Finally, I reached my destination. It was like a cathedral but with no roof. The walls and pillars were made of red stone and fire, and the energy surrounding it was hostile and chaotic, like air made of lava.
The more I observed the structure, the stranger I felt. A chaotic, destructive energy surrounded this strange world, but the moon made everything milder, smoother, like silk around a sword.
"It’s as if they complement each other," I said aloud.
Immediately, my words triggered something, and I finally saw them. In front of the building were three creatures that had been there all along, but my words seemed to make them aware of me.
They stood frozen and crouched, then slowly opened their eyes, glowing crimson orbs. I froze when I saw them, but not out of fear. I held no fear of these creatures. What I felt was awe.
One of them was a hound, a monstrous dog as tall as I was, with fangs of black and fur of crimson fire. Its claws were solidified lava, and its eyes were a deep purple.
The second was like the undead werewolf I had seen earlier, but this one was very much alive, with thick, shaggy fur of jet black and a barrel chest.
The last was a creature so pale its skin resembled spoiled milk, the only color being its deep red eyes. It wore a cloak over a gaunt body that seemed more bone than flesh.
Their eyes met, and I saw no hostility in them. As one, the creatures lowered their heads and bowed. When they raised their heads, their eyes were filled with a single message.
Fight.
They would fight me. Only when steel met steel, flesh met flesh, bone clashed against bone, and magic collided with magic would we truly know each other’s measure.
I grinned. "I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m ready to fight."
I lifted my right hand, and a sword of solid essence appeared, long and thin with edges that shimmered white-hot. A shield materialized in my left hand.
I bowed to them in return, and we stared at each other for a long time. The wind stilled, and even the flickering fire burning on the trees froze. The familiar gaze of the moon settled on me, as if all were listening, watching, waiting for what was about to happen.
The hound moved first. She flickered like flames, and the distance between us vanished. Her claws of fire swung down, and her fangs snapped at my head. I raised my shield to deflect her, but her strength sent me flying backward.
I dismissed my weapons and rolled with the fall, coming upright with a blasted arc of essence that hit her full in the face. It was like pouring water on a rock.
I gritted my teeth in frustration as I backed away. ’My essence is simply lacking in quality to match hers!’
The hound let me retreat and returned to her place with the others.
I blinked in surprise. "What’s that all about?"
’I thought they were going to fight me to the death or something...’
The werewolf moved next. With a single leap, it was in front of me, moving so fast I could only blink. I smelled the musky fur, but that was all before the creature drew back its fist and punched with a force that caused a sonic boom.
I tried to raise my hands to block, but I was too late.
The punch landed squarely, breaking through the essence shield I had summoned as if it wasn’t there.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Shit!" My hands broke with a sharp crunch. Pain laced through my body, making it throb. My eyes watered. I scrambled to my feet, preparing for a follow-up attack, but the werewolf was already back in its place.
’Wait... is that a smirk on his lips?!’ I groaned, small whimpers escaping my lips as I stifled more screams. My hands dangled uselessly in front of me, and I silently vowed to get revenge on these creatures for the pain they had inflicted.
And then the last one made its move.
One second he was there, and now he was in front of me without stirring any air. I didn’t have the time to flinch before a bony hand rested on my head.
I stiffened, and then I was gone.
When I opened my eyes, I was floating in a sea of darkness. Nothing existed except for darkness, and yet I saw things. A man with a hood surrounded by bowing figures and creatures; at his feet was a hound of fire and fur, a werewolf with red shaggy fur, and a gaunt man with pale skin. A tall creature of flesh and bones, a serpent made of severed heads coiled around his neck, its tail disappearing into the darkness.
"What in the..." I could only stare, transfixed. Then I saw the crimson moon appear to the man’s right, like a glowing orb. "Who is this man? I should see his face..."
I floated closer but then froze as a bone-chilling instinct warned me not to go closer, not to look at the man’s face. Just as I debated this, the scene vanished, and I saw another one: a tall tower of gleaming metal that glowed crimson and black.
The image drew me closer, and I imprinted it on my mind.
Then everything around me collapsed. The darkness fell like a weight, and I gasped, waking up in the world of hot sand and the crimson moon.
Instinctively, I raised my head, and I wasn’t surprised to see that the three creatures were gone. I looked at the outer wall and saw them there, imprinted into the stone.
I raised my hand to rub my face. "Maybe I should consider drinking dry alcohol," I muttered, then froze as something occurred to me.
"My hands are healed!" What had felt like the end of the world was now back to normal. It was as if I had never been hurt. "Maybe I wasn’t..."
I sighed and stood up. "I’m not surprised anymore. I’ll just go with the flow of things. That cloaked man is definitely important, the first Forbidden Knight? And he left behind instructions? And those creatures..."
I shook my head and made my way to the cathedral. "Maybe I should have taken Kren up on his offer."