Chapter 27 The trial of Death
The entrance to the Forest of Death loomed before her.
Dark, ancient trees stretched toward the sky like skeletal hands, their twisted branches clawing at the heavens. Thick fog slithered along the ground, curling around the exposed roots and jagged rocks, keeping whatever horrors lurked within nothing but a secrete.
ROARRRRRR!!!
SHEEEK!!!!!
Even from where she stood, Nephis could hear the distant howls of creatures prowling deep inside—their unnatural, guttural cries filled with hunger and malice.
'So this is the death zone, also known as the 'Forest of Death.'
This was no ordinary forest, from the information she has gotten from the Raizel, is that when the first time the spell come into their world, many humans were infected by the spell and a lot of them were not able to complete their first nightmare, because of this the Dark Solomon family decided to bring all those infected humans or nightmare creatures into this forest, how did they do it, is something Raizel didn't explain it to her.
Even when she question him, he remained silent, almost as if heard her or he didn't seems to care.
'This place is cursed.'
It is said that this is a cursed land on the Walking world, a place that has a lot of powerful Nightmare creatures living in it.
Nephis suddenly remember the words of Raizel, as he said that.
'This is a place where even Masters, those people who has survived their second Nightmare, also hesitated to enter, after all not anyone knows what is inside this forest, expect for the Dark Solomon's.
Yet here she is, standing at it's entrance, beside her stood Raizel.
His presence is untouchable, and beautiful beyond reason. His long, dark purple hair cascaded over his back, his expression as blank as ever, amethyst eyes watching the entrance of the forest with neither worry nor interest.
They were hollow and empty of emotions.
At the back of Raizel stood a black haired servant, clad in black clothes, he approached Nephis, holding a simple iron sword.
Raizel turned his head as he tilted it slightly, then he spoke in his usual indifferent tone.
"Give her the sword."
The servant bowed before handing the weapon to Nephis. She looked at the weapon as she gripped the cold hard metal, its weight unfamiliar yet comforting in her hands.
"This trial will test everything about you, your will to survive, your strength, your endurance and you intelligence." said Raizel as he looked at Nephis who seems to be looking at him, with a detached expression on her face.
She nodded her head in confidence, but unknown to her Raizel could see her hands and legs trembling a bit.
'It seems that she is not that brave, as she is trying hard to show.' he thought as his gaze flickered toward the hourglass beside them, a massive construct of blackened glass filled with golden sand, then he said.
"I have lost a ring in the forest."
His voice sounded calm, as if he were speaking of something trivial.
"Find it and return before the time runs out."
Nephis looked at the hourglass. It was big, easily reaching the height of three grown men, the first few grains of sand slipped through the narrow center.
Her time had already begun.
Nephis nodded, tightening her grip on the sword.
She stepped forward.
But before she could enter the forest, Raizel's voice stopped her.
"You can still think about it."
Nephis turned around, a frown on her face.
"For a useless revenge, you shouldn't just throw your life away."
Her fingers curled into fists.
"I don't need your pity," she spat, as she glared at him, then she continue with with same coldness.
"I've already had enough of that from everyone."
"sigh" Raizel sighed, shaking his head slightly, then he said.
"It is not pity, but a suggestion." he said as he looked at her with his own gaze.
Nephis held his gaze for a long moment. His expression remained unreadable.
Then, without another word, she turned and walked into the forest.
Behind her, Raizel watched in silence.
As she disappeared into the mist, he turned on his heels, hands slipping into the sleeves of his robe. His gaze lingered on the sand falling within the hourglass.
"What a fool" he thought, he has known that she is reckless but not to this point.
'For her not even asked which ring she needs to bring back.'
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The deeper Nephis went into the forest, the colder it became.
The trees here were impossibly tall, their thick canopies blocking out the moonlight, leaving only thin slivers of silver to illuminate the darkness. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and something metallic—something that smelled like blood.
Slowly but surely hours passed.
She had lost count of how many creatures she had encountered—each more terrifying than the last.
A plant that ate flesh, its roots writhing like serpents, reaching for her the moment she stepped too close, she was only able to get away because of her flexibility, if she was even a second late it could has sallow her whole.
A winged leech, the size of a wolf, its gaping maw filled with spiraling teeth, lunging at her from the darkness, at that time she has no choice but to fight it, only for her to get injured in the process, but she was able to get away from it, all because a large bird grab the leech with it's large claws, leaving Nephis stunned.
A Black serpent, with 15 meter in length, and 5 meter thick, it was large enough to swallow her whole, its green eyes glowing like germs in the abyss. The movement she saw the snake she know she can't win, and the only thing she did was to run away, she did manage to get away from it..... barely.
All this time she had fought, she had run and She had bled.
Her body was covered in big scratches and dark bruises. Blood dripped from her lips, and eyes. Some of her clothes were torn, exposing her white skin. The fabric clinging to her sweat-soaked skin.
And yet—she kept moving.
Because she had one goal on her mind and that was to find the lost ring.
Then, finally—after what felt like an eternity—she saw it, her glimmer of hope.
A small silver ring, lying in the middle of a clearing, at that movement for her this was not just a small silver ring, it was her golden ticket for her revenge and for her clan.
Ba-Dum!!
Her heart leaped.
She took a small step forward, reaching out for the ring, as she pick it up gently, almost afraid that it will get broken.
'Now i need to get back quickly.' thought Nephis as she now didn't know how much time has passed, then as she turned around—she froze.
Her blood ran cold, as the ring fall from her hands
Growls!!
A low, deep growl rumbled through the air.
The ground trembled beneath her feet.
Her blood ran cold.
A large beast stood before her.
A monstrous, tiger-like creature—five times her size—its fur dark as the night, streaked with veins of glowing red.
Its eyes burned like molten gold.
Gagh!! Howl!!
Its breath came out in heavy, ragged huffs, curling in the cold air like smoke.
Nephis gripped her sword tighter, her only weapon, waiting for the beast to make a move,
However the beast did not move.
Neither did she.
SWISH!!
Then, in a blur of motion—it attacked.
ROARRR!!
A roar split through the forest as it lunged.
Nephis barely had time to react. She threw herself to the side, rolling across the dirt as the massive claws tore through the ground where she had stood a second earlier.
The force of its attack left a deep trench in the earth.
If that had hit her—she would have been ripped apart.
She scrambled to her feet, her chest heaving.
The beast charged again.
She raised her sword.
A flash of steel—
A blinding impact—
Then pain
The sheer force of the attack shattered her sword. The broken blade flew from her hands, spinning into the darkness.
Her arm burned.
Looking down, she saw that her right hand was missing.
'What!?'.
For a moment, she simply stared, not knowing what really had happened, then it hit her.
The Agony.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She screamed, staggering backward, clutching at the stump where her hand had been. Blood poured from the wound, soaking into the ground.
Tears weld up her eyes, the pain was something she has not felt in her life, but unluckily for her, the beast wasn't done.
It lunged again.
Its massive claws raked across her face.
Fire consumed in her vision.
Skin peeled away, exposing raw flesh and bone.
Her left eyeball burst.
The world blurred with crimson blood and water.
THUD!!
She hit the ground hard, choking on the taste of iron, she wanted to scream but her voice did not come out, nor her body would not move.
The beast loomed over her, its fangs bared.
This was it.
She know was going to die.
It was just like that time, the time when her nanny tried to kill her, the time when she was powerless.
But as her vision darkened—
Even when her pain turned into numbness—
She moved.
Her remaining hand darted forward.
She grabbed the ring.
With the last of her strength—she threw it into her mouth and swallowed it whole.
Then— darkness welcomed her.
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TIP!! TIP!!
'The tea tastes really good.' thought Raizel, he was sitting under a large white Umblera, which seems to have covered the whole table and the chairs in it too.
Raizel was drinking the red tea served by the maid by his side,
'What a good day for someone to die.' he thought as he looked at the dark sky, which was filled with clouds, it was raining not heavily but just a normal rain.
Raizel liked rain, his reason for liking it was simple because his mother hates rain, and whatever his mother hates would become something liked by him.
His gaze landed at the dark forest in front of him.
'She sure is taking her time.' thought Raizel as he shifted his gaze to the massive hour glass, which was almost 3/5 filled, and only two more hours were left until the time runs out.
'Well whatever she won't die anyways, it would be too sad ending for the Immortal Flame clan.'