Huff

Huff

Azaan panted as his body trembled, hands on his knees. Water constantly dripped down his body and cloth and onto the ground. In a short time since he started running, he had stared at the ground so much that he finally noticed that the ground was very smooth despite all the carvings that had been etched onto it.

A wave of warmth circulated across his body, trying to rejuvenate his exhausted body. His trembling legs regained a little strength and he started running as the surroundings lit up.

He quickly moved between different buildings, constantly changing directions. As he was going straight the chains started flooding from the front. He quickly grabbed the corner of a building and forced himself to change the direction to the left.

A gasp escaped his lips as he collided with the wall of a rectangular building. He quickly cleared the tears from his eyes and started running ignoring the protest of his body. The pain kept him awake and he ran as he had never run before.

He had been running for a while and the chains did not show up. He sat down, taking a severely needed rest. Again warmth flooded from his stomach providing him with much needed energy.

Even though he had been running for so long he did not feel any thirst nor any hunger, something he was thankful for. He did not think he could have been able to perform so much activity if he even had to take care of his stomach.

"Exhausted?"

The voice sounded from afar. He looked around but there was no one visible. All around him the area lit up. There was no gap anywhere this time.

"Inventory."

He whispered as quickly as he could, taking out another quiver, he quickly placed his sword and the new poison jar inside.

Not getting up, he dipped the new arrows in the poison as quickly as his trembling hands allowed.

"Quite a dangerous toy you have got there, pest."

This time the voice sounded nearer and the chains also started flooding towards him. He quickly stood up, the bow ready to fire looking around for the figure. It was not visible to him as the building reduced the visible area to nearly nothing.

The chains were slowly closing in and he could do nothing but wait. He anxiously looked around hoping to escape his current predicament somehow. Within the constricting space he moved about to get a view of the figure.

"Why are you so anxious, pest?"

Azaan quickly turned around and fired an arrow towards the figure as it emerged from the same path he had just arrived from. Immediately afterward, he fired another arrow, and then another and then another until the arrows he held in his hand were all gone.

Its hand blurred and quickly picked the arrows from the air. It had gripped the arrows from the fletching, keeping the arrowhead completely away from itself. It was a detail that Azaan quickly picked up. He started moving near to the figure while firing more arrows.

One of the arrows he fired missed and was going to hit the wall when the figure quickly grabbed it just as it was going to penetrate the wall. Filing that detail, he kept firing at the figure while occasionally firing some at the building, making it seem as though they were misfires. Compared to when the arrow was targeted at itself, the figure reacted more when the arrows were going to hit a building.

The chains sped up, some warping around his legs while others targeted his arms. He struggled to run towards the figure trying to fire more arrows but ever so slowly the chains made it more difficult for him to do something. As a last struggle, he smashed the chains with arrows hoping to damage them like he had with his sword but they remained spotless.

“How did you destroy them last time, creature?”

Suddenly, the chains sped up even more, now coming upon him without any reservations. By now all of his body except the head was constricted in chains. Seeing as he could do nothing more, Azaan also stopped struggling, appearing very calm except for the occasional grimace that occurred due to the pain that started coming back.

The figure closed in. Its hand appeared to be black in the dark as did the horns.

"But what type of creature are you? Certainly not anything that has been inspected before."

The being circled around him, the chains sometimes loosened on some part and it closed up, touching his body.

"An otherworlder then."

The figure blandly implied, it's voice exuding confidence.

"Another pest sent upon our world."

It's voice was still bland, with no emotions in them.

"I haven't read of your species before, otherworlder. Tell me about your species and I may make your ordeal somewhat quick."

The wind rushed through the narrow alleyways creating a sharp noise. The creature, the goblin, moved through the alleyways until they reached the glowing road.

"You have made your choice."

He remained quiet, his attention on the chains rather than his current predicament. He felt he had done ok now he was just praying the pain would not be too unbearable.

The chains were extending out from just a bit away from the actual body of the goblin. There were only a few main chains that branched out as they extended, in the end, they resulted in a sea of chains that warped around his body. Layers upon layers of them.

The figure moved through the road very slowly despite the astonishing physical capability it had shown just a while before.

Their travel towards the tower was uneventful. The figure walked slowly and the chains dragged Azaan behind.

-----

Azaan was bound in chains that were anchored in the air just outside the brightly glowing space within which the tower stood. The figure had flown to the top of the tower joining the rest of the damned noises.

As the adrenaline slowly flushed out of his system, the pain started returning. He had not taken too many cuts during this dive till now but he had pushed his body too much. His muscles screamed and the cuts that he did get, burned and he could not even move. Even his neck was not able to make the slightest movement.

The chanting made the whole process even worse as it felt as if needles were pricking into his ears. At first, it was just pain but slowly he felt as if his mind was being affected. He tried biting his tongue to regain his mind back but it was unfruitful.

In the end he tried his zikr hoping it would help him center his mind. It was after all the only thing he could currently do. The start did not make any difference but as he crossed the fifth lataif, he felt his mind snap back in its place.

The pain was still there but slowly the warmth from his stomach spread across his body. It did not reduce the pain but some semblance of strength slowly returned to him.

The pressure this time was greater than the last time, most likely due to the addition of the figure that was currently floating on the top of the tower.

He gritted his teeth, ending any whimpers that tried to escape his mouth. The only saving grace in his current situation, he felt, was him not crying like a child which was enough for him. If he died then he was satisfied with his performance, though it could have been better.

Setting aside these useless thoughts, he decided to spend his last minutes on something more productive and resumed the zikr.

-----

A carriage approached the tower. It towered the buildings though it was still smaller than the crystal tower.

It stopped just outside the glowing space and slowly descended on the ground until it was nearly touching it. Afterward, its driver, donned in a robe, got off and went towards its back as a ramp of blue color started emerging.

The wall of the carriage slowly shifted, creating a path and from within more goblins walked out dragging with them more goblins. Most of them were similar, having faces twisted in different emotions and similar height but there were some of them that towered the rest, their muscles more bigger and defined and horns extended out from their foreheads. All of them had one thing in common though, their eyes blank and their bodies unmoving.

The goblins slowly dragged them out in front of the driver who drew some kind of markings upon them, afterwards, they were brought in front of the glowing space.

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

"Ä̴̰̜̳͓͔̯̫͔͈͉͚̟́̌̓͐́̎̍̑̓̒ḧ̶̡̬̝̟͉̬͍́̉́͋͋́́͋͌̚̕͝ͅd̴̛͇̤̝̙͔̩̈́͗͛͌̀̓͝ḣ̸͈̤̗̈́̇͋̄̀͊͘d̷͍̣̰́́̂̈́̓̈̔̈́ś̶̢͓͉̚͜ͅḩ̷̢̧̪͍͍͓̳̳̯͓͉̱͌͛̒d̶̨̟̣̰̙͚͖̺̭̱̹̳͂͋͘ ̵̨͕͚͇͚̣̖͖̙͈̅̀́̋ͅd̴̨̛͇͈͐̌̔̆̒͒͘͘͜j̴͈̝̠̄̔̒̾̆͜ḑ̴̰̣̩̗̓̽h̴̛͓̦͚̓̋͂͒̆̒͂̾̄͝s̵̤̟̗̠̰͙͖̾̐̓̾͊̐̚y̶͚͎̤̫͋͝ ̶̨̛̛̲̉̿̈̿̈́͒̆͌͘ḑ̴̢̨̞͔̰̤̥̥̝̟̦̥̈̅̏̇̚i̸͚̖̞̲̗̕͜͜e̶̢̢̩͈̭̤̥̼͕̍́͋̊̑̐̈ͅ ̵̜͓̺̪̰̌̈̔̔̇͆̌͠ş̶̛͖̤̹̩̠̘̫̻̂̅͛̒̉̃͜͜͝h̸͔͓̹̬̥̜̫̤̠͓̹̘͇͌̒͊̇̀̈́̇̒̅̏͘͝d̴̨͚̤̞̹̙͖͉͓͇͒̔̆͑̀̓̚͝g̷̩͓̹̓̒̽͘ ̵̛͚̱͓̩͇͍̘̉̐́̀́͐͛̋̇̑͐͝d̵̨͉̝̃͗͋͂̈́̑̉̄͒̕͜͝͠ẖ̶̋ŗ̷̧͚̼̠͌̓̊͆̎n̶̩̮̥̺̑͘ͅd̴̨̮̲̘̝̳͇̬͉͐͐̎͋͑́̓͒̑͛͌̆j̸̣̻͒͜"

As the chanting seemed to reach a certain crescendo, the light extended out from the glowing space in the shape of tentacles and reached for the marked goblins, dragging them in.

More unconscious goblins were brought out from the carriage, marked, and fed to the ritual. They already had brought out more than a hundred goblins and there was still no sign of stopping.

-----

Bang

A loud sound echoed from his left disturbing him from the zikr he was performing. He confusingly tried to move his then and then remembered his situation. Moving his eyes, he tried to see towards the left. He could make out the figure of the carriage. Then a bright light occurred, it was near his direction. Another sound resounded and then it was quiet for a moment.

Thud

As the sound expanded out from behind him, his cage started to loosen up as the chain started coming off. This made him surprised, disappointed at the same time. In the end he readied himself.

“Quickly.”

The goblin, a lot taller than him with horns jutting, grabbed his hand and dragged him away. It was moving at such speed that he felt as if his hand would be ripped apart.

“Quite weak, otherworlder, you are.”

He picked him up with a single arm and resumed his run, completely unaffected by his weight. As the buildings blurred past them, the goblin asked him.

“Do you have anything, otherworlder, that can kill stage three members of our species?”

“Stage three?”

“Mature members, otherworlder, or those with horns like myself.”

“Poison.”

He still remembered the clocked goblin that had captured him. It had kept the arrowheads away from his body.

They were just going to cross the glowing road when an angry sound resounded from behind them. Suddenly, he was flying across the air, over the glowing road, and smashed into a building.

Air escaped from his lungs as he collided with the building and then the ground. His whole body was rattled and it felt as if his bones were cracking. Blood started leaking from his wounds again as he tried his best to get some air.

Breathing became a difficult affair. He tried to grit his teeth but this time even they were hurting and it felt as if they would fall off. His rescuer was already up, fighting with another clocked being. In the glow of the road, he could see that both of them had horns that were much smaller than the one that captured him.

Shaking off these thoughts, he quickly tried to think of a way to help but he had no bow and arrows. He did not think that his arrows would even hit, seeing how fast they were moving.

A bright flash of light emerged and suddenly, the attacker was thrown off. A burning smell reached his nose though not for long as he was quickly picked up again and the buildings started blurring again. The buildings blurred by and they crossed another glowing road. As they were moving, suddenly they were in a vast open space. There were some buildings in the process of being created here.

On one side he could see a black line flowing out, it was the river, while on the other side a glowing line went straight until it reached the black walls.

The goblin placed him off to the side and started doing something. It did not take long for their pursuer to arrive. A glowing orange ball of fire quickly gathered in one of his hands which he launched upon the other goblin.

As the ball flew further, it grew in size until it was nearly a meter size.