Facing Fears

"What some of you are seeing is a soul essence." As he saw that some of them were confused, he continued to talk.

"Whoever sees a soul essence, point to it," he said as Sophie pointed at the body of the pack leader. But no one could see anything.

"Sophie sees her soul essence, however none of us can. The soul only recognizes those who claimed their lives. Therefore, only she would see the soul essence and no one else would." He explained to which they nodded their heads.

"Who else got a soul essence?" Asked Mirage as Eric, Liam, Lia and Johan raised their hands. They had all gotten a blue essence.

"I see a green one," said Sophie as she stared blankly into nothingness.

"That would be Endurance. Not the most common essence that comes from a Fenrir, but I guess the pack leader was quite different."

She slowly approached the green orb and as she did, she felt a warm energy wash over her. She then felt a new lively energy inside her, as if she could run hundreds of miles.

The others also absorbed their orbs and had a face of shock and surprise.

"Let's carry on moving." Declared Mirage as he hurried his steps.

They started to follow as the others questioned them about the soul essence and its effects.

After walking for a while, the group started to vaguely notice their surroundings. After seeing a familiar landmark, they could help but gulp a little.

They stood in front of a familiar cave that they had no good memories of. This is where it had all begun.

Mirage kept walking without noticing their reluctance, or without caring would be a better way to phrase it. Therefore, they continued to walk with hesitation in their steps.

As they entered the cave the usual lively chatter and laughter were gone. Replaced with vigilant silence and quick breaths.

After a couple of minutes of walking, Stacy started to notice everyone's change in personality. She and Liam were not present for the disaster which had occurred here, only being told the story, therefore they were unfamiliar with this cave and were estranged to this horror that haunted the others.

"Guys, are you okay? You're all sweating and breathing like you're sick." She asked as she pointed out what they hadn't noticed. 

They did not answer as some wiped the sweat off their head while others didn't even hear Stacy speak. 

To make matters worse, they started to hear heavy breaths that sounded as if they came from a giant's lungs, huffing as it kicked the dust into the air.

As they slowly looked up, praying it wasn't what they thought it was, one could see the silhouette of a familiar hairy giant, lying on its back as it slept, its snores causing small tremors on the ground.

Liam raised his spear ready for battle while Stacy did her best to feel the nature around her. It didn't help that they were in a cave where nature was scarce. 

However, the others did not share this eagerness for battle, as some could be seen staring into nothingness while others hyperventilated. 

This was where they had almost lost their lives. They had practically forfeited their life to this creature. If not for the spontaneous boost of power that Ijan had gotten, they would have died. 

They've had near-death experiences before, however, they had survived those by themselves. This time they had to be saved twice before leaving this cave.  

"Guys, what's wrong with you all? You've all been acting strangely ever since we entered this cave." Whispered Liam, trying his best not to awaken the beast before they were ready.

Once again they wouldn't speak as they carried on with their panic. 

Meanwhile, the whispering had proven ineffective as the giant slowly started to open his one eye and get up to its feet. 

The others seeing this fell into an uncontrollable fright as their legs started to shake, Sophie even dropped to the floor as her legs gave out. 

Disturbing memories started to surface as they visualised a future in which Ijan hadn't saved them or Mirage hadn't found them.

As fear was the only thing left in their minds, they witnessed Liam wield his spear and dash toward the berserker who had noticed their presence.

He swiped his hands across the air as he threw a few small seeds toward the giant's feet. After a few seconds, the seeds burst open and exploded, giant roots emerging from their cracks, binding the Cyclop's legs.

The Berserker pulled at the roots, however, Liam used this as a chance to jump up from the floor and aim a slash at the Cyclops' shoulder, attempting to sever its arm.

However, this proved difficult as his spear was lodged a few centimetres in the Giant's shoulder, becoming unmoving the more he pushed.

As he instinctively let go of the spear, he dodged the Cyclops's hand which threatened to turn him into human paste.

"Guys, you need to help him! He won't last long by himself!" Stacy panicked as she watched Liam.

However, once again she was met with silence. For those who had heard her, they were too terrified to move.

"It's ok to be scared." Said an authoritative voice somehow with a hint of empathy, which made them turn their heads.

"What matters is if you let those fears weigh you down and you let them control you for the rest of your life." Said Mirage who watched Liam closely.

They unsurprisingly gave no response, however, this time they looked as if they were sweating less and coming back to their senses.

"Haha, I never thought I'd be brought to this state again." Smiled Alex as he turned his head back around.

"Do you mind?" He asked

"I'll make an exception just this once." Said Mirage after a slight pause, bringing his palm to Alex and casting a fireball at him.

The fireball stopped abruptly before Alex as it slowly started to sink into his chest.

After the fireball had fully been absorbed, without wasting any time, Alex disappeared from his position, sprinting to the Cyclops. 

As he closed in on the beast he suddenly jumped up with all his might, cracking the ground beneath his feet, launching himself to the face of the berserker.

Coming face to face with the hairy beast, Alex was as terrified as ever, widening his eyes in fear and loosening the grip on his weapon. The previous fear crept up on his fragile mind as if his conscious was his enemy.

"Don't give in!" He heard a shout from the ground level, fueling his dying spirit.

He gripped his loosened staff as two earth pillars from both sides of the dimly lit cave protruded, smashing the head of the Cyclops in between them.

Simultaneously, Alex let out an unruly cry as he screamed "GO TO HELL!" bringing down his empowered staff onto the berserker's head.

The Cyclops' one eye rolled back as it started to fall backwards. However, he was not being let off that easily.

A familiar ginger-haired boy with freckles and bandages wrapped around his hands stood at the landing point of the Cyclops.

Without saying anything, he brought his hand down to his waist as he started to whisper something.

"1, 2…3"

As he said this he unleashed an uppercut onto the falling berserker's head, springing it back on its feet.

As this happened, chains appeared from the surroundings binding the hideous beasts in place.

"Have at him, everyone." Said Johan with a sweaty face and forced smile as a text disappeared before him. Saying this, everyone sprung into action as they unleashed one last onslaught of attacks on their boogeyman. 

After a few minutes, everyone could be seen breathing heavily. Different to the previous heavy breaths. This time they all smiled as they sat upon the dead carcass of their once greatest fear.

"Well done guys. I mean it. You've all taken a step forward today. You should be proud because I am."

The others were a bit shocked to hear this affection coming from Mirage they had never seen before. However, before they could reply, they were rudely interrupted by the heaves of the near-death Cyclops.

"Hey, shut up we're trynna have a moment here." Said Colt as he kicked the Berserker.

"Who's going to take the kill for this thing?" Asked Aaron.

"Well, that's obvious. It should be Liam." Started Alex.

The others didn't say anything but just nodded in agreement.

"Why me? I nearly died to it." 

"That's why you should take it. You risked your life to buy us time while we were shivering in our boots like scared cats. You took on that thing by yourself." Said Lia as she smiled and put her thumbs up.

The others smiled and nodded at him. He couldn't help but give a warm smile to this.

"Thanks, guys." He said as he walked to the head of the Cyclops, raising his spear to end the life of the beast.

Before he could pull through with it, however, his body started to move. He didn't even realise it fully. While he still thought he was preparing to kill the Cyclops, he brought his spear to his chest, as if preparing to deflect something.

As he did this a deafening clang of metals could be heard. Simultaneously, Liam's feet left the ground as he was launched from the position he was standing.

He flew through the air as his weapon broke. However, before he could make an impact with anything, Mirage caught him and placed him on the ground.

Nonetheless, the attacker did not allow them to rest they followed up with another attack. However, Lia could be seen acting quickly and deflecting the weapon of the attacker.

She gritted her teeth as her rapier wasn't quick enough as she wanted, making her travel a distance before delivering an attack.

She instead used her free hand to unleash a wave of fire onto the assailant. It was, however, deflected by a supposed shield. As she looked at this, she failed to notice the sword piercing through the air and making its way to her throat.

Mirage held the aggressor by the arm and landed a string kick in their ribs, making them skid across the floor before they jumped back to their feet ready to continue the battle.

"Thank you and well done. I'll take it from here. Take care of Liam."

As the attacker stood on their feet, one could see them properly, even through the poorly lit cave.

The aggressor had a sort of hard stone skin. It looked a bit deformed as well as its shoulder blades were longer and bigger than usual. They almost looked as if they would penetrate through the skin at any moment. This paired with its big, muscular build made it look like a stone titan. However, the other features would make it look like anything other than a berserker.

It carried a sword and shield in each hand and had a stance that made it look as if it knew how to fight. The aura it gave off paired with its dark red eyes made it look like it was amongst the most formidable fighters.

"Everyone pay attention. This is 'Damned Valkarie'. An Elusive ranked berserker."