SERAPHINE'S POV:~
"Dangerous?" The word echoed in my mind, a discordant note against the backdrop of the jungle's nocturnal symphony. Cloak, a figure whispered to possess power enough to quell the entire jungle's wild inhabitants in a single hour, was suddenly hesitant about night travel? A cold, unsettling ripple spread through me. It didn't add up. Something was undeniably, disturbingly wrong.
The offered "friendship" felt like a thin veil, a fragile facade concealing something far more sinister. My instincts screamed a warning, a primal urge to protect myself and Sarah. We were pawns in a game I didn't understand, and the rules were clearly skewed.
I nudged Sarah awake, her sleep a light, restless thing. "Sarah," I whispered, my voice a soft breath against the rustling leaves, "let's sleep together tonight. Just to be safe."
Her eyes fluttered open, a flicker of drowsiness quickly replaced by a shared understanding. We huddled together, seeking warmth and a sense of security in the encroaching darkness. My hand found hers, our fingers intertwining, a silent pact of vigilance. Yet, even in the close proximity, I felt an oppressive weight, the unseen gaze of Cloak, heavy and calculating.
Sleep remained elusive, a distant, unattainable dream. My senses were heightened, every rustle of leaves, every chirp of insects, every distant howl amplified into a potential threat. The darkness, thick and impenetrable, felt alive, pulsing with unseen dangers. I yearned to escape, to flee the suffocating presence of Cloak and the unsettling mystery that enveloped us. his eyes, I imagined, watching us from the shadows.
The constant vigilance, the fear that had been gnawing at me for what felt like an eternity, slowly began to recede. My eyelids grew heavy, the darkness around us no longer a threat, but a soft, enveloping blanket. My thoughts, once a whirlwind of worry, drifted and scattered.
The last thing I registered was the soft rustle of leaves, a distant, almost comforting sound. Then, darkness claimed me too, and I finally surrendered to sleep.
My sleep shattered, replaced by a jolt of pure adrenaline. A muffled scream, a sound choked with fear, ripped through the quiet night. Then, Sarah's voice, a panicked cry, "Leon! Leon!"
I snapped upright, my heart hammering against my ribs. Sarah sat beside me, her face drained of color, her eyes wide with terror. "Leon! He's gone! I think… I think Cloak took him!"
A wave of icy dread washed over me. No, this couldn't be happening. Why would Cloak take Leon? If I'd known, I would have clung to him, never let him out of my sight. But even then, what could I have done against Cloak?
"Sarah, when did you wake up?" I asked, my voice tight with urgency.
"Just a few moments ago," she stammered, her voice trembling. "I woke up and went to check on Leon, just to make sure he was alright. But he wasn't there. And Cloak… he's gone too. I found this letter."
She gave me a crumpled piece of paper. My fingers trembled as I unfolded it.
"Imperial language," I murmured, recognizing the elegant, flowing script. "Cloak wrote this." My heart pounded even harder as I unfolded the letter, the paper crinkling in my trembling hands. I began to read, my eyes scanning the familiar characters.
LEON'S POV:~
The rough ground scraped against my cheek as I blinked, disoriented. My vision swam, slowly focusing on the scene before me. A grotesque tableau unfolded: several hulking creatures, their limbs scattered around me like discarded toys. A sickeningly sweet metallic tang filled the air, the scent of blood thick and cloying.
Then, him. I watched, detached, as he methodically severed the limbs of oncoming monsters with the sword, a chilling efficiency in his movements.
"So you woke up," his voice was a low, silken drawl, devoid of emotion.
"Where are we?" I asked, my voice raspy from disuse.
"I'll tell you," he replied, his gaze unwavering. "But first, kill those monsters. Use that sword near you. Killing them will increase your level."
His words were a command, not a suggestion. I reached for the sword, its hilt cold and metallic in my grasp. It felt heavy, unwieldy in my unfamiliar hands. The first monster lunged, a grotesque parody of a bear with razor-sharp claws. I swung blindly, fear a distant tremor. The sword met flesh with a sickening squelch. The creature roared, a sound that seemed to tear through the air, but it was already collapsing, the life draining from its eyes.
A notification, stark and impersonal, appeared before me:
Level Up!
I felt a surge of… something. Not excitement, not fear, but a strange sense of… satisfaction? It was an odd sensation, foreign and unsettling. I killed again, and again, the movements becoming more fluid, more efficient. With each fallen creature, another notification appeared, a steady drip of incremental improvements.
After that, he lit a campfire using fire magic, we both sat near the fire.
The flickering flames cast dancing shadows on Cloak's face as he expertly carved meat from the slain monster. "Let's take some rest, I'm tired. Do you wanna ask some questions?" he offered, his voice gruff but not unkind.
I hesitated, then blurted out, "The key. Why do you think it's me?"
Cloak stopped, a thoughtful expression briefly crossing his face before he burst into laughter. "They always used to say that the key would be a genius," he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "But maybe this time, the key is a monster."
"I don't think I'm the key," I protested, feeling a knot of unease tighten in my stomach.
"If not you, then who is that?" Cloak's laughter subsided. "When you noticed my presence, I immediately realized that you are the key. After that, when I hit you, the whole time you had only a cold expression on your face. If someone else would have been there, they would have started shivering loudly. There are many other reasons besides this. Human God sometimes calls one person, sometimes two, and sometimes the whole class, but the key is only one. You just have to think that the most ordinary looking person has more chances of being the key. By the way, how did you know that I feel that you are the key?"
"Intuitions," I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.
"Yes, yes... if you don't want to tell then don't tell," Cloak said dismissively, resuming his cooking.
"Why did you hide this from us?"
The question hung heavy in the air, he looked at me.
"I had to do this. Actually, I'm not the person you think I am."
He raised his hand, a low hum vibrating in the air. With a sudden burst of energy, his appearance shifted dramatically. His clothes dissolved, replaced by an outfit that spoke of power and purpose: black pants with a black belt adorned with a large silver buckle, a black V-necked shirt worn beneath a black trench-coat with gray lining down the sleeves, and black boots with silver plates protecting his shins. He wore a silver plate on the left side of his coat and a pair of black fingerless gloves. Finally, he pulled down a half-face mask, concealing his features below the eyes. He also wore a cloak.
The transformation was complete.
He removed the mask, revealing a face that defied expectations. Delicate features, devoid of any masculine roughness, could easily have been mistaken for a woman's.
"You!!"
"I'm not Cloak." He declared
The truth hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. The illusion was shattered, revealing a hidden identity.
"Seraphine," Cloak began, his voice low and grim, "she's an enemy. Her mission was to eliminate both of you. I witnessed her strength firsthand – even asleep, she was a force I couldn't have subdued. So, I resorted to a desperate measure: I assumed the appearance of someone she wouldn't dare battle against. Cloak is a name whispered with fear among the heroes of their side, a symbol of power. I hoped that by masquerading as him, I could make her believe that she don't have a choice."
"But she had said she wouldn't hurt us," I countered.
"And you believed her?" Cloak scoffed, a bitter edge to his voice. "Foolish. Sarah is still with her. We'll see how long she lasts."
"Then why didn't you bring her with us?" I pressed, my concern for Sarah growing.
"The key," Cloak declared, his voice hard as stone. "Its retrieval is paramount. The fate of others, insignificant. If there were a hundred Sarahs, my course wouldn't alter."
"You're too cold."
"Perhaps," Cloak admitted, a flicker of something akin to remorse in his eyes. "But desperate times call for desperate measures. The archer… I had to convince her Sarah was the key. I apologize if I… overstepped my bounds." He gestured vaguely towards the blood on my clothes and face. "You're welcome to return the favor."
Leave it, What if I tried to strike back? You'd overpower me in an instant.
"What if she discovers your deception?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly. "What if she realizes you're not Cloak?"
He shrugged, a chilling indifference in his eyes. "Then she'll do whatever she intends. The odds of her seeing through my disguise were slim. People know little about Cloak's true personality, his quirks. Besides," he added, a predatory glint entering his gaze, "if the real Cloak were in my position, he wouldn't have hesitated to eliminate her."
"But we're heroes," I protested, "aren't we? Why all this animosity, this need to kill?"
"Let me enlighten you," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "This world, this fantastical realm, is teeming with gods. Powerful beings, likely of an entirely different, superior race – self-proclaimed deities. But then, a human ascended. An anomaly, a contradiction. They call him the Human God, a being of immense power, yet constrained, limited compared to the true gods." He paused, letting the gravity of his words sink in. "That's why we, as heroes of the Human God, are inherently weaker than the heroes of the other gods."
"Then how is Cloak so strong?" I pressed, bewildered. "And why do the other heroes seek our demise?"
"Why is anyone stronger than another?" he countered, a hint of amusement in his voice. "It's the nature of power. Cloak ranks fourth among the heroes of the Human God, a formidable warrior. Yet, any hero from the other pantheons, perhaps someone ranked thirty among their own, would easily surpass him in strength."