The sun was setting.
The forest felt cold , almost lifeless.
I searched around looking for the four knights.
Each step brought me closer to my goal.
The soil was getting warmer and the roots were beginning rot in a particular direction so I went in that direction.
I didn't know what the knights were but one thing was to be certain, the King wouldn't have anything 'normal' working under him.
He was a generous and kind ruler who showed no partiality to anyone, and now he's the most terrifying ruler ever who kills and conquers as he pleases.
What kind of horrific knights who such a king send to kill the queen of the forest?
I wonder that to myself as I walked.
The soil had become significantly hotter. The trees had no leaves. It almost felt like life was drained from them.
"Who goes there?"
A metallic heavy voice came from ahead.
It belonged to a man wearing heavy armor . Next to him stood three others.
One had a bow, the other a spear and the last one had nothing.
"Good evening sir, are you perhaps the knights sent by the King?" I asked.
Silence followed.
None of them answered me. Instead
*Sllllaah*
My upper body was burned to a crisp in an instant.
"AAAAAAAH" I screamed instinctively even though such mortal wounds would heal soon enough.
The pain was real. Too real .
It did hurt. It hurt a lot.
Tears rolled down my eyes, and through those teary eyes I could see them taking aim at me.
I clutched my sword even tighter and sprang forth.
No human could match the speed of an undead.
No human.
"Ah!"
I spurted out blood and I hit a tree stump.
I was punched.
It was quick. Too quick.
" Are you an undead? I thought your kind was wiped out by the church long time ago. Too bad we don't have any holy water to fully get rid of you." The one with the spear spoke.
"What are you?" I asked gasping for air.
"Us? We are the blessed ones. The four knights of paradise. The ones who drank the blood given to us by the TRUE God." The one with the armor spoke.
The true God..?
"The God who created this land is naught but a mere shadow of what the great one is. With its power even the queen of the forest will fall to us." The one with bow spoke.
" You who dared to look upon us will pay the price for doing such a heinous act . You shall be our meal tonight." The one unarmed spoke.
Before I could even react i had my head removed cleanly.
*
I opened my eyes.
The gentle morning dew had woken me up from my nap.
It felt as if something had been taken from me. But it wasn't. It was just a bit of my soul that I had lost. They are it. The knights of the Paradise.
I couldn't defeat them.
Not like this.
I wasn't strong enough.
I couldn't become strong enough.
" He he haaa haa"
Laughter came from around me.
I knew that voice.
It was her.
The queen.
" That was the most pleasurable experience I had in a while. The way your body was ripped apart and eaten had me going..
You wouldn't even believe the things I felt seeing you dismembered like that.." she said, her cheeks turning red.
"I failed. I am sorry. I will try again today, I atleast now know where to find them."
I spoke.
"No need sweetie. You and I , we both know you can't win. Not with that pathetic body of yours. I don't want to watch the same thing again and again." She said. Her eyes locked onto my figure.
"Does that mean our deal is off?" I asked.
"Oh no. Take as much time as you need. I don't mind. But next time I want a different scenario. If I don't get it, the deals off. I won't answer anything. " She said.
... I remained silent.
"Well I will now get going but before I leave let me tell you something, go to the town below. You might find something interesting there."
After that she vanished.
I stood up.
My body has become stronger again after dying, but my soul had been weakened.
Many thoughts were going through my mind.
I wish she was with me right now.
I looked around, but couldn't find any weapons.
I was naked.
My body had regrown but now it was fully exposed.
There wasn't even anything to wear in a forest.
I made my way back to the abandoned houses.
There I found clothing.
It was old and falling apart but it was leagues better than nothing.
I put it on and made my way to the place the queen told me.
It was even further than I had imagined.
On the way I thought about what the knights had said .
The true God.
Did such being truly exist? And if it did why did no religion reference him.
In this part of the continent there were 4 religions.
The followers of God.
Members Of Sword.
Demonists.
Truth seekers.
Each had their own beliefs but none referred to any being such as a "great one" or "true God".
I wondered what that was. As I did I had reached the river.
It was the only way down.
I could see the town from here.
*thump*
With a few punches i knocked down a tree and threw it into the river, riding it with the flow.
As it approached the fall i braced myself for impact.
*SPLASH*
The cold water splashed all over me as I made my way down.
At the bottom I jumped from the log as it crashed into the river below, sinking to the bottom of it.
I swam to the shore , my figure was fully drenched.
The cold air only made it worse.
I looked up to see another layer of forest surrounding me.
I walked through them.
It was quite.
Eerily quiet. And cold too.
Way too cold.
Something felt off.
Almost as I was being watched.
I made my way to the outskirts of the forest and the entrance to the town.
The town I was told to visit.
The town that was being burned with ice.