章 21: Black Island
Dune, Nely, and Atlas moved through the forest together. Atlas led, confidently pushing through the thick foliage, while Nely and Dune followed closely behind, their steps softened by the forest floor.
As they walked, the air was thick with tension. Suddenly, a deep rumble echoed beneath their feet. Nely's eyes widened. "What's happening?" she asked, her voice shaky.
Dune looked around, trying to find answers. "I'm not sure," he said, his voice filled with worry. Without warning, the ground shook, and a shimmering golden vortex appeared, pulling them into its swirling depths.
Darkness surrounded Dune as he fell through the void. Moments later, he was plummeting through the sky. "What the hell?" he shouted, seeing a small island below him. As he fell, he prepared for the impact that would surely break his bones.
Just before he hit the ground, a mysterious force stopped his fall, gently setting him down.
"What the hell was that?" Dune was alone now. His heart raced as he looked around, the eerie silence amplifying his fear. Suddenly, a growl broke the stillness. He turned and saw a monstrous creature standing before him.
The creature was grotesque, towering four meters tall with a black body and exposed flesh. It had three twisted faces, human, wolf, and deer, all staring hungrily at Dune with six red eyes.
"Food," it snarled, its voice echoing sinisterly.
Dune's instincts kicked in, and he ran as fast as he could. His breaths were loud, mixing with the creature's growls behind him. He hid behind a rock, gripping his sword tightly.
The rock exploded, throwing Dune backward. He staggered to his feet, facing the glowing creature. It radiated a sickly yellow Neba, its lips curling with malevolent intent.
Dune dodged a blast of yellow Neba, then lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air. The creature's clawed hand swung at him, but Dune twisted away, narrowly avoiding the deadly strike.
He pressed on, aiming for the creature's exposed flesh. But before he could strike, the creature caught his sword in a vice-like grip. Thinking quickly, Dune let go of the sword and dodged another blast of Neba.
He picked up his sword and attacked again, slicing through the creature's flesh. But the creature's wounds began to heal. "Of course, it regenerates," Dune muttered.
"It uses Neba to regenerate"
Dune realized he had to deplete the creature's Neba. With each strike, his sword absorbed more of the creature's Neba, growing stronger. He managed to slice through one of its faces, but the creature punched him, sending him flying.
The creature didn't heal its face, it was out of Neba! Dune's sword glowed with newfound power. As the creature charged, Dune swung his sword, unleashing a torrent of white light that cut the creature down, turning it into dust.
Dune fell on the ground."Why didn't Atlas tell me the sword could do that?" Dune chuckled to himself as he walked deeper into the forest.
He eventually found a ruined village. The ancient, weathered buildings held an air of mystery. One house, relatively intact, caught his eye. Inside, he found a room with two beds. Exhausted, he lay down on one, only to realize someone was sleeping in the other.
"How did I miss him?" Dune whispered. The figure had dark blue hair, wore a top hat, black earrings, and had tattoos on his hands and neck. A cane lay nearby.
Dune approached cautiously. The man stirred, and Dune pointed his sword at him, but the man just glanced at Dune and went back to sleep.
"What in the world?" Dune muttered. Frustrated, he tried to wake the man, but he remained unfazed. "He won't kill me right?" Dune, exhausted, finally fell asleep.
When he awoke, the man was looming over him. Startled, Dune fell out of bed. The man laughed. "I'm Elijah," he said.
"I'm Dune," Dune replied, confused.
Elijah laughed again. "Dune? That's a weird name. And what's with the clothes? Are you cosplaying someone?"
Dune frowned. "No, these are normal clothes. And you? Why are you dressed like that?"
Elijah shrugged. "Girls love it."
Dune sighed. Another one huh "Are you from Seraphein?"
Elijah nodded. "Yeah, and you?"
"I'm from Sanatria."
Elijah sighed. "So it wasn't just Seraphein. What's happening outside? How many Zetens are left?"
Dune was puzzled. "How should I know? And why are you just sleeping here?"
Elijah grinned. "I'm waiting until only ten of us are left. It's boring, but now that you're here, I have company."
This guy is just lazy. "I can't stay here. I'm looking for my friends," Dune said.
Elijah stood up. "I'll come with you."
Dune hesitated. "You're coming with me?"
Elijah nodded. "Listen I'm not weak. I can help, and I'm bored. If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it while you were asleep."
Dune agreed hesitantly. "Alright, i guess it's better than traveling alone."
Dune regretted his words after few minutes, Elijah talked non-stop, singing and mentioning strange things like TV. Dune was annoyed but tolerated him.
Elijah complained about being stuck for two weeks, missing his city and comforts. "What will you do when you get back?" he asked Dune.
"My city was destroyed. I'll search for my family in the capital," Dune replied.
"I have a family too, but i don't think they want to see me, they wanted me to be a hero. But i just want to sing, eat, travel and sleep. And I'm good at it right?"
Dune, who thought Elijah was a terrible singer, replied, "Yeah, sure."… "wait, what do you mean by heroes?"
Elijah explained that in Seraphein, heroes with Zetens protected people. Dune was confused. "Don't Zetens lose control and destroy things?"
Elijah laughed. "That happens, and that's why we have teams of 4 different heroes stop them. If one of them noses control then other 3 will try their best to finish him off. And you won't lose control if you just listen to the whispers."
"What… whispers?" Dune asked.
Elijah was about to explain when a voice boomed from the sky. "Mortals, you have survived. Now, with only 100 of you left, we near the climax of our event. Show us your worth. Prove your strength and spirit."
(Important Information: There are billions of people and millions of Zetens on each continent. For the blessings ceremony, only fifteen thousand Zetens were summoned. From this, only ten should survive at the end.
Zetens were chosen from ages 15 to 20. Every single Zeten was stabbed in the heart by a Cross sword or consumed by Red special Neba before participating in the blessings ceremony. )
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