03 - Nightmare

At the exact moment when the supposed being chasing him touched his shoulder and started speaking, a chill ran through Thalion's entire body.

That chill wasn't caused by the snow or the biting cold as others might assume. No, it was due to something much deeper and internal, something Thalion wasn't used to feeling: fear, the terror of losing his own life, something similar, though less intense, to what he had felt when facing the demon lord days before.

"Boy..." A male voice began to speak.

At that very instant, determined to at least see the face of the person before engaging in any battle and risking his life, the young man hurriedly and somewhat desperately turned around without fully getting up, greatly surprised by the real identity of the person...

"… Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? That fall looked pretty bad."

… An old man?

Thalion was flabbergasted, feeling completely embarrassed upon realizing who the person was that had touched his shoulder and made him feel the cold fear of death.

"I'm a merchant who works nearby, and by coincidence, I saw you running and falling while I was on my way home. Do you need any-"

Before the old man could finish his sentence, Thalion, utterly embarrassed and slightly angry, pushed the man aside, shouting as he stood up completely.

"I'm fine! I don't need your help, old man!"

Furrowing his brows, Thalion turned and resumed walking toward his house, trying to hide the embarrassment he felt at that moment.

This situation didn't make the old merchant angry or anything like that, he was just confused, wondering why the young man got so upset just because he offered help.

What a strange boy...

Time passed, and after walking through the snow-covered streets of the city for a few more minutes, Thalion was finally about to reach his house.

It was visible even from a distance of a few dozen meters — a simple wooden house located closer to the forest and somewhat isolated from the other houses, surrounded by fences to at least prevent smaller monsters from approaching without making noise.

"Finally home... I'm so tired, I'll just collapse in my bed, and tomorrow I'll worry about taking a bath and eating something..." Thalion thought as he opened the door, now feeling the extreme exhaustion that came once the adrenaline had passed.

No sooner said than done, with a bit of snow still clinging to his clothes and sweat sticking to his body, Thalion didn't care and simply entered his room, took off his shoes, and dropped into his simple, old bed, falling into a deep sleep almost instantly.

...

"Are you sure there are monsters around here? So far, we haven't found any, even after walking around this castle for so long…" Asked the young man with long hair and dark eyes to his leader.

The leader remained silent, as even he had no answer for that question, he had no choice but to stay fully alert as they ventured deeper into the seemingly abandoned castle's rooms and corridors.

Anyone seeing the group from afar would immediately assume they were mercenaries, at the back, there was a mage and an archer, in the middle, a rogue, and leading them at the front was the oldest of the four, their leader, a robust swordsman wearing old heavy armor and carrying a big sword.

"Well… If we haven't seen a single monster so far, I guess we have no other option but to—"

Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, the mage's mouth was covered by the archer's hand, leaving her confused as everyone immediately halted.

"Shhh! Listen." Whispered the leader.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Ahead of them, where the corridor turned a corner, the sound of slow, rhythmic footsteps approaching the group echoed through the silent and apparently abandoned area.

"Get ready."

The archer drew an arrow from his quiver and aimed his bow at the corridor's corner, the mage gripped her staff tightly, focusing, while the rogue unsheathed his two daggers, readying himself for combat, lastly, the swordsman did the same, gripping his large sword with both hands.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

The steps drew closer and closer, increasing the tension in the air, then, catching everyone by surprise...

Silence. Complete silence filled the corridor, which should have caused the group to relax and sigh in relief, instead, it had the opposite effect, only heightening their anxiety and nerves.

Why did it stop? That was the question everyone silently asked themselves.

After what felt like hours but were only a few seconds, the footsteps suddenly resumed, now faster and more intense than before.

Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap...

"The monster's coming!" yelled the leader.

At that moment, emerging directly from the darkness, running and stopping right in front of the group of mercenaries, the monster revealed itself. Its mere appearance was enough to terrify them all.

"What the hell… is that…" the archer murmured to himself.

The monster's decrepit and somewhat demonic appearance was enough to paralyze almost everyone in fear, and even without making a single attack, the group knew they stood no chance against it.

Move... Move, body! The archer thought, trying to will his body into action, but every attempt at self-encouragement failed in the face of the creature's presence.

Slowly and calmly, the monster approached the group, stopping right in front of the leader, who couldn't even move to step back,then, lifting one hand, the creature brought it down with tremendous force and speed, aiming to strike the leader without giving him a chance to defend himself.

Shit, Is this how it ends? the archer wondered, closing his eyes to avoid witnessing the sight of his friend dying in front of him when suddenly...

Clang

The sound of two blades clashing together caught everyone, including the monster, by surprise, the rogue, using both his daggers, had blocked the sharp and abnormally strong claws of the creature.

"What the hell... Are you doing? Fight!" the rogue exclaimed with difficulty to his companions.

Suddenly, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from their shoulders, the rest of the mercenaries regained control of their bodies, realizing that the monster was entirely focused on the rogue. They began sweating and breathing heavily, as if they had just run a marathon.

The rogue, for his part, knew that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't match the strength of the creature, whose claws alone held incredible power.

Realizing his companions were able to move again, he backed away just in time, avoiding being crushed by the monster's blow, which struck the ground, creating a huge crack in the floor.

Boom

Everyone jumped at the sheer strength behind a single strike from the monster, their fear increasing even more.

"Guys…" the leader whispered as he slowly and stealthily approached the mage and the archer. "… We need to get out of here."

Without a word of explanation, both immediately understood what the leader meant just by looking at the terrifying presence of the monster.

"Guys! Get ready to attack!" the rogue shouted, noticing that the creature remained still, calmly observing them, offering many openings for a possible combined attack.

"But… what about Zephyr?" the archer asked in a whisper.

The leader remained silent, looking away when he heard his subordinate's question, It was difficult even for him to say, and realizing his leader's struggle, the mage decided to speak up.

"Just forget about him; someone has to stay behind to hold off the monster. If you want to help him that much, leave your short sword behind so he has a new weapon after his daggers break." She said, cold and calm.

The archer nodded in agreement.

And so, just as the monster began to move again, all three fled the scene as quickly as they could, leaving behind only a short sword so Zephyr could hold out for a few more minutes before his seemingly inevitable death...

...

Sigh That dream again...

With a slight headache from the previous night, Thalion woke up from his sleep, feeling so exhausted he didn't even want to fully open his eyes, opting to stretch first.

Hmmm? Something strange, however, caught his attention. I can't move my body…

A small but growing sense of dread began to take over as he exerted as much effort as possible to move, until, ignoring the light that irritated his newly awakened eyes, he slowly opened them.

What is… happening?

"Oh!" a young male voice spoke in surprise. "It seems like you finally woke up…"

Who?

The voice was extremely familiar, but at the same time strange, making it hard to remember its origin until, when Thalion fully opened his eyes, a strange figure, someone he felt something odd about just by looking at, revealed itself in front of him.

"… Hello, Thalion."