Well needed rest

Perspective : Thor Gild

While we kept walking tirelessly, without a moment to rest, our exhausted bodies were on the brink of collapse. Emilia, left with no alternative, decided to take a risk, knowing that the room ahead was our only passage. With one hand on her forehead, she exclaimed,

"Ahhkk"

in frustration.

"Keep your guards up,"

she cautioned. Drawing her striking crimson blade,

However, due to her exhaustion and the toll taken by her excessive use of Stamina potions, Emilia's body finally gave in, and she found herself on the verge of stumbling. Yet, in that critical moment, she reacted swiftly. Steadying her blade, she drove it into the ground, using it as an impromptu cane. With sheer determination, she hauled herself back up into position, refusing to let her exhaustion hinder our progress.

As she said,

"Never mind".

Not only was Emilia on the brink of collapse, but everyone else also struggled to maintain their composure. Each member of the group could barely stand upright, their bodies pushed to the limits of endurance.

The only thing we needed now, was a well deserved rest.

"Ha ... ha .. ha, this isn't enough to make me give up ... you need to try harder".

"I will never give up".

Following Emilia's lead we marched into the room, expecting it to finally be the safe haven we deserved, in this cruel unforgiving reality.

As I walked in, my back hunched over from carrying Ron, haven't felt a hint of pain in my back since a few moments ago.

"Huh, is something crawling up my leg?".

"Nah ... its just formications again"

been here for nearly two days now, I had reached a point where nothing surprised me anymore. The room appeared just as I expected, with its usual grandeur of stalactites and stalagmites gracefully hanging from the ceiling and rising from the ground. I noticed tiny openings on the walls, likely entry points for those cursced ants. However, there was one distinctive feature that stood out—a colossal, round hole on the floor, so massive that it resembled a lair of sorts, someone or something was definitely living down there.

As Robin pointed towards the hole, he exclaimed, "That's the hole I was talking about!"

Emilia, on the other hand, responded, saying,

"ignore it and move around it."

The weariness had taken its toll on everyone, leaving us too exhausted to even utter a word. Slowly, we all began to navigate around the hole, making our way towards the exit of the room.

While we moved across that room, a certain feeling dawned on me, an instinct that had been etched into every warrior or adventurer out there.

An instinct to sense approaching danger.

However this time I really hoped, It was as fake as my formications.

Really hoped, I did, that it would solely be a gut instinct.

Just a gut Instinct and nothing more.

For life is never that simple,

In that moment, something emerged from the darkness of that pit, to the surface.

Something so ghastly, that for the first time my mind opted for the easiest solution.

Just to leave all these baggages behind and simply run away.

However, that wasn't an option, for my body wasn't even capable of such a disgraceful task.

With my blade poised towards the pit, I assumed a defensive position. Keira, upon noticing me, turned and inquired,

"What got your pussies in a twist?".

As his weary expression transformed into one of terror and despair, I witnessed the horrifying sight mirrored in his eyes. I beheld death itself, something that surpassed even the depths of my darkest nightmares.

That spectacle defied all logic and reason, two monstrous forms emerged from the pit. They were grotesque, resembling humans, but their entire bodies were composed of slithering leeches. The sequence of their emergence was truly spine-chilling. First, their hands pierced through the surface, gripping the ground tightly. Then, with a disturbing transformation, those hands morphed into feet, as the creatures gradually pulled their bodies out, assembling themselves upside down, piece by horrifying piece.

The air grew thick with a sense of foreboding as I watched in utter disbelief. as, Slowly, ever so slowly, the writhing mass of leeches began to writhe and contort, forming grotesque limbs and twisted features. The sight sent a shiver down my spine, my every instinct screaming for me to turn away, to flee from this nightmarish aberration.

And I really hated that part of myself.

And yet, as I established earlier, fleeing wasn't an option. Not because of my pride, because my body won't be able to bare the stress of it all.

Their leech-like bodies glistened in the dim light, their movements unsettlingly fluid and synchronized. The creatures slithered and slunk, their slimy appendages leaving trails of viscous slime in their wake. Each step they took, if you could call it that, oozed with an eerie grace, as if they were dancing to a macabre tune only they could hear.

Their eyes, if one could call them that, were nothing more than clusters of small, beady leeches, each one pulsating with a sickening hunger. As they emerged further from the pit, I could see the details of their unnerving forms. Their grotesque mouths opened, revealing row upon row of needle-like teeth, sharp and ready to tear into anything that crossed their path.

A sickly-sweet stench filled the air, a putrid odor that seemed to crawl into every crevice of my being, filling me with a nauseating dread. It felt as though the very essence of fear had taken physical form before me, and I stood frozen, unable to tear my gaze away from that terrifying spectacle.

As I stood there, paralyzed by fear, the leech-infested creatures moved towards me with an unsettling, almost unearthly slowness. Their limbs contorted in grotesque harmony, each movement calculated and deliberate. The air grew heavy with a palpable sense of dread, as if time itself held its breath in anticipation.

One of those nightmarish beings extended its hand towards me, its appendage a twisted amalgamation of writhing leeches. With every inch it drew closer, a surge of terror coursed through my veins, leaving me frozen in place, unable to escape its impending grasp.

In that moment, as I remembered my Grandfather , a sudden misbelief of hope overshadowed my terror. Brandon, that tempered bald fella, swiftly approached, his great sword gleaming in the dim light. With a single, decisive swing, he brought the blade down upon the extended hand of the monstrosity. The sickening sound of flesh and leeches being severed filled the air, mingling with Brandon's exclamation of frustration.

"FUCK THIS SHIT".

However, In a split second, Emilia's unwavering commitment to our safety took precedence, overriding any concern for her own well-being. Without a moment's hesitation or regard for the physical toll it might exact, she fearlessly leaped forward to confront the horrifying monstrosities.

With a fierce determination in her eyes, Emilia wielded her crimson sword, its blade shimmering with a glint of purpose. She charged forward, a force of violence and precision, closing the distance between herself and the grotesque creatures with an almost inhuman speed.

As Emilia's blade descended upon the first leech-formed monstrosity, a surge of dark, viscous liquid spewed forth, saturating the air with a repugnant stench. Sensing the potential danger, Emilia instinctively retreated, maintaining a strategic distance to reassess her approach.

However undeterred, Emilia swiftly executed the second swing of her sword with calculated ferocity. With a sharp diagonal arc, her blade sliced through the writhing mass of leeches as if they were nothing more than delicate threads in her path.

At this point, I had really started to admire her, but my love for Regina would never falter.

The creature writhed in agony, convulsing under the immense pain inflicted upon it. Its leeches scattered in disarray, desperately attempting to reform their grotesque humanoid shape. Yet, Emilia afforded them no respite, her unyielding resolve driving her relentless assault. With every strike, a torrent of black blood and countless leeches erupted into the air, painting a macabre tableau, her movements fluid and unyielding, her strikes precise and merciless.

With every swing, the sound of flesh being cleaved apart echoed through the cavern, mingling with the anguished cries of the leeches. The scene was a gruesome ballet of violence and destruction, as Emilia carved her way through the first one, reducing it to a mere puddle of squirming leeches unable to maintain its human semblance.

As the final vestiges of the leech-infested abomination quivered and twitched upon the ground, Emilia stood, her chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath, her blade now embedded on the ground. She had pushed herself to the limit , barely enduring the grueling battle. Leaning on her embedded sword for support.

Her unwavering determination now gone, her resolve to protect us now encumbered, by the weight of the pain that surged through her body, as she exhausted the last reserves of energy, she had.

Now unable to move, she stood there as the other one slowly approached her.

But in a fraction of a second, I heard a faint tapping noise that graced my ears.

If only for a brief moment, I felt as if the sight before me became engulfed in a beautiful, icy blanket, evoking a sense of tranquility.

As the creature found itself encased in ice, the ice hardened, it caused the creature's leeches to detach and fall to the ground, creating a series of delicate sounds, reminiscent of a collapsing house of cards.

"Is it over".

At that moment, Yuna spoke up and expressed,

"Well that's that .... ".

Meanwhile, with concern in her voice, she turned to Emilia and asked,

"Emilia my dear... do you need any help?".

Just as we all caught our breath in peace, we felt a jolt in the ground itself, as if something else was going to emerge from that pit.