The Regressed NoBody

I couldn’t help but look shockingly at my old companion— whom I’d fought together with, with our lives in each others hands. A sense of betrayal and deceit, but more so a scowl which projected confusion over his sudden appearance made me apprehensive over his whole image and identify once again.

I gritted my teeth in anger, my eyes cold with apathy and thoughts cluttered as I looked at Neil, my old friend, no, he could no less be some guy doing some demon's biding or some peculiar entity in disguise, to come and go into the human world undetected through means unavailable to us..

What if he was a spy sent by the demons to monitor the humans? Then why was he here? In a desolate location where we had arrived?

Several questions rushed through my mind as I looked at the youth whose pale green hair had grown longer and eyes which looked dull but still vividly projected the determination I once saw in them.

Did it mean Neil had the compass artifact in his possession, allowing him to transverse through the different worlds? But then why was he here?

Then why did he approach me that day? Was it to observe and study humans, or to satisfy his own curiosity over us? I thought as I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached.

I withdrew my sword from the inventory, my palm taking a firm hold over the hilt as I clenched my jaw and pointed the blade at Neil’s throat, the edge of the blade held close to his neck as I held it in position and with a dark expression palpable over my face asked.

“What the hell are you doing here, Neil?” My voice projected more malice and indifference than I tried to release, as I tried to subsume my anger through calm and rationality, but failed as the thought of being betrayed by Neil made me more exasperated.

I was shocked right now. Utterly shocked by this revelation that someone whom I trusted, called a friend had turned out be a fraud. Someone who wasn’t even what I thought he was.

No...I was more frustrated and disappointed to find my friend here who had protected and fought alongside me. Even in this life, things really aren’t any different. Betrayal can come from even those closest to me, in different forms. But I felt deceived by his sudden appearance here.

Why was he here?

“S—Shun...I can—cough cough—e-explain,” he stammered on his words, his voice so hoarse and dry, weak, as if there was barely any saliva in his mouth to smoothen his words.

“P—Please...” He looked up at me with his pale face, his eyes looking weak and powerless. “Please...g-give me...a chance.”

“Just what are you going to explain to me, huh?” I roared, my face a mask of cold fury, as I felt a surge of anger rise in the pit of my stomach, but my face remained expressionless and cold the longer I looked at the boy, his face looked a little sunken due to obvious malnutrition and dehydration.

“What are you going to tell me? That you came here by pure coincidence?” I questioned, my voice laced with bitterness and annoyance.

Why was I so mad? Was it because I had trusted Neil and he’d turned out as someone I never could’ve expected him to be? Or was it something else.

Even when I’d first met him, there was this strange vibe and peculiarity to his actions. When I made certain jokes he wouldn’t understand them and his odd behaviour and powers which I’d never witnessed any human use before, the power to manipulate a plant-based mana art; a new kind of deviant of mana.

But I had shrugged those thoughts away back then, because I thought that he could’ve been special—born with some unknown special trait—, having the ability to manipulate a peculiar type of mana art, which was only special to him. So I didn’t push him any further than I could have and parted ways with him on good terms.

But I never could’ve expected for Neil to be....I gritted my teeth.

But I never could’ve thought our reunion would happen like this, in such a place. And if I remembered, the places I’d ventured to since starting the trials, they were different from normal dungeons, several of them were far more dangerous and peculiar and places which possessed peculiarities of their own.

So it could be based on the fact that these places were only accessible with the system's help, unless if their coordinates could be marked somehow.

But the fact also remained that I didn’t have a compass to check and confirm my hypothesis if I could coordinate through these place with that device only, and that I wasn’t brought there just by the system.

But so far, it was possible.

“Now I’m even questioning the fact whether or not you’re even a human? Because so far we don’t have the technology to reverse-engineer the compass artifact, allowing us to transverse the bounds of the worlds. And even if you somehow got your hands on a compass it could only have been through outside means..” I spat as I took a breath to calm myself. “And that possibility is through the help of the demons, because why would the ash’ari help you."

My sword held in place, the blade nicked Neil’s slightly tanned neck, as he looked at me with a remorseful frown creasing his brows.

He took a moment to stand, his body loosening and barely able to muster enough energy to perform a simple task.

“Shun please,” he said with his voice full of penitence as he warily looked at my companion, he gulped hard, but coughed immediately and brought his gaze back at me. “I will tell you everything—cough cough...”

Neil coughed again, a series of dry and wild coughs as he almost fell to his knees, as I withdrew my sword back, but held it in my hand and withdrew the water canteen and threw it in his direction with a click of my tongue, my brows knitted as I warily looked at the youth.

The canteen flew in the air as it crashed on to the uncountable grains of sand, as it was slightly buried by a layer of the grains.

Neil’s expression darkened slightly, as if he was about to point out his dissatisfaction over my unjust action, but he swallowed back whatever comment he had prepared as he understood his current position and carefully bent down and took the canteen in his hand.

He opened it and began to take several big sips, as if he hadn’t drank water for several days, the water entered his pipe faster than he could drink as he chocked over the fluid. He savoured each sip as if it could be his last. After an entire minute, Neil set the water canteen down and took a breath of relief as his eyes regained some clarity and his face looked full of life now, but still a little sunken and pale.

I frowned, looking at the youth made me remember our time spent in the inhabitant dungeon, those short few hours we had spent, but undoubtedly a bond I thought we had made, a good friendship.

But I guess it was all an illusion. I was the only one who thought of him this way.

He coughed a few more times as he looked at me and then decided to spill some water over his face, feeling the relieving and cold water touch his skin made him looked rejuvenated and alive again, as he squealed in a low voice as the cold water entered through his shirt.

I sighed in a dismissive manner and withdrew a flask of the evernight essence from the inventory and brought my hand forward, for him to take it.

Neil was reluctant at first, looking at me with awkward and wary eyes, but after a few seconds he decided to take the flask from my hand and observed it keenly, as he gave me a wry smirk.

I returned his smirk with a frown. “Its not poison, as you might think.” I said placidly, my tone now completely calm as my mind now rationally thought of possibilities for Neil being here. “Think of it as payback for your help in the inhabitant dungeon. Its a good elixir which can fastened your speed of recovery.”

I think I’d felt more disappointed, and lost for a few seconds. But after thinking carefully, it could very well be a coincidence, him being here.

But it was by a far-stretch.

“No, I trust you. I know you aren’t the kind of person who would deliberately give away poison to someone—unless they were your enemy.” Neil said with a curve of his lips, as I felt like I’d said those words, or not before, but frowned as he turned quiet.

“But I don’t thing I have a reason to trust you anymore.” I said solemnly, as Mordian shifted and with a keen eye looked at the stranger.

“I will tell you everything, genuinely. Shun I'm sorry that I had to lie to you back then, but I—” Just as Neil said, tremors wildly ran through the sand dunes as the grains of sand beneath our feet shook and quaked, as ripples formed on their surface, vibrations from every direction ran asunder as my instinct kicked in.

Crap! I had released my mana in my angered state of mind and it must have attracted the sand-worms in our direction.

Damn them and their keen sense of mana.

I muttered a curse under my breath as I looked at Mordian and we both communicated mentally, as he took action.

From every direction, hordes upon hordes of sand-worms—as I’d aptly named them—lunged in our direction. A stray lunged at me as the claws protruding from its body hurled at me. I conjured compacted blades of mana using the wind-attribute which caused shrill noises and made the air to vibrate and cause shockwaves as several lances of deviant fire took aim and hurled at unimaginable speed, several spells formed around me as I launched them one after the other as I felt a tremendous push from my mana.

Mordian on the other hand conjured his projectiles and barrier like shields as he struck the sand-worms away and launched the projectiles at the beasts as more and more sand-worms continued to attack, sensing the release of our mana.

We both took flight, evading a whiplash from two sand-worms, as two more appeared from their sides and they kept coming. From the edges of my eyes as I fought one sand-worm after another, I saw Neil evading but with his rusty and dull movements, not in time as a claw reached for him.

I scowled as I quickly finished casting a fire-attribute spell as a majestic blue flame lurched from my hand and licked a sand-worms body, as it caused a heavy explosion when the flame came in contact with the bile like liquid dripping from its mouth.

Just then, I tapped into the paths, disappearing with a flash of lightning and appeared right in front of him, took him in my arm and vanished again as I wrapped us both in a thin layer of my mana and ushered through the space around us, a jolt of static rushed through my surroundings leaving traces of tendrils in my wake.

We appeared several feet above in the air as Neil gasped in surprise, shock palpable over his face as he wrapped his arms around my neck and took a firm hold of me to not drop down.

“You can fly now?” He gasped in surprise, as if he’d forgotten about my attitude a few minutes ago. My sight fixed on the spectacle of my bond fending off several sand-worms at once. “You are on the enlightenment stage already? But last I checked you were slightly stronger than an intermediate stage mage. Wha—?”

I moved through the air, as I tried my best to ignore his words right now, maintaining my balance mid-air, keeping the input and discharge of my mana steady through mana rotation as several more of the sand-worms lunged in my direction.

None were attacking Mordian as of this moment as he nimbly conjured his projectiles of pure mana and struck the mana beasts, whilst having his mana completely concealed using the cape of nyx. If not for my ability to observe the ambient mana and energy signatures, I would have lost sight of him already.

I dodged several attacks from the sand-worms with Neil in my arms, as I rushed through the air, performing a summersault and evading an attack as I pulled at the mana in the distance, where another sand-worm wiggled and caused an explosion.

But suddenly I felt the air boom and flutter around us as I felt the energy of the portal, conjuring several feet below us, as I saw it and felt a sense of relief wash over me as I evaded a stray attack in time to strike back with a wind-attribute spell conjured into my palm as it hurled forward like a howling beast.

“Hey, that spell is similar to my technique. Howling Typhoon. You copied it.” Neil commented as he struggled to keep his body balanced in my arms.

“Can you stay quiet for one damn second? I’m trying to concentrate here to fend off these beasts while carrying a useless baggage.” I grunted with a frown, as he frowned back offensively but hushed his mouth and fell silent as we approached the portal, Mordian already there waiting for us as he fixed his cloak.

I told him to enter as he did and I flew right into the portal after him with Neil in my arms, leaving the savannah and entering a more cool and humid area.

I slowly made contact with soft soil, as my mana slowly withered and I took a breath of relief and looked around me.

“Phew! That was a close call. Right?” Neil said with a friendly smile, his face looking relieved.

Having had enough of his banter, I loosened my arms around him and dropped him on the dry land right after.

He squealed in a girly way, as he tried to hold on to me, but I took a step back immediately as I dodged his arms trying grab on to air itself. He grunted with an exaggerated tone as he caressed his bottom gently and said with a half-frown.

“I know you are mad at me, and I guess you have every right to be, but try to be a little gentler, you jerk.” He said getting up.

I sneered on his statement, as he fell silent. I ignored Neil for the time being and moved my head around to get a better grasp of my surroundings—where the portal had brought us.

Now we had appeared in a dark forest which was cool and humid. The forest stood in an eerie silence, its vast expanse cloaked in shadows. Tall, ancient trees with gnarled, twisting trunks stretched skyward, their branches winding and curling like serpents, like a haunting spectacle. The air was cool and damp, carrying with it the faint rustle of the leaves.

Above, the full moon hung low in the sky, a radiant beacon that pierced through the thick canopy, casting a pale, ghostly light over the landscape. Silver beams filtered down, dappling the forest floor in a patchwork of light and shadow, illuminating patches of moss-covered earth.

As the wind stirred, it set the branches into a gentle sway, their movements reminiscent of snakes slithering through the air. The leaves, dark and glossy, shimmered in the moonlight, creating a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic effect. The moonlight accentuated the rough, textured bark of the trees, highlighting the deep grooves and knots that marked their age and resilience.

I was on guard as I readied myself for any unwanted presence which might reveal itself, seeing me take a more serious expression, Neil understood and took a stance himself, despite being in no condition to fight or less having any mana left.

“It’s fine. The perimeter is clear, I didn’t find or sense the presence of any mana beast while checking earlier.” A powerful voice reverberated from behind Neil. “But it should be necessary to do a deeper inspection into the forest later if we are going spend some time here, just to make sure..”

The mossy haired youth jumped in his spot in fright as he lunged forward with a sacredy cat’s shout and hid behind me, while his hands covered his ears.

His head bobbed up from behind me as he looked at Mordian removing his hood and looking at us with an expressionless face. His features under the moonlight looked breath-taking and ostentatious, despite him not trying to show-off in any way. His wheat-blonde hair swayed by the light breeze as his golden eyes locked on to the youth behind me.

“Where the heck did he come from?” Neil said, as a wry smile played over my lips.

“It’s because of the artifact that he’s wearing—that cloak allows him to perfectly hide his mana signature.” I said, clarifying the youth’s curiosity, allowing him to calm down.

I walked away from Neil, Mordian communicated with me through telepathy.

I conveyed to him my relation and history with Neil for him to get an idea of who he was and how I knew him. How I’d coincidentally met him when I’d went exploring a dungeon back in my world.

Mordian gave me a nod in affirmation as I grabbed a few broken pieces of dry wood from the ground and gathered them in a single spot to make a bonfire as I snapped my fingers and the dry pieces caught on fire immediately, as a beacon of light spread, drowning the area in a dim luster.

“Its best if we stay here and rest for the time being. None of us are in our best condition to continue.” I said looking back at Neil as he nodded, then turning to Mordian. ‘You should take your time as well. We haven’t rested since our fight against Vetustima, then the sand-worms. It's only been at most over a day since you were released from your binds. Take it easy for the time being and rest.'

I waved my arm as my mana worked in a suppressed form and I stimulated the particles of earth which stuck close to the ground and conjured three slabs around the bonfire we could sit on, as I finally released Mind’s Eye and felt the strain and stinging in my eyes recede.

“But before that, I think its best if we check the surrounding area more carefully and thoroughly.” Mordian said as his gaze seemed to peer deep into the dark forest.

“Alright.” I replied. “But just to be sure, one of us should stay behind, while two of us went to scout the area.” I added looking at both of them.

'You rest. You were dealt more damage in our fights earlier. We can take turns anyway.' Mordian sent.

'Alright.' I sent back to my bond.

“I can go.” Neil said as he stepped forward.

I was about to point out my dissatisfaction, but Mordian stopped me.

***

Neil

After we'd decided on who would scout the area and who remained back at the rendezvous spot, I followed Shun's golden eyed companion as we ventured deeper into the forest to check for any imminent or potential threats.

The sway of the branches produced an eerie noise, as cold wind kissed my skin, making me feel scared as if some ghost would jump out of a bush right this moment.

We were already quite a good distance away, at least a few hundred meters, and after reaching a good distance we decided to check for any lairs, and circle around the area to confirm any potential danger posed by any mana beast inhabited here. It was dead in the night, but the sky was starting to get a more bluer luster, as night passed. No sounds, except for the occasional eerie rustling caused by the gnarled branches of the trees, as well as the crunching sound of the leaves crushed beneath our feet.

I silently followed behind Shun's companion, my eyes peered at the intricate design of the cloak he wore, which Shun had described to be an artifact which allowed the bearer to hide their presence completely.

To be honest, I was left more surprised and dumbfounded when I'd first met him. Shun had been a mysterious individual. He had powers unlike anyone, and also his ability to leap through several stages to already having reached the enlightenment stage, which seemed quite hard to believe but it was true from his ability to fly, which was only accessible once someone ascended to the enlightenment stage, which took several years for even prodigies to reach.

And what made me more surprised was the fact that it hasn’t even been an year, and the last I remember, he was on a lower stage.

“I don’t care whatever you might be doing, or how you reached that desert. But its best if you tell us the truth, and tell Jiwoo who you really are.” Breaking away from my train of thoughts, I heard the blonde man speak, his voice was as cold as ice. He didn’t bat an eye at me he continued forward with a nonchalant expression.

“That artifact you have which allows you to conceal your real face and physique, can’t blind me, even if it did my bond. I can see through your disguise. Its best if you come out clean.”

I froze up in my spot as I heard him. Unknowingly my hand reached up for the pendent hung down my neck as I grabbed it and turned to look at the golden eyed man with a confused and a slightly pale face.

How could he tell? It was the perfect disguise, an artifact which altered my physical traits, making it impossible for anyone to guess my true identity? Then could he?

The more I thought, the more dumbfounded I became, as I thought who could this man be to guess my real identity, which no one could. He was just as peculiar as Shun.

“Your mana gave you away. The moment I sensed your mana, I found it odd for you to be a human—because the difference in mana was clear, because I compared it to my bond’s mana, who is actually a human, despite the both of you looking similar in physical traits—but after I concentrated and finally remembered, I found out who you truly are. Your mana is different from the humans, so your constitution, which may share a few characteristics, but ultimately its not.” I took a breath, as I swallowed hard, my eyes moving away from the two golden suns finally looking my way.

“And I advice that you come out clean, because whatever the reason why you ended up in that desert, you are stuck with us for the time being, so moving forward its right that we don’t have any misunderstandings between ourselves.” I listened to the golden eyed man’s words, as I didn’t say anything back. His lips curled into a wry smirk, barely visible in the darkness shrouding the forest, but his eyes remained cold. “And I don’t think the compass that you have is going to be of any use to us, as well as yourself.”

“Wha—? How?” I asked with my voice fumbling.

“Go back and explain yourself. My bond is an understanding fellow, if you honestly tell him everything he'll hold no grudges. Right now he thinks you betrayed him.”

My face wore a frown as I heard him. I knew myself that I’d betrayed him by lying to him about who I was. But what choice did I have back then.

“I know you wanted to avoid him for the time being by accompanying to scout, but its better to come out clean than to procrastinate and allow your image to get more worse with time. I can take care of scouting the area myself, it will take a while, there is no reason for you to accompany me. So don’t disturb me and get going.”

I hesitated as my gaze shifted to the ground, looking aimless. But after a few seconds deliberating, I unbent my head and nodded as he looked at me with the same impassive face as before, but his eyes seemed to subtlety convey understanding.

“Thank you, huh...” I said awkwardly, slightly bowing my head, as I gave a gratifying look to the man with the golden eyes.

"Mordian...Just call me Mordian.”

***

Seo Jiwoo

I heard the crunching of leaves enter my ears as I struck the bonfire as the ashes flew in the air and disappeared, as my eyes swept away from the meat cooking over the sticks near the fire.

I turned to look to my left and saw Neil walking back without Mordian. I turned my head back without taking another look at him as I finished preparing diner.

“He didn’t come back with you.” I asked, now calm and rational as I didn’t vent out on him like before.

“Yeah. He said he can do the scouting alone.” Neil said as he walked over and sat on one of the slabs. "Said he doesn't need me to accompany him."

“Well yeah, I can tell why you went with him in the first place.” I added with a scoff.

“Shun I swear, I didn’t mean to betray or deceive you in any way possible.” Neil said as I placed the wooden stick down and placed my forearms over my knees.

“Why would I feel betrayed when I didn’t even have any expectations for you. Its true that we both met under some convenient coincidence, but ultimately, our partnership back then was based on a covenant of mutual benefits.” I said, my voice nonchalant as I looked at Neil with a detached expression.

I took a breath ready for any rebuttal from my old companion, but he didn’t say anything.

Instead he reached out and grabbed a rag like cloth which hanged by his side. He placed it over his thighs and unwrapped the cloth to reveal the items inside.

There was a disk like object, like a half dome etched in the middle of the flat object, which was obviously damaged, and a dimensional artifact by its side which gave off no mana, indicating it too was damaged.

Could this disk like thing be the compass? I thought as Neil spoke.

“You asked me why I was in that desert, right? To be honest, I don’t know myself. When I decided to use the compass and return home from one of my usual adventures, I empowered the artifact and there were no complications, but the moment I entered it, something strange happened and I found myself in that desolate savannah with the compass and my dimensional artifact damaged.” Neil placed the items to the side and continued.

“I had a back-up dimensional artifact with me, in case if something like this would happened one day, but its supplies weren’t enough to last me very long, with no way of escape when my compass was left in tatters."

“How long did you stay in that desert for?” I suddenly asked.

“Almost two months.” Neil replied back with his eyes slightly emotional. “Honestly I’d thought I was going to die in that place with no way of going back home. But after spending almost two months there, you and Mordian appeared suddenly out of nowhere.”

“But I swear to you Shun, you can trust me. I never intended to betray your trust. But think about my standing. I am not a demon’s contractee, but I did lie to you about who I really was.”

Neil said with a remorseful tone, as he slowly reached for the pendent hanging down from his neck. He removed it as I saw a beam of light envelop his body, as if an illusion being undone and revealing his true self.

And I was stunned to look at who Neil truly was. I never could’ve expected him...no her to be someone so different.

As I gazed upon her, my eyes seem to feel fixed on her visage, oozing a charm which couldn't seem to be described by mere words. Her hair, a bright shimmering cascade of silver gunmetal, catching the dim light of the moon, the light dancing like liquid metal around her flawless, pristine face. Her skin, so pure and white, like the finest porcelain, setting off the vividness of her teal eyes which could spellbound anyone.

Her figure, subtly ample, visible through the fabric of her clothes, as I laid eyes on her long pointy ears—a trait of her kind I suppose—adorning her charm even more, her eyes exuding a timeless allure that could easily draw the eyes of the bystanders without their attention. But it wasn't just her physical beauty that seemed to captivate me; there was a presence about her, a grace and elegance, with which she carried herself with, that spoke highly of her etiquette and style, unlike normal folks.

In her presence, I find myself spellbound for a moment, but quickly composed myself, as I peered right into her teal eyes, heavy with guilt for the act of deceiving me back in my world.

“Neil is just an alias I use for my adventures. My real name is Aurora Silverlight. I’m from a race of people called the eloquens specious or better know as 'elves'.”

I looked at Neil—no, Aurora with a composed and understanding expression. I never could have expected Neil to be an elf disguised as a human.

And this was my first time seeing an elf.

How could I have when I’d only learned but these different races not so long ago from Mordian.

“I used this pendent, an artifact I coincidently found several years ago by chance, to disguise myself whenever I ventured to the outside domain of my world. Or when I visited the human world. It makes an illusion like effect to envelop my body and hide my real physical traits, with a fake one, it similar to casting a spell to conceal something by showcasing something else.”

“Yeah, I already know about the artifact, I could more-or-less tell. But the thing I’m more surprised about is you being an elf.”

I said with honest astound, as I smiled and Aurora settled down.

“I know I was wrong and a little reckless—" Aurora raised a brow in question. I sighed. "Alright. I was reckless and I’m sorry I acted like a complete jerk before. But I had a good reason to do that.” I awkwardly looked at my friend. “Well, I guess that doesn’t forgives my prior attitude and actions. Hope we can move forward without any misunderstandings from now on.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize, Shun. I fully understand why you acted that way. Even I would’ve done the same to some extent and been very disappointed if I found a friend of mine was someone I never could’ve expected them to be.”

“Oh, now do you.” I added with a wry smirk as Aurora made a knowing look. “But I guess, for the time being you are stuck with us, until we have a way to send you home.”

Aurora had an obvious expression that she wanted to ask me why I was here or what I was trying to do, but held herself back for the time being, as she didn’t push for answers.

Afterwards, we both laughed a little as we shared pleasantries with one another to lighten the mood like old time, as I handed her a skewer ready to be eaten.

She took it in her hand and looked at it, drool rolling down her mouth and eyes looking famished.

I cracked a grin as Aurora cleared her drool with her sleeve, her cheeks and ears seemed to turn bright red in embarrassment as he coughed and straightened her posture as she began chewing down on the piece of cooked meat.

After several big bites, the meat was gone as she lowered the stick and politely asked for another with a womanly grace which I found genuinely interesting to observe from her after the light I’d seen her in—or rather her alternate persona Neil in.

I handed her another, adding a joke while I did so. “Here, milady.”

She pouted slightly, as her lips pursed as she looked at me oddly with a frown, which soon turned smug as she rose a brow and played along.

“Well, thank you, my good man.”

I chuckled as I saw her gunmetal hair lightly sway by the light breeze blowing past us, as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

I passed her some water to chow down with the food. We shared a conversation as I explained to her about what had followed after she had left and how I’d been trapped inside a dungeon with several of my friends and classmates, taking several details out.

I told her a few more things as her expression drastically changed several times, making it look comical and funny to me as I felt myself ease and feel relaxed after a long time.

After we finished our conversation and dinner was done. Aurora decided to take a quick nap as I conjured a long slab of soft earth and she used her peculiar deviant mana art to stimulate the mud and allowed a patch of grass to grow over it.

'Any update?' I sent to my bond as I felt him walking through the dark forest.

'Just a few more minutes. I have almost circled the entire area. I'll come back as soon as I check the final area.' He immediately sent back as I eased into my spot.

Afterwards, I kept watch for any unwanted presence, and waited for Mordian to come back.

After ten minutes, I stood up as I looked around me, I saw the night sky was fading away and a dim radiance from the horizon was rising as it submerged the entirety of the sky with a glowing orange-red luster, which spewed over everything in its wake.

But my brows knitted slightly as I found it odd that Mordian still hadn’t returned even after confirming with me earlier, even after more than an hour at passed since he went to scout the area.

Something was definitely wrong. And I could feel it. I looked at Aurora, sleeping comfortably on the patch of grass she had conjured, as I stirred her awake and she looked at me with a half-asleep face.

"Shun, what's wrong?" She asked, her voice slightly confused.

I felt a sudden pinch in my mind, as if a current had ran through me as I reached out to Mordian with concern lacing my thoughts.

'Mordian what’s wrong?’ I asked, as I still felt his presence, he was quite a good distance away from where we were, but for some reason he seemed anxious and flustered, emotions which I hardly had sensed from my bond were vividly projected to me.

Then to my absolute surprise, I heard a huge boom, a tremor ran through the vast land as the ground quaked with a great intensity, enough to cause us to stumble. I snapped my head sideways as I saw the figure of a man being hurled through the air and crash into the thick trunks of the trees as a cloud of dust rose around the area he had crashed into.

Panic took a hold of me for a split second, as I hoped to understand what had just conspired, as the dust died down and a intricate cloak came into the field of my vision.

I rushed in the direction of my bond, as I’d already withdrawn several potions and the evernight essence, as Mordian raised his head up weakly, several wounds which spewed out trails of blood visible over his body as he pointed in the direction he had come crashing from.

His face stoic, but twisted to a certain degree by his battle against some ferocious beast he’d just found as he conveyed it through our minds.

I followed his line of sight, as I laid eyes on the thing Mordian was pointing at as my mouth turned agape and I looked upward, my head kept on rising as my face twisted into a scowl, as a long shadow cast over us, as the light spewing from the horizon dazzled the figure of the beast before me.

The ground was rising skyward, shaking uncontrollably, as if the entire forest could rip itself apart, as I saw two bloodthirsty and menacing eyes looking down at us with malicious intent.

I swallowed hard as I readied myself for battle as the ancient monstrosity, looking like a monster made out of vines stood tall in front of us with its heavy bulk making it look more menacing and absolutely terror-inducing.