Quietly, some time has passed now, yet she hadn't even turned to look at me.
It should have been the time by now.
She should have seen me, come over and say something. But nothing like that has happened yet.
Do I have to speak out loud for them to see me?
I don't wanna do that. Not really.
Sometimes I do notice the old geezers glancing at me. Especially the geezer who looks like he's meditating.
Maybe I have already disrupted the timeline by not speaking out loud.
After a while, some of them started to take care of the mess they created. The caskets were heavy-looking. They gave me an odd feeling.
These caskets were huge to begin with and they were carrying them by hand, as if they weighed nothing.
Others were doing magic. They were levitating just by touching them, and throwing them towards the center of the room carelessly.
I wanna do that too. Just lift someone up and smash them head-first into the wall.
Vedika and my friends looked comical. Like someone had just slapped them out of their common sense - jaws open, eyes wide in pure shock.
Except Vedika. She seemed.... mildly amused by what was going on.
That's my girl for you.
(ignoring the fact that she had shot me not long ago.)
She still looked as if she was in a different space, especially her eyes.
Her eyes....
Wait a minute. Didn't she say something about her eyes being special and she seeing things.
What things did her eyes show her, that she felt herself dissolving?
past?
future?
Or something that is happening now... somewhere?
And she didn't even say if these eyes are only specific to her or someone can get it too.
I looked slowly at each geezer. They looked different not only in clothing but also in their demeanor.
One of them, who I think is closely related to Vedika, seemed rather friendlier than most. I don't know why but this guy felt wrong.
While the one next to him felt stricter. His eyes were filled with suspicion. He felt more trustworthy than others. Though he looked like he was expecting betrayal any second.
The other one with a long mustache, was surrounded by a few people. It looked like they were in deep talk. Philosopher vibes...
Then there are these two geezers who are not talking with anyone, sitting alone in a corner, giving pure badass vibes. They felt unamused and bored.
None of them behaved abnormally as she did. They were just sitting there meditating, observing or talking to the people around them.
There are other ways of discerning something's life force... she had said.
What could those other ways be?
Do these old geezers really know I am here? Could they see things like her too?
aaahhhhhh.... My head is breaking.
*sigh
I must go closer to them. See if I find any thing useful or strange.
They are the only ones here who look like they have seen war.
Especially the geezer in the corner with a blindfold and a big spear-sword and the geezer who was glancing at me.
They were also the easiest to approach, being in the corners of the room. I hope the mist covers my scent or I am cooked.
I slowly get up on my legs and a sudden hit of nausea made me fall down to my knees. My legs are still shaky and weak from fatigue.
I must tread carefully here.
But others were getting ready, as if they were about to leave.
So it is now or never.
I carefully made my way through the mess and other people. None of them seemed to have noticed me, not even the old geezers.
I had to skitter my way through, as they were just randomly moving and throwing things like maniacs.
I was just a breath away from getting crushed by the caskets, which were even bigger up close, for three times.
They should be more careful with their work. Who knows who might be watching them?
I reached the other corner of the room where the geezer with a spear type sword was... brooding.
The moment I got within five meters, my whole body went alert. My skin tingled under an unseen pressure.
My brain was screaming at me to not move an inch, my heartbeat started to increase and I could feel that each and every cell of my body was revolting at my decision to move forward.
My body temperature started to increase, my lungs starting to fill with hot air.
Even from here, I could smell death on him.
This man despite no scars on his body, except the blindfold felt like he had killed millions of people.
I wanted to run away from him and put as much distance as I can. But I felt it in my soul that if he senses me I am dead, no matter how far I run.
So I took the risk I stayed where I was.
From afar he looked like he was sitting on a platform but actually he was levitating in the air. His legs crossed, chin resting on his arms.
His weapon was a long spear but had a sword like blade at the tip. On opposite tip was a heavy pommel shaped like an eagle's beak. Half of the weapon from down was chain-bound like a shackled lancet.
He had a belt around him that had two baldrics on his right side. But there were no swords kept in there.
He had long black hairs. His mustache came down to his chest in a curly triangle. He had broad neck, wide shoulders and dominating chest. He was so bulked yet defined that he looked inhuman.
He had a crimson coat hung over his shoulders which came down to his ankles lined with small bells of black and white color. He wore black pants, loose at thighs, tied at ankles with metal lacing.
He was wearing a loose torc, which was made of some rusty metal. Given his style I don't think it was a mistake.
He must be wearing it by choice. But why?
What was it worth?
Should I snatch it. It is already loose and about to fall off. But my chances are very low.
Also I don't know if I can handle the pressure if I go near him.
I looked at the other geezers. They were also now getting ready to leave. A pile of caskets were barbarically arranged in the center. The three geezers were standing in different direction.
"Hollow spear, if you're done playing can you come here so we can start the ritual" one of them shouted.
Wait, playing...
That means,
He opened his eyes. They were filled with bloodlust and amusement.
He was looking directly at me and gave of a little smirk. He came down from his levitating position and walked towards me, with the spear in hand..
As he moved closer, I suddenly fell down, crashing my knees into the ground. It felt as if the sky itself was falling on me.
I had to support my self on all four limbs to avoid getting crushed.
I tried to stand up but my body wouldn't listen.
He took another step.
My spine screamed under the oppression. Blood spilled out of my mouth, ears and nose. I felt my bones crack, muscle tearing down.
The air felt so heavy that I couldn't breathe.
He stayed there for what felt like minutes. I forced my head to look up, but it got slammed back into the ground.
Shallow cuts appeared on my back and limbs.
I was out of breath and my vision started to fade, when suddenly it stopped.
But I was still in hell.
I could feel the hot blood trickling down my body from various cuts.
My bone still felt heavy and had cracks throughout. Though I don't think I suffered any major bone injuries. I didn't know if i could still stand.
My internal organs felt brittle. I could feel the blood flowing out inside.
I saw a foot come near my head. It was his foot, but I wasn't feeling any pressure now.
He touched my head and something cracked. I screamed loudly in pain as my bones started to mash and squish into each other.
Was I getting tortured?
AAAAhhhhhhh...
Blood started squirting out of the cuts. If this goes on I might die,
No wait, my bones were not breaking anymore,
They were being forced back together.
Thank god. Though I was worried why he was healing me?
aaaahhhhhhh... This was the most painful way to get healed.
The pain was still there but he lifted his hands off my head.
"Young lad, you have great potential as homo." he said half-amused with me.
I was surprised that he knew how to speak in English.
"Most of the people would not even survive being five meters near me. But you not only survived that you also remain conscious after receiving my 'thousand cuts healing" he continued, a hint of respect in his voice.
"You don't have to worry. They don't know you are here neither did they heard your screams" he said lazily.
Was he referring to my friends?
"And for the sake of your pride and curiosity, the only reason we found you were there, was because your body had been gathering CHI' uncontrollably" he spoke while laughing.
"If you are able to survive, then you will have to choose" he said and rubbed the hairs on my head.
He then walked towards the center, where they would be doing the ritual.
"What the hell happened there" one of my friend, I think it was Vedanth, asked him.
I heard a fist crack against someone's head.
"Where was 'sir' in it, huh? you moron" Hollow spear snapped, irritation clear in his voice.
So I was right about him...
But what was the choice he was talking about.