(I don't know why, but this feeling is vaguely familiar. It's very strange. I'm in pain… no, I feel nothing. Worse, I can't see anymore, nor can I remember. So what could this be?)
Alex looks down at his hand. He sees blood. A lot of blood. In fact, he's covered in it. He starts to tremble, his breathing unsteady, when a distant voice reaches him:
"Alex! Alex!! Alex, are you even listening?"
He finally lifts his eyes. In front of him, Ella is staring at him intensely. He tries to calm himself and mutters:
"Those violet eyes, that white hair… and especially that carefully shaped, innocent face. Hmmm… Ella, what exactly are you doing?"
Ella takes a step back, exhales deeply, and snaps:
"Seriously? You're asking me that? You're the one who stopped out of nowhere!"
Still dazed, Alex stammers:
"Really?"
"What do you mean, 'really'? You froze and started shaking. You're going to have to explain yourself, or we'll end up getting lost."
Alex blinks twice before pulling himself together.
"Sorry, it's nothing. Let's go."
He tries to move forward, but a foul smell stops him. At his feet lie dozens of monster corpses scattered across the ground: squirrels with horns.
"Who did this?" he asks incredulously.
Ella turns toward him, exasperated.
"Are you serious? The moment we entered this cave, you charged at those rabbits without a word and wiped them all out. You scared me. Anyway, can we keep going?"
The group ventures deeper into the cave. At the back, Alex feels the unease returning, slowly. The darkness thickens. Ella summons a sphere of light to illuminate their path. The only sounds breaking the silence are their footsteps and the steady dripping of water falling from the stalactites. After a long walk, Ella finally snaps:
"Ahhh!!! When are we going to get there?!"
Her cries echo endlessly. Karden, with unsettling calm, analyzes the way the sound travels. He notices that the echo fades at the end of the tunnel. Gripping his scythe, he declares:
"If you wanted us to arrive, I assure you we're not far now."
Suddenly, a horde of monsters bursts from the shadows. Without hesitation, Ella raises her staff. A devastating beam of light tears through the darkness, annihilating a mass of creatures and opening a path. She begins to float slightly above the ground.
"I'll go ahead! Take care of the ones coming at you!" she calls before dashing toward the depths of the cave.
At once, another wave crashes in: humanoid cats armed with clubs and horned rabbits. Karden positions himself, wielding his scythe with both hands to cut down anything that approaches. A rabbit leaps off a wall to bypass his guard and lunges at Alex, who still seems elsewhere. But the moment it jumps, it impales itself on Alex's dagger.
(Damn, it's like I forgot something… like I already know how all this is going to end. But why?! Why can't I remember?)
Alex's eyes tremble. He pulls his blade from the beast's neck and crouches.
(I have to find out what it is. My instinct tells me death hangs over this place.)
He suddenly lunges forward, overtaking Karden and slaughtering the monsters with terrifying efficiency. The closer they get to the heart of the cave, the faster Alex's heartbeat becomes. Explosions echo ahead. They finally emerge into a massive open chamber.
Beams of light rain down upon a carpet of corpses. Ella, levitating, bombards the enemies. But at the center of the chaos stands an unexpected creature. According to Navy, the boss was supposed to be a stag with silver antlers. The reality is far worse: it's a Golden-Antlered Stag.
The monster notices the newcomers and lets out a shrill cry, sending its subordinates to attack.
"Hey! Guys!" Ella shouts from above. "Since you're here, handle the small fry! I'll focus on the boss!"
Alex doesn't respond. His gaze has changed. He has become a pure predator. Ella and Karden don't understand this transformation, but Alex throws himself at the remaining monsters, sweeping them aside with cold fury. Taking advantage of the opening, Ella charges at the stag while Karden, reinforced by his mana, supports the assault.
(This monster is huge… at least seven meters tall), Ella thinks. (Its antlers are made of gold. It's supposed to be slow, relying entirely on its durability and mind control. If that's the case, I know what to do.)
On the ground, Alex feels his heart pounding against his ribs.
(It's coming back… that very specific feeling. It's coming from this monster. It's putting my senses on edge, I feel a sudden pain. It's clear: it's making me afraid!)
Suddenly, a voice echoes in his mind: "Alex, don't be so afraid…"
He sees Ella dive straight at the colossus.
(I can't shake it off…)
Ella abruptly swerves, slipping between the monster's legs and reappearing behind it. She smiles.
"Explosion!"
Beneath the beast's belly, a red orb lights up before detonating violently.
(I'm scared!) Alex screams inwardly.
Delighted, Ella exclaims:
"That takes care of that!"
But once again, the soft, almost inaudible voice murmurs in Alex's head: "You will be a hero. Don't be afraid anymore."
Ella's instincts suddenly scream danger. She turns around and sees, through the smoke, the stag's antlers glowing with a sinister light. She's too close. She won't be able to dodge.
BAM!
Out of nowhere, Alex crashes into Ella, throwing her out of the impact zone. Midair, he is impaled straight through the abdomen. Ella hits the ground, thrown off balance. She sees Alex cough up a spray of blood before being violently hurled away by the monster. Panicked, she catches him with telekinesis. She tries to cast a healing spell, but Alex is dying, fighting for every breath.
"You will be a hero!" the voice repeats.
(Silence! Being a hero… my ass! The only thing I see is fear. The fear of death. That feeling so familiar…)
END OF CHAPTER
NEXT CHAPTER: Royal Academy, Act 2 – Hallucination