Chapter 20: Ensnared Shadows

Oric quickly turned around, about to swing his claws at the monster, but quickly paused after meeting eyes with it. "Nevata?"

Stunned, she still played it calm. "Um, sorry for that."

"For what?" Oric asked.

"For scaring you."

Oric quickly calmed down and went back to watching. "I wasn't scared; I was just prepared to fight the assumed monster that was behind me, which ended up being you."

"Are you implying that I'm a monster?" she asked angrily.

"Technically, we are both monsters," exclaimed Oric.

"You know what? You can keep watching outside while all these insects suck all your blood dry, because I won't really care about what happens to you anymore," she grumbled and stormed back into the treehouse.

"Sigh!" sounded Oric as he kept guard, watching to spot the alpha again.

Early morning, Nevata came out to find Oric still awake. "I thought you would be asleep," she asked with a profound expression.

"Well, I did say I'll keep watch."

"Well, now you look like a mess," she giggled.

"Well..." he took a brief moment to check himself.

"Brought you some tea, though. Want some? Specially made with the fruits grown by the tree," she said with a brief smile and continued, "Why, you don't want it?"

"Give it," he exclaimed as he took a sip of the hot tea.

"Is it good?" she asked with a doubtful smile.

"It's good," Oric gave her a brief smile and continued to take sips of the hot indigenous tea.

When he was done, Nevate asked, "Umm, Oric, did you see that alpha hound again?"

Oric turned to her. "Well, I did meet eyes with it, and it did point at the moon."

"Moon?" she exclaimed with a puzzled face.

"Well, you see..."

Unexpectedly, Oric spotted the creature roaring at them again, which scared Nevata, gripping Oric's hand tightly in fear.

"It's the haunt hound again, and this time it's pointing at us," she said in fear.

This time again, Oric traced the direction at which the creature's hand was pointing.

"It's not pointing at us but the sun," he said.

"....."

Oric got no response from Nevata, turning to her only to find her casting a fire spell. "Nevata, stop," but she never listened.

Her eyes turned blue; it was as if she was lost in her spell. Oric became alarmed and quickly ordered her to stop using their master-slave rune. This brought her back, but then the spell exploded, causing a lot of damage to her right hand as she entered an unconscious state.

"How did I get here?" Nevata found herself in a realm that didn't make sense to her, a chaotic place where energy and mystical symbols collided. It seemed like a place where nothing agreed with itself, a place of conflicting forces. Attempting to focus her senses, Nevata strained to understand the nature of this surreal existence. Yet, as she reached out for clarity, a voice, both commanding and ethereal, resonated through the arcane whirlwind.

"Why has one of my offspring ventured here? Child, thou art too young for this domain. 'Tis time thou taketh thy leave."

The words, spoken with a mix of concern and authority, hung in the air. Nevata sensed a subtle urging to depart, yet an unspoken curiosity enticed her to unravel the secrets within the mysterious chaos.

Suddenly, Nevata woke up panting with sweat running down her face.

"What happened?" Oric asked.

"It's nothing," she exclaimed with a not so happy face as she looked at her bandaged hand.

"Ok, I'll be attacking the creature at night," Oric said.

"What? But that's going to be dangerous?" she warned.

"You are hurt; bringing you will be a burden," he said with a stoic expression.

"But I can still fight," she retorted.

"Why are you so stubborn...? Sigh, okay then, but you'll have to do what I say," he commanded.

"Okay, but I want to ask: what did thou mean by the creature pointing at the sun in the morning and then the moon and roaring?

"Yeah, is there any problem with that?" Oric asked.

"Yes, I think it's been cursed by either the sun or the moon when it was a living being," she said while clenching her cloth tightly and continued, "what would such a being do to receive a curse from a heavenly body? It makes me wonder what a powerful figure it was in its past life."

"Ok then, hope nothing is wrong with your magic," he asked, prompting Nevata to check. She summoned flames for a brief moment and quickly clenched her fist, turning off the flames. "Looks like everything is okay."

"Ok then it's settled," he said while walking out of her room and closing the door behind him.

Nevata looked at her hands and took out the mysterious grimoire that she had found in the treehouse during her cleaning.

The runes were hard to read on the cover page, so she tried to open the book, but it wouldn't open, no matter how hard she tried. It wouldn't open, but she never gave up. "Why won't this stupid book open, argh!" She ended up reopening the wounds on her bandaged arm, causing her blood to leak out onto the book, which ended up absorbing her blood.

The book kept on absorbing more of her blood until she could no longer bear the pain. "If this keeps up, I'm really gonna die." Unexpectedly, the book stopped absorbing more of her blood.

When she thought everything was over, her right eye started paining her; it was as if someone was intentionally stabbing and removing her right eye. Blood started pouring out of her right eye.

It was a gruesome view; she cried in pain.

Oric, who was keeping watch for any movement from the alpha haunt hound, felt a burning sensation on the rune that symbolized Nevata and his bond.

Quickly, he rushed to the treehouse. "Nevata, is everything alright?" he asked while banging on the door, which seemed to be somehow locked.

Oric then heard Nevata's voice. "Don't worry; everything is fine."

"Are you sure?" Oric asked with a doubtful expression on his face.

"..." There was silence, forcing Oric to break through the door and was horrified by the view. She was sitting upright on her bed with her blood all over her face and her right hand.

"Don't look...." She quickly turned her face from Oric's view, covering it from him. Suddenly, she felt Oric's touch as he softly held her chin and slowly raised her head to look straight at his eyes. He realized she had closed her eyes, but then noticed something—she had purple runic pattern designs at the right side of her eye which had blood on it. "Come on, open your eyes and look into mine. Don't you trust me?" he asked.

"I do..." she exclaimed as she slowly opened her eyes.

Oric noticed something wrong with her right eye as it had a purple glow and intricate runic patterns at the right side of her face.

As she looked straight into Oric's eyes, his also started to bleed. Quickly, she turned away to avoid hurting Oric, but then he turned her face back to stare into his sea blue eyes.

Suddenly, their eyes were connected; her pain could no longer be felt, and she could see from Oric's point of view while he could see from hers.

"See, nothing really happened; it's but a bleed," he said with a smile.

She noticed he had taken away the pain with his unique eyes and quickly hugged him with tears in her eyes, knowing he was now feeling her pain. "I know, but everything is not gonna be alright until we learn and start to understand each other, okay?" he said.

"Okay," she responded.

"Now get some rest; I'll wake you up when it's time for us to kill that creature," he exclaimed, trying to make her feel better and went out of her room, and into the forge and was greeted with a rusty sword. "This will do," he smiled.

After a few hours, Nevata woke up and saw new bandages all over her wounds again, realizing it was Oric's doing.

She then took the grimoire which was lying beside her and was able to finally read its cover "Arcane Sage Nayak Aggrwill."

"It looks like this book contains all the research knowledge of a great sage of the Arcane, but what is the Arcane? I know about mana, but what's an Arcane?" she was lost in thought, so she opened the grimoire to find out. "It's empty?"

She couldn't understand why it was empty. Her dreams were crushed at the fact which stared at her face, knowing it was empty.

She got off the bed and walked to her bathroom. Looking at her face in the mirror quickly, she stepped back in shock; her right eye looked different. She quickly washed her face, to see whether it was rather an illusion but wasn't; her right eye looked purple with the side of it having intricate purple runes.

She then realized Oric had seen this but chose not to tell her.

"Nevata, it's time," Oric said telepathically.

"Coming," she responded and quickly came out ready to fight, but Oric didn't look too happy about her bandaged arm but still...

"When we are about to engage in combat, I want you to keep your distance," he said, and they quickly started to move.

They came out of the treehouse and waited till midnight.

"Make sure to prepare a fire spell, one for blasting it and the other for blocking its cave when it wants to run."

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As midnight enveloped the landscape in a shadowy embrace, Oric and Nevata took their positions near the entrance of the creature's cave. The air was thick with tension, and the moon hung low, casting an ethereal glow on the scene.

Oric's eyes were fixed on the cave, and he could feel the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Nevata, her bandaged arm concealed beneath her robes, nervously prepared her spells, the memory of her failed attempt haunting her thoughts.

"Remember, keep your distance until I give the signal," Oric reminded her, the rusty sword in hand gleaming dimly in the moonlight. Nevata nodded, determination etched on her face as she focused on her magical preparations.

As they braced themselves for the impending confrontation, Oric's mind echoed with the memory of the haunting encounter with the creature the night before. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this monster than met the eye.

The seconds stretched into minutes, and just when Oric was about to signal Nevata to cast her spells, a low growl echoed from the depths of the cave. The monstrous form emerged, its silhouette framed against the dim moonlight.

"Now, Nevata!" Oric shouted, and she began casting her fire spells. The first one shot towards the creature, a searing blast aimed to stun it. But to their horror, the spell fizzled out, leaving only a faint trail of smoke.

Nevata's eyes widened in disbelief as she attempted the second spell to block the cave exit. Again, the magic failed her, leaving the entrance unprotected. Panic surged through her, and she frantically tried to regain control over her spells.

Oric, now facing the looming monster, knew there was no turning back. The creature, seemingly aware of their failed attempt, spoke in a guttural voice that sent shivers down their spines.

"You thought you could ambush me and kill me?" it hissed, its eyes glowing with an otherworldly intensity. "I've been waiting for this moment."

The ensuing struggle was fierce, Oric's rusty sword clashing with the creature's monstrous claws. However, the odds were against him, and after a valiant effort, the creature overpowered him. As Oric lay battered on the ground, the monster seized Nevata, its grip unyielding.

For the first time, the creature spoke more than threats. "You both thought you could challenge the cursed, but you have only sealed your fates."

With a malevolent laugh, the creature dragged the unconscious duo into the cavern's depths, leaving the entrance unguarded and the night shrouded in a chilling silence. The failed ambush had not only cost them the battle but had opened a gateway to a darker fate that awaited them within the mysterious cave.