“A Godling is not the same, and you know it.”
Evyen pushed his arm out forcefully. A blast of light came out of his palm, sending Tinyrah crashing towards the ground. Evyen moved his arms in a circular motion, drawing Magick out of thin air and creating a shield of light around him. As Evyen knelt down, Tinyrah banged on the light shield.
“Evyen, stop!” Tinyrah pleaded, but her voice was drowned out as Evyen plunged his dagger into the earth, dragging it along the soil. Light cracked through the slit in the earth, shining so brightly it nearly blocked Taryn’s view. Evyen began to chant in a foreign language, ignoring Tinyrah’s pleads to stop –
The whole world went silent, the light dimming from the slit in the earth.
After a moment of silence, the ground exploded, a massive light surge blinding Taryn’s view. The energy began to hum intensely with a power so grand, even Taryn couldn’t fathom exactly what it was that Evyen had done.
Taryn blinked, the golden light now replaced with a thick energetic barrier glowing the color of turquoise.
The clicking sound of the demon drew him out of his entrancement of the dreamworld. He whipped around, seeing the Twin demons standing behind him in the salarose field. They drew out their own daggers– blades of decayed bone and rotting flesh, carved into knives–and began stabbing the ground, mimicking what Evyen had done.
Fear rose in Taryn’s chest as the demons came closer, hissing and clicking, drawing their knives from the ground and charging towards him–
“Wake up, Taryn!” Airess screamed, shaking his shoulders violently
“Tell yourself to wake up!” she repeated, the urgency in her voice so piercing his eyes shot open. Taryn’s head spun, vision blurred as he regained consciousness in the waking world. He didn’t know where he was at first, what direction he was lying in, until those familiar trees came into eyeshot.
He looked into Airess’ gilded eyes brimmed with worry, and croaked out with a tired, humorous smile. “Remind me not to provoke a spirit next time–
A screech roared in the distance, both of their heads snapping to the source of the sound. Taryn shot to his feet, unsheathing his broadswords as Airess gripped her knife. He pivoted his body in front of hers, angling himself so that he could confront whatever was charging at them head-on. Heavy thuds vibrated at their feet.
Then, eerie silence.
The only sound was the panting of his and Airess’ breath. He looked at her wide eyes and gripped her arm, bringing her closer towards him. “Turn around,” he whispered, so that they were standing back to back. The thud of her heartbeat increased, her scent reeking of fear. He hated that. He hated knowing she was frightened, and regretted ever bringing her in here in the first place.
Taryn racked his brain on any information he had on The Twins. He had always heard rumors of a predator that lurked here, but assumed it was just folklore. Could it be the demons he saw in the Dreamworld? Could they manifest here too?
The trees rustled above them in warning, followed after a flash of white that landed in front of them. It was no regular animal, but a beast that had to be nine feet tall. Its body was white, the skin the same pale flesh as the trees. It was almost humanoid, with a bald head and distorted face. The beast reeked of death and dirt, the putrid smell flooding his nostrils. The fingers on its hands were clawed and knobby, bending at odd angles. Its eyes were completely black. Void. Decayed.
He had to think quickly. The broadswords would have to be his last resort, and the little water they had left remained in the waterskin. Taryn stepped forward instinctually as it swiped its claw. Taryn pushed his arms outward and blasted it with a burst of wind. Thank the Gods he could at least wield one element that could be accessed anywhere.
The beast toppled over, hissing in rage as it got to its feet.
“The waterskin! I need it!” Taryn called out as he ducked a swipe from the beast. He heard Airess’ pounding footsteps retreat to go find the horses that no doubt had fled by now. Its head snapped towards her direction, roaring once more. Taryn sent another blast of wind, smacking the beast in the face.
That made it angry. The beast advanced, this time lunging for Taryn. Taryn jumped backwards, narrowly missing the clawed swipe. He slashed his broadsword downward and drew black blood on its abdomen. It growled, showing its long sharp teeth and pounced again. A zip sounded through the air, Airess’ dagger plunging into the beast's back. It whipped backwards, moving faster than Taryn could.
Airess threw the waterskin at him as she ran in the opposite direction, the beast close behind her heels. Taryn uncapped the waterskin and guided the water outwards, shaping it into a small shard–sharp enough to do the same damage as a dagger. He clenched his fist, and the water hardened into ice.
He bolted forward, panic rising in his chest as the beast smacked Airess onto the ground. Fear fueled his steps. He jumped, raising the ice dagger high over his head and slamming the blade down onto the back of the beast's head.
Airess screamed in terror as it writhed. It fell alongside Taryn, snapping its teeth one last time before the light died in its eyes. Taryn grabbed Airess and yanked her from underneath the beast, the pair stumbling back as the ground vibrated from the thud.
Silence returned–only their ragged breaths and pounding hearts filled the air. Taryn looked at Airess, his eyes wide with concern as he gripped her shoulders, steadying her.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She shook her head violently. “No. No. Are you?”
Taryn shook his head. "No."
He let out a shaky breath, still processing what just happened. Never in his life had he seen a creature of this sort. Was there more? Were they coming?
“Let’s get thefuckout of here,” he said and grabbed her hand without second thought. They rushed to their horses, mounted and rode forward blindly. Surely they would find their way out of here.
Within minutes, they spotted the edge of the forest and sped to it, eager to get out. They passed the clearing, fresh daylight gracing their eyes and rode on as far as the horses could give. Eventually, the pair found a spot in the forest to rest.
