Chapter 9: Chapter Eight: Encounter

Embers from the campfire flickered, giving off a small but warm light. Valdus, Ace, Lucile and Cedric sat around it, chatting quietly.

“Right! Valdus, here.”
Ace said, tossing a scabbard to him,
“It’s for your sword, just in case you get tired of holding it over your shoulder. Scarlet made it a couple nights after you befriended Rex, but we had completely forgotten to give it to you.”

Valdus managed to catch the scabbard and thanked Ace. It was black and had three straps. He sheathed his sword then placed the scabbard beside himself. Ace then returned to his conversation with Lucile. Cedric, on the other hand, sat next to Valdus, looking up at him with a glance while Valdus stared at the campfire.

“You got something on your mind?”
Cedric questioned.

Valdus smiled but didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and continued to ponder, seemingly ignoring Cedric’s question.

“Oi, Valdus.”
Cedric spoke up.

“S-sorry. I heard the question, I’m just...out of it right now. Thoughts; nothing much to worry about. I’m all right.”
Valdus responded, now looking at Cedric.

Cedric glared, before shrugging it off and walking over to Lucile. Valdus then shivered, letting out a bit of a sound of discomfort from the cold. The others looked at him in concern, thinking another shadow was going to attack.

“I-it’s not the same kind of cold...if you’re wondering... The air just feels cold right now, and the campfire only helps a little bit.”
Valdus said.

“Seriously? It isn’t that cold...and any closer and you’ll be sitting in the fire.”
Ace responded.

Valdus shivered again, balling up slightly as he shuffled even closer to the flame. As he shifted closer a slight purple tint flowed into it.

Curious, Valdus raised his hands toward it.
“What the-...”

To his surprise, more of the campfire’s embers began to glow purple. Gradually, the colouration changed completely – now entirely a dark purple – but the warmth and lighting of the fire was still the same. The flames seemingly danced, following the gradual movements his hands made.

“Okay then... Don’t go killing us or something, now. That colour’s unsettling enough.”
Ace commented.

“I-I don’t even know what I’m doing...”
Valdus muttered, a slight spark in his eyes.

“I think that’s enough. You still don’t know the capabilities of your magic, and if you go messing around like that, you might set yourself on fire again.”
Cedric warned,
“Even the slightest use of your magic drains your Essence, and if you tire yourself out now you won’t be able to fight when you actually need to.”

Valdus shuddered from the thought and lowered his hands. As if to continue following his gestures, the dark purple colour faded from the campfire as he did so. Lucile then gestured to Cedric.

“It’s best for us to sleep already. I’ll keep watch for tonight, then we’ll continue onward.”
Lucile said.

A faint light formed around Lucile’s right arm, slightly weaker than the campfire. Cedric then huffed at the campfire, putting it out in an instant. As Lucile and Cedric watched guard, Ace and Valdus nodded off.

 

At daybreak...

Valdus gradually awoke to sight Lucile staring off into the distance, crouched and spear at the ready. Cedric stood by him, then turned to face Valdus.

“Finally, at least one of you is awake. Stay low but try to get Ace up. We’ve got company.”
Cedric explained.

Valdus nodded to Cedric and shuffled to Ace, nudging him. He then shifted back to his sword and drew the blade from the scabbard, slinging the scabbard over his shoulder. Ace noticed the caution and equipped his greatsword as he got up, slinging his scabbard over his shoulder as well.

“How many do you think there are?”
Valdus asked.

“How cold do you feel right now? Your sense in detecting them is presumably stronger than others.”
Lucile responded.

Valdus fell silent for a moment and raised his palm up to himself. The marking on his forehand momentarily flickered with a few blue flames.

He felt and saw himself shaking, and as he spoke, his voice shook as well,
“A lot colder...and...scared...”

The others looked back at him in surprise, then faced back toward the distant tall grass. Lucile and Ace gripped the handles of their weapons, and Cedric dug his claws into the ground as he gritted his teeth.

“Either you’re still cold from last night...”
Cedric spoke,
“...or we’ve got some serious trouble.”

“S-so how many would that be?”
Valdus asked again.

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“If your senses are right, it isn’t about how many are out there now. It’s about how strong they’ll be.”
Ace replied.

Valdus, without thinking, raised his head, but before he could sound his confusion, a sharp blade of wind sliced through the air past his face. He immediately ducked down afterward, then felt pain shoot from right cheek. Shuddering from it, he patted his cheek then glanced at his hand, noticing a faint trace of blood.

He then quickly clasped his cheek with that hand, wincing.
“H-how-?”

Shit, I didn’t get a chance to react!
Lucile then shouted,
“More than trouble! You two stay back for now - Cedric and I will engage. Attack on Cedric’s signal!”

Ace nodded, but Valdus gave no response. He still held his cheek, only glancing up as he saw Lucile and Cedric dart off. Clashes of metal and distant howls rang out, before a blast of wind spiralled into the sky. Ace then leaped up and ran into the fray.

That’s the signal?
Valdus got up as well and rushed in, thoughts running rampant through his mind.
The hell are these things? How am I supposed to be able to fight them? I can’t even control my magic! Even if I could, would it be strong enough to-?

His pondering was cut short when he suddenly heard a call to get down. From ahead he noticed a flash of black aura, followed by a low-toned boom echoing through the air. He leaped to the ground, barely evading what looked like a wave of black fire. Another boom then echoed as the wave of black fire burst, before the sounds of sharp winds shot toward the source. A shriek then rang out.

“Valdus, help out Ace and focus on dealing with the weaker ones! Lucile and I’ve got this one’s company!”
Cedric called.

Fighting his hesitation, Valdus rose back to his feet and rushed to aid Ace. Irritation, confusion and fear fuelled him. Swarms of black figures darted back and forth, struggling to break Ace’s defence. He then shifted his stance and struck one figure down, causing the other shadows to retreat momentarily.

“If you want to survive, you’ve got no choice but to fight back!”
Ace shouted at Valdus,
“Stay focused on the target and yourself!”

Valdus nodded, before asking a question,
“Is that sharp chill I’ve been feeling this entire time the Essence of these shadows?”

“It’s...different to Essence, somehow, but it is coming from them.”
Ace replied,
“Now, first-things-first, calm yourself, and focus. Just like you did when training with Lucile. Sense the surroundings rather than just your own Essence. I’ll guard you. If you can master this next stage of Essence sense, we can win.”

Valdus nodded, then stood behind Ace. The two of them took a deep breath, readying. As Valdus focused, he could hear the sounds of Ace fighting.

About...twenty of them...surrounding us right now... I can sense Lucile and Cedric’s Essence too, but they’re fainter – more distant. Ace is still with me.
Valdus thought to himself.

He stood unmoving, feeling the sharp, cold presence of each shadowy figure, the rushing winds of Lucile and Cedric’s Essence, the pressure of Ace’s Essence, and his own burning flame. He kept this up until his senses followed the movements of both his friends, and his foes..

He then reopened his eyes before instinctively turning around and striking downward, killing a shadow that was trying to ambush him.
“Got it! We’ve got more than twenty of them to deal with, including the one Lucile and Cedric are fighting!”

“Good, the rest of your training is honing that skill! Lucile’s taught you what he can already, so let’s see what you’ve got!”
Ace said.

With that, Valdus took in another deep breath. The other figures then lunged at him, and he swung his sword again. Once again he struck perfectly, slicing each one in half, causing them to all burst into black dust as well. Ace lit up with a smirk, cleaving through the last of the swarm right after watching Valdus. Lucile and Cedric still fought the stronger shadow, and soon enough, they rushed over to aid them.

“Looks like you two dealt with the others quite quickly.”
Lucile commented.

“Now for this one to be dust as well!”
Cedric said.

The remaining shadow shook violently. It was humanoid - its two arms and legs tapering to points with no digits. The rest of its body was unnaturally slim with a slightly long neck and oval-shaped head that had no visible facial features. Flickers of black fire came off from various parts of its body.

It raised an arm toward the group, and a low vibrating sound began in a low crescendo. At the same time, a white light enveloped by a pitch-black darkness formed at the tip of its arm. Sparks of black fire spurred from the light as well. The group readied for its attack, then leaped forward. As the arc of black fire cut through the air, everyone dodged, while Valdus ducked, managing to slice through it with his blade before sending a blade of sharp wind back at the shadow. The wind cut through its chest, causing it to stagger back. Lucile then charged at it, piercing the shadow with his spear. It shrieked in pain, black liquid spurting from the wound. Its body then spiralled, but before Ace could land a finishing blow, the blood suddenly shot back into its body - its chest glowing blood red. The creature swirled and shrank to a single point as if it were being absorbed into a tiny crack, until it vanished. No dust was left behind.

“Dammit, it got away!”
Cedric roared.

“Tch... We’ll come across it another time, I’m sure of it. Let’s keep moving for now.”
Lucile said, holding his spear over his shoulder and walking ahead.

Ace caught up to walk beside him, while Cedric and Valdus followed behind. Ace then noticed the claw marking on Lucile’s neck was faintly glowing.

Before Ace could question Lucile, Lucile whispered to him,
“Don’t say anything about it...and don’t ever tell Cedric.”

“What’re you talking about...?”
Ace replied,
“If-”

“If something happens... Please, just don’t tell him.”
Lucile cut him off.
“If you remember years ago, when we were still kids... That expedition I took with my family to live in Caligra... I suspect that the shadow we saw just now – the one that escaped us – was also the one that attacked our airship...and left me with this claw mark on my neck... I still remember it. It’s likely a curse. An ill-fate...as the sole-survivor of that attack...”

Ace fell silent, then glanced back at Cedric. Having to keep it a secret gripped his heart, but he held back from speaking of it, as Lucile had pleaded.

It can’t be any better for Lucile... If any of us don’t make it through this journey...
Ace thought,
If anything, we have to find a safe haven!

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