Back To Reality

"What happened in the village?" Dionisus inquired. The deity looked at the boy with a penetrating gaze. "Simple, the knight went snooping around inside the walls of Erebos, found out about a hidden cult and accidentally drank my blood" Malphas retorted but Dionisus wasnt satisfied with the answer.

"Mine own blood transformed him into a vile creature that summoned mayhem upon anyone he encountered." The crow continued. "That was until that gent came to thy village, t wast quiet and unusual. The villagers surprisingly accepted him and made a cult revolving around him. They were injected with his vile tainted blood and became fanatical soldiers."

His explanation made sense to Dionisus, but it was lackluster. How did the knight even acquire the blood in the first place if Malphas couldnt interact directly with the world, why did the villagers just give in so easily and also why was he resistant to Malphas' 'calling'. Were all questions invading the young boy's mind.

But before he could even utter another word he was back to reality.

Around him, headless corpses of humanoid crow-like beings littered the ground below him. Among them, one stood out, it was Griz's dead body. Dionisus instantly recognized it as his father's due to the clothing he wore, he wasnt wearing a robe like the others. Instead, he was fitted into his normal mundane clothing.

Tear sprawled out from Dionisus' eyes, how did this happen. Who killed his father, was it him, was it Malphas? He couldnt tell, the divine crow told him that he would give him immense power, is that what he meant. That couldnt be, there was no way he would have murdered his father like that.

Dionisus was enraged, he bit his teeth together to contain himself from shouting. He pounded the ground, frustrated. There was nothing he could do now, and even worse the villagers around him were all dead. If authorites came in, he would be executed or jailed instanteneously.

He collected himself, taking aid from a nearby wall to bring himself up. It would be physically impossible for him to lift up and hide all the corpses, so he had to devise a plan.

He needed to leave the area immedietly and head out to either another village or towards Erebos Kingdom itself. He scurried back to his house, ate the wolf meat and picked up the basket filled with the Frostfang's teeth.

To survive in the harshest parts of Umbra one would need to gather as much resources as possible, especially if travelling alone. To reach Erebos was another story with even more difficulties.

He plucked out his makeshift dagger's blade leaving only the shaft. With some struggle he was able to connect the fangs of the beast to the shaft and keep it steady with tight strings.

Next, he grabbed his bag and stuffed it with the fur clothing crafted by hand. There was no space for food inside as it would leave a bad smell, attract predators and also would rot quickly.

Dionisus opened his mouth and chomped on the wolf flesh. This would be last proper cooked meal for a while at least so he had to savour it with passion. He felt full after just a few chomps and decided to commence his journey.

He stepped out of his house, nothing could be heard except the howling of the wind. As Dionisus walked away from the village, he couldn't shake off the image of the dead cultists from his mind.

He felt a mixture of relief and horror. Relief that he had managed to escape the grasp of the cult, but also horror at the fact that these people he had known his entire life had been transformed into such monstrous beings.

He trudged through the snow, his mind racing with thoughts of what to do next. He knew he couldn't stay in that village any longer, but he also knew that he couldn't face the harsh world of Umbra alone.

As he walked, he couldn't remove the feeling of unease that lingered within him. He had always known that there was more to the world than what he had been told, but he never expected to come face-to-face with such twisted creatures and god he had never heard of before.

Dionisus kept trudging through the snow, he wasnt sure of where exactly he was going, but he had no choice. Either he waited until the knights of the Erebos kingdom came by the village and began investigating how all these people died or he would escape to somewhere else.

Dionisus walked for hours, his thoughts consumed by the events of the village. He was unsure of where he was headed, but he knew that he had to keep moving forward. As he walked, the landscape around him changed from the desolate snow-covered plains of Umbra to a dense and eerie forest.

The trees towered high above him, and the darkness beneath their canopy was almost suffocating. Dionisus quickened his pace, his heart pounding with fear and uncertainty. He didn't know what lay ahead, but he knew that he had to keep moving forward.

His body felt tired but he had no place to rest. Dionisus searched for shelter as he slumped through the snow. His body ached with exhaustion, but he knew he couldn't rest until he found a safe place to sleep. The cold was seeping through his clothes, chilling him to the bone, but he couldn't let that distract him from his goal.

As he walked, he stumbled upon a small cave hidden behind a pile of rocks. It was just big enough for him to squeeze into, and he quickly crawled inside, grateful for the respite from the biting wind.

He gathered any sticks on the way and used it to start a small fire. The campfire emited a faint orange light, enough to keep him warm but not too bright in case any predators were nearby.

He sat in the cave, his back against the rocky wall, and tried to catch his breath. His eyelids felt heavy, and he knew he needed to sleep, even if it was only for a little while. With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes and let himself drift off.