Guarded By The Shadows
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The shadows of the trees were moving. They had been there all along, but now they seemed to be coming closer and more defined as if a light was being shone on them from somewhere far away in the distance.
It took her several moments before she realized that it wasn’t just one tree or two; every shadow within sight was shifting around like an army marching forward with their heads down towards something unseen beyond the forest’s edge. She felt herself tense up at once, sensing danger approaching even though nothing could have possibly made its way through this thicket without making some noise.
But then again…she thought, watching another set of shadows move into view ahead of where she stood – maybe these are not ordinary shadows? Maybe I’m seeing things because my mind is playing tricks on me after what happened earlier today…
She shook off those thoughts almost immediately when she saw yet another group of shadows come together right next to her position. There must’ve been over twenty of them altogether by now, each one seemingly heading straight for the same destination: her!
Her heart started beating faster than ever before as panic began taking hold inside her chest while fear threatened to overwhelm her completely. What should I do?! Shouldn’t I try running back home instead?
Or perhaps hide behind some nearby bushes until they pass by? No, no, that won’t work either since I don’t know how long it will take them to reach wherever they’re going…and besides, who knows if any other monsters might show up out here too!?
And so she remained frozen in place, unable to think clearly about anything else except for the fact that she needed to get away from whatever was happening right outside the clearing she’d found herself in.
“What’s wrong?” A voice suddenly called out to her. “Are you okay!?”
It took her a moment longer to realize that the owner of said voice belonged to none other than the boy she met only hours ago during her first day at school. He looked very concerned indeed, standing close enough to her that his face was practically level with hers.
His eyes were wide open and he appeared ready to run off at the drop of a hat if necessary. As much as she wanted him to leave her alone, however, she couldn’t help feeling grateful for having someone nearby whom she knew would protect her. So she nodded quickly, trying to reassure him despite everything that was currently going on.
“I-it’s fine,” She replied nervously under her breath. “Just startled.”
He didn’t seem convinced but decided against pressing further. Instead, he stepped aside slightly to give her room to walk past him. Once she did, he turned around and continued walking deeper into the woods, leaving her to follow suit.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke, both of them keeping their voices low as they tried to make themselves less noticeable. Then finally, when they reached the end of the small clearing, the boy stopped abruptly.
“We need to go back,” He told her quietly. “There’s something dangerous lurking in these woods…”
Her eyes widened upon hearing those words. Something dangerous? How can there be something dangerous in such a peaceful place…? Is it really safe to stay here anymore?
But before she could ask any questions, the boy grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. Without saying another word, he led her deeper into the forest, leading her towards a large rock formation that sat atop a hill overlooking the rest of the area.
From there, she got her answer: the entire scene below them was covered in darkness. All sound had disappeared entirely, replaced by silence. Only the faintest hint of moonlight managed to penetrate through the canopy above, casting strange shapes onto the ground beneath. In addition to that, the air itself seemed somehow different, colder, and heavier than usual. It reminded her of the time she spent living deep underground, surrounded by countless creatures whose sole purpose was to kill humans.
Even worse, the smell of death hung heavily in the air, reminding her of the many times she’d seen people die before her own eyes.
And then, just as she was starting to feel overwhelmed by all of this, she heard footsteps approach from behind. Instinctively, she tensed up, preparing herself for battle. However, when she glanced over her shoulder, she noticed that whoever was approaching them wore no armor whatsoever. Nor did they carry any weapons. Yet still, she sensed danger emanating from them nonetheless.
The figure came closer, stopping right beside her side. The boy looked at her curiously, waiting for her response. When she failed to say anything, he simply shrugged his shoulders and gestured for her to look down. That’s when she saw it: a pair of red glowing eyes staring directly at her from underneath a bush.
Its body was hidden by the foliage, but she could see its head poking out between the branches. It stared at her intently, unmoving. After a brief pause, the creature let loose a loud screech that echoed throughout the surrounding area.
“A monster!” She exclaimed loudly, turning to the boy once more. “This is what you warned me about earlier today! This thing attacked us not even an hour ago!!”
His expression grew grim as he listened to her explanation. But after a short while, his gaze softened somewhat.
“You’re lucky we happened to meet again like this,” He muttered. “Otherwise, things may have ended differently…”
Before she could question him on that statement, however, the creature emerged from hiding, slowly making its way toward her. Her heart began pounding furiously within her chest, causing her to tremble uncontrollably. And yet, despite how terrified she felt inside, she refused to turn away or flee. If I’m ever going to find my father, then I’ll do whatever it takes…
Slowly, she raised her hands upwards, placing them gently on top of the bushes. At the same time, she closed her eyes tightly, trying desperately to calm her nerves. Just as she started to breathe deeply, however, she realized that something wasn’t quite right.
There was a sudden rush of wind blowing across her skin, accompanied by the sound of rustling leaves. Upon opening her eyes, she found herself looking straight into the beast’s gaping maw. It opened wider, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth lined up neatly next to each other.
Despite the fact that she knew exactly where the creature’s mouth was located, however, she couldn’t bring herself to move. Not because of fear – although that certainly played a part in it – but rather due to sheer disbelief. As far as she could tell, the creature hadn’t moved one inch since she first laid eyes on it.
So why does it suddenly appear so close now? Did it sneak up on me without my noticing? Or perhaps it only appeared this way thanks to some sort of illusion magic…? No matter how hard she thought about it, though, she couldn’t come up with a single plausible explanation.
After a moment of hesitation, she took a step forward. Slowly, she placed her left foot on the ground, followed by her right. Then, she continued moving forwards until she reached the edge of the bush. Once she was standing directly in front of the creature, she stopped dead in her tracks. For a few seconds, neither of them made a sound. They both stood frozen in place, staring at each other. Eventually, the beast broke the silence.
“I’ve been watching you for a long time.” A low voice spoke from somewhere nearby. “Ever since you arrived in this world, actually…”
She turned around to face the source of the voice. Standing there, barely visible against the backdrop of the night sky, was a man wearing black robes. His hair was dark brown, almost matching his skin tone. Although he didn’t stand very tall, his frame was surprisingly muscular.
Judging by the size of those muscles, she guessed that he must be fairly strong. On top of that, she also detected traces of power radiating off him in waves. It was clear to her that he possessed considerable magical abilities, possibly even enough to rival the likes of Sion himself.
In spite of all that, however, he seemed completely unassuming. From his appearance alone, she would never guess that he had such incredible strength lurking beneath his robe.
He smiled at her, seemingly amused by her reaction.
“Don’t worry,” He said. “It won’t hurt you if you don’t resist. You can relax your guard now. I promise nothing will happen to you unless you want it to…”
Her breathing returned to normal soon afterward, allowing her to speak again.
“Who are you?” She asked. “And how did you know who I am? How do you even exist here, anyway? Are you another spirit like myself? Is that why you were able to follow me back home? Why haven’t any of these spirits tried to kill me before now? What kind of being is capable of doing something like that?!”
For several moments, she remained silent, unable to think of anything else to ask. However, eventually, she regained control over her emotions. After taking a deep breath, she lowered her arms and stepped backward. When she looked down at the ground, she noticed that her feet weren’t touching the grass anymore.
Instead, they were sinking into the earth itself. The sensation reminded her of when she’d used the Earth Spirit spell during their battle with the Beast King. Was this guy somehow related to that incident too?
The mysterious figure chuckled softly upon hearing her questions.
“Oh, no need to feel ashamed,” He replied. “There isn’t much point in keeping secrets between friends, after all. Besides, you already know more than most people would believe possible.”
As he finished speaking, he removed his hood, revealing his face. To her surprise, she saw that his features matched hers perfectly. Even his facial structure was identical! That means he’s definitely not human…
But what exactly is he? Does he possess some sort of special ability that allows him to look just like someone else? Or maybe he has an incredibly powerful disguise skill that makes it impossible to detect his true identity? Either way, I should probably keep my distance.
If he really wanted to harm me, he wouldn’t have bothered warning me beforehand. Right now, I’m still safe. All I need to do is get out of here as fast as possible.
With that in mind, she began walking away from him. At the same time, she cast a quick glance behind her to make sure that he wasn’t following her. Thankfully, she spotted no trace of movement anywhere near him. With that taken care of, she resumed her retreat towards the village.
As she walked, she kept glancing up every so often to check whether or not he was trying to stop her. Fortunately, he showed absolutely zero signs of pursuit. Apparently, he doesn’t intend to interfere with my escape. Good thing too; otherwise, things could’ve gotten pretty ugly.
Still, I’ll take extra caution going forwards. This guy might seem harmless, but appearances can be deceiving. There’s no telling what tricks he has hidden inside his sleeves.
The End