The fishlike monster dashed towards Cassien as he prepared his attack -'50,000 RPM' - its slender, clawed arms swaying aggressively as it rapidly closed the distance. But despite the incoming threat, Cassien's concentration didn't waver. Instead, he focused even harder, small drops of sweat forming on his face as he made the long, spear-like object spin even faster.
'70,000 RPM'
Noticing the fishlike monster begin its dash towards Cassien, Darien immediately activated his blessing.
{Great Mother's Gift: Growth}
Darien's form grew from that of a 12-year-old boy into that of a chiseled 6ft man, his thick muscles bulging through his stretched bodysuit as he shot from his position and towards the fishlike monster.
Darien pulled his hand back, readying for a devastating punch to the monster's skull. But as his fist drew near to the monster's head, its rapidly moving eye came to a halt as it focused on Darien's fist. And in the next instance, the monster stopped moving, avoiding Darien's fist by only inches.
SWOOSH
Darien's fist shot past the monster's head as it immediately prepared for a counter-attack, shooting its long claws towards Darien's head at an unbelievable speed. But with a swift motion, Darien narrowly dodged the monster's sharp claws as he spun his body into a kick.
Watching as Darien and the fishlike monster exchanged a flurry of attacks, Cassien grit his teeth as he prepared his attack.
'100,000 RPM'
But as Darien shot another fist at the fishlike monster, its rapidly moving eyes once again came to a halt, this time focusing on Darien's eyes. And as Darien looked into the monster's blue eyes, his body froze; his body shrinking back to his original size.
Darien's hands trembled, his eyes wide open as a cold sweat ran down his face. His breath hitched. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away from the monster's eyes.
The fishlike monster drew closer to the motionless Darien, and in the next moment, it shot its claws at Darien's head.
SWOOSH
But before the monster's attack could reach Darien's head-
VWOOSH
Cassien's black spear-like object spun at an incredible speed, nearing that of a bullet as it shot through the air; flying straight into the monster's head and mounting it into the purple trunk of the massive tree.
Seeing the monster was dead, Cassien immediately ran over to the motionless Darien.
"Hey! What the heck was that!?", yelled Cassien. But Darien remained motionless, staring into the empty air.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed!?"
"…"
Darien remained in a daze, his mind racing with different thoughts.
'What…was that?', thought Darien as he tried to understand what he had experienced a few moments ago. When he locked eyes with the monster, the surrounding space turned into a raging ocean. Gallons of water filled his lungs as he submerged deeper into the water. But the illusion didn't stop there, hordes of fishlike monsters ravaged and tore apart his body repeatedly as he tried to swim out of the water. The illusion felt vivid - more real even - and more terrifying than his experience in Wevry.
Realizing that his efforts weren't getting through to Darien, Cassien opted to try a different method, a wide grin forming on his face.
In the next moment, Cassien shot his fist at Darien's face. But before Cassien's fist could reach him, Darien moved his hand in a swift motion, grabbing Cassien's hand.
"What do you think you are doing?", asked Darien.
"What am I doing?!", asked Cassien. "Why are you just standing there and wasting time? Did you forget Arael will turn into that thing if we don't go back in time?"
"You're right. I apologize.", said Darien as he processed Cassien's words. "We need to get going."
'Had it not been for {Great Mother's Gift: Mental Fortitude}. I would have gone insane. Thank you, Great Mother.' thought Darien as he approached the massive purple tree, a faint breeze brushing past him as though to answer him.
"I don't think we can eat that.", said Cassien.
"The Great Mother said we take the fruit of this tree.", said Darien.
"Alright. If Great Mother said it, then we shall take the fruits."
The two boys collected the fallen fruit from the massive tree; each fruit was nearly the size of their heads.
"Argh. I can't hold fruits anymore,", said Cassien as he struggled to hold five fruits in his arms.
"Hmm. 15 should be enough for all five of us.", said Darien.
"Well, let's get going already. The sight of that thing makes me want to throw up.", said Cassien as he gazed at the impaled head of the dead fishlike monster, dark bluish blood streaming from it.
"I agree. Let's go."
The two boys immediately set off back to the cave; Darien leading the way through the unsettling forest. But as Darien approached the obscured entrance of the dark cave, a faint whiff of iron tingled at his nostrils.
"Wait.", said Darien as he raised his hand, signaling for Cassien to stop. "Something isn't right.", He continued.
"What's wrong?", Cassien whispered.
"I smell blood."
Cassien sniffed the surrounding air, but he couldn't smell anything.
"Inside the cave?", asked Cassien.
"Yes. We need to be careful."
Cassien nodded as the two boys placed the fruit down and slowly crouched into the cave. The light faded as darkness slowly enveloped them, enabling their eyes to see in the cave. And as they went deeper into the cave, the smell of iron thickened, the quiet echo of a - CRUNCH - seeping into their ears.
"What's going on?", asked Cassien as he covered his nose, trying to block the sickening smell of blood.
"I don't know. But we need to hurry.", said Darien as he quickened his pace.
But as they drew closer to the heart of the cave, the repeated sound of bone and tissue being torn through and crashing, echoed louder and louder in their ears.
CRUNCH
SQUELCH
CRUNCH!
SQUELCH!
And as they finally reached the heart of the cave, their eyes widened as they took in the sight before them. A tall, wolflike beast munched away at the lifeless body of a small boy, its dark emerald fur stained by the pool of thick crimson blood beneath its hind legs; and in the middle of the pool, the ravaged body of a small boy.
"PHILL!!"