Run

The silence thickened, a suffocating shroud in the Spirit Realm's dead forest, the pressure of the fleeting moment pressing hard on Sezel.

The mystic purple glow of the Spirit essence illuminating the spooky clearing, beneath the starless sky. Sezel wiped his tears to his shoulders, his arms tied behind him, the ropes biting into his wrists. His dislocated arm throbbed, a relentless reminder of his frailty, as he raised his gaze to the Mighty Black Knight King, enthroned like a god of death.

His eyes, devoid of light, mirrored a condemned man awaiting execution

'There is no way i am getting out of this.' his mind concluded, resignation settling like dust. He waited, breath shallow, for the Black Knights to strike.

But nothing happened, instead the Mighty King ordered the Black Knights to untie him. Sezel stood confused, his gaze darting around fanatically , 'What is this?' his confused mind couldn't process what the beasts were thinking.

Every second felt like eternity to him, 'Are they leaving me?' Sezel's heart stuttered, confusion clawing at his thoughts.

But even if they were, was it a credible option? It wasn't at all, here in the presence of these Black Knights he was safer than in the wilderness, where beasts starved for centuries lurked.

He stepped back, one step, his mind racing, breath hitched 'What is this thing planning? Even if they free me that's for the worse.'

He opened his mouth, voice raw with defiance. "Kill me if you must." The words hung, a challenge born of despair, daring the Spirit Realm to end his torment.

All the Black Knight's turned towards him, no expression could be seen on their hollow helms but it was clear. They were surprised at the audacity of the fool.

The Mighty Black Knight let out a shrieked laugh, dread clawing against Sezel's heart.

[Run]

Sezel squinted his eyes in shock, 'What? What did this metal scrap just say?'

"Run?" he asked his voice grim.

[Yes, run as far as you can in 1 day. There is no sport in slaying you outright.]

Sezel gritted his teeth, 'What kind of logic is that? do they see me as a toy?' his eyes twisted in fury.

He looked back towards the forest, It was practically a death sentence either way, he was exhausted and weaker than a 10 year old child at this point. Was there a way to survive in the forest?

He again gazed around at the numerous Black Knights looming like shadowed death, 'What kind of joke is this?'

He stood just there, not willing to move. Why run to meet death among the forest's beasts, like meat offered to hyenas? "Kill me," he declared, head bowed to the earth, praying for a swift end.

Silence stretched, an eternity in the Spirit Realm's oppressive heart. The Black Knights remained still, their patience a mockery. Were the Black Knight's not going to kill him, if that was the case he was safe as long he refused to run.

Soon the Mighty knight ran out of his patience, he raised his hand commanding one of the Black Knights, Sezel gulped the glob in his throat, stepping back as the Shadowy metallic figure advanced, raising his sword gleaming with malevolent intent.

Terror slowly gripped harder on his heart, his breath became ragged. He resisted and stood just there, head buried down, eyes shut.

The Black Knight reached him, the Void sword's edge glinting in the purple glow of the Spirit Essence, Sezel trembled, his blood turned ice in the face of death. The sword pulled down, slashing through the air threatening to cleave Sezel's body in half.

Under the pressure of death, his body moved on its own. Just when the blade was inches away from him, he jumped back sprawling on the ground. Instinct betrayed his resolve.

'Shit, I can't just die.' His heart thundered, survival's primal urge overriding despair.

He glanced at the forest, its silence a deceptive lure, then he spared a glance at the clearing, sprawling with Black Knights. The Mighty king sitting at the throne in the center and the two other beasts that stood around him.

'Fuck you all.'

He dashed towards the forest, running as if his life depended on it - and well it did. The Black Knights followed behind pursuing him through the road.

Sezel sprinted, gathering all the strength in his body, the Black knights were slow as expected from the heap of metals. Their armored bulk no match for his desperate speed. Soon Sezel reached the point they spawned at, the ground slick with black ichor, littered with the mangled corpses of Night Crawlers, their crimson eyes dulled in death.

Sezel was quick, with his only functional arm he searched across the expanses filled with the black blood, 'Where is that one?' Sezel's gaze darted, frantic yet focused, In a corner, half-buried in ash, he found it - the pickaxe he threw at the Night crawler.

He picked it up, as tired as he was, the pickaxe was something that could help him a lot if he wanted to survive in this hell.

He glanced at the dead Night crawlers head, severed but still it sent creeps down his spine, but fury won.

"You filth," he spat, kicking it, the act a small rebellion against the realm's horrors.

The grass rustled behind him, a whisper of pursuit, 'Crap...' he immediately ran and hid inside the wilderness. The Black Knights' steps faded, but the forest's silence was a lie, concealing beasts that stirred in the shadows—primal horrors, shambling corpses, their eyes glinting with hunger.

He may have chosen to flee but was it the right decision to make, the nightmarish forest hid all types of different hellish beasts. How would Sezel survive it?

'There must be a way to get out of here.' he pondered while slowly moving through the wilderness, 'heavens never close one's all paths.'

With this thought he moved on, with the pickaxe in hand, he moved deeper into the wilderness, each step a prayer for a way back to the living realm.