40 It knows where others are

Mogrok spits out the soulless one. The flesh of the soulless one taste like a rock. The soulless one stands up on its feet and waddles toward Mogrok. He uses his one arm to pick up the creature and throw it far away.

Deia and Iver look at him with big round eyes. If it hasn't been for Mogrok, they would have been turned into one of the soulless creatures. But, still, what kind of spirit beast eat abominations of the cursed sea?

"He eats all of his problems," Iver mutters under his breath.

"Don't say that. If he hears you, he might also eat you." Deia is terrified. She has seen something like this in her vision. Kresi is not here. Mogrok doesn't seem to like eating the soulless creatures. What if he decides to fill his stomach with her body?

Mogrok's thousand eyes roll around at the same time. He can read their expressions. "Seer, are you working hard? I told you to concentrate on my master and see where she is."

"I am trying." Deia is on the verge of a mental breakdown. They have been running away for a long time. The soulless ones are quite stubborn. It's like they are everywhere. If they get closer to Iver and Deia, their souls will be sucked away and they will also become like them. No matter how many souls are eaten by these creatures, they are always hungry.

Then, there are warped beasts. The beasts and wielders who have been corrupted by the dark ehr. They are equally dangerous. They are superfast and wild. They have met two on the way. Mogrok protected them from those creatures. They didn't die no matter how many times he tore apart their bodies. In the end, he threw them somewhere far away. Deia is sure that they are still following their scent.

At these times, how can she have the time to concentrate on Kresi?

"Seer, you are alive because I want to find my master." Mogrok is losing patience. "This place isn't safe for her. These warped beasts are nothing compared to what is hiding inside the cursed realm. Hurry and find her. If you can see her surroundings, I will be able to find her."

The sky turns dark again. This is the 9th time already. Iver wonders why the cursed realm is this unstable. The weather is moody. He has already lost the flow of time. The watch has stopped working because of the unstable flow of ehr. Outside the cursed sea, it could have been a month or a year or a day. He can't be sure now. They could stay stuck here and decades could pass outside. Just like before.

"I am trying hard," Deia yells. Mogrok growls. Iver doesn't understand what Mogrok is saying to Deia. Are Kresi and Kyo alive? They are only children.

***

His arm isn't healing. I have bandaged his arm. It's hurting him a lot. It's why it won't heal fast like before. He is holding his pain without any complaints. This happened to him because of me. If I hadn't been acting like an idiot, he wouldn't be upset. Dark God wouldn't get the chance to come out. He wouldn't get hurt like this.

"Kyo." I look at him. "If it hurts, you can tell me. You don't have to act like an adult. You are Kyo. I will find a way to fix your arm. If you want to cry, you can cry."

He gives me a pained smile. "The pain is going away. It doesn't hurt like before."

"Iver must know some healing spell." I put his good arm around my shoulder. "Lean on me. We have to get out of this place."

This place is giving me creeps. I feel like the walls have eyes. We walk into the corridor quietly. The walls have paintings now. Is it decorating itself on its own? I have seen enough strange things in this world.

I stop to look at the paintings. It's beautiful paintings of sunrise, lakes, people, and festival. There is a painting of a tall man's back. In another painting, the tall man is standing beside a man with silver eyes. The silver-eyed man is laughing. The tall man is looking at him with gloomy eyes.

That tall man with black hair has Kyo's eyes.

"Sister, let's go away from this place." Kyo sounds nervous. "I don't like this place."

The paintings are suddenly gone. There is a light at the end of the corridor. So, this place is listening to Kyo's wishes. But, the bad feeling isn't going away. When I look back at the dark end of the corridor, I am sure that I saw a person standing there.

"Kyo, hurry. I don't like this place either." It's probably haunted.

It's already day when we are able to leave the castle. It vanishes from our view like someone erased its existence. Though I am keeping a calm face, I am freaking out in my mind. The feeling of being watched isn't going away.

Creepy vanishing castle. I have a feeling that it belonged to the Dark God. Else, why would it care so much about Kyo's wishes? At least, the sky is bright.

"Sister, look."

I turn around and find a beast half of Mogrok's size running toward us with full speed. It has six feet and four eyes. One tooth is broken. The frenzied look in his eyes is hard to miss.

"Run, Kyo."

He cries out in pain when I grab his arm. The six-legged beast is almost upon us. Kyo can't run like this. Then...

"I will fight that thing. You run."

I charge toward the six-legged beast. I only remember the basic level spells. I can use fire to delay him a bit. Kyo will get some time to run. I summon the rune of fire. It burns on the tip of my fingers. The corrupted ehr flow through my veins. It is wild and ecstatic. I realize what Iver meant. The corrupted ehr is like potent alcohol that can easily poison the mind and body. The rune of fire multiplies on my hand and covers my whole arm. I feel strange urges. Something is asking me to let go.

Let go and burn it all.

"Stop," Kyo screams behind me. I blink hard. What the hell I have been thinking? Why did I think of burning everything including myself? The six-legged beast also stops in front of me.

He squeezes my hand. The rune of fire withers away. "Sister, you looked strange."

I felt strange. I clear my throat. The six-legged beast is bowing its head to Kyo. I guess that it can recognize the God inside Kyo. That's even more strange. Aren't they beasts who have gone insane because of the corrupted ehr? It's acting like an adorable pet.

"Sister, it doesn't want to hurt us. It was sent to give us a ride." Kyo stares at the beast.

"Who sent it?" I ask him. I thought that I could understand the language of the beasts. I guess that I was wrong. I only understood Mogrok's language. The language of the old world.

"It doesn't know." Kyo pats the beast's head. "It knows where others are."

That person hiding in the shadows inside the castle... is it him? Oh, damn! I don't think that it was a well-wisher. If he was, he was a well-wisher of the Dark God. We need to leave this damned place before something else happen.

I feel awkward. The beast has its tongue out like a dog.

"Kyo, are you sure that it's telling the truth?"

"He is too simple-minded. He can't lie."

He sounds confident in his beast lie detector skills. I will take this chance because of him. After all, he is God.