Chapter 5

Five years have passed since Garen’s body was enshrouded inside a mysterious energy. Like a starving lion, his once decrepit body absorbed every ounce of the energy into him, healing him, and changing him over time. With the last of the mist dissipating into the air, his body laid motionless on the ground, awaiting the owner to awaken.

“My head… But I’m not dead, why?” A throbbing pain haunted him as Garen slowly regains consciousness. Twitching his fingers and toes to confirm they were still attached, Garen felt relieved, knowing he still had all his appendages. Minutes passed as Garen continued in his semi-comatose state, not daring to open his eyes or make huge movements. Yet curiosity and impatient got the better of him like so many others in history.

As he opened his eyes and adjusted to the darkness, the first scenery to welcome Garen was nothing short of disappointment. Within the short vicinity of his hazy vision, there was nothing but dirt and rocks of unknown quality, wet from the trickle of rain droplets. Not a single memorable object could be seen other than clusters of mold and puddles of water on the ground. Unsettled by the lack of life, he felt like he was trapped within a cage unable to break free. His breathing becoming erratic as his throat ached from a sharp pain due to dehydration.

“This cannot be happening; I don’t want to die alone in such a place.” These thoughts blurted out of his mouth as Garen stared into the sky looking for comfort but the familiar color of blue and white wasn’t where he expected. In its place was but a glimmer of light streaking in an unending line from one direction to another. “That cannot be the sky… How high did I fall?” Garen was starting to regret his decision to jump but thought better of it when comparing his memory of his battle to his current situation.

A unknown amount of time have passed since Garen awoke and only silence accompanied him in this solitary terrain. His dull senses returned to full and his thirst quenched from the small amount of liquid around. Garen searched high and low from where he awoke, looking for anything to be of use. By the end of his effort, Garen had in his possession pieces of dirty rags as his clothing and a leather canteen empty of water. There were other things seemingly familiar to him littering the rocky ground but somehow different, as if aged by years of tare and wear. Unsure and afraid of what to make of the situation, Garen pushed the thought into the back of his mind.

In his search, Garen did come across one memorable object further away. Scattered into a mess was the sealed box that he threw away before his stand against the Ogre. Clearly broken from the impact, pieces of a once magnificent statue was scattered around the box debris. “So the content was a statue, I wonder how much would it have gone for in the underground auction if I managed to deliver this to the dealer?” Garen looked down as he imagined Captain Ragard’s wealth from his side business.

In his moment of thought, a sudden irrational urge struck his body as the emotional longing for company grew inside of him. Driven by his needs, Garen willed his body forward, unsure of the general direction he was going. He himself unaware, the once frail human body of his has morphed from the remarkable energy - like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. It would not be an exaggeration if one compared him to a monster because of the strength he unknowingly wields within him.

Unable to keep track of time, Garen had unknowingly traveled quite a large distance from where he started; only sustaining his body through edible spores recognizable to him. His unstable emotions ran high as his mind paid close attention to any movements or sound around him, searching for the slightest hint of company. In his encounters, Garen did not meet any living creatures but did come across certain oddities in the ravine. Gazers of hot steam would randomly spew out of the rocky walls, keeping the temperature around him warm enough to keep his body from freezing.

“I need to find a path out of this place soon, I can already feel my body getting weaker and who knows what unnatural surprises awaits me.” Garen uttered these words to himself as he contemplated his options. Then out of the corner of his eyes, he could make out a silhouette of a opening far into the distance. Words of happiness could not begin to describe his feeling at the moment. Filled with excitement, Garen rushed towards the cave but a sudden overwhelming aura gushed out of the entrance, pushing him back and sending him tumbling backwards on his butt.

“What in the world was that?” Garen questioned himself and his sanity, unable to believe something was actually inside the cave. Then a sudden flash of light blinded his sight, “Ahhhh!” were the only words he could get out of his voice before something took hold of him. Feeling a dire urgency to know who had restrained him, Garen stared wide eyes into his assailant. Standing equal to his height was a mummified corpse but unlike the average rotting dead, this forsaken being clearly showed signs of intellect as it stared right back at him with its glowing blue eye sockets!

An undead can take on many forms, some haunted the land as ghouls, some returned as skeletons unable to rest in their graves. In this case, Garen’s encounter would fall into the first category, a ghoul, known for ripping apart the fleshes and devouring their victim slowly was their trade mark characteristic. All the while, this action takes place entirely while the victim was still alive, watching as their life slowly and painful fades away.

Unable to budge even an inch as his blood ran frozen from shock, Garen’s face could only turn pale white as his heart pounded with a roaring thump. Time slowed down to a halt in Garen’s mind as his instinct took over his body. Concentrating all his strength into his arms and fist, Garen let lose multiple punches that would send any average man flying across a distance. Unfortunately for Garen, even with his magnificently improved strength, only a thudding sound could be heard as his fist landed on a layer of black energy wrapped around the ghoul’s body.

“Stop your assault child…” the undead spoke in a clear and crisp voice of a old man, seemingly devoid of malicious intent as it continued to latch onto Garen’s body in a deathly grip, refusing to budge even an inch.

End chapter 5