14 Chapter Fourteen: A Fiend's Prophecy

Ayra was lost.

She wanted to smack herself in the head. Her feet had pressed themselves against the footprints of the Ghostsinger before she could even consider it. She did not know why she chose to tail after him like a total creep. 

The night appeared to be deserted and the air was brittle and crisp. Her little quest for the Guardian had before long transformed into a little, night stroll through the forested areas. She could release a cover of wind around the territory and ask it to find the Guardian for her. But there were too many breathing creatures nearby and it was nearly impossible to scope out the little Guardian from among them.

The wind embraced her as a whole, shaping a pleasant coat over her solitary form. She softly tugged at it every now and then, cherishing the feeling of the smooth breeze going with her.

It was a lovely night, indeed.

The eyes of her power told her that she is not that far away from the clearing but Ayra didn't wish to go back just yet. She wanted to enjoy this quietness a bit more before dawn broke.

Ayra retreats to lean against a tree, plunging her head back against the bark and shutting her eyes delicately. With her face against the ceaseless sky, she felt more settled than ever.

She sits there for a few more minutes until the night turned lush and dark and deep. The wind sang and she softly murmured along.

Everything was quiet until a twig on the ground snapped the same moment her wind warned her of a nearby presence.

Ayra wouldn't have jolted to her feet and grabbed a dagger from beneath her tunic if it had been Ryo.

But her wind was familiar with the Guardian but this presence right here was, strange. And almost inhuman.

The wind did not know what it was.

It was dead dark under the canopies. Ayra couldn't see anybody however she knew something was standing only a couple of feet away from her.

Ayra knew that even if she could not see the creature, it could perfectly see her.

"Who is there?" Ayra asked, constraining her voice to come out solid and strong.

No response. Not so much as a breath came in her direction.

It was watching her. Keenly and closely.

Ayra gazed at the blackness for a while. And then, she quietly brought her dagger down to her side and turned it around so she was holding the pointedly, tapered blade rather than the hilt, ready to hurl it. 

"Come out now."

The clouds slowly parted, allowing the moon's light to flow out into the open and onto the woods. The ground illuminated under its silver and phantasmal gaze.

Leaves crunched and very slowly, a tall figure stepped into the light.

Ayra silently gasped, her eyes widening at the creature standing in front of her.

A Fiend. A Fiend had stepped out of the shadows.

Ayra knew about these creatures. Had learned about them and had discovered them intriguing in the past. She had consistently contemplated whether these creatures truly existed but now, at this very moment, she was stunned into a deadly, appalling silence. Ayra would have never imagined in her wildest dreams that she would be standing in front of a Fiend.

Fiends were wicked and ancient beings who possessed a kind of knowledge not known to mankind. No one knows their origin or how long they have walked on these very grounds but some say that these archaic beings had breathed even before the world was completely created.

They were pretty harmless by nature. And are almost to never be found because of how rare they showcase themselves in the light of this world.

But it was not their innocuous and powerless nature that screamed at Ayra to run the hell away from there.

It was their mouthless faces that made Ayra weak in her warrior's knees.

No man can seek a Fiend until it seeks you. 

The long-necked creature gently inclined its head and Ayra's grip tightened on the sharp metal of the blade. Its sunken, colourless eyes regarded her with ancient observation. Its light, hairless bluish-grey skin gleamed under the moonlight and a black, tattered cloak adorned its body. The material was so shredded that Ayra could almost make out the slightly hunched bony figure beneath.

A strong wind blew but its silver hair stay matted atop its head and swirled down onto its thin shoulders. And its long, cracked fingernails were black and grimy but had a blunt edge that could cause harm if tried.

And where a mouth should have been, there was nothing but just smooth skin.

A chill so cold and dead travelled up and down her spine. It was a ghastly sight, one that she would revisit repeatedly in her nightmares.

"Hello, child." Its mouthless face hissed at her in a deep, raspy voice.

Never talk to a Fiend.

Never look at a Fiend in its eyes.

But most importantly,

If you ever see one, never let it speak.

Knowledge is a Fiend's biggest weapon. This otherworldly knowledge and intelligence they possess are not meant for mankind's ears.

And this Fiend had just spoken to her.

The wind turned frigid and piercing, the chilliness of it nipping at her skin for some warmth.

Ayra's fingers tightly pressed together onto the blade of her dagger, her mind so focused on the creature in front of her that she almost forgot her hold was fixed against the sharp metal and not the safe and solid hilt of the lethal weapon.

With its head still tilted, the Fiend hissed,

"You reek of death, child."

Friends don't lie. And their truth always is not meant for the spineless ones.

Ayra's heart was in her throat. She clenched her fists, squared her shoulders and swallowed hard.

"What do you mean?"

The Fiend didn't answer. Didn't make any movement. It just stood there, so unnaturally still and steady.

"Go back, child." It repeated. 

Ayra scrunched her eyebrows at the low warning.

"What do you mean?" She pressed again, now slightly intrigued by the being in front of her. 

The rough, shrill voice turned a bit loud, the hidden tone of foreboding in those words slowly driving Ayra towards the edge.

"Retreat now, child. For every step you shall take further from here shall be the end of you."

A Fiend never lies, they say.

Ayra didn't want to believe the words that tumbled out of this creature's mouthless face but these words nevertheless ingrained a little seed of dread somewhere inside her mind and soul.

Slowly composing herself, she looked at the fiend. Stared deep into its bloodless eyes.

"Everyone is stepping towards their death, Fiend. What matters if my life is short-lived?"

The wind turned sharper and sharper as the silence prevailed.

Its mouthless face spoke again 

"Brave words, child. You smell of death but you hold no fear towards it."

A statement. Not a question or an answer. A statement.

"I have no reason to."

To Ayra, life was a neverending misery. And she knew if her time came, she would depart without any regrets.

"You throw away your life easily but I can see through you child." Its head slightly bent forward, as if it was taking a closer look at her.

"I see you hold other's lives far more valuable than yours."

Ayra tilted her head, eyes narrowing. 

"Again, why does that matter?"

"Retreat, child."

"Why?"

The Fiend didn't respond. Just stared and stared and stared.

"Retreat, now. For you will hand over the souls of your loved ones to the hands of the Reaper himself."

Ayra slowly curled her fists.

"Turn away, child."

She didn't respond. 

"Leave and live your life as you did before. Live your life without delving further into the unknown. For the unknown holds dangers that will lead you to the cold arms of Death itself." 

Ayra didn't respond. She couldn't respond.

The Fiend slowly dipped its pale, haunting eyes towards her chest.

And lowly, so very lowly, hissed two words. Just two.

"Ruhnn." It hissed. "Caelan." It hissed.

And just like that, Ayra's entire world came crashing down at her.

"You loved them. You cherished them. You would have given your life to them." It continued, those words morphing into piercing arrows that were aimed at her heart.

She shook her head, eyes wide. Stop.

"But you didn't."

Shut up.

"You didn't save them."

Stop.

"You let them die."

No. Ayra wanted to scream.

"They are dead now, child. Dead."

Ayra unconsciously took a step forward.

Her ears started ringing. She couldn't speak. She couldn't even breathe.

"You broke your promise." It hissed again. Hissed words that would bring Ayra down to her knees and despair.

"Return, now."

Another step.

The Fiend snarled softly and if it had a mouth, its teeth would be bared at her.

"All of them are dead because of you."

And Ayra knew that this time, the Fiend didn't mean Ruhnn and Caelan only.

She stopped right in front of the creature. The Fiend slowly lowered its lurid eyes down at Ayra's.

Ayra craned her neck up to its mouthless face. Raising her hand, she leisurely slanted the sharp blade against the empty area under the creature's nose and snarled,

"I will slit this, " she tapped the mouthless area, "in half, and give you a mouth to go for the amount of nonsense you spew."

She bared her teeth at the silent creature. For some reason, she knew this creature wouldn't harm her. 

"You may be ancient. You may possess all the knowledge in this world. But, " Ayra growled.

"You know nothing about me."

She tightened her hold against the hilt, her voice breaking ever so slightly at her next words.

"Nobody lets their loved ones die."

The Fiend didn't balk away. Instead, it just stood there, with a dagger against its mouthless area, observing. And waiting. Waiting to see what Ayra would do.

"Brave and arrogant. You are just like her."

Ayra slowly leaned back.

Her? She did not know who the fiend was alluding to but she didn't bother to ask. Because the next words that spilt out of its mouthless face was a punch to her gut.

"This is my warning, child. Listen carefully for this shall be my last admonition to you."

The Fiend leaned in and softly said,

"When the time comes, turn away before that thing inside you stirs awake."

Ayra felt her heart thrash against her ribs. Her body froze and her fingers shook.

"What is inside of me?" She asked quietly, her voice barely over a whisper.

When the fiend didn't respond, Ayra turned frantic.

She hastily stepped forward, dangerously bringing the dagger closer to its horrendous face.

"What am I?" She searched those ghastly eyes, for an answer. For anything.

"Tell me. What am I?!" She screamed, her voice shaking.

Please. She silently begged. 

With its cool, ancient voice, the Fiend said, 

"I cannot tell you."

Ayra slowly lowered the dagger to her side, rattled by the creature in front of her. 

She had to leave. If she stayed any longer, she would lose her mind.

With her shoulders slightly slumped and her mind weighing down her entire body, she turned around to leave.

The Fiend's ancient voice slowly reached her, 

"Upon the day the mountains move and the seas shudder,

The day the wind turns stronger and the embers burn brighter,

The Nameless shall meet the Unborn,

Stand together and you shall succeed,

Stand apart and the end shall kiss you."

A Fiend's Prophecy was a curse carved out of darkness itself. And she had just received hers. 

Ayra turned around and faced the Fiend. It slowly raised a thin, bony finger against her chest. She could feel the blunt edge of that grimy fingernail gently digging into her skin.

"War will begin with you, child. When you realise that, search for me."

"On a moonless night, bring forth something this old fiend would like. And on my death bed, with my last breath, I shall tell you one last thing."

"I will not come in search of you," Ayra said with a final tone.

Ayra slowly witnessed the Fiend's eyes crinkle a little, almost as if it was smiling.

An eerie feeling settled onto her chest at that expression. She fought the urge to rub her sides and hold herself. 

"You will." The Fiend stated confidently, eyes still crinkled.

It dipped its head.

"Just like how I came in search of you, Ayra.''

No man can seek a Fiend until it seeks you.

The wind chilled.

"What are you doing?" A voice sliced through the stagnant air. 

Ayra spun around.

Ryo stood there, his impassive eyes fixed on her. 

She stilled, eyes wide. 

Ryo's eyes didn't wander away from hers. It didn't take a gander at the creature remaining behind her. As if, as if she was the only person standing there.

When Ayra slowly turned around, she knew why.

The Fiend had already gone.