A MAGNIFICENT AFTERIMAGE

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The arrows kept appearing magically and I found myself in a tunnel.

The tunnel went on and on. No turns, it went on for a long time. I felt a presence behind me , and turned around. I noticed a shadow longer than mine, and looked forward only to see the Dritten. It was a bit far away from me , so it appeared to have become smaller.

It had a pair of light blue eyes, white fur, a pair of snow-white wings and two horns which were white. It looked at me like it was seeing an old friend from the nineteen-hundreds.

It just stared at me , with a smile. Well…it lips were curled into a smile, showing its little fangs. And it wasn't scary, so….I guess, it's cute. I turned around, and continued on into the tunnel. Surprisingly, the Dritten followed me.

I decided to not think much about its behavior, and walked on. But the tunnels would never end . There were lamps hanging from above, lightening up the way. But still, it wasn't very bright. And that's what made the tunnel eerie.

I had been walking for a while now, and I was getting tired. Only the sound of my boots, and the soft paws of the Dritten, were the only sounds in the tunnel.

When I was about to give up , my Grand aunt's words rang in my head,

" Do not stop until the end cause winners are dreamers who never give up.

It cannot end until it has ended, and it cannot begin until it has begun. Don't forget that ,Rachael."

I found courage to keep going ,when I heard a shrill meow and I turned around and saw the Dritten behind me . It looked scared and was trying to tell me something . I tried comprehending its actions when everywhere suddenly became foggy.

The Dritten hopped into my arms, clinging tightly onto my jacket. But with this kind of horror, I wasn't horrified. Earlier on , I had consumed a detoxifying solution, and the toxic air had no effect on me.

The fog was so thick that it obscured my vision. And it had a very high probability of being poisonous. Alas! I was prepared.

I walked with courage into the fog . I couldn't see anything, but I wasn't scared. If I let my fear out, my opponent would use it as an advantage over me .

Soon…and I appeared in a garden.

When my eyes finally adjusted to the intense brightness, all of a sudden the sky above grew dark.

The bright sun was blotted out, a great wind began to blow, and a roar like thunder filled the air. When a giant eagle came swooping down from the sky. Its wings were as wide as a river and its feathers were all sharp blades.

Its beak was as long as a dhow, its claws were like lances. All the trees bent to the ground from the wind of its wings.

I ransacked my bag for a dagger I had put in it . The eagle was faster than I was and it flapped its colossal wings and tiny almost infinitesimal blades were coming straight at me ,but I immediately saw through it and evaded it.

That went on for what I thought was an hour and it looked like that was its only attack system.

First rules of combat: know your enemies system of attack and defense.

I tried some attack systems and later found out that it was actually protecting any attack from coming near its heart.

I stood a few meters from the tired eagle and kept my dagger in my bag and brought out a few arrows and a bow.

I shot at least seven arrows in different directions near it .While it was distracted ,I aimed at its heart. The arrow coated with poison zoomed forward with speed, and hit the bird squarely in its heart. A perfect shot.

'Boof,boof, boof ' went to the eagle and it turned into a pile of feathers.

The Dritten beside me looked grave , and was looking in the opposite direction. I was curious about its change of expression, because its face was paler than when the fog appeared earlier.

I turned around and saw a red serpent, as tall as two adult humans stacked together. It had horns and its scales were comparable to that of a dragon, but I was pretty sure a dragon's own was harder.

It came charging like a tempestuous bull but I slid on its nether side and tried to jab it ,but its scales were harder than I thought. Not showing a look of surprise, I used my incoming speed, and I climbed its back . In one of the books I had read, there's a saying, ' The heart of a snake is seven inches away from its eyes '. I didn't know how true it was , and I wasn't about to find out.

With the dagger in hand, I stabbed its eyes from behind. Without a moment of rest, I stabbed all the areas of its head.

It went screaming and died. I turned to the dritten and said looking both pleased and unpleased

" Job done!! I am very disappointed in you Silva, you didn't help me at all but kept appearing and disappearing."

Yep! That's right. I had given it a name. When it jumped into my arms, my hands accidentally touched it…*Ahem*... private part. I found out its gender, a female.

The dritten looked apologetic and it came to my feet . I bent to pat its back but it licked my palm sadly and apologetically. I sighed, and decided to let it go. It was still a kitten. I am a teenager, but still…

I didn't even know how I wasn't trembling at this point, with all I have experienced.

I started walking through the garden every path I made, every trail I tracked, the dritten kept following me like a lost puppy.

I appeared in front of a tree bent on its side . It divided the way. I couldn't walk around its sides, and had no other option than to jump over it or cross under it . The latter was what I was going with, Cause Damn! The bent tree was meters tall .

There was no way I was going to fly over it , except I had magic, which sadly, I unfortunately do not possess. I ducked under it with the dritten behind to cross to the other side , but that! did not happen.

On the other side , I appeared in front of a large city and I stood looking at it, mesmerized.

It was like seven Historical style palaces merged into one, so beautiful, large and magical . Each palace has a unique color. And it complemented one another. It was silent. And it appeared to be that we were the only ones there. Talking about 'We'...I turned around, but as always Silva had vanished.

I was about to start searching for her , when suddenly people started trooping in and most of them looked amazed as I was. But the crucial point was that they were all teenagers. And most importantly, they all weren't normal. I had the urge to turn around, and run far away from them. But sadly, there was a kind of force making me paralyzed on the spot. I couldn't move a muscle, only my eyes could.

I noticed those Greek friends of mine on the other side of the crowd. And …the expression on their faces… I was less bothered about them, because I was reeking in blood and suspicious matter clung to my clothes.

I was sure, I wasn't a sight to dwell on. The others were talking to themselves, getting to know each other. But I was left standing there, like I was invincible, which clearly I was satisfied with.

A man cladded in white from neck to toe emerged from the building and stood in front of us, making us divert our attention to him.