from the moment he had seen the herd of strange creatures, to the act of devouring one of them.

But he could not feel anything negative from what he had done. He did not feel disgust, shock or even fear from that. It was simply as if the very thing was just right, a normal thing for him. But Benedict could not even bring himself to rationalise what he had just done, and yet here he was, slowly laughing as blood dripped from his hands and scything-blades.

“Am I…”

He parted his fingers slightly, letting him see through and witness the scene he had wrought. It was something done by him, and he could not deny it. He was sure that if he was consumed by anger, he would do this. He was confident in that, knowing that he had an irrational well of rage within him, that he could easily tap in and unleash towards the most inane of reasons.

“No longer… human?”

It was strange, everything now he accepted. When he knew that he wouldn’t have believed it normally. He felt no shock, no disgust, no fear, or even anger over this. As if those emotions simply refused to register in his mind. When it should have, as any normal human would feel those. And he was no insane being, he was simply a normal student, wanting to live.

So, what then could he do? What could he do, when this very act showed how he was slowly becoming less human. How animalistic he could be, if he would give in. But he didn’t give in, in truth he felt as if what he did was the right thing. The most logical thing he could do. But it wasn’t, if he in the right state of mind, he would have killed the beast, yes he would, but not needlessly hacking it to pieces.

He then would have attempted to create a fire, and then cook it. But he didn’t, he did what he had done, and he felt pride from it. Unable to stop his mouth from curling into a smile, causing him to laugh now. Laughing as if he had simply witnessed or heard the most funniest thing ever.

“God.. This day is just getting worse..”

Worse still he couldn’t even shed a tear, even when started to feel the need to cry. It had began to unnerved him as he realised this would become a problem. Making him begin to feel fear for what he could possibly become in the future. Then as he was just about to begin fearing himself, that very feeling faded. It was not like as if his emotions were being limited, or was being forcefully stopped should it reach a certain point.

But simply because he felt this was right. It was not of his own accord. This feeling of being in the right, it was not him consciously wanting it to be right, it was being put into him by something. He turned his head, to the scything-blades he had, and he noticed now that their blades were mostly clean. Mostly, as if they had absorbed the blood and flesh that presumably stuck to them.

He assumed that it was because of these scything-blades. But he could not confirm if they were parasitic, forcing him to sate their need for flesh. It had to be something else, and still it was tied to this new limbs. But more in relation to his obvious descent into inhumanity. He had witnessed this, in a way it mirrored the many alien and infected transformations he had seen in his life. And how closely this limb paralleled one of those aliens, and even the hunger was like those typical infecteds.

This surely was no coincidence, as it was all too specific for this behaviour he showed to be just some random side-effect. But how could he fight this, when it made him feel that it was normal.

As he would begin to think deeper into his situation, on how he could possibly deal with this creeping change that was inevitably tied to his own survival. He realised that if he would stay here, he would be drawn into a fight. Quickly, he pushed aside the thought about his growing change, in favor of finding a better place to stay in.

He looked up then, noticing the luminescent plants for the first time. Though as beautiful as they are, he did not continue staring at them, but to something beyond them. The thick canopy that crossed together was a strange thing to him, there had to be hundreds of connecting branches for a part of this forest to be covered in dark, and nearly as far as he could see, everything was dark. Save for the light these plants offered.

This would make his desire to find a better place to hole up in, to be quite a hard thing to achieve. But without any other choice, he would simply sigh as he pushed himself up to stand. With him then walking pass the devoured corpse of the creature he ate. His scything-blades once more acted like another set of limbs, fluidly letting him walk in his usual slouched state.

“At least this… this.. Situation is far better than the time I was first pulled to this world.. Or being in that stupid kingdom.”

He could remember the kingdom, the city of it. Isalabi it was called, a strange name to him. Its white walls was what greeted him and his two friends, surrounded by not only armored knights, but other students. As if they were taken for a very specific reason. He knew then, as quickly as anyone in the situation could guess, that it was reality and not some trick. But the shock of being pulled from your world to another, remained.

He held that shock for a good week or so, whilst the others slowly accepted their situation. He saw it clearly, even his two friends accepting the situation. The way they bowed to the excuses given by the King, the oracle, even by the princesses and nobility that ‘supported’ them. But he, and a few others knew that it was a lie. Or some of it were.

Without finding the real reason behind the motivations of the individuals that supported them, Benedict and the few others that had doubts couldn’t voice their thoughts. In fear that they may be persecuted for it, or to fall under the shadow and be left behind. Of course it was only logical for them to fear that, as he recalled what one of the princesses told them.

“There are a multitude of Gods within Jasolem. Humanity has nearly about thirty-five, with twelve being considered to belong to the main pantheon of our kingdom. Of course other races have their own gods, for example our elven allies have twenty.

But nonetheless, among those many gods. You summoned will find some of them vying for your.. Attention so to speak, trying to convince you to be their champions. It is one of the reasons as to why you were summoned, to allow their powers to be used against the dark that lurks. We know not what this.. Dark that lurks, but we know one thing.

It is beyond this world.”

Who would pass up a chance to be the champion of a God? Certainly not the majority of the summoned, as one of them, Damien, the blonde-kid that persecuted him with great fervor during that chase, was chosen by a God of Light. It was both hilarious and distasteful for Benedict, as these individuals wholeheartedly gave themselves to the possibility of becoming something greater.

He was glad however, that Carleon and Jio had listened to him. When he began to ramble that this was too convenient, and that they should not just easily accept the offers of the Gods of this world. It was surprisingly easy to convince them, as they had shared his doubts after a week within this world. But it also offered another problem, as they were ‘Godless’, summoned without the blessings of a God. To the eyes of the nobility, and their fellow summoned, they were a liability.

For they did not have the enhanced capabilities of the other summoned. Benedict could bear that discrimination, but he could not bear it when his very friends were subject to the same treatment. But they were firm in their choice, as they slowly realized that there was a deeper reason within their situation. In that reasoning of theirs, they had promised to him that they would only bow to a god only if it was necessary.

Yet the blessing of a God was necessary. As Benedict had told them that the very world they live in, was more than likely to contain beasts that no normal man could beat. He had also said that it was unlikely that any of them had any mana within them, barring those blessed by the Gods. If they remained Godless as the other summoned had called them, they would be dead in two months, assuming they would still persevere in fulfilling their ‘goal’. The goal which was given to them by the ones that summoned them.

Benedict would scoff at that, the thought of willingly giving his life for this cause that was not of his own. It was as laughable as the choice of bowing to another God. He had abandoned the teachings of his religion, the religion that had been within his homeland since the Spaniards took hold of it, and yet he still believed firmly in the one true God.

Why would he quickly adopt the another God? Worse yet, become its champion? He could not lie that it was tempting, that he had dreamed to be adventuring in a land of fantasy, saving the world and being in good terms with Gods. But when it had become reality however, the very offer was too convenient, too easy in a sense.

Of course in exchange was for them to fight against a coming dark. Which surely would spell doom to this world, and them if they failed. But how could they, a gathering of nearly forty-five students even be the hope against a coming dark? A dark which he assumes to be some evil entity, or even an alien race. What difference could they make?

But with magic existing, he had an inkling that their nature as beings from another world plays right into it. As he could remember, this world was called Jasolem. A large world filled with a multitude of races, with numerous lands that dot the world itself. The Lonely Frost, was one such land, the very land in which the city of Isalabi was located, the capital of the Ivory Union.

The land was a lonely place, as its name was any indication. But it held many secrets, alongside the fact that the entire region was surprisingly protected by a wall of mountains that couldn’t be natural, as if it was keeping something from getting out. Not only that, the Snow Elves lived within there too, alongside the humans of that place, forming the Ivory Union.

They had a four-way monarch system, which to him did not make sense at all. Since it was essentially just a king and queen from both races, acting under the behest of their people. Which was simply an alliance, one that lasted far longer than usual, and was more intimate than any other he had ever seen. This had the strange effect of making their two cultures merge in a way, with both Snow Elf and Humans interacting with little to no conflict at all.

But he doubted that it was all that, he had to consider the political aspect of this. How did politics work within the Ivory Union? As there was obviously numerous nobility among them, enough that there had been some ‘gifts’ given to summoned who had displayed exemplary actions. Some even openly sent tutors to nurture the growing power of those summoned.

He had also heard about Adventuring Guilds, and even other similar guilds that focused on much more darker business. Though there was the Merchant Guild, Mage Guild alongside the Adventuring Guild, with different names of course, but known to the locals as these for simplicity’s sake. They offered a variety of jobs, which individuals like Benedict could earn money from, and even acquire equipment.

Though he only knew of these from the Lonely Frost, and he could remember that he was near the town of Plorty when he was running away from the summoned, and that elf. Aniara La’Rissa Malteris, that was the name of that Elf. He remembered that she was assigned to be the ‘survival’ instructor of the summoned, being a rather cold individual to many males that tried to hit on her.

“Cold beauty..”

That was what he could describe her, though she wasn’t like those typical cold beauties he saw in those animes, but rather something he couldn’t describe properly. It was as if she was simply just too dedicated in her work, which he could perfectly understand. For it was an honorable thing to do.

Passing over a particularly strange plant, which resembled a mix of a venus fly-trap and a large mass of thorny tentacles, Benedict would notice light further away from where he was. Unlike the light the luminescent plants gave, this new source of light was clearly different. And he slightly sped up to reach it as quickly as possible, even though he still had a lot of ground to cover.

-

“This is a problem..”

The Elder said as he crouched down to where the dead body of Benedict was supposed to be. His eyes squinted as he held his hand out, bringing it just above the cleaved earth as if he could sense something from it. Faint signs of energy crackled around his body, all moving to his outstretched arm then to his palm. Next to him, Salia stood wide-eyed, pacing around nervously as a look of fear crossed her beautiful face.

“E-Elder… H-Has the human turned to a Revenant? I d-didn’t mean to take his necklace! C-Certainly i-it didn’t l-look that important.. M-Maybe something took his body and cleaved at the earth?”

The Elder turned to Salia, a gentle smile crossing his face for a moment. He shook his head as he continued what he did, trying to sense something from the earth that was so cleanly cleaved by something. He parted his lips after a few minutes, speaking as his free hand rubbed the back of his head.

“No.. It is not a Revenant. Whatever the Human has become, it certainly is not undead. The earth sings about something, something far different than a human.”

Revenants. Once living beings raised by another force, one that did not relate to any magical art, but rather to a certain thing. Wrath, and vengeance. These undead rise back only for a single reason, and it is vengeance regarding something that has wronged them, which engulfed them with so much hate that they rise with broken bodies. Essentially becoming avatars for the sin of Wrath.

“A-Are you sure? I t-took his necklace.. I felt something from it.. It has to be important to that human! What do I do Elder? I m-may have unleashed something to our land..”

Salia was shaking, her eyes looking as if she would start crying any moment now. Those yellow irises of hers conveying panic as she looked around, seeing not the body of the human she found hours ago, but only signs of something violently clawing and cleaving at the sacred-soil. She was afraid of what she might have unleashed, and feared that she might just be hated by her own people.

“Hush child. Do not panic or cry yet, this situation may be resolved without the death of one of our own. Whatever the human has become, we have the duty to put it to rest.”

The Elder would widen his eyes as if he finally saw something. And he did as he stared at a particular part of the earth that was cleaved at, and deep within barely seen by him is a writhing mass of flesh. As if some sort of burrowing creature was hit by whatever cleaved the dirt, and subsequently changed as the mass of flesh was slowly gaining size. Quickly in response, the Elder set the mass of flesh ablaze with a mere flick of his hand.

“Whatever it is.. It is something I cannot properly sense. But what I can feel from it, is something primal. A concentrated bundle of a desire to.. Survive.”

He furrowed his brows as he stood up. The crackling energy around his body would slowly disappear as he turned his gaze to the forest. A look of concern was written all over his face, and the elderly man seemed to be uneasy as if he had seen something he thought would not exist.

“Elder.. W-What do we do now?”

Salia looked at the small burning thing within one of the cleaved ground, then to the Elder. Her right hand clutching the necklace tight, as she noticed the primal power within. Related to its owner, and seemingly yearning to be returned to him.

“There is little we could do now at the moment. Even if we call for the Seekers, we cannot truly find it until a few days later. He may as well be delving deep into the heart of our home. Seeking sustenance, like some primal beast.”

Salia shook her head, she visualised the thought of that human being some sort of monster. Similar to some werewolf or even devourer roaming the ancient soil of her people, hunting the docile animals within and feasting upon their mana-rich blood. Normally this concern wouldn’t be considered, as not only was the mana-rich blood too potent for normal humanoids, there were deadly plants and animals within the forest.

Alongside an area called the veil of darkness, which only the holy beasts know. Certainly the changed human could not find it, and possibly disturb the sleeping beasts within? Or worse yet actually eat one of the holy beasts that called it home.

“B-But Elder..”

She started, clutching the necklace on her hand and showing it. The glow within her eyes intensified, overshadowing the yellow of her eye. Magical power came out of her hand, crackling with gentle ease as it tries to wrap around the necklace.

“T-This is my fault.. If only I had buried the body.. It may not have risen!”

The Elder looked surprised at what she was doing. To him this was unexpected as she, Salia, was one said to be his successor, but to him the girl was not yet ready. As she was driven by emotion and felt as if she had to bear responsibility for all she did.

“But Salia, you need not do this. The Seekers and even the Choir can deal with this. I know you are said to be the one destined to succeed me, but you are not pushed to become like me.”

The Elder shook his head, bringing a hand to caress one of his horns. Such an idle touch caused a crackle of energy to spark from the horn and to course to his hand, passing over to other parts harmlessly. But it implied that the Elder was filled with such magical energy, that he was essentially a living conduit of it.

He was hesitant on allowing anyone to succeed him, as it meant that they would be like him. Bearers of great power, power in which could be used for many things. And in the wrong hands may as well damn their entire race to one of the evil ancients.

“Even still Elder.. I need to take responsibility for it.. And we cannot waste any time. I have the gift, and it would be a waste if I don’t use it..”

Salia smiled sadly, her eyes nearly being engulfed by that blue glow. The necklace in her hands was engulfed then by her power, but something fought back. It was no magical enchantment, or some remnant of great power, but something relating to a specific desire.

“With this necklace.. I feel it.. The desire to survive.”

As she said that, she would feel that raw desire. Though she had felt that desire, this was another thing entirely. What she was trying to do, was something called ‘Divining’ in the tongue of her people. It was not wholly unrelated to the similarly named magical art used by the other races, but theirs was primal. It went against what many thought to be the laws upon magic, for it threaded not only upon the laws of reality, but also that of time.

The Elder was what her people called a Delver. Gifted few that held the power to delve deep into the weave between worlds, allowing them the power to see or do what they wish. Though each Delver focused on a specific path, the Elder focused on the path of Divining, to see both the future and past to aid his people. And for their long-lived race, this was a dangerous path, as it can easily lead one to madness, or even the clutches of the ancient ones.

The way they Divined things, was not like how the other races did so. Theirs was their own power, not granted to them by gods or some otherworldly being. Simply due to the power that lay within their race, being quite literally born from this land they lived in. Without the will of some God, and due to it, they held some primal power that could be used for wondrous things. Though Salia was a ‘gifted’ individual as her people said, she had only began training very recently and could not compare to the Elder in divining.

Yet still she tried, and what vision she saw was peculiar. As first it shows her something akin to a prophetic vision, with a distinct chant being echoed out within her ears. The tone of the chant was somber in a way, with it relating heavily to a God of sorts, and yet the feel was something that did not come from this world. With the chant she saw him, the human male that was supposed to be dead.

This vision was both in the now and the future, fluctuating with both instances showing itself in a prophetic vision. Where the human male was shown in a way,that made it look as if this world did not agree with his being. The male did not show discomfort in that fact, a fact in which he did not know.

He was changed, with two spider-like limbs sprouting out of his shoulder-blades. They were segmented into three parts, four if one would consider the cruel scythe of a blade made out of bone. It was unlike anything she had seen in life, but she saw that these new limbs were natural in a way. As it curved outward and acted like weapons and additional limbs to walk upon.

They pulsated with energy, far different from that of traditional mana found within the living. Where it would be blue for most uninitiated to any sort of magical art, they pulsated with a dull red glow. Contrary to what many people of this world would say, red was not the color of evil. In truth it was simply that of passionate emotions such as rage, alongside that of faith.

But yet the limbs of this human shouldn’t have this color, not when they did not know or even show any magical potential. This was strange, made more when the vision showed the male covered in blood, walking forward in an all too familiar forest towards a path of light. She widened her eyes at this, knowing full well where he was.

Then the vision shifted, showing the human twitching slightly. His face though obscured in the hood, she could see his eyes. They were brown, and they glowed with the same dull red glow that pulsated around his body, slowly shifting as if he was constantly thinking of something.

But suddenly the vision was cut off. And all she could see was darkness that could not be pierced by her divining skill. She thought of it as if the vision has ended, and that she could delve no longer deeper into the necklace she held. But she was wrong, and within that dark six eyes glowed a dull red. Eyes that looked as if they belonged to a large Cephalopod. A voice then boomed, a slow unnatural tone that rang as if it was both sang and whispered by thousands of mouths.

Apex my Apex, fear not thy self, but fear.. Stagnancy….

Apex… why do you not dream of I?

Dream of me.. As I gave you a path.. To ascension..

Apex.. dream of a dreamless nightmare..

She could nearly see what it was, what was speaking. Though whatever language it used, she could not understand, and to her it sounded almost like the chantings she heard when she delved to find the human. The darkness shifted, and gaved way to what could only be described as a large catacomb complex. Lit by statues of faceless warriors, holding burning blades.

They illuminated the chamber she saw, and before she could see the source of the six eyes. The vision faded, faded after she felt a tug at her body.

She found herself kneeling, clutching the necklace tight with both hands. The Elder looks at her with a knowing gaze, sighing as he held a hand out to aid her rise. She takes it, holding the necklace in one hand, strangely fearful of losing it.

“I take it that you saw him?”

She looked up, seeing his wrinkled face look on with worry but disapproving still. From the way he looked at her, it was clear that he had delved even further. And what she did was unnecessary, but she wanted to do it, for it was her fault.

“Y-Yes.. I saw him.. He is within the forest, Elder. Covered in the blood of one of the animals.. I presume.”

She shook her head as she looks to the forest. Her eyes returning to that normal dim glow they had, as the Elder simply nods before walking past her, forcing her to follow him. She kept quiet about the strange thing she saw after the one with the human, finding it something that shouldn’t be shared. A sudden compulsion to hide it, one which she hasn’t felt before.

“He is covered in the blood of a Jaelir. He has devoured one.”

He said as he continued walking, his pace becoming brisk as Salia looked shocked. As the Jaelier are docile animals, mostly found on the dark veil of the forest, capable of eluding even the most deadly of beasts within their home. And not only that, they were very poisonous to humanoids. To find out that the human had devoured one, made her fear for the worse.

“Though you tried to delve and see his exact location, yours is.. Incomplete. The boy is not heading to any direction he knows, but he is nearing a part of the the forest that holds the many predators of our home.”

This was in a way good. Salia thought, surely the beasts would kill him? Strangely however, she felt as if she did not want that. Indeed she did not want that, for he wanted for him to rest as she still assumed that he is, a variant of a revenant. Or something similar. She was also curious about him, about what she saw in that delving of hers. Without her truly meaning it, she had resolved herself to try and save him.

“Elder.. We must save him.”

At that, the Elder only looked back. Smiling knowingly, as if he foresaw this. She wondered if he also saw what she saw, that strange catacomb complex. But regardless, she was thankful that the Elder did not object to this.