"What's your relation to the old man?" a high-pitched voice asked. Sharp, almost feminine.
Ciro found himself in yet another unfamiliar terrain, no trace of Hermit in sight. Before him stood a beast of legend: the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, fused with the head, wings, and foretalons of an eagle.
"A griffin," Ciro muttered, recognizing the amalgamation—though this one stood nearly twice the size any book had ever described.
"Oh? So you are familiar with Griff's specie," the voice said, pleased. "They're rather rare these days..."
Ciro scanned his surroundings. There was no clear source. The voice seemed to echo from everywhere at once—above, behind, and within the air itself.
"How surprising," it continued mockingly. "A kid your age should be bawling for his mommy and daddy by now. Instead, you're attempting to figure out where I could be. I commend your bravery."
"What do you want from me?" Ciro demanded, raising his voice despite the knot tightening in his chest.
The voice chuckled.
"I wanted to play a game. It's been quite long since I had anyone to play with," it said brightly.
Ciro hesitated, then answered anyway. If she could command a beast like this, provoking her outright would be suicide.
"What kind?"
"You humans' favorite! Hide and seek."
KREEEEE!!!
The griffin shrieked, the sound tearing through the air like shattered glass. Ciro staggered as its massive talons came crashing down.
Pain ripped across his chest.
He tumbled backward, gasping. Two diagonal cuts burned across his torso, blood seeping through his torn fabric.
If I'd been a second slower…
Those would've gone straight through.
"Excellent instinct," the voice praised, delighted. "You're rather mentally hardened for a child."
Then, colder—
"But don't get cocky just because you got lucky."
Ciro didn't wait.
He bolted, legs pumping as fast as they could carry him.
__________________________________________________________________________
Hours had passed as darkness began to creep its way into the land.
"Boy?"
Hermit checked a bush.
"Boy?"
Behind a tree.
"Boy?"
Beneath a boulder.
He sighed.
With a flick of his wrist, the magic sustaining the boulder dissipated. It crashed to the earth with a dull thunder, scattering dust and stone.
Acerbus is Aurael's domain.
As its Lord, she wields near-absolute authority over space and its native creatures.
She knew better than to move me.
The boy, however, is another matter.
Hermit tapped the butt of his staff against the ground.
A thin wave of mana rippled outward, spreading across the land in a perfect circle, like water disturbed by a falling pebble. Trees, stone, and soil all reflected back to him, their positions etched into his awareness.
He closed his eyes.
The world sharpened.
Western edge of Acerbus, he concluded. Which means she moved him east.
That said…
This spell grants omniscient sight only within its range.
His brow furrowed slightly.
She's already several hundred meters beyond it.
Crafty sprite.
She must be toying with the boy by now.
Fortunately, for her to have vision throughout Acerbus, she needs the aid of her creatures'. That should give the boy some time to hide.
Hermit released the spell and cast Levitas upon himself, rising smoothly into the air as his robe fluttered beneath him.
She could be anywhere.
At any time.
I spared you before, Aurael.
If you harm that boy, you won't have a second chance.
He exhaled slowly.
I could kill her in an instant, he admitted to himself. That is not the problem.
His eyes scanned the vast wilderness below.
The question is where exactly are you hiding…?
_______________________________________________________________________________
On the opposite side of Acerbus, the game of hide and seek continued.
Truth be told, it was hardly a game at all—more like a mouse fleeing a ravenous bird.
"Do you really think you can hide forever, child?" Aurael mocked, her vision riding atop her griffin's eyes as the beast scoured the land below.
I've been running for hours at this point.
It's getting dark already.
It shouldn't be able to see me now.
Still…
It's only a matter of time before the bird finds me.
"Did you know that eagles are excellent diurnal hunters?" Aurael mused aloud.
Ciro remained crouched beneath the cover of thick, towering trees, barely daring to breathe.
"That makes them rather poor matches for the dark," she continued, pausing just long enough to lull false hope, "though despite its eagle head—"
KREEEEE!!!
"—it has the eyes of a lion!"
Razor talons tore through bark and wood, sending splintered trees crashing aside. One strike narrowly missed Ciro's head.
"Shit!"
He scrambled to his feet, wasting no time as he bolted through the undergrowth, restarting the chase yet again.
"Stop," Aurael commanded.
The griffin obeyed without hesitation, halting mid-motion. The sudden stillness allowed Ciro just enough time to vanish once more into the forest's dense green.
Her attention drifted elsewhere.
His mana fluctuated.
He must have used a large-scale location spell.
Aurael clicked her tongue.
I have nothing to fear.
My mana is well concealed, and his spell's range is limited.
Still…
Her lips curled into a bitter frown.
"Haven't you humans taken enough," she whispered.
______________________________________________________________________________
After what felt like hours of running, Ciro could no longer force his legs to move. He had to rest, feeling as though his heart and lungs were about to collapse had he pushed himself any further.
He glanced back, breath catching as he realized nothing pursued him.
A shaky sigh escaped his lips.
Still, he remained vigilant.
If she could move me from one place to another,
then there's no reason to believe she can't do it again at any moment.
So why hasn't she?
Rumbleeee...
Ciro looked up.
It's gonna rain soon...
Ciro shook his head, dispelling unnecessary thoughts as he continued to walk in search of a place to rest.
He didn't walk far before spotting it.
A run-down shed stood crooked among the trees. Its wood was long decayed, yet patches of fresh, unprocessed timber reinforced its walls as though someone had tried, again and again, to rebuild it despite its foundations nearing collapse.
"Ow…" Ciro hissed, his wounds pulsing with each step.
Wooooshhh...
Rain poured from the darkened sky.
He slipped inside just as the downpour worsened. The interior was just as shabby, with cobwebs draping the corners like funeral cloth, and what little furniture remained had surrendered to rot and age.
Ciro gathered a handful of mandrag leaves from nearby growth—common herbs his village used to treat wounds.
Grinding them into paste with a stone from the forest brought back memories he hadn't realized he was still carrying.
Running to his mother.
Scraped knees.
Her hands ever so gentle and practiced.
Her voice echoed in his mind, warm and achingly close.
Ciro! Such a clumsy boy you are. You really do take after your father!
Mom, it hurts! Make it stop...
Come. Sit next to mommy.
Promise me you won't go out into the forest again, okay?
Mhm...
"Ah!" Ciro groaned as he applied the paste, the cool ointment stinging sharply against his wounds.
I only ever watched you do it, he thought, teeth clenched.
I should've asked you to teach me…
"If I knew you were going to disappear, Mom."
"I thought you humans were nothing but heartless monsters," a feminine voice called out.
Ciro stiffened.
"You—"
"But I suppose," the voice continued, its tone softening in a way that felt almost unfamiliar, "there is something still beating inside that hollow, human chest of yours."
She stepped into view.
An adolescent girl stood before him, draped in pristine white cloth that seemed untouched by mud or rain. A faint, otherworldly glow clung to her form, and straight white hair flowed down her back like a silver waterfall.
"You're the voice," Ciro said, hesitation threading his words.
"I am Aurael, Lord of Acerbus," she declared calmly. "By birthright, this land is mine. You have trespassed."
Her palm lifted, mana gathering into a dense, radiant sphere.
"Begone."
BOOOOOM!!!
The shed disintegrated under the blast. Rotten wood and splinters exploded outward as Ciro was hurled across the clearing.
"Agh!" he cried, pain tearing through his body as he struck the ground.
Aurael did not rush.
She walked forward, each step sinking softly into the rain-soaked soil. Her hand rose again, mana spiraling obediently into her grasp.
"Enough resi—"
Thunk!
Aurael flinched.
A stone struck her cheek.
The boy, just as much as she was, too, remained unwavering, throwing a stone right at her face.
Ciro stood, although barely. His breathing was ragged, his legs trembling as blood mixed with rain, exhaustion threatening to pull him back to the ground.
"Why do you continue to fight?" Aurael asked, genuinely curious. "You possess no magic. Little mana. What hope do you believe remains?"
Ciro sucked in a shaking breath.
"All I have left is my life," he said hoarsely. "And I won't let you take the last thing my family left for me."
Aurael paused, dispelling the mana in her palm.
"Take?" she echoed, her voice trembling. "You speak of take?"
Her hands curled into fists as rain soaked her white hair, the glow around her flickering violently.
"All your kind has ever done is take," she spat. "Take. Take. Take. What right do you have to speak of loss? You know nothing—nothing!"
For a fleeting moment, she regretted hesitating.
That hesitation hardened into resolve.
She was the last Lord of Acerbus. And she would fulfill her role.
Aurael clenched her teeth. Within her palm, power compressed, enough to erase a small island twice over.
"At last," she hissed, "begone—"
"Lumenicium."
FWOOOOSHHH!!!
KABOOOOOOM!!!
A shaft of light emit from her frail, delicate hand, tearing mercilessly through the land, instantly eviscerating everything in its path. Earth melted, stone shattered, and a massive scar was carved into Acerbus—one that would remain for decades, until nature itself could reclaim the wound.
From the inferno, a figure descended.
"I recall telling you to leave Acerbus," Hermit said coldly, hovering above the scorched ground.
A translucent barrier of magic wrapped tightly around Ciro, shielding him from the aftermath.
His eyes burned not with fire, but with something far more malicious.
Killing intent.
"Hermit…!" Aurael gasped.
The air itself grew heavy.
Pressure crushed down upon her shoulders as if the land had turned against its own Lord.