A group of five people of completely different appearances was advancing slowly through the ruins of an ancient city that had been devastated by corrupt creatures many years ago.
"Are you sure we can find what we're looking for here, Seres?" asked a man with a bird-like appearance. Instead of skin, he had brown feathers. His appearance was strangely human except for his face, which was that of an eagle.
The eagle-man looked at the figure leading the way, who turned and nodded.
"Of course. My visions are never wrong," said the woman with confidence.
"That's what you said when we entered the crypt and ended up fighting a corrupted creature and its army," said a tall man completely covered in armor worn by time. A blue cape was on his back along with a sword at his waist. On the visor of his closed helmet were two small wings.
"Come on, Gaellum, it wasn't my fault we woke it up," said Seres.
"Besides, if it weren't for Gretel, we would have died."
Gretel nodded with a smile. She was a tall and beautiful woman with smooth, tanned skin. Her clothes were a black robe with a tall, pointed hat. In her hand was a spear she used as a walking stick.
"Come on, princess, don't praise me so much. After all, I'm just doing my job."
"You're a greedy witch," said the bird-man with a snort.
"Oh, come on, Lycor, are you still angry about the barrel?" asked Gretel, amused.
The one called Lycor just clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Anyway, I know it's here. I saw it in my vision."
"Can you repeat it again?" asked Gaellum.
Seres nodded.
"Yes... I observed a strange sky. The sun and moon never descended or rose, covering half in light and the other half in darkness. Their lights descended upon a city ruined by an ancient war and corrupted creatures years ago... In the center of the city rose a huge castle elevated on an earthen mound, connected by a bridge over an endless abyss. I saw how someone, abandoned by sanity, tried to bring down the condemned one again and again without success until they lost their sanity. Finally, I saw all of us fighting the condemned one, paying a great price for it..."
Gaellum nodded and looked at the sky over the city. Above, he could clearly see the sun and moon, static, illuminating half the sky in the light of day and the other half in the light of the lunar night.
Currently, the five were in an area that was daytime, traveling to find one of the seven fragments of the divine sword.
"That's a rather strange vision, Seres," said Lycor. "We know the fragments are always protected by their corrupted guardians under their oath, but no one besides us has fought them."
"That is true," said Seres with an amused smile on her attractive face. "But there were many knights in antiquity who challenged the guardians and failed, where we succeeded. We have collected five of the seven fragments."
"But it has been through sacrifices, and you know that very well," expressed Lycor.
Seres sighed.
"I know, Lycor. We have all lost things on this long journey. But in the end, it will be worth it. We will save the kingdom from the curse."
The group fell silent after that.
After a few minutes of advancing, the group stopped upon sensing a group of powerful creatures beginning to approach them.
From the roofs of the ruins emerged monsters with the appearance of wolves, twice the size of a grown man.
"They are Steel Wolves," informed Gretel.
"Prepare for combat," said Gaellum, unsheathing his sword.
The Steel Wolves lunged at the group of humans, whose souls were vast and powerful.
Gaellum was the first to advance, charging against two wolves. Swinging his sword, he cut the first creature, leaving a bleeding wound, while the second beast launched a claw swipe that struck the armor without causing damage.
Lycor ran at high speed, sliding between the Steel Wolves. Two daggers appeared in his hand. Throwing himself at a Steel Wolf, the bird-man became a fast blur, appearing on the other side, leaving the beast with countless bleeding cuts.
Seres drew a bow and arrows, shooting them with enormous precision at the farthest wolves.
The arrows lodged in the beasts' bodies, simultaneously impaled by spikes of earth that rose to finish them.
The group fought together in perfect synchronization for a few minutes. With a cry, the last Steel Wolf was defeated.
"Lately, we're being attacked by more monsters," said Lycor, extracting a single glowing fragment from the beast.
"Yes," said Gaellum. "Surely, as we get closer to the center, the creatures will be larger and more dangerous."
"What do we do then?" asked Gretel.
"Getting closer for now would just be wasting our lives."
"Didn't you call yourself the best witch in the whole kingdom? And you're afraid of simple beasts?"
Gretel looked at Lycor with a furrowed brow.
"Watch your words, bird. You should know you should never anger a witch."
"Or what? You'll curse me?" mocked Lycor.
"Guys, enough. It's not time for your lover's quarrels," said Seres.
"Shut up, princess. You haven't even had a relationship yet," said Lycor.
Seres visibly deflated.
Gaellum sighed wearily. It wasn't the first time the two had fought, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He just hoped, for the love of the gods, that they could complete their journey.
"Well, let's keep walking. If we stop, we'll attract more attention than necessary, especially with your argument."
They looked at each other before nodding in annoyance, a visible tension in their eyes.
Seres looked ahead. Her eyes narrowed before widening.
"We have to run," she said quickly.
"What's wrong, princess?" asked Gretel.
"We have to run towards the dark side now if we don't want to die," she said, pointing into the distance where a large vulture surrounded by a swarm of corrupted spirits was circling them.
"It's a Titan!" said Lycor.
"Don't state the obvious," said Gretel.
"For the love of the gods!" Gaellum grabbed both of them and began to run, while Princess Seres was clinging to his back.
Gaellum, though not as fast as Lycor, possessed greater endurance, in addition to being an Ascended.
"Hey, let go, Gaellum. I can run on my own."
"Let go of me," said Gretel. "I can make the Titan stay back for a few seconds."
"That won't work. That Titan possesses strange powers with the wind, and its regeneration is incredibly fast. Our only option is to go to the dark side."
Gaellum turned a corner and continued running towards the dark side. Slowly, the enormous Titanic vulture closed the distance with each moment. Opening its beak, the vulture released a strong, harrowing screech that shook everything.
The wind rose and advanced like a powerful storm that struck Gaellum, who stomped the ground with force and made a quick sprint.
"Gretel," said Gaellum.
"Got it covered," the witch struck the blade of her spear on the ground, creating a large, 5-meter-tall humanoid of rock that caught the vulture's attention.
"That should buy us a few seconds," said Gretel with a smile. But the next instant, wind blades sliced through the great rock humanoid.
"That was pathetic, witch," said Lycor.
"Do you have a better idea, bird-brain?"
"It's not time for your argument! We have a Titan behind us!" shouted Gretel, her hair whipping back and forth in the wind.
The vulture let out another strong caw, now less than 100 meters away.
Opening its beak, the Titan began to inhale a huge amount of air like a suction hole that pulled everything toward it.
Gretel used the earth to raise a great wall that resisted the Titan's suction.
"We need something to finish covering the distance to the dark area," said Seres, seeing they were only a few kilometers away.
"Gretel, don't you have an enchantment that might be useful?"
"Hmm. Yes, but it will use up a lot of my essence."
"Doesn't matter. Do it," said Seres, watching as the Titan slowly inflated, preparing something that would truly be devastating.
Gretel took out a piece of parchment, which she opened facing the Titan. A moment later, she released the parchment, which was torn apart in seconds. Gretel waited, and when she was sure, she smiled and activated the enchantment.
Instantly, a large portion of her essence reserves was consumed, but it was worth it. The Titan's body exploded from the inside out, opening a huge hole.
The strong suction stopped, and the Titan fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"Is it dead already?" asked Seres before looking at the Titan and seeing how the huge wound began to close.
"No, it's regenerating."
"This is our chance to get to the other side," said Lycor.
Without hesitation, they all began to run, distancing themselves from the vulture Titan as much as possible. They ran for a few minutes until they reached the boundary of day and the beginning of night.
Seres looked back, seeing the Titan, now recovered, flying at high speed toward them with furious, hungry eyes.
When they entered the night, the Titan stopped, letting out a furious screech, turned around, and moved away from that place.
The group of five took several deep breaths, watching the Titan that had almost eaten them recede into the distance.
"We're truly saved," said Lycor.
"Do you have something to say?" asked Gretel.
"Tsk. Nothing," said the bird-man.
Seres looked at Gaellum, who just shrugged.
The group resumed their walk through the dark area of the city, noting that this area was just as dangerous as the day, with nocturnal creatures hidden in the darkness. They noticed several corpses scattered in various places, all ancient, with deep cuts made by a sword.
"Who could have done all this?" murmured Seres, examining one of the corpses.
"Be careful, princess."
"Gaellum, I'm not a helpless girl anymore. I'm an Awakened. I can take care of myself."
"Yes, but you are still important to the kingdom."
"Yeah, yeah," said Seres.
"It seems we are not alone," said Lycor, drawing his daggers.
The group examined their surroundings, seeing how the darkness had become deeper than before.
The sound of footsteps was heard coming from all directions, along with an amused, almost childlike laugh.
"Hahahaha! Oh, my prayers worked! The almighty Rock God is benevolent; he brought me company. God, I'm so happy! I thought I would die alone!"
"Who are you? Show yourself!" ordered Gaellum.
"Oh, you speak. You're humans, right? I'm human too."
The group blinked, bewildered.
"Are you a corrupted creature?"
"Oh, no. I'm a lonely person who lives alone, surrounded by evil beasts that want to eat me, just like their leader. It's a bit annoying. I never had visitors before," said the voice rapidly.
"Why don't you show yourself?"
"If I do, you'll attack me," expressed the voice. "Oh, that's what the voice says."
"Voice?" asked Seres.
"Yes, it's the voice of an evil specter. It says... it says you'll kill me. I don't want to die. Dying is bad."
"Princess, what do we do?" asked Lycor, his eyes trying to pierce the shadows, but his face furrowed as it was true darkness.
The princess took a step forward.
"I am Seres, princess of the kingdom of BeYum. You have my word that we will not harm you as long as you are not hostile towards us." Seres waited patiently for a response from the darkness.
After almost a minute, they heard the voice again.
"I-It's okay. I-I'll come out now."
The darkness became less dense, and the sound finally came from an alley between two houses, from which a figure emerged.
It was a young figure, no taller than Seres. Its appearance was like a statue made of living stone, with black armor. Several cracks covered its body, and its eyes were two crimson flames that glowed weakly.
"A child of Nether?" asked Lycor.
"Do you know him?" asked Seres.
"No, but I've heard of them. They are creatures that the Prince of the Underworld created, naming them Stone Saints. They never leave the Underworld, much less speak. And this one is strange."
"H-hello. My name is Uriel, and although it's hard to believe, I am... or was... human. Or so says the evil specter..."
"No, shut up! They said they won't hurt me, so I can't attack them and be alone with you again!" shouted Uriel. The group blinked.
"Clearly, he's insane," said Gretel.
"Lost his sanity," whispered Seres quietly.
"Are you hungry? I have water and food in my shelter. If you want, you can come; it's safe."
Seres looked with pity at the mentally broken, timid Stone Saint.
"Alright," said Seres.
"Princess, I don't think that's a good idea," said Lycor.
"What if it's a trap?" said Gretel seriously. "If he truly is a child of a demon, he can't be trusted. Everything that comes from demons is evil."
"I don't think so. I can't sense that he's lying to us," said Gaellum.
"I'm not. You have my word," said Uriel, raising his hand.
The group looked at the fearful Stone Saint and finally nodded.
"Fine, lead the way," said Lycor. "But if you try anything, we will eliminate you."
"Sure," said Uriel, trembling. He turned and began to walk. The group followed, keeping a certain distance in case he tried anything strange.