"..."
What he was about to say was taken back, leaving him speechless. The knife slowly slipped from his hand, bit by bit, until...
He missed it.
TING!
The sound rang out, echoed sharply against the ground.
The sound jolted him out of his trance.
"What happened? Wait..."
He moved his fingers but didn't feel anything, and it was only then that he realised he had dropped the knife. His action was to crouch down, in the belief that he had dropped it. But...
Frowned.
For a moment he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Sayda's breath caught.
Something was wrong... Terribly wrong...
The knife was no longer there...
"What... Huh?"
His eyes began to wander until they focused on a point 15 meters away from him. A metal reflecting sunlight located right behind the white stone. It belongs to him.
"That's... H... How?"
He looked dazed.
"Maybe... it bounced around until it ended up there..."
His face damp with sweat.
"But something was wrong. I only heard one sound when it hit the ground. After all, it was impossible for it to have bounced that far."
He shook his head.
"Maybe I'm thinking too hard, nothing weird."
His gaze did not avert at it as he strode purposefully towards the spot where his belonging lay. He bowed and tried to reach it once again.
But then, the area around the knife was suddenly engulfed in darkness, as if something had obscured the sunlight. He raised his head in wonder but the only thing he saw...
"E... Eldras?!"
He spoke with his eyes widened.
He threw himself backwards, allowing the wolf in the sky to fall right on top of his knife, which was dragged forward as if it were catching something.
"Eldras, what are you doing?"
The wolf immediately rose to its feet, growled low while baring its fangs. His behaviour seems to be looking for something.
"Eldras!!"
Sayda raised his voice, but the wolf ignored him. But then, he swiftly looked the area for the knife. However, it was no longer in front of him. Something is not right... odd.
"Where... where did it go?"
Momentarily, a beam of light hit the corner of his left eye from behind. His eyes twitching and decided to look back. The moment he turned, his eyes widened, goosebumps rose along his arms.
"H...how... I... Impossible..."
His voice trembled.
Lying as if untouched, his knife was right behind him, next to a white stone. Abruptly, something was wrong, the white stone shakes suddenly on its own. He didn't say a word.
The shaking lingered far longer than it should have, and there was silence. The right side suddenly cracked, something came out. It looked like a hand, but with only three fingers. It moved closer and closer until it finally grabbed the knife.
Sayda was lost for words. His mouth was slightly open, unable to comprehend what he is seeing at this moment.
Out of the blue, cracks appeared all over the white stones. A hand emerged from the left side, and two stones that resembled legs appeared from the bottom. Finally, its eyes and mouth opened.
"Tar... kha..."
The sound coming from the stone.
"What the... Fuck?!"
Sayda lashed out in disbelief.
The stone's eyes spun until it came to a halt, its silence palpable, slowly looked up. The rock's expression changed to one of surprise as he caught sight of the human face above it, causing it to step back a little. It clutched the knife's handle firmly in its hand.
"What on earth is going on right now? Did I just see the rock come to life?"
The sound of something heavy hitting the ground grew louder. He attempted to turn around, but just as he was about to do so, a wolf appeared next to him.
"Eldras?!"
The wolf charged towards the rock. But it managed to avoid it by jumping to the side, leaving the wolf in front. The stone landed quickly, causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. His eyes rolled back slightly. He quickly shook its head, and the wolf jumped towards it again, growling.
The stone didn't hesitate; without further ado, it bolted, clutching the knife in its hand. Sayda who saw it, screamed.
"Thief!!!... Get him, Eldras!"
"Shit... My knife."
Without delay, Sayda also participated in the chase.
"Heyy!!! Stop!"
With eyes darting left and right as if searching for something, the stone ran quickly towards the blue river that flowed in front of it. It jumped, landing and rolling onto the ground. The leaves cracked and blew away as the approaching Eldras revealed their sharp teeth and prepared to pounce.
With one strong jump, Eldras leapt into the air, kicking leaves and dust backwards as he tried to catch the stone, which hadn't had time to fully wake up.
The closer the wolf got, the more the creature ducked, causing the Eldras to slip forward and be dragged along. The ground it drags becomes deeply undulating. The rock didn't stop there; it quickly turned to run away, but suddenly a giant hand appeared right in front of it.
"Just a bit more..."
With a frown, he spoke slowly, Sayda almost got him in a matter of inches. Unexpectedly, however, the creature being chased swung the knife and scratched Sayda's thumb. Causing Sayda swiftly drew his hand back.
"Ouch... damn that rock!"
His thumb throbbed, blood dripped onto the ground. Sayda raised his head with anger, but the stone already disappeared. He glanced left and right, looking for the creature's presence.
"Where did he go?"
Suddenly, he heard the howl of a wolf from his left. He spun around and saw the rock running towards the blue river, knife in hand, with a wolf chasing close behind.
The closer he got to the flowing river, the more the rock jumped and stepped on the white stones scattered along the riverbank. Eldras was also getting closer. The stone looked relentless as it glanced back over its shoulder, but it still didn't stop.
When it reached the edge of the river, the creature leapt into the air, screaming.
"TaArKhHAaA!"
It landed. Surprisingly, it didn't sink, but fell right on top the fast-flowing blue water of the river, which emitted circular waves around after it landed. Eldras tried to jump as well, but one of the white rocks at the river's edge cracked and emerged a hand; grabbed his leg, causing him to lose his balance and fall in.
Sayda's eyes widened.
"Eldras!..."
With all his might, Sayda jumped into the river. Luckily, he didn't sink; he landed right on the water. He went forward a little and almost fell, but he managed to stabilise himself.
"What the hell?!"
He muttered in disbelief.
The water thundered past him, while Eldras, gasping for air, battled to stay float. He didn't say another word, but immediately put his hand in the water and reached for Eldras. However, the current was so strong that it almost pulled him in.
His bent body crashed down and dragged slowly forward. His other hand tried to hold him back, but he was unsuccessful until half of his face fell into the water. Eldras did not give up, though, and seemed to be kicking downwards to push himself up.
He tried his best to pull out the Eldras. Veins appeared on his forehead and hands. With one strong pull, he managed to pull the Eldras out. They both fell onto the surface of the water.
Sayda's face looked up at the sky as he breathed heavily.
"Ha... Ha... Ha..."
Water splashed everywhere when the wolf shook its body violently. A sudden growl escaped his lips as his gaze fell ahead.
"Eldras..."
Sayda saw the wolf beside him, then turned his gaze forward. He saw a white stone with metal in its hands running about 250 metres away. The wolf appeared ready to pounce, his tail raised in stripes and his legs poised to propel his entire body forward.
"Hey Eldras... Wait..."
With no thought for the sound of Sayda, Eldras hastily moved forward, reducing the gap between him and the stone with each stride.
"aren't you tired?"
He let out a sigh.
"Shit."
He pushed himself up and moved forward, his pace gradually increased. His feet no longer touch the ground, but the surface of the water, which does not sink. With each step, a current ripples around him.
His eyes were fixed on the Eldras, who were approaching the rock. They were too far ahead for Sayda to catch up with them. Bit by bit, he was left behind. Until that point, the stone had been running towards the riverbank. Sayda, who had seen it from afar, immediately ran to the closest riverbank.
The rock jumped, followed by the wolf, who had jumped behind it with gaping mouths, ready to devour it. Sayda was also on the ground too.
But when the stone touched the ground as it rolled, Eldras slipped backwards and was dragged along with it. Meanwhile, Sayda who was standing on the water, almost reached the cliff before suddenly losing his footing and falling toward it. Luckily, he managed to reach the ground on the bank, even though half of his body had already sunk into the water.
"Arrghh... What is going on...?"
He tried to climb up, but his slippery hands caused him to fall further down. He gripped the ground with both hands before pulling himself up. He immediately lay on the ground, looking at the sky and panting. He turned his gaze to the left, watching the stones beings chased by Eldras getting further and further away until they were almost out of sight.
He rose to a seated position gradually before punching the ground as hard as he could. Screaming.
"Damn it!!"
He stopped for a moment, closed his eyes and gazed up at the sky.
"Thinking!!! this is the right time to you to think dumbass Sayda."
"What do I need to do right now?"
Suddenly his eyes snapped open, fixed on the spot where they had disappeared.
"That's right, wherever my thoughts have been all this time."
Without hesitation, he rose to his feet and hurried towards the he had seen the wolf and the stone vanished from his view. The moment he reached it, he immediately bent down. He could see the shape of the ground beneath him, which resembled an animal's wet footprint.
"Eldras's footprints... they're wet. I'm not mistaken–I can follow them."
His gaze shifted forward.
"They must not be far away, but I have to hurry."
He immediately stepped forward, unaware that the hem of his trousers had caught on the thorns of the plant below him. It tore as he hastily run.
He kept running, but it felt impossible to catch up with them because they were so far away. A few minutes later, he started to slow down. He began breathing through his mouth and his body began to bend down until he finally stopped and walked.
"Haa... I can't... no, no, I can't. I'm exhausted. How far have they gone already."
Suddenly, his stomach rumbled.
"Ah, I am famished. Hang on, I've still got some apples in my stockpile"
He uttered the spell, yet nothing transpired.
"Huh? Wait... don't tell me I gave everything to Eldras?"
"Damn it..."
He complained, his voice barely louder than a whine.
"What bad luck."
He continued to follow the Eldras never-ending footsteps until the sun was directly overhead. He walked slowly with bowed head and devoid of expression.
But the more he followed the trail, the more he could hear an indistinct voice. He continued walking without deviating from the path and ignored the sound, but it grew louder, becoming boisterous. With each step he took, the sound became clearer than before.
"What's that noise? Have I been walking for too long and got so hungry that I'm starting to hallucinate?"
His head remains lowered as he continues to walk. The sound grew louder. It feels as if it right in front of him. With curiosity, he peered ahead, and what he saw caused him to come to a sudden halt. Stunned, his eyes widened.
He never thought it would lead him to somewhere.