The ground had not stopped shaking once. If she had a watch, she might have been able to confirm how long it had been since it started, but unfortunately, she did not. Nonetheless, she could tell that an hour or two had passed since her son left her in that rocky place.
Rattle.
She could hear and feel the rocks falling down for moments prior. It started from just dust, then came small pebbles, which soon became chunks of large rocks that jolted her each time they smashed into the ground.
'Is it collapsing...?'
She could pretty much guess that she was in a cave. She did know how large the cave was, how deep it was, or what created the water sound coming from her right side. All she knew was that she was in a cave, and that very cave was crumbling down.
"...You too?"
It was almost the exact same thing that happened in the past. The similarity was so stark that she thought she had somehow ended up in a distant past. Cold, unknown place. Rumbling and roars that seemed never to end. Sword clasped tightly in her chest. Alone.
Kting.
The sword fell weakly to her side. Hesitate, or perhaps unwilling, her movement slow and lifeless as she stood up. She gazed to her left, where the cold air and chaotic sound originated.
She had already tried to go out more than once, though each time, she was immediately rattled by the large shadows crawling around. Yet, she did not seem to remember any of those instances, as she somehow effortlessly pushed herself out of the cave.
Dragg.
Another sound emerged. It was the sound of something being dragged. Something large and heavy. Compared to the never-ending, distant shaking, the dragging sound was not too far away. If that was not concerning enough, she was even certain that whatever it was, that thing was slowly creeping toward her.
Dragg...
But Maria did not move, standing still like a statue. From just the heavy, dragging sound, she eventually could hear the sound of rough breathing. It surely came from a large animal, as each time the breathing rang, she was slammed by wind that almost lifted her off the ground.
Yet, she still stood unmoved. She gently raised her hand, reaching for whatever it was that stood before her.
"Plea..se... please... my child..."
Grunt.
Maria looked up. High, most likely taller than her house, there were two blue, slit eyes staring at her.
"Please... help me look for my child..."
The eyes blinked slowly as if they understood her. Perhaps because she was too tired already, she felt as if the animal could help her.
"...He's a small, young boy. He, he ran that way," Maria pointed to where she last heard her son's footsteps.
Grunt.
The eyes blinked once again, following the softer grunt. The eyes then descended, resting only when they stood less than a step away from Maria. The eyes, bigger than even a carriage, glowed. Images flashed in its eyes, and among them, familiar figures kept making an appearance.
"Y-yes, th-"
TING.
Her words were cut short. A tiny figure appeared between her and the eyes. That figure pushed her to the back, while subsequently slashing a black dagger into the comically large eye. Sparks flew out, and roared that animal as loud as the thunder in the sky.
Seeing his strike did absolutely nothing, the tiny figures snatched Maria's hand before running toward the cave. His eyes, terrified, locked into the blue eyes that were slowly turning purple. Those eyes did not move, just staring straight back at them.
"Julian," Maria called out excitedly, finally feeling the warmth in her hand.
"Have you lost your mind?! HA?!"
"No- I-I did-"
"Then why in the hell did you go out?!"
Snatching the sword and knapsack on the ground, Julian kept pulling his mother deeper into the cave. Though his body kept moving forward, his eyes never once left the humongous tainted outside.
'What in the world IS that?'
Smack.
Just as his mind raced to recall anything that resembled that tainted, Julian found his hand had been slapped away, no longer connected to his mother. His mouth opened wide, whether wanting to urge his mother to move, check on her, or wanting to berate her, it was unknown.
It was because his mouth closed back almost immediately. Tears. He saw tears.
"Ma..Maria, please forgive me. I was not meant to yell..." Julian toned his voice down, gently making his way back to her.
"Why...?"
"I-I am sorry, I was just worried about you." Julian took back his mother's hand, eyes occasionally drifted toward the cave entrance. With the same worried voice, he continued, "But we need to move now, it's dangerous to stay here..."
Julian pulled her mother, yet she did not move by even a step.
"Maria, please don't be like this," Julian, now breathless, spoke.
"...Why? Why did you leave me?"
That question stunned him for a second. He stuttered, desperately trying to find not the words he wanted to say, but the ones he thought Maria wanted to hear.
"No, I did-"
'No, I did not leave you.'
'I just had something to take care of?' 'I just had to do something?' 'I would never leave you?'
He did not remember what he was about to say. All his words were snatched away from his throat.
Before him, where his mother should have been, stood a figure with a melted face. Its eyes, blue, stared at him with no emotion.
Swish.
His hand slashed like a whip, striking the figure with his dagger without any hesitation. With the whistling sound, the head rolled down from its shoulder.
Thud.
The moment the melted face struck the ground, the vision around him cracked.
"..L.a.n...!"
"Jul...ia, wr..ng?"
Shatter.
"Julian, le-let's leave... I am scared..."
Julian turned to his left. There, his mother was squeezing and pulling his hand, urging him to go. He turned his head back in front. There, his other hand was holding up a dagger, and at the end of it, there was nothing.