26 Meeting

Sometimes fate could be very capricious and she has fun making people meet who could not be together.

Other times it was so fair that it hurt.

The darkness of the night covered everything like a hungry beast that gobbled up every last bit of light. Maxwell leaned out the window of the old castle to watch the stars and the moon. The night was so dark that it was impossible for him to observe anything, with a sigh lowered his head in disappointment however when he lowered his gaze what he saw was a complete army of undead walking slowly to the castle gates.

Scared and a little confused, Maxwell ran through the long and lujubrious corridors of the castle that slowly seemed to get smaller and smaller.

The whole place began to move illogically and the walls became the floor and vice versa. Maxwell stopped confused and scared to death but his world didn't stop changing until he was at the end of the corridor with a thick wall blocking his progress.

His first reaction was to turn and run but he could only see about two meters ahead of him, the only thing that could be seen beyond that was a cold and terrifying darkness. Maxwell didn't know what was there but his body began to tremble as if something was approaching.

Maxwell tried to use his magic to break the wall behind him but not a single spark came out of his. Slowly but surely panic and terror took hold of him such that he began using his fists to pound madly at the wall until his knuckles bled. But he stopped his actions when he heard footsteps behind him.

Maxwell turned his head and looked back where the darkness seemed to have drawn even closer. The footsteps sounded clearer and clearer and as they got closer the faster the beating of his heart.

As a figure became visible from the shadows, Maxwell's heart stopped completely.

A completely malnourished and rotten body with maggots protruding from various places, a dirty and patched dress. Fingernails protruding from his hands as his hair covered half of his face, but it was clearly visible that he had nothing to call eyes, only darkness. His neck was cut horribly in such a way that it was only supported by a bit of still uncut skin.

This scared him but it wasn't what surprised him the most, because that terrified monster was... Olivia.

"Mom?" Maxwell asked in a whisper and that being twisted strangely.

"M-Maxwellllllll" growled the being upon seeing it. "Why?..." I walk slowly towards him. "Why did you abandon us? Why couldn't you protect us?"

Maxwell's face paled when he saw the being approach him, because only now could he see how the being was dragging the body of a little girl on the ground. His face couldn't be seen because he was completely shattered from the constant dragging but Maxwell could be completely sure that it was his little sister.

"Maxwell"

Maxwell slowly turned his head in horror as he heard another voice, one he couldn't forget even if he wanted to. His first time voice.

"M-maria." His voice trembled a little as he watched as a bloodstained woman with a large belly appeared from the darkness. Like Olivia, her eyes were pitch black but other than that, her face had a big smile that took up half of it in a sinister way.

Maria's specter hit her swollen belly very hard as she smiled at him.

"Max it's time for you to meet your beloved son." After her statement and before the shocked and horrified eyes of Maxwell, Maria with her two bare hands and in a very crude way began to open her own belly from which a lot of guts fell out along with a small being that was a mixture of a being. human and a goat with one of its eyes hanging out of its sockets and looked at him with the same sinister smile as Maria.

"Hello Daddy."

Maxwell woke up from the shock and began to hyperventilate. He looked everywhere in panic and fear, but he found nothing besides his caravan sleeping and a few who were on guard and looking at him strangely.

His mind couldn't stop thinking about those monsters from his dream and he clenched his fist letting out several sparks of electricity. Seeing this, Maxwell began to generate more electricity and as he did so he began to feel more secure and at peace.

"Is my lord alright?" He asked of one of the guards a little scared seeing him completely bathed in lightning.

"Yes." Maxwell nodded expressionlessly. "Get everyone up at once. We'll be leaving."

He along with the caravan got everything ready in just an hour and set off in different directions.

The lightning caravan was already very notable and if someone correlated him with it, he would mess up his entire plan. He didn't want to go big into Lester's capital and put a big ad over his head, he wanted to work his way up the ranks. That is why the first pass of his was the order of knights.

Countless nobles from all over the continent sent their sons to this place hoping to secure a place in the order to the point that even princes from other countries trained there.

Maxwell just took an ordinary sword and strapped it to his hip. Black shorts, a plain but clean gray shirt, and a pair of bare shoes.

While the caravan took the longest but safest route to enter the city, Maxwell preferred to cut his way through the lush forest in front. If he crossed it safely he would be able to reach the capital in just half a day. But if he surrounded it like the caravan it could take up to a day to do it.

Maxwell placed both hands on his waist and sucked in a large amount of air through his nose and looked at the scenery with a smile. The cool, gentle wind ruffled her long, platinum blonde hair and his eyes sparkled with delight.

"Definitely the climate and landscape of the center are better than the cold glaciers of the north."

With improved aptitude and in a better mood, Maxwell began his walk. He wasn't afraid of any danger he might face in the forest since unlike other fantasies this world didn't have anything like monsters and the animals were completely normal like on earth. He had heard a few myths of incredible creatures on the way here, but they were just that: myths. In fact, were it not for magic, this world would not be much different from medieval times on earth.

Maxwell walked for what was about two hours into the woods and lazily leaned against a tree. He checked his entire body for some water, but remembered that apart from his sword he had nothing else in his possession.

"How stupid can I be?" Maxwell groaned as he kicked a stone in the path and continued on hoping to get out of the woods before noon.

After a half hour of boring walking, Maxwell heard what sounded like the clash of swords in the distance. He was very bored just seeing trees and weeds, going to see what was happening in the distance didn't seem like a bad idea. In addition to being thirsty and whoever will fight, he would have to have at least one canteen of water, right?

With that idea in mind, Maxwell turned from his path and ran in the direction of the possible fight in his vicinity. But a few meters after reaching the place, Maxwell felt a small tingle in his back and he moved his head back a little, narrowly avoiding an arrow that managed to graze his cheek.

"This place is forbidden boy."

A very tall and muscular man revealed himself behind a tree. His clothes were very strange with cloths of different colors that mostly hid his entire body including his face. In both of his hands he held a heavy crossbow with which he had shot Maxwell.

"What is there?" Maxwell asked.

"It's none of your business." The man replied curtly and rudely.

"You're right." Maxwell nodded agreeing with the man. "I don't care what's in there, I just want some water and I'll go."

Maxwell's eyes widened in surprise as the man wordlessly and without warning raised his crossbow and fired in his direction.

Maxwell's thoughts sped up in such a way that everything seemed to happen in slow motion on his retina. With monstrous reflexes he angled his body so that he dodged the arrow with relative ease.

The man's eyes widened in surprise as Maxwell slowly turned around and looked at him.

"You know, I'm seriously starting to hate being shot by arrows."

"H-how..." The man managed to stutter.

"It's none of your business." Maxwell replied as small sparks of lightning surrounded him and before he could even blink the man watched as his world suddenly turned around and in one of those many turns he managed to see his decapitated body falling slowly to the ground .

"How hard was it for you to give me some water?" Maxwell clicked his tongue in annoyance as he slowly sheathed his sword.

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