The sound of horses became louder and louder, pounding the earth and making the entire forest shudder. Twigs snapped under the weight of the hooves of powerful horses, grunting as they galloped. The navigated seamlessly past the trees, thickets and brush, their riders carrying torches, lighting the forest with eerie orange glows.
Quantum stood still in the clearing.
He had no weapons.
He had no armor.
Yet, he wouldn't let the pursuers break his new found conviction.
Shortly after Quantum had left Rhea Nori, the city council of Rhea-Nori sent word to the surrounding towns, including Cor-Nhea and Priel.
Their message was simple: "The demon has broken free. He is heading towards the Akar Forest. Let us join our men and hunt him down. To the glory of Calor."
A large bounty was placed on Rahiel's head. The highest bounty for any criminal or creature in Karakh. Rugged mercenaries, adventurers, assassins, hardened veterans and soldiers, answered this call to a possible fortune. More than a hundred men set out from each city, taking the best horses. They rode with shrill cries and shouts, their horses speeding across the grassland.
They had ridden fast, and had reached the Akar Forest in a short while. Tearing through the forest, their flames flickering and dancing in the wind, their weapons and armor clattering with each stride. They reached their target, the infamous Rahiel. The eyes of many opened wide, in mouth-watering anticipation of their fortune.
Quantum continued to look at the eastern edge of the glade, as the hoofbeats grew louder and louder, in thunderous rhythm. "There are many…" he murmured.
He looked down at Nhea, who was now clutching his hand tightly as the thunder from the east met her ears. Her eyes darted from tree to tree, her little heart beating frantically, her mind clouded with uncertainty. She raised her head and looked up at Quantum. His eyes were also alert, filled with a deep conviction to protect.
"Nhea…", he began. His voice steady and deep.
"My captors are approaching me…they threaten the gold I have in my hands."
He gazed at her and spoke with awesome defiance and confidence, with a slight hint of humor, smiling.
"Shall I let them take it?"
Nhea looked at him with awe, her former fears disappearing into nothingness.
She said, inspired by his voice, above the cries of the approaching riders, "N-No…Don't let them take it."
Quantum smiled even more. Even upon his torn and tattered face, Nhea could see it. A smile that spoke volumes, beyond any darkness.
"Then come with me", he said his voice seeming to illuminate the glade even more.
He stretched forth his hand, and Nhea took it almost instantly, trying her best to give the same defiant expression he had. Quantum quickly lifted her, carrying her in his hands, and moved towards the western edge of the glade with large strides and great speed.
He burst into the forest, eyes scanning his surroundings as he strode past trees. His eyes locked onto a tree with vegetation covering its base, its stem tilted. He raced towards it leaping across the forest floor.
Sliding to a stop, je crouched at the base of the tree and placed Nhea in the hollow underneath it.
"I need your word. Promise me you will not leave this hollow no matter what. The foliage will cover you. Stay quiet. Stay hidden. Not a movement. Not a sound.", he said.
She recounted the turmoil that had ensued throughout the day, all because of her. She hesitated, lips trembling. Her amber eyes peered deep into Quantum's. What she saw within them was an unshakeable conviction, one that had outlasted her, and the entire empire. From the times of the ancients. She remembered all the times Quantum had helped her. All the times he had accepted her, wholly. The memories resonating in her mind, she slowly nodded.
Quantum slowly stepped back; his tall figure illuminated by the moonlight. Within the hollow, Nhea's line of sight was blocked by the foliage. Yet Quantum's blue eyes continued to pierce through, giving her assurance.
The blue eyes suddenly disappeared, accompanied by the swishing of grass and the light sound of footsteps. Nhea could hear it. The hoofbeats and yells grew louder, and seemed to spread all over the forest. All she could do was hope. Hope that Quantum would come back to take her.
"Spread out!", a deep, rugged voice yelled. The frontline of horses broke into the glade, with others passing around the glade, breaking in down the line. Their horses neighed as they reined them, and came to a stop, grunting.
"The demon is here…", the voice continued, tearing through the glade.
Quantum stood near the center of the glade. Unarmed and unarmored. With nothing but his conviction and the remainder of his strength. He had declared within his mind, 'One more push'.
The horses trotted around him, like wild dogs surrounding their prey.
The man leading them sneered, "So this is the infamous Rahiel? I can't believe it…This bastard is all skin and bones."
He sat on a mighty black steed; his pauldrons painted red. The men began to sneer with him, dismounting from their horses. The stench of oil filled the air, emanating from their lit torches, and the metallic canisters hanging from their belts. The glade convulsed with their sneers.
"Wow, you that same bastard who burnt down half of Rhea Nori…?"
Quantum remained silent, studying his enemies as they surrounded him; their armor, equipment, weapons and faces.
"Honestly, I'd like to know how you did it…" The men surrounding him began to draw their swords, daggers, spears, the rasps of their blades cutting through the glade. Arrows were drawn and nocked in their bows, ready to fire.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Brujil.", he announced, pride in his voice, your soon-to-be killer."
"See," he continued, "all of us here are hungry men. There is a lot of money on your head, Mr. Rahiel. So, you need to understand, the kind of bloodthirst we bring into this serene little glade."
The men began to take stances, readying themselves for combat. Their eyes locked on to him, their feet pointed towards him.
"I don't care about how many men you've killed, Rahiel…This…is where you fall…"
"Attack!"
At his command, the men charged, their boots slamming against the ground. They had surrounded the glade, and approached from every direction. With loud screams they rushed across the glade, the blades following them, ready to slice through Rahiel's flesh. Arrows were shot from every single direction, speeding through the air like bullets. Canisters of firebombs were thrown, exploding in the air and raining fire upon the whole glade. Oblivious to this, the men continued to charge through, orange blades of fire falling from the sky, towards Rahiel.
In a flurry of explosions, Rahiel continued to stand tall, his blue eyes piercing through the bloodthirst that rained down on him.
The first arrow met him, and he dodged effortlessly, without even moving to the side. He continued to dodge the arrows that rained on him, seamlessly. The earth rang with the hisses and thuds of arrows missing their target, landing hard.
Amidst this, the rain of fiery shrapnel fell, turning the glade into a hellscape. Quantum was pushed to move, the short-lived flames searing the soles of his feet.
The first man soon reached him. Quantum expertly grappled and threw him to the ground, seizing his sword midair.
Now, Quantum had a sword in his hand.
Many more men soon met him, swinging their swords and daggers in fury and blind savagery. Quantum evaded their swings expertly, parrying them in a bloody flurry.
His counters excellently cut through their vitals, releasing the life from them. He cut through the wave of enemies that attacked him, rendering them lifeless. Bodies dropped to the ground. Blood splattered and flew through the air, Quantum gradually began bathing himself in a violent red.
More and more of them came, almost encouraged by their comrades falling. Their steps were more careful, more calculated. They managed to cut at Quantum, pushing him with their numbers.
But Quantum pushed harder, spinning his sword, cutting through throats and breaking limbs in a barrage of calculated attacks, pairing his sword with his limbs.
He sword seamed through masses of men, as he weaved through them skillfully, leaving blood behind him, as ash filled the air. An arrow cut through his arm, and struck another man behind him. A spear went for his heart and he skillfully leapt, balancing on the spear and delivered a powerful kick to the wielder.
There seemed to be no end to it.
The shrapnel from the firebombs began to cut through him, even as he maneuvered through masses of men, their horses now running wild. They seared his flesh, the flames licking up his ichor. The men began to overwhelm him as well. Their strikes becoming more consistent, drawing more of his blood.
He needed to change the plane of the battle. He needed to get the upper hand.
Quantum spied the southern edge of the glade, and rushed towards it, slicing through men even as he went.
"Stop him!", the leader shouted.
His eyes were filled with a mix of fear, surprise and reinforced carnage-lust.
The remaining men rushed after him on their horses, their armor and swords clattering as they sped forth. The leader reined his horse, and neighing loudly, it sped forwards with tremendous speed. Quantum broke past the tree line, and sped past the junipers, leaping over ditches and mounds of earth.
His pursuers followed close, trying their best not to lose sight of him, even as he weaved past the trees.
Quantum's image disappeared behind a tree, and the leader lost sight of him. He screamed for the men to stop, but some of them, ignoring his orders, sped forwards, yelling.
They met their demise quickly, as long branches vaulted towards them from the darkness tore through their hearts.
The leader watched with horror, as they fell to the ground, their horses confused and frantic.
"Come close! Come close! The bastard wants to ambush us…", he yelled.
The men huddled close to him, upon their horses. The leader peered into the darkness that bathed the trees, and saw a glimpse of the glint of blue eyes. Almost immediately, an arrow whizzed through the air, towards him.
He mustered all his effort, with wild concentration, and pivoted himself, dodging. The arrow struck a poor fellow behind him. There was a short yell, followed by a heavy thump.
A horse with no rider burst out of the group.
"Launch the firebombs in all directions! He's using the darkness to his advantage.
Quantum saw, out of nowhere, a rain of fire that filled his direction. He had believed they were out of those annoying explosives.
He was wrong.
A rain of fire fell on him, carrying pieces of shrapnel that lodged into the barks of trees and tore through shrubs and bushes. The forest screamed as orange light filled it, ravaging its surface.
Out of nowhere a mad rider emerged from the flame, his horse leaping through the searing heat. He skillfully dismounted and stabbed Quantum in the back with a powerful force.
The blade dug deep, and the wielders grip did not falter. Quantum groaned in pain.
His body was finally breaking apart, it seemed. His strength was falling, even as the battle progressed. He wouldn't last forever. He needed to finish them off quickly.
Quantum quickly incapacitated the attacker, launching him into a tree, and finished him off with a stab to the heart.
Many others began to emerge through the flames, yelling with mad bloodlust. The creatures of the forest were in a panic; birds cried as they left their burning homes, deer ran wild through the forest, their hooves thumping on the forest floor.
Quantum continued to fight through this, eliminating his attackers, as the fire burned and his strength waned.
He delivered fatal blow after fatal blow, tearing through guts and screaming men. His right arm stopped responding in the heat of the battle, the degradation finally reaching it. Quantum screamed as he pushed against the hordes, tearing through flesh.
When it seemed like it was over, out of the corner of his eye, Brujil emerged from the crackling flames. His black steed furiously seething, with a horrifying excellence.
He ran into him with the horse, and the three tumbled down a ditch landing hard in a shallow pool down below.
Quantum slowly stood up, the bloodied water dripping off his wounded body.
He looked around.
Brujil's black steed had fallen, its guts strewn around it, in the pool. It seemed a hard branch had torn into its underbelly.
Quantum stared at the fallen horse, and realized that its rider was missing.
At that very moment, Quantum heard a loud splash behind him, and turned only to receive the head of a mace.
Thrown off balance, he turned to deliver a blow, and received another blow which threw him off entirely.
The sound tore through the forest; metal meeting bone.
He landed with a hard splash, his ichor pouring into the pool. Brujil, breathing hard, watched Quantum's body silently. He collapsed suddenly, under the pain of a severely sprained ankle. Kneeling and supporting himself with the mace, he wheezed, looking down at his feet.
He had finally done it.
He had defeated the demon. And in so doing, he had attained the fortune.
He began to smile.
He was sure he was the last one left. How horrible Rahiel was. He had underestimated him; they didn't call him a demon for nothing.
He looked up and immediately, an expression of pure horror formed on his face.
Rahiel was on his feet.
His jaw was torn off, his right arm dead, and his body burnt and filled with stab wounds and cuts.
Yet he continued to stand, as though there was nothing wrong with him.
Quantum stepped forward with an earth-shattering determination. Brujil fell back, landing in the water.
He seethed, getting himself together and stood, holding the mace in a stance.
Quantum continued to walk towards him, insulting his resolve with his unfazed blue gaze.
The moment he came into range, Brujil swung hard at Quantum, drops of water flying off his armor.
He was sure he had finally put the dog down.
In an unexpected move, Quantum dodged, and holding himself with his left arm, tackled him, sending him off balance.
Brujil found himself midair, his mace ahead of him. All of a sudden, there was a powerful crack on his chest, as Quantum's foot landed hard on it.
He crashed into the pool with a thunderous splash. Blood oozed from his nose and mouth, as he gurgled, coughing on his own blood.
Quantum grabbed him by his head, and dragged him towards a rockface.
In a quick throw of his arm, Quantum banged Brujil's head hard, against the hard rockface. His blood stained the moist rock red.
Looking at his horror-stricken face, Quantum wasted no time.
He grabbed the leaders jaw, and ripped it clean off his face.
Brujil had no time to scream. He could only gurgle, as the blood gushed out of his oral cavity. His bloodshot eyes rolled behind his head, and his arms hung with lifelessness.
Quantum released his hold over him, and his lifeless body fell into the pool with a crash.
The forest fell into a deep, deep silence.
The only noise being the drip drop of water from Quantum's body falling in the now bloodied pool.
Quantum turned, but before he realized it, he was in the pool as well. His body had been battered way beyond his limit, and it was struggling to keep him alive. The moonlight reflected in the now still pool, giving off a purple ambience, as red mixed with blue.
Quantum breathed slowly, his blue eyes struggling to stay open. He had slain hundreds. He had annihilated his pursuers. Nhea was waiting for him.
Quantum strained hard, eyes wide open, struggling to get up.
His left arm as a support, he wheezed and slowly lifted himself out of the water. A loud crack sounded, and he fell back into the water.
His left arm had given out.
His legs were unresponsive.
Quantum stared into the forests silence, his consciousness fading in and out. The slight smell of smoke filled the air.
He couldn't fall here. Nhea needed him.
His right eye let out on him, hanging loose its its socket.
He looked forth with the only eye he had left.
Memories of his short time with Nhea filled his mind. It pained him, that he was leaving her so early.
They had barely made any memories together.
Quantum wanted a few more years of existence, at least, for his imprint on Nhea to be fulfilled; her mother's wish for her, achieved.
However, he had enjoyed only a little more than a month with the girl. Quantum had to trust the little girl to take care of herself. To find her way out of the confines of the forest, probably somewhere far away from the empire. Somewhere she could grow, meet righteous people, and prosper alongside them.
Tears welled in Quantum's eye, as he envisioned a self-actualized Nhea, happy and beautiful, with a countenance that beamed like the Sun. It pained him he was leaving so early, but it seemed that was Mother's plan for him. All he could do, was believe in the little girl.
Just as she had believed in him.
His eye slowly closed, its light dying out.
Silence rang in Akar.
It continued to ring, until a twig cracked under the weight of a little foot.
An amber-eyed girl stood still, her eyes wide, as the ashes of the fallen filled the night air.