Sezel blinked, his vision swimming through a haze of black ichor and exhaustion, straining his eyes to discern the savior who had plucked him out of the jaw's of death. But unlike his expectations, Yet, as clarity pierced the fog, a shiver coiled down his spine as he caught a glimpse of the thing that had killed the Night crawler like it was nothing.
Before him loomed a figure resembling a knight. A walking armor, completely black like a shadow, a silhouette that drank the faint purple glow of Spirit Essence, even the sword it held was as black as void. Sezel's blood chilled as he scanned the creature, its faceless helm revealing no eyes, no intent—only an abyss that mirrored the Spirit Realm's starless sky.
It stood besides him like a guard, His gaze darted, seeking the others, and found Rilli, her frail frame petrified before an identical Black knight. Arty, the leader and his fat subordinate all stood flanked by one of the Black knights.
Everyone single one of the Night crawlers lay dead on the ground, some chopped in half, some beheaded. In place of all those Night crawlers now stood a new nightmare, these knights in jet black armor were not saviors but another way to advance towards doom.
Sezel swallowed, his throat dry as ash, and pushed himself upright, legs trembling against the ground, His dislocated arm dangled useless. He studied the knight beside him, it stood still like a statue carved from void.
'What are these things now?' Sezel's mind reeled, his breath heavy 'Anything it may be, but not a good one.' he had realized that it was not some noble savior but harbinger of another trouble.
He edged backward, cautious as a cornered rat. "If it stands idle, perhaps I can run." His steps were deliberate, testing the knight's intent. One step, then another, the creature unmoving. Hope, fragile as a dying ember.
In a flash, the Black Knight stirred, its void-blade slicing the air to halt a hair's breadth from Sezel's throat. The motion was impossibly swift, a shadow given life, the creature stopped it on purpose, Was it intelligent?
He stumbled back, collapsing in a sweat-soaked heap, gasping as his hands clawed at his neck hurriedly, 'That sword, it just slit my throat didn't it?'
'Huh, how can that be? i am certain that thing slit my throat.' his mind was in a chaos, he felt the sword slitting his throat but he was alright, from this he deduced, 'It was just an illusion,' but that made his heart wrench even more.
'How could this thing make illusion with just a flick of its sword?' he had never heard of such Spirit beast existing.
Everyone else was mostly in the same situation, they tried to run but were caught up mid way by the Black Knight's sword or accurately said, its illusion.
A minute passed, an eternity in the Spirit Realm's oppressive silence, the whole pack of the Knight's alerted in unison, like a hive mind.
'What is it now?'
The Black Knight next to Sezel stepped towards him, and pointed towards the center, Sezel followed its finger and saw that all the other knight's were doing the same, pointing towards the central single point.
'What, they want us to go to the center?' Sezel looked at the Black Knight in confusion, The knight paused, then raised its blade to his throat once more, a clear command. No words were needed—the threat was universal. Sezel complied, joining the others in a ragged line, their steps heavy with resignation.
The Knight's too followed, three of them lined up in the front, the other three in the rear. It was like they were escorting some special guests or a procession of captives in a macabre parade.
The Black Knight's in the front moved first, taking a step forward in unison like an army march, But stopped abruptly. Sezel wondered why did they stop, their overall behavior was suspicious.
Arty was at the front of their line, frozen utterly in fear and not moving an inch, 'Could it be that the ones in front stopped because we are not moving?' he questioned himself expecting an answer which no one could answer.
Suddenly his pupils shrank as he realized, he turned back instinctively in just the nick of time to see the Black Knight in the back raising his leg, Sezel was at the rear and the kick was aimed at him, he barely evaded it and fell on the side, the kick slammed on the back of the leader who was standing just in front of him making them all fell like dominoes.
"What was that for?" the leader screamed looking back but his voice died down as soon as his eyes met the Black Knight's sword.
They rose, chastened, understanding their role as slaves to these shadowed masters. The march resumed, slow and silent, each step a surrender to an unknown fate
They passed through the dreadful forest, Sezel looked around every chance he got to. The forest seemed like any other normal forest, trees and bushes flourished, but was it normal? There was no sun in the sky, no breeze, only the oppressive stillness of a realm divorced from life and the eerie purple glow from the spirit essence that grew like grass out of the ground.
'This place is not real at all. How can these plant's even grow without sunlight?'
What made it more terrifying was the fact that Sezel saw a few beasts on the way, some like primal animals, some like zombies. But none of them dared step forward. They were all somehow afraid of the Black Knight's.
'Is there some kind of hierarchy among these mindless beasts,' he frowned, 'But at another thought are they mindless? Doesn't seem the case.'
The march ended in a vast clearing, the forest parting like a wound. At its heart stood a throne of jagged stone, its surface etched with incomprehensible runes, pulsing faintly with Spirit Essence. The Black Knights fanned out to the sidelines, each dropping to one knee in a synchronized bow, as if awaiting the king's descent.