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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr="class","kvoverlap"]Do not be afraid to burn bridges that deserve to fall.
[attr="class","kvbody"]Kiva went to sleep the night before on the cold, stone floor of the Djose Temple. She was aching, sore, and mourning. Operation Mi’ihen had been an unmitigated failure. She was one of the lucky few Crusaders who hadn’t died that day on the shores to Sin’s wrath. But even then, she hadn’t escaped unscathed. Fresh burn wounds snaked up her shoulder and neck. It made falling asleep a lengthy, difficult process. But eventually, the Crusader had fallen into a fitful, painful slumber.[break][break]
Sometime in the night she woke screaming. Watching again and again as her sister Rena died before her eyes, lost in the dark. Alone and forgotten. She reached instinctively for her sword, clutching its worn leather hilt like a lifeline. Sleep didn’t claim her again, instead she stared unblinking into the gloom of the temple. Others slept around her, but Kiva couldn’t relax again. Her burn throbbed. Her whole body ached. She wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. [break][break]
But then she closed her eyes, just for a moment. Maybe two. She drifted in a haze, somewhere between sleeping and awake. Her nightmares didn’t follow her in this liminal space. And slowly, the world changed around her. Hard stone drifted away beneath her, becoming soft, dew-drenched grass. Bird song gently filled the air and drowned out the sounds of sleeping soldiers. Wind caressed her face. Had she fallen asleep again? Into a calm dream? [break][break]
Her eyes flew open. Kiva looked around in complete and utter confusion. The forest surrounding her was like nothing she’d ever seen. Sunlight trickled through the canopy above. Hadn’t it just been the middle of the night? Plants she didn’t recognize encroached around her and danced in the wind. A thick fog seemed to envelop her as she slowly stood and rubbed sleep from her eyes. Her burn wound still smarted as she stood. So, not all things were changed. [break][break]
Kiva’s mouth fell open as she stared ahead. She didn’t feel like she was dreaming. But what else could this be? A dreadful thought wormed into her mind. Was this the effect of Sin’s toxins? Hadn’t she heard that it could drive people to madness? She’d certainly been closer to the beast than most other living people of Spira. [break][break]
But whatever the reason, before her was the remains of some village lost to time. There were no people, not that she could see. But crumbling walls and ivy-clouded remnants greeted her. It looked like how Zanarkand must look in her mind. A city reclaimed by nature and time, lost to the ages. She took a tentative step forward, clutching her sword so hard her hand hurt. The door of the nearest house was off its hinges. So she took a step inside, through the draping vines. [break][break]
The scene before her was nothing short of eerie. The wooden floor was being reclaimed by the forest. A mouse skittered away as she walked in. But there, on the stone table was a facsimile of dinner. Stoneware still sat in four place-settings. Any food that might have been there was stolen by the wildlife by now. But the sight was still positively disturbing. Even worse were the toys, little carved figurines, laid out on the ground as if dropped and never recovered. There were no bones. No scattered scraps of clothing. It was as if the family that had lived here had simply vanished on day. [break][break]
Kiva walked in further. Other doors stood closed from this main room but she couldn’t bring herself to open them. “Hello? she called softly, not expecting an answer and not receiving one. No, whoever had lived here had been gone for years. [break][break]
But then, from outside there was a noise. A creaking, a shambling, a clink of bone on bone. Kiva turned to face the door, weapon raised despite the pain coursing through her injured shoulder. Some dark entity awaited her. A steadying breath and she charged back outside into the foggy, time-lost village. [break][break]
It was a skeleton, larger than any human skeleton had the right to be. It moved in a disjointed, shambling way through the cobblestone streets, tripping occasionally over fallen logs and stones. Somehow, despite having only pits for eyes, it must have sensed her. With a horrifying creak and clatter, the great bone beast turned on her and raised a menacing club. [break][break]
Before the monstrosity could use the club against her, Kiva charged at it with her black and gold longsword raised. She let out a yell, half pain and half rage, as she brought the sword down with a sickening snap of bone. But it was clear that a single strike wouldn’t be enough to take it down. The club came towards her and she parried just in time. The shock on her aching muscles nearly made her drop her blade in agony. But she was a Crusader, she had trained for this for years. She’d faced Sin and lived to tell the tale. She was not dying here today.
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[attr=class,bulk] The rains had passed, the morning sun hung high in the sky, and Verik Einhart was lost.
This was not particularly unusual. Verik was infamous for his abhorrent sense of direction, but as he turned yet another winding corner through the dark and unforgiving forest, he couldn’t help his rising despair. The helpful white mage he’d met on the road’s edge had given him a direction to town -- west -- but the sky had been overcast at the time, and Verik hadn’t known exactly which way west was. He’d taken what he’d thought to be west, but now he was beginning to have his doubts.
The white mage had said that town was only a few hours away. It had been two days. Verik was exhausted.
”I’ve done it again.” Verik smiled dryly to himself then came to a stop, pushing his hair back as he considered the fork in the road. He was more than used to the thick, black forests that separated the world’s towns without any roads or direction whatsoever. He was used to the uneven ground and the thick underbrush and the veiled light filtering through an impenetrable layer of overhanging branches and leaves, but he couldn’t say he’d ever come across anywhere like this. The very air was oppressive. He was chilled by it even as droplets of sweat crept down the back of his neck. Even his footsteps seemed somehow muted, crunching lightly over the forest’s debris.
But the signs posted outside the forest had told him that this was the right direction, hadn’t they? They’d met him with hastily scrawled messages like, ’Welcome!’ and ’Adventure this way!’. That was as clear a direction as any, he’d thought. Shouldn’t it have led him somewhere by now?
Before Verik could further consider his situation, he heard a pained yell echo through the trees. For a moment, Verik froze, heart pulsing faster at the sound. It was a woman’s voice, he thought, both desperate and enraged. The sound chilled him even though he knew it couldn’t be her, he knew…
But it was someone else, wasn’t it? He gripped the sword at his hip tighter. He could be a hero himself, couldn’t he? Even on his own?
If so then why hadn’t he moved?
There was the sound of metal thrust against something hard and unrelenting. Verik swallowed. He felt the absence of his friends, of his allies, of his sister like a hollow target at his back. Even so, he forced himself forward, starting at a run in the direction that he thought he’d heard the sound. Thought. Maybe. It had been hard to tell with the way it muffled against the trees.
The path brought him to a village. It was a strangely quiet village, but Verik didn’t pay it much attention at first. No, his eyes were only on the looming, ten foot tall skeleton lumbering along the clearing’s opposite perimeter. It was a loathsome thing, its bones creaking against its dry sockets, moving at strange, unnatural angles as though on puppet’s strings. This was no puppet, however. It had a terrible solidity, sinking into the earth with the weight of the thick club it dragged behind it. Its attention wasn’t on him, but rather, on a woman caught beneath its massive shadow. She was the one who had shouted.
Verik hesitated. His sword would be practically useless against something that couldn’t bleed, and his magic was…
Limited.
Still, he had to do something so he approached the scene carefully (very carefully) until he was within spellcasting range. ”Cura!” He cast the magic towards the injured woman then prepared another. ”Protect!”
Maybe he wasn’t the best mage. Maybe he wasn’t the best healer or swordsman or navigator, but he knew how to support someone who was smarter and stronger and deserved it. He shot the woman a small, uncertain smile from where he stood at the clearing’s edge.. From the size of her sword, she must have been a warrior.
A strong warrior. Someone who could handle herself with only a little support at her back.
He hoped.
[attr=class,ooc-notes]
[attr=class,tagline]@kiva
Don't worry. Help's arrived. Very capable, confident help.
Kiva held herself in a warrior’s stance, light on her feet but well-grounded as the skeletal monstrosity raised its club for another blow. She held her sword by sheer force of will, breathing raggedly through the pain from her shoulder. Quickly, she ran through her abilities. What would help her defeat this? It certainly had a lot of power behind its swings, but its bones were also a sort of armor. She only had a split second to decide before charging again and catching it off balance with a heavy arc of her sword. Power Break, she’d decided as a flair of bluish light flickered over her blade as it smashed into the beast. It staggered and briefly lost its footing as some of its mighty dissipated. [break][break]
Kiva was too caught up in her battle to notice the newcomer at first. But then there was a yell from the treeline, a flash of red through the darkened foliage. And suddenly, her arm felt better! Nothing would ever heal the burn completely and she’d always be marked, but the curative magic certainly helped with her aching muscles and taut skin. Another yell and a protective shield of magic glistened in front of her. [break][break]
She had absolutely no idea who this man was who had appeared into this time-lost village, but she was eternally grateful for his magical assistance. The skeleton was still staggering after her last assault. It gave her enough time to nod at the red-clad man at the edge of the clearing. He clearly seemed like he was planning on standing on the side-lines. No matter, this was what Kiva was trained to do. She was meant to be up front, swinging her huge greatsword. Magical assistance from behind just made that easier. [break][break]
The crusader let out another yell of rage and ran at her adversary. It took a few more blows, a few more club attacks glancing off the magical shield the newcomer had cast around her. But finally, with a resounding brittle snap of bone, Kiva managed to knock the thing down. Femurs splintered, ribs shattered. It still moved with some unholy mission, but it was too weak to do much. She walked alongside it, up towards the twisted, inhuman skull. And with all her might, smashed the hilt of her sword into the bone. Again and again. Until finally, whatever unholy magic animated it dissipated entirely. And she was left panting over a spray of bone fragments. [break][break]
She sheathed her sword. The good thing about fighting skeletons was that it wasn’t bloody. She didn’t have to clean it. Then she pushed her lopsided blonde hair back from her face and grinned at the mage before approaching. “Thank you,” she said as she rolled her shoulder experimentally. It barely hurt. “I’m not sure what I would have done if you hadn’t showed up!” [break][break]
Kiva’s dark eyes took in the man. He really didn’t look like much of a fighter at all. What was he doing alone in this unforgiving place? “Do you know where we are? What this village is?” Then she realized she hadn’t given her name. “I’m Kiva, by the way.”
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[attr=class,bulk] She was a warrior. Relief flooded him as she found her renewed strength and hefted her broadsword over her shoulder. She nodded at him, and he gave a short smile back. He wasn’t entirely sure what else she might need from him -- not until she needed it, anyway -- so he stood back and watched her in action, waiting for a cue to step in. He never got one. She attacked with the ferocity of a bear, smashing it again and again with her club-like sword. It made Verik a little uneasy, watching her. Once the skeleton was felled, she stood over it, bludgeoning it until bits of skull and bone were scattered like dust in the wind.
Verik waited patiently to be noticed. Part of him wanted to turn and run in the other direction. If this woman decided he was an easy target, what chance did he have?
She sheathed his sword and approached him. He tried not to look nervous.
”You managed yourself well,” Verik said, trying to return her smile. She was a strange looking woman -- broad, grounded, and with hair that fell asymmetrically to her chin. She had her share of scars, so many in fact that Verik could only guess how she’d managed them. There was a long streak down one eye (shouldn’t it have blinded her?), some inflammation on her neck, and a broad patch of burnt and brittle skin across her shoulders. Either she’d been through a lifetime of battles or a few had gone very, very poorly.
All in all, she looked exactly as he’d expect of a wild woman who might live alone in a dangerous wood. Though he’d never heard of a female warrior.
”I’m sorry. I think I'm lost,” he answered apologetically. ”I was on my way to a town called Provo. I must have taken the wrong path.” Somewhere along the line. Perhaps from the very beginning. It might have been time to circle back. ”I’m Verik. Of the house Einhart.” Verik extended his hand though he knew that it wasn’t a fighter’s custom to take it. His own warrior of light had been a rough and tumble kind of man who’d laughed at his polite mannerisms. An offer of a handshake had turned into a hard embrace which had nearly choked him. Tonya had laughed.
”I’ve been through many woods, but I’ve never seen any like this.” He frowned at the creaking of the trees, their gnarled branches twisting together into almost impenetrable cover. He wondered how anyone managed to live here -- this being a village and all. ”Are you going somewhere?”
The man seemed nervous as Kiva approached him. She knew she looked a bit… fierce sometimes, but surely he didn’t think she’d raise her sword against the one who healed her? His answering smile seemed forced and almost tremulous. She tried to look non-threatening, but she knew that wasn’t an easy feat. Her newest assortment of scars certainly weren’t helping her. [break][break]
She tried to not look obviously disappointed when the man admitted that he was lost, looking for some city called Provo. Kiva had never heard of such a place and her conviction that she was certainly not in Spira anymore was growing by the minute. “Unfortunately I have never heard of the place,” she admitted with a sigh. “I woke up here, in this abandoned village. I went to sleep in the Temple of Djose but…” Kiva shook her head, trying to dispel her confusion without success. “I have no idea what’s going on.” [break][break]
His name was Verik. She had absolutely no clue what he meant by house Einhart but she decided it would be weird to ask. So she just nodded and accepted the proffered hand, giving it a firm shake. “Well met. I’m glad to not be alone in this strange place, at least.” The trees creaked ominously around them and the wind pulled at her hair. In the distance, Kiva could hear groaning, and the sound of footfalls crashing through the forest. They should not linger long, not unless they wanted another fight. [break][break]
“Likewise,” Kiva agreed. “This place is strange and terrible, like nothing I’ve seen before. We should get moving, try to find our way out.” Her eyes narrowed, staring into the gloom towards the distant noises. “I don’t want to encounter something even worse than the skeleton in these woods.” [break][break]
“Unfortunately, I have no idea where we are. It doesn’t sound like you do either. Do you know anything about this land? Or at least can you retrace your steps to get us out of this forest?” Kiva flexed her hands, ready to reach for her sword at a moment’s notice if something burst out of the treeline through the abandoned village again. But for now, there seemed to by an eerie, unsettling peace around them.
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[attr=class,bulk] A temple? Verik tilted his head, curious more than confused. A temple was something like a shrine, he thought, though all of the shrines he knew had fallen into disrepair, lost in the wilderness and overtaken by terrible fiends. There was always the old Chaos shrine, but…
He suppressed a shiver. Best not to think about it.
”I don’t know either,” he said apologetically. ”What’s going on, I mean.”
Now that she mentioned it, he supposed the village really was abandoned. He hadn’t had the time to really look at it until now -- quiet and cold and trapped in the heart of this terrible wood. The houses were mouldering and infested with ivy. The path was half-obscured with dry brush. Axes and logging equipment sank into the soft earth next to piles of rotting firewood flowering with mushroom caps. Verik frowned.
”What happened here?” He asked it for his own sake as he looked around, a chill slowly climbing up the back of his neck. He was no stranger to lost towns and old ruins. The world was full of them -- relics of an incomprehensible time before the fiends. But here, the earth was fertile. There was no risk of floods or cyclones or fire raining from above. This place had been desolate for years, maybe decades. Not centuries.
His mind cast to demons or ghosts or vampires. He was grateful he was no longer alone.
There were sounds echoing from the woods. Groans and cracking tree branches and shuffling feet. Verik snapped to attention, hand at his sword.
Just undead. They were just zombies. How many zombies had he faced?
For not the first time, he wished he’d been trained as a cleric.
”If they’re undead, a fire spell should be effective,” he said with a weak smile. ”I don’t know any holy magic. Unfortunately.” He hadn’t learned the spiritual training to comprehend even the most basic of purifying spells. No matter how long he’d struggled through the tomes, it was simply outside of his schools of magic. Tonya had teased him for trying so hard.
What did he know about this land? ”Well,” he said slowly. ”It’s not where I started.”
And he hadn’t really known anything about where he’d started to begin with.
”I think we traveled through time, my friends and I. We faced a great demon, and then…” He’d felt the life ebbing from him. ”I must have been teleported here. Whether this is the same time or place, I can’t say.”
There were so many things he couldn’t say. For so long, he’d merely stumbled through events that he couldn’t understand. The force of prophecy had guided him blindly.
”Or...did you mean the forest?” That was probably what she’d meant. ”There were signs outside. They read ‘Headstone.’ I thought the path might take me through to the next town, but I’m starting to rethink that.”
There weren’t many paths in the world he knew. There were no resources to upkeep roads outside of the towns and the meager kingdoms scattered between impenetrable wilderness. So finding one like this? It had to mean something, didn’t it?
”Retrace my steps,” he repeated before shaking his head. ”I can try.”
He should have memorized the turns he’d taken. He couldn’t tell east from west beneath this thick canopy of trees, and that would only have helped if he’d had a map which he didn’t. Maybe the warrior, Densil, could have scouted a way through the rough terrain he called home, but Verik…?
Well, his tutors had taught him cartography, hadn’t they? Maybe he could keep them from going in circles at least.
”We should keep moving,” he said. ”So long as we’re moving, we’re bound to get somewhere, aren’t we?”
Unfortunately it didn’t seem like her companion was going to be too much help. He seemed just as lost as she was with no clue how or why they were in this eerie forest. What happened here? The question was clearly rhetorical, hushed words full of fear. Kiva just shook her head slowly and followed Verik’s gaze around the village. It was like looking into a snapshot of a forgotten past, a memory almost lost. [break][break]
They both stiffened at the sounds in the distance, the clear noises of the undead shambling through the foliage beyond their gazes. They couldn’t stay here long unless they wanted to be overrun. But Verik did offer up some comforting words, the fact that he knew fire magic. Nothing holy, which Kiva knew would be more effective, but fire magic was certainly nothing to scoff about. She nodded tensely. “That’s good. I have my own skills, but no magic. It sounds like we could be a formidable team if we get ambushed.” [break][break]
Traveled through time. What had this strange man experienced? She fixed him with a quizzical gaze, curiosity alight within her. But no was not the time to get into complicated backstories. Maybe once they started walking. “In fact, I was facing a great demon as well not long before I found myself here. I assumed it was something to do with that… with Sin. But I don’t know. Nothing here is familiar.” She shook her head in frustration. [break][break]
The signs towards the forest said Headstone, apparently. She didn’t blame Verik for assuming it could be the name of a town. But was that the name of the forest, or a location further within? She shivered as a fell wind blew through the trees. The shuffling sounds were growing louder in the distance as well. [break][break]
“Yes. We can’t keep standing here,” she agreed. “I served in a sort-of military, I know a bit about tracking but I can’t say I excel at it. Maybe together we can find our way out.” She nodded decisively and began to walk in the direction that Verik had first appeared from, surely it was as good a starting place as any. “Is knowing both white and black magic common where you’re from?” she asked curiously as they walked, keeping a steady eye out in case anything stepped through the gloom at them.
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[attr=class,bulk] A team. Verik nodded curtly, feeling some of his old confidence return. He was useless alone. Despite his wide range of skills, he knew that he was no master in any of them. He wasn’t well-spoken enough to lead. He wasn’t smart enough to make decisions, but he knew how to support those who could, and having someone by his side felt right. There were many things that Verik couldn’t do, but fighting alongside a warrior?
That was something he knew fairly well.
”You were...facing a demon?” Verik frowned at her, listening. Verik had thought that he’d faced nearly everything, but he supposed there were all kinds of nooks and crannies in the world hiding their own darkness. He’d delved into enough of them to know.
”Maybe we were both sent away then. By different demons?” Verik smiled at her sheepishly. ”The name Garland doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?”
That strange dark knight had said something about time, hadn’t he? Loops in time? He said he’d faced all kinds of Warriors of Light, one after the other, and that he’d defeated them all. Could she have been another in that cycle? If it really was a cycle. Verik hadn’t quite understood what was happening at the time.
They agreed to move on, and Kiva started off towards the heart of the woods. Verik followed. He might have navigated himself here, but he didn’t feel like standing in front. Maybe he’d offer half-remembered directions from the back.
”You’re a knight?” Verik looked at her in mild surprise. She seemed rougher than that, he thought, and less noble. ”Your kingdom must be a special one if they would allow a woman to pledge service to its lord.”
It was a strange thought, but not so strange. While some scoffed at women in the magical arts, he thought they were naturally more inclined from his experience, and Tonya fought with strict, calculated precision with her rapier. Still, when he thought of knights, he thought of battle-hardened swordsmen with the kind of broad strength that towered over the average man.
He was happy to be proven wrong.
”I come from a long line of red mages,” Verik said as he carefully stepped over a protruding root. ”Our house was charged by the kingdom of Cornelia to protect the water crystal until the time of prophecy. Every heir to the Einhart name is trained in matters of magic and swordsmanship.” He eyed the path as they went along, squinting through the shadows. After a moment, he held out a hand for Kiva, grabbing her by the shoulder as he pointed towards the uneven terrain.
”Snake holes,” he said, glancing between her and the small, dark crevices burrowed into the earth. ”We should take caution. They could be venomous.”
“No, unfortunately Garland means nothing to me. Just as I assume Sin means nothing to you?” It seemed thoroughly unlikely. But perhaps what he postulated was true, did two different demons send both of them to this place? Some strange force was certainly at work here. Were Sin and Garland two sides of the same coin? Two entities of similar temporal powers? At this point, nothing seemed too unlikely. [break][break]
Verik filed in behind her as Kiva set off into the forest. The red-clad man seemed perfectly happy to follow her, which suited Kiva just fine. She had naturally gravitated towards leadership roles back with the crusaders. It fit her well, she didn’t enjoy following the orders and directives of others. She appreciated any help he murmured from behind her, however. [break][break]
His next words confused Kiva. Special, to allow women into knighthood? She glanced over her shoulder at him with a frown. “I don’t know where you come from, but in my world women are just as likely to serve in almost every position as men. Some of the strongest soldiers I know are women.” She shrugged. “It would have been illogical to stop an entire group of people from joining the fight against Sin. We needed everyone we could get, and even then… it usually ended in failure.” [break][break]
Kiva had no idea what a red mage was. Perhaps it was just some type of appointment, denoted by his vibrant robes and hat. Most of his words were foreign to her, speech of water crystals and Einharts and kingdoms. But she didn’t ask for clarification, their homes were clearly different. This wasn’t the time to discuss all those differences. Maybe later she’d enjoy a nice discussion over a warm drink beside a crackling fire. It did fascinate her, these different worlds converging here. But now, she just carried about getting out of this eerie, dangerous forest. [break][break]
They walked in companionable silence for a little before Verik reached a hand out and grabbed her by the shoulder. Kiva jumped and stopped in her path, silencing her wandering thoughts and following his pointed finger. Dark burrows dotted the ground before them. Snakes. It was hard to see through the drifting shadows. Her hand went to the smaller blade strapped to her hip, more a dagger than a sword. But probably better for small targets like snakes than her greatsword. [break][break]
“Maybe we should try to go around,” she said, eyes drifting away from the path. Of course, going around meant going through denser foliage and crashing through the unknown shadows. Kiva suppressed a shudder as the wind whipped her short hair, tickling her neck. “Unless you have some magic to get us past them without issue.”
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[attr=class,bulk] Verik frowned. The name “Sin” indeed meant nothing to him beyond its literal definition, but it didn’t seem she needed a confirmation. It wasn’t strange that she hadn’t heard of the fallen knight, Garland of Cornelia, and yet…
There was something in her tone that he didn’t like.
He listened as she spoke of her “world” and of her time. It was a strange topic, certainly, but Verik couldn’t help a feeling of wonder as he imagined it. While his sister’s mind was sharp and calculating, his tended to wander into every corner of his own curiosities. What was this “Sin?” Was it really such an overbearing presence that it would require so much strength to resist?
He imagined a nation full of knights lifted from every sex, lineage, and walk of life. He imagined them standing against an impossible foe, continuing on with nothing but a fool’s hope to guide them. He imagined a being such as Chaos, loose upon the world wreaking its havoc not in some distant temple, but upon every kingdom and its people.
Was that the world as he had left it? If he had failed to defeat Chaos in the past then what had become of Cornelia…?
”You know, I met someone else on the road here. She was a thief, and quite the character. She had a curious theory about the nature of time…”
But that could wait until their present situation was dealt with. That situation, of course, being snakes.
”Oh.” Despite Verik’s initial caution, he couldn’t help but blink at the warrior in surprise. He wasn’t used to being taken seriously. Not about something as trivial as this. ”Well…” He looked back to the path, suddenly uncertain how to proceed.
’Verik, please. This is the shortest route.’
’You’re a red wizard and you’re still afraid of snakes? Come on! Just stab them!’
’You need to have courage. Stay behind me. It will be-’
”I’m sure it will be fine.” Verik glanced at her sheepishly. ”I’ve had bad experiences previously. I’ve always had a weak constitution. But that’s why I keep plenty of antidotes on hand.” He gestured to his pack where several bottles were stashed away inside. He felt suddenly embarrassed -- pathetic even. ”Let’s just stay cautious, shall we?”
That’s what he was supposed to say, and it wouldn’t do to let his own anxiety affect his new companion.
He started forward, eyes narrowed in the shady half-gloom. He kept his hand on his sword, ready to strike at the first sign of dark, glittering scales. His heart was pounding harder than in any battle against even the most ferocious of fiends.
Snakes. He hated the way they slithered. And the way they opened their maws, fangs extended, venom dripping as they readied to strike…
Verik cleared his throat. ”I, ah. As I was saying. I met someone interesting on the way here.” He pointedly side-stepped a leaf-strewn hollow, eyeing it carefully. ”She called herself a ninja and claimed she had saved her world from some kind of demon. She thought that time travel might be involved…”
Yes, talking was good. Talking kept his mind off his own thoughts. His thoughts told him to burn the entire forest rather than take one more single step forward into the darkness. His thoughts could not be trusted.
”I’d only just time traveled myself, actually. So I thought her theory might have some weight. It was...two thousand years in the past, I think.” That’s what he’d managed to pick up from the ramblings of that mad knight, anyway. ”Now I’m not so sure as to when I am, but I know it’s certainly possible. And Chaos was known for his manipulation of time. That’s...Garland. The one I mentioned before? His demonic form was Chaos and…”
None of this made sense, did it?
”I’m sorry. My thoughts tend to stray when I’m under stress.”
