Chapter VIII

"My lord the name you've bestowed upon me is…"

The skeleton disappeared without being able to finish his thoughts. The boy was now a bit worried since he wouldn't be able to rely on his summon. Yet, those feelings left quickly because he knew his loving parents would care for him. Though there was still one more problem remaining, they didn't know what to do with the human soldiers and the stubborn racist general. They knew they couldn't just let them go since they knew too much about the boy and his family. Nynphela and Deselb asked the humans what they wanted to do. The humans looked at each other and were worried about voicing their thoughts because they didn't want to be labeled as traitors by their general. However, they also didn't agree with how they themselves treated other races. The four human soldiers decided to stay with us. Which was very fortunate since we needed all the manpower available. Because we couldn't just let the general go, we had to bring him with us. After that was resolved, the journey to the Deadman's Forest was about to begin, however, most demi-humans were worried because they know how dangerous it is.

Many in the past had ventured into the forest, but most of them were never to be seen again. It was a parlous trip to make, especially with most of the demi-humans being so weak. The only ones who have a chance of making it out alive is Deselb and Nynphela. Even with all the magika and skills they have, they could still be killed by something in there since the forest is still heavily unknown to everyone.

Even though the demi-humans showed mercy to the remaining humans, the general overheard their plan and started begging them to kill him instead. He had seen the horrors lurking inside the Deadman's Forest. There was a reason why the humans gave that place its name. There was a story used by them to warn and scare their children of never being greedy. The story was passed down from generation to generation to scare their children to behave and learn to never be greedy.

The story was about 3 brothers who dreamed of fame and riches. All 3 had one particular goal in mind, which all they needed to do was to venture into the forest and retrieve one ancient mythical object. The mysterious object was said to give you immortality and infinite power. The 3 bothers decided to go into the forest, shrugging every warning given to them. Many humans walked them to the edge of the forest, as they ventured into the forest it was as if they were devoured by darkness.

After a great while, a huge tremor and a beam of black ominous light shocked the border of the nearest town nearby. The townspeople wanting to see what the beam of light was about, approached with horror once again towards the border to see if they could see the 3 men. They all thought maybe they had acquired what they've been looking for. Two hours had passed since their departure, one of the brothers came back. Though he was in a tragic state, he kept ranting about the Domus Khaos. No one had any idea what it meant; all they could understand was the Khaos part. The man had seen something so terrifying; he went mad.

Many years passed since the first incident, once more, another group of men ventured into the forest. They were foreigners who lived by the capital but had heard of an object that could give them infinite life and power. Everyone in the town warned them but to no avail, the same thing happened as before. They entered the forest and were engulfed by darkness. Once more, the same ray of light and the huge tremor shocked the town. Everyone in the nearby town went near the forest, waiting to see if someone would come back. This time they waited for three hours, only one of the men came out. Yet, he was in a worst state than the first one, he was missing an arm and an eye. The townspeople took him to the town's healer. The town's healer, knowing where he had gone, immediately checked his status card. His name was Hue Brighwell, everyone shocked by who the man was, more what family he was from. The Brighwell family, well notorious on being the most powerful defense magic casters. The Brighwell family were in charge of the defense of the capital and the whole royal family. Yet, he was here almost dead, also raging about the Domus Khaos. As the doctor checked his card, he was stupefied by his status

Nickname: Hue Brightwell

Status: Future head of the brighwell family

Age: 24

Race: Human

Birth place: Koalemos Capital of Nosmirc

Level: 20

Skill: impenetrable Fortress

M/A: Fire and Wind

Magika Capacity: 1,350

Hue didn't only have a skill, but he was also able to wield two elements. He was a very strong individual yet; he was gravely injured and perished as a result. After the news reached the family, the capital sent soldiers looking for the future head of the Brighwell family. The family, not wanting to accept the truth of the matter, sent many soldiers to venture into the forest. Most of them never returned and the few individuals who came back had gone insane, also ranting about the Domus Khaos. In the end, the family sent their own to find the one who had attacked and killed the future head of the family, holding the same fate as the other adventurers. After so many adventures disturbed the inhabitants of the forest, many of the creatures would go near the edge of the forest and attack anyone who were near. Due to this, every nearby town ended up moving away from the border and moved north. As a result, the capital relocated the demi-human race close to forest to put the humans' safety first. That's the reason it was called the Deadman's Forest. Any whom decided to enter would never come back alive and if they did, their life was practically over. Because of so much death and horror, a few undead creatures lived as a result of so much negative energy accumulated.

The general had been sent by the capital to go find a group who was sent prior to him to scout the area since they had never returned. As the general and his group were about to reach the Deadman's Forest, a demi-human approached them and told them about a young soldier who escaped from the forest. The demi-human took them to the individual and what they saw left them stunt. The individual had one leg missing and his eyes had been ripped off. His once black hair had turn almost white. The young soldier kept mumbling two words nonstop repeatedly. They were the same words as everyone the old tale, Domus Khaos. The general knew there was no need for him to go in the forest, but he couldn't go back without doing something. Therefore, he decided to approach the forest once more without going in. He told one of the soldiers to send a fireball directly in to the forest since it was very dark inside. He wanted to see at least if something would retaliate. The soldier did as told and something strange happened. As the fireball approached the forest it disappeared. It seemed like the spell was never casted. The general told the soldier to send a bigger and stronger fireball and the same as before happened. When suddenly the one who had casted the spell, was pulled into the forest by an unknown force. The soldier disappeared being swept by a sudden darkness into the forest. As the general instinctually was about to go after the soldier, an unknown crunching sound was heard. He stopped instantly as the sound traveled to him. He knew he had to leave before he would suffer the same fate of being pulled into the unknown forest.

After that, the general had promised himself never to go near the Deadman's Forest and now, he was about to be taken against his will. As Deselb and Nynphela were approaching the forest, they both held their boy tight, making the half elf hand's feel discomfort from how tight his parents were grabbing him. They were one step away from entering the pitch-black forest. Everyone behind them saw how they slowly disappeared, getting enveloped by the darkness of the forest. Nynphela and Deselb had closed their eyes as they went into the darkness. They could feel how the ominous thick veneer of darkness enveloped them. Slowly opening their eyes, finally seeing what's inside the Deadman's Forest.