Bab 5: Chapter 5 : Recollection
It was a cold morning, the chill feeling in the air unnatural for this time of the year. I stand in a unit of five as we go over our strategy for the field training.
Eryn the brains behind our unit. She is our strategist and her quiet and calm demeanor shows it. She goes over the plan as the towering Behemoth of a man Marcus stands behind her, his arms folded. Marcus is not known much as a talker. They both developed a sibling relationship while here in camp kind of like I and Drefan. Speaking of which, Drefan also is a part of our unit and was voted our Captain. There is also the skilled archer and support mage Serah, the youngest daughter of the noble Thorn family known to create some of the most gifted warriors. Despite her families reputation, she is humble, kind and honestly a bit too playful.
"We are to meet the blue dawn at Barons hill." Eryn says as she points towards a map on the table. "Usually we would take a longer way and get there in a week, but we have been asked to get there in three days. So due to this we will use the Emerald Forest."
"The emerald forest? Are u kidding me? that is a beast haven." Drefan interrupts her. "Is there no other way?"
"Unfortunately, No there isn't."
The room is quiet for a moment as we wait for Drefan to approve our path and strategy.
"Fine, if it is our only way. However when we get in there, everyone stays together. We are all making it to our meeting point, is that understood?" He says in a vibrant inspirational voice that fills me with confidence. I get why he was chosen as our leader. We spend the rest of the morning strategizing and planning the safest route through the forest. We are to move out at late noon.
After our meeting I return to my camp to gather my equipment. There is a presence in there. I walk in cautiously, my mana rising gradually as I ready an attack.
"Hello Kairos." A familiar voice causes me to completely cancel my attack. I look on my bed to find Edith in a dark green dress. She looks amazing. This is the first time I have ever seen her in anything other than her armor. My thoughts accidentally begin to imprint on my face as I stare almost as if I was bewitched. She seems to notice as her face turns red a bit before she lets out a gentle cough to get my attention.
"Edith, What are you doing here?"
"Just came to visit. Heard you have an upcoming field training and I wanted to wish you good luck."
"Is that all?" I ask a bit doubtful at her response. I see her eyes drop and her smile fade as she gets a bit serious.
"Not everyone comes back from field training. I just wanted to see you and Drefan before you guys leave. "
"Ohhh that's actually nice. No need to worry we will be fine."
My response does not seem to change her demeanor. "I know you are just trying to keep me from worrying, but I'll tell you now, if you are arrogant and cocky you will end up dead." She says as she gets up.
"Be careful and come back alive." She whispers as she walks past me. That was weird. I did not expect to see her, definitely did not expect her to be worried. I let out a soft smile before walking to my bedside. As I pack my equipments, the memory of her in the dress keeps flashing into my mind.
"She looked beautiful." I mutter as a smile encroached my face.
"Kairos!!! We have to go brother." Drefans voice startles me.
"Wait now?" I ask confused.
"Yes brother. Our time has been shifted up, we need to leave now. Hurry up."
What does he mean by our time has been shifted up? We just finished planning. I hurriedly pack up my equipment and rush to meet the team. Eryn stands ahead of the rest of the group, a dissatisfied look on her face.
"You are late." She says.
"Late? This was not the time we agreed on." I snap at her, trying to catch my breath.
"That's enough guys. It's no one's fault. Let's be on our way." Drefan interrupts, his voice stern.
Eryn and I glance at each other for a brief moment before nodding in agreement.
****
We have been walking for a while now, the golden rays of sunlight create a curtain within the emerald forest, reflecting off the several gem stones growing around. The atmosphere is filled with tension, the air feels dense. Something isn't right. We have not encountered one monster since we were here. Are they hiding? I can see the mana around fluctuate in a weird pattern. I have never seen anything like this. A mixture of fear, anger and bloodlust, but fear overshadows most. What are the scared of? And should we be scared too? As we walk deeper a loud howl sends shivers down our spines.
"What was that?" Marcus asks as he pulls out his war hammer.
We all follow suit as we pull our weapons. The ground begins shaking, I can feel the forest scream in fear. What the hell is heading our way? Immediately it all goes quiet. An uneasy aura fills the sky and I swear for a moment I see the sky darken.
"Kairos behind you !!!" Serahs voice breaks through the silence as she calls out to me. A low growl causes my knees to go weak. I slowly turn my head, a large beast with metal scales and claws that flowed with curses causing them to turn red stood. It's eyes hollowed out, it's teeth's long and jagged. Before I can take any action it lets out a loud roar which almost deafens me and freezes me in place. Paralyze? A skill that freezes an opponent in place by instilling fear in their mind.
In less than a second I feel a heavy hit on my right side. My arms shatter as pain travels through every nerve in my body. I feel myself flung across the forest through several trees. I black out for a moment, a loud thud causes me to open my eyes. The sound I hear is my spine crashing into a large tree. A sharp pain travels through my body, a pain different from my shattered arm. I look down to see I am impaled to a tree. I let out a loud scream as all the pain immediately flood in. Is this how I die in this new life? Impaled to a tree? I look up as my vision blurs to find the rest of the team fighting the beast ahead. I finally have a good glimpse of the beast. A grel, a beast so dangerous not even captains are allowed to fight against it. If captain stand no chance, what do we have?I see Serah run towards me, pure panic in her face.
"Stay with me please." She says as her hands begin to glow green. Healing magic? That's not going to help much. Not with me impaled. I can see her panic, her hands are shaking.
"You will be fine." She says trying to see the positive. Seeing her struggle to keep her composure causes me to smile a little which was a big mistake. I feel pain shoot through my body. I grab Serahs hands as the pain completely knocks me out. The world slowly becomes dark.
I hear a voice "Rest master." Who Is that? It's not Serah. I feel myself slip into a deep state. It's warm around me, is this liquid? Water. I am back here. Last time I was here I almost died. Is this what death is like? I don't know what is happening and frankly I do not have the strength to fight it. I can hear the sound of swords clashing and flesh being cut. I can feel my body moving somehow I can tell I am fighting something. The beast? The beast that sent me flying. I hope the others are ok.
*****
I have been in this state for quite a while now. I wonder what is happening outside. It's quiet now, the sounds of swords clashing have seized. As I float in the pool of water, I feel a hand pull me up, "I am done master." I hear that voice again.
I open my eyes, blinded by the light I raise my hand to cover my face. My eyes widen at a sudden realization, My arm? It's healed. Wait a minute, I am completely healed. I inspect my body as I move my arms a bit. There really is no pain. I stand in amazement as I try to imagine how this happened. The rancid smell of blood and metal hits my nose immediately diverting my focus . I am covered in blood, but it is not mine.
"M….m…m…monster." I hear a voice tremble and mutter out a word. I look down to see a man seated on the back of the Grel that attacked us. The beast now lay, its neck slit and its body dismembered. My eyes widen at the sight and for a brief moment I feel sick. I look up to see Drefan and the rest of the team staring at me in both confusion and fear.
"What happened? What did I do?" I ask hoping someone will give me an answer but no one does. They all just stare at me.
"Drefan? Marcus? Eryn?" I call out their names but none of them answer.
"Serah?"
I see her take a deep breath before walking forward away from the group and towards me.
"Are you ok Kairos?" She asks in a low soothing tone as she walks closer to me. The others watch in pure shock and anticipation, like they were expecting something to happen.
" Why are you talking to me that way?" I ask as I jump down from the beast. Serah stops in her tracks and the others jump back as they pull out their weapons. "What the hell is going on?" I ask now even more confused.
"I was hoping you can tell me? I was trying to heal you when you grabbed my hands and passed out. I thought you were dead." She says, her sincere worry written all over her face.
"Somehow you came back, but it was not you. It was like someone took over. You moved differently, your mana was different to, it was more violent. You attacked the beast and took it on like it was nothing." Her disbelief still visible as she recalls the event.
I stand in amazement at the words I hear. What does she mean another personality? My confusion becomes visible on my face and the others seem to recognize this as they drop their guard and begin to approach.
"You really do not remember anything?" Eryn asks as she scans me with her eyes.
"I do not." I answer now more vexed than confused.
"Are you sure? I mean try to think about it." Eryn says in an interrogating tone. This causes me to angrily glare at her.
"That's enough Eryn!!" Drefans voice breaks the tension. "We will discuss this further later. For now I am just glad you are still with us." He says a soft smile on his face.
After a brief discussion, the team decides to set up camp and rest for the day. We capture the rider of the Grel and interrogate him, we find out he is a Khud and he and a select unit are secretly advancing into Orai. Thanks to Serahs mind search, we find out the positions of the rest of the unit despite his lack of compliance.
"We need to get this information to the knights." Drefan says. " Tomorrow we are not stopping, we will make our meeting point by dawn. Get some rest cause you will need it."
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone