WHAT A STUPID PLACE TO CONCEAL YOUR CORE

The memory was vivid and terrifying, a fragment of a past he had tried to forget. The image of the eye, the feeling of helplessness, it all came rushing back, overwhelming his senses.

Ravan snapped back to the present, the sounds of the ongoing battle ringing in his ears.

The old man was still fighting valiantly, the Valhein's attacks relentless.

The rain continued to pour, mingling with the blood and sweat of the struggle.

And amidst it all, Ravan realized that he was not just an observer—his past and present were inexorably linked, and the true nature of the beast was something he had known all along.

The fear that had made him immobile and restricted his breathing was with him once again.

Almost as if mocking him and welcoming Ravan to its door step.

The old man noticed that Ravan's eyes were wide and lacked no particular thought behind them but rather the sense and feelings of utmost fear.

"Hey!"

"HEY KID!"

The man called out to Ravan.

Ravan slowly turned his eyes in the direction of the old man.

"Don't let it know that you are experiencing fear even though you feel it," the man said.

"Valhein's love that,"he added before landing a strike on the Valhein's legs.

The Valhein let out a screech that once again made one's ears pain.

But Ravan was ahead and had his ears covered.

He wasn't going to fully loose his sense of hearing.

'Shit, one more of that things screams and my ears will pop like a balloon.'

The old man was standing still a few metres from the Valhein contemplating on a better means to do away with the beast at hand for good.

"Wait..."He said before chuckling a bit.

"It's a Valhein, the best way to get rid of them..."He said and then leaped off the ground and aimed at the beasts large eye.

"Is to go for their EYE!"

Purple liquid began gushing out of the Valhein's eye as it screamed once again.

The old man approached the fallen Valhein beast, its single eye now lifeless and staring into nothingness.

With a determined expression, he reached into the eye socket, his arm plunging deep into the beast's head.

He rummaged around for a moment, his face set in concentration, and then withdrew his arm.

Clutched in his hand was a pulsating red orb, glowing faintly in the dim light.

"Just as I thought," the old man muttered, examining the orb closely.

"Valheins are nothing more than corrupted souls in the embodiment of a disgusting beast."

He turned towards the carriage, his eyes searching for Ravan.

"Come out, boy," he called, his voice steady.

Ravan hesitated for a moment, still shaken from the recent events.

He took a deep breath, whispering to himself, "Thank the gods the old man didn't die. I wouldn't have stood a chance against that thing."

Gathering his courage, he crawled out from under the chairs, his legs trembling as he stood up.

The rain had lessened to a gentle drizzle, the night air cool and crisp.

The old man regarded Ravan with a mixture of weariness and relief.

"We'll have to walk to the nearby town of Evershade," he said, glancing at the darkening horizon.

"It's too dangerous to stay here, and we need shelter for the night."

Ravan nodded, grateful that they had a plan.

"And what about thw city of Ember?" he asked, his voice hopeful.

Ember was a city bordering Riges, the place he had grown up and called home.

"Yes," the old man confirmed. "We'll make our way to Ember. It's a safe distance from here, and from there, you can decide your next steps."

'Decide my next step?'

'I thought my old man had sold me off,'Ravan thought but he didn't delve deeper into it.

He was going to find out when they arrived at Ember after all, hoping that atleast he gets a similar lavish lifestyle he was accustomed to or something similar to that.

'I just want to live a life with no worries, a simple life with money that can uphold and keep me in place until my old days.'

The old man stood solemnly over the remains of the Valhein beast, his eyes closed and lips moving in a silent prayer for his fallen friend, the driver.

The rain had finally stopped, and a heavy silence hung in the air.

Ravan watched, sensing the gravity of the moment.

After a few moments, the old man opened his eyes and raised his hand.

A spark of flame ignited at his fingertips, quickly growing into a roaring blaze. He directed the fire towards the beast's carcass, the flames eagerly consuming the grotesque form.

The fire spread to the shattered carriage, engulfing it in a fierce inferno.

Ravan stood back, shielding his face from the intense heat.

The old man remained still, his expression a mixture of sorrow and resolve as he watched the flames turn the beast and the cart to ashes.

Only when the fire had reduced everything to smoldering embers did he turn away.

"Let's go," he said quietly to Ravan. Without looking back, they began their journey towards Evershade, leaving the ashes of the past behind them.

As they began their trek towards Evershade, Ravan couldn't help but glance back at the remains of the carriage and the lifeless beast.

The journey ahead seemed daunting, but for now, he was relieved to have the old man by his side, guiding him through the darkness and uncertainty.

...

After a while of walking, Ravan's legs were brimming with pain, each step feeling like his feet were on fire.

He finally couldn't hold back his curiosity and exhaustion any longer.

"How did you defeat that beast?" he asked, his voice tinged with awe and fatigue.

The old man glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"I'm a retired Tower Walker, after all," he replied, as if that explained everything. His tone was modest, but there was a hint of pride in his words.

Ravan's curiosity was piqued even further.

"But how did you know its weakness? How did you know how to get rid of it?"

The old man looked at him with a mixture of surprise and pity.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" he asked, shaking his head slightly.

Ravan shrugged, feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

"It's not my fault. I was cooped up most of the time. My old man didn't want to give me a proper education."

The old man sighed, his expression softening.

"Valheins materialize from the cores of other dead beasts," he began to explain.

"If these cores are left unattended or become corrupted, they can take form into what we just encountered. The large eye you saw—that's where the core usually resides."

Ravan nodded, absorbing the information.

"So, the eye was the key," he murmured, thinking back to the fight.

"Exactly," the old man confirmed.

"Destroying the core is the only way to truly defeat a Valhein. That's why I reached into its eye and pulled out the orb. It's the source of its power."

"Stupid for a Valhein to conceal its core in the weakest part of its body if you ask me,"Ravan said.

"But you didn't know that, now did you?"The old man asked.

"I mean, no I didn't,"Ravan answered.

"Exactly. Valheins instinctively know to protect their core," the old man explained, pushing aside some low-hanging branches to clear their path.

"Unless you have experience with them and understand their nature, you wouldn't guess that the core is hidden in their bulging eye.

Most people would just keep stabbing at its body, hoping to find its weakness by sheer luck."

"Oh, I see,"Ravan said plainly.

They continued walking, the pain in Ravan's legs momentarily forgotten as he processed this new knowledge.

The night was still and quiet, the rain now reduced to a light drizzle that barely touched their skin.

The path ahead seemed endless, but Ravan felt a flicker of hope.

He was learning, slowly but surely, and perhaps this journey would teach him more than he ever imagined.

"We'll rest when we reach Evershade," the old man said, breaking the silence.

"From there, we'll head to Ember. You need to understand the world you're part of, Ravan. Knowledge is power, especially for someone like you."

'I guess if I want that lavish life, I need to have a bit if not much knowledge of the potential dangers that could come my way, and how to effectively deal with them.'