The long-awaited day arrived. It was tonight that the giant Aberration would appear, and it was tonight that Reinfried and I would hunt it down. I didn’t know how the town guards had prepared, but I hadn’t stopped training since the duel. No matter how long I tried, however, I wasn’t able to master the Art of Channeling. It seemed more advanced than Reinfried had implied—or maybe I wasn’t good at using magic. Either way, Channeling had to wait until our fight against the Aberration ended.

“This goes here, and this goes there.” I fastened my throwing knives to my belt. “All right, now the other equipment.” I spread a black cape across my shoulders, folded the local-area map into one pocket, and tucked the compass inside another. When I was sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything, I slunk out of my room and went downstairs with careful steps.

On my way to the front door, I found Demetrius reading in a secluded corner. He’s always holding that book, but I never asked him what it’s about. We rarely talked, and our conversations since the duel didn’t amount to ten sentences. When I passed near him, however, he put the book down and said, “You should stay here tonight.”

“Why?”

“My tarot cards say so. It’s too dangerous to go out.”

“You’ve seen the duel. This time, Reinfried and I will be on the same side. I don’t think anything can stand in our way.”

Demetrius didn’t respond. He picked up his book and returned to reading. You start the conversation and then ignore me? I sighed and headed to the door. I was about to walk out of the inn, but a voice gave me the shivers. She caught me.

“Are you leaving?” Marie said. “It’s still sunset.”

“Reinfried asked me to be there early.”

I turned to look at her. She was biting her lower lip and fidgeting with a keychain. I knew she would be worried, so I wanted to leave unnoticed. Well, at least I tried.

“It’s still too early.”

“The earlier, the better,” I said. “I’ll be back before you miss me.”

“I won’t.” She folded her arms and looked away. Then her eyes came back searching for me as she added, “Are you sure you’ll be safe?”

“Reinfried and his men will fight by my side; I won’t be alone. We’ll clean up this mess, and you’ll be able to go outside again.”

“Don’t do anything rash. Promise me.”

“I promise,” I smiled. “You won’t even notice that I’m gone. And when I’m back, maybe we can go to Azuria together.”

“Azuria?”

“Yeah, it’s more cheerful than here, and there are a lot of nice places to visit.”

Marie remained hesitant.

“Think about it.”

“Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Demetrius said, but I ignored him.

“I’ll go now. Reinfried’s waiting.” I opened the inn’s door. “Take care, Marie.”

“Wait!” she said.

But I didn’t stop. The door closed behind me, and I hurried to the meeting point on the outskirts of Ashenbrook. The sky was bleeding. The colors of sunset painted the fog crimson. Sometimes the world sends us warnings, and many times we choose to ignore them. Brave or reckless, I ran through the streets without doubts or second thoughts.

Few people were outdoors, because the curfew was about to start. I felt that the town was preparing for an apocalypse: the doors were bolted, and even the windows were covered with wooden boards.

“Look, it’s that fool from the guild,” a merchant said as he locked his shop. “The one who defended the witch.”

“Where’s he going? Doesn’t he fear for his life?” his assistant asked.

“The witch guarantees his safety. I hope they rot in hell!”

They wanted a fight, but I decided that they were not worth it.

I arrived at the meeting spot. Saddled horses were hitched to poles along the roadside, and the town guards were gathered near a boulder. Clad in heavy armor, Reinfried stood among them. I could hear his steady voice. He continued to give instructions until he saw me approaching.

“You’re finally here,” he said as his men cleared the way for me. “Join us.”

A map was stretched on a rock.

“The giant Aberration last appeared around here.” Reinfried pointed at a circled location on the map. “We will patrol the same area tonight. The terrain is friendly, and we won’t need to break our formation.”

“Formation?” I interrupted.

“A horse is ready for you,” Reinfried said. “Can you ride?”

“Yes, but not so well.”

“You’ll stay near me, and if anything happens, I’ll intervene.”

I nodded.

“When we spot the Aberration, my men will carry out a maneuver.” He continued to address me. “Two squads will test how strong it is and how effective our weapons are against it. Then it’ll be our turn, Lance. Our squad will confront the Aberration and kill it before sunrise.”

Sunrise? Is it going to take this long?

“It’s time to get moving,” Reinfried said, and his men headed to their horses. I waited until he folded his map. “Follow me.”

“Has anyone seen the giant Aberration before?” I asked as I walked behind him.

“No, we don’t have any reliable witnesses.”

We stopped in front of a pair of dun horses. It had been a long time since I rode one. Reinfried mounted his, and I got on mine.

“So, we know very little about the threat,” I said.

“Yes, but we’ll discover what we’re up against soon.”

***

The sunlight disappeared, and the night taunted us with endless shadows and freezing gusts. We lit torches and held them up. Although the light betrayed our position, we needed it to coordinate our movements. When I was alone, a torch was out of the question, but now, it was my closest friend.

We patrolled the grasslands, enduring the low temperature and the false alarms. There were many unnecessary scares, mainly related to animals, but nothing significant happened. There was no giant Aberration. Even the Laikos that had attacked me were nowhere to be found. Emptiness. We existed in a vacuum and walked in a void.

Hours later, however, I heard a shout while I was yawning.

“The earth is shaking.” A message arrived from the eastern part of our formation.

“Do you feel anything?” Reinfried asked me.

“No, do you?”

I waited for an answer, but the conversation stopped here. There was a lopsided grin on Reinfried’s face. It didn’t indicate happiness. Was it a sign of excitement? Or nervousness?

“The Aberration is near.” Another shout came from the east. This time, I felt a tremor. Our horses sprung westward and neighed loudly. They wanted to run away, but we pulled the reins and calmed them down.

“It’s approaching us slowly.” A third shout came, and I felt another tremor. The horses revolted against us in fear, but we kept them under control. Then a violent gust shook our bodies and froze the tips of our hair.

“What’s this wind?” I asked.

“It’s moving,” Reinfried said. Then he raised his voice for everyone to hear. “Our enemy has appeared. Gallop east!”

Reinfried kicked his horse and disappeared into the fog. I looked right and left and saw many horsemen chasing their leader. Each appeared for an instant before the fog swallowed him whole. They were rushing into the uncertainty—into the heart of enemy territory.

“Look death in the eye.”

“Let’s go!” I kicked my horse, and it started galloping too.

The wind blew in my face, and the flame of my torch died. But I advanced in the dark and listened for the sounds around me. Brave men shouted battle cries to reaffirm their commitment. And when their throats failed them, they exchanged a few words to maintain their formation. And when they had to take a breath, they whispered through it into their horses’ ears and urged them on.

The violent gusts, the sound of hooves, the constant tremors―they formed a baffling dream, and I was trapped inside it. But for some reason, I wasn’t afraid of anything. I followed Reinfried and trusted that he was leading us to our prey. He was the omniscient hunter, and I was one of the many arrows that he was carefully guiding.

“Target sighted!”

The fog cleared around us. The wind blew with elemental fury, and the earth shook with primeval might. A moving mountain overshadowed us. It was the giant Aberration—our elusive enemy.

“What in the world is that?”

“By the Heart of Mana, this is impossible!”

“It’s an abomination!”

Reinfried stopped, and so did the other town guards. I had trouble controlling my horse, but when it settled down, I looked up and saw the monster.

Two horns protruding from a dark-red head. Black scleras and yellow irises. A Roman nose. Thick lips. A muscular, well-formed torso. Arms that reached the ground. A small, malformed pelvis. Disproportionate, weak legs. The face of the monster was almost human, but its body was distorted unlike any known creature. Every time it tried to take a step, it bent over and used its long arms to balance, creating the shock waves that we felt.

“How will we fight a thing this big?” a town guard said.

“This is insane,” another added. “Why is this monster lurking in the fog?”

“We’re here on a mission,” Reinfried said. “We must protect Ashenbrook.”

“But sir…”

“It may be heading toward the town. Who will stop it from destroying your houses and killing your families?”

“The commander is right.”

“Look at its body,” Reinfried continued. “Attack its weak legs, and it will fall. Then we can slice it up. This Aberration doesn’t stand a chance.”

The guards cheered and raised their weapons.

“It’s time to carry out what we’ve practiced,” Reinfried continued. “Long live the Empire!”

“Long live the Empire!”

Five flares lit the night sky, and two squads, each consisting of seven men, engaged in combat. They circled the Aberration’s feet and aimed their crossbows at its legs. The bolts dug into the dark-red flesh, but the Aberration didn’t seem to be affected. It marched on its path toward Ashenbrook as if it had only been stung by a few bees.

Reinfried and I watched the battle from a distance. We were part of the third and last squad, who were studying the Aberration’s reactions and looking for its weaknesses. Soon, we would join the combat and use the knowledge we gained to our advantage.

“Don’t lose heart, Reinfried,” I said, noticing his nervousness.

“Easy for you to say. That thing is not an Aberration, but I don’t know what to call it.”

“It doesn’t matter what you call it. We only need to defeat it.”

“You’re right.”

“It’s time for me to complete the quest.” I drew my sword. “I miss the labyrinths.”

Reinfried smiled and turned to face his men.

“We must join the fight now. Who’s with me?”

The town guards didn’t hesitate for a second. They shouted and raised their weapons.

“Distinguish yourselves, men. Charge!”

The third squad charged at the Aberration. Reinfried and I spearheaded the attack. We were responsible for delivering the deadly blow and ending this nightmare. Without showing weakness or hesitation, we urged our horses on and cut through the grasslands.

As I approached the enemy, however, I suddenly heard a voice inside my head. The words it said were like needles pricking my brain: “Still, you resist; still, you fight. But it’s all futile. The wretched souls of the Kenos Vir call for you to join them. Why do you ignore them, my servant?”

“Lance!” Reinfried shouted as he galloped past me. “Concentrate!”

I returned to reality and saw the battlefield in front of me. The town guards were circling the Aberration like ants. Their attacks didn’t stop, but the shock waves sent some of them flying off their horses. As my squad closed in, the Aberration turned its head to follow our movements. We were being watched. Although it had ignored the previous attackers, it stared at us with emotionless eyes.

“I can see you,” it said with a screeching voice. “Kenos Vir.”