Quartz could feel the darkness drawing closer to him and pressing down, suffocating him slowly as he steps carefully through the thick maze of the forest. The densely packed trees loom high above, but remains still despite the icy breeze that continues to flow around him.
The silvery moonlight is slow to a trickle by the full branches, and Quartz needs to squint, only to see a path of gloom and uncertainty ahead.
"Wh... Where am I?" He utters to his mind. For every step, the haze gets thicker to the point it irritates the young man"s eyes.
As much as possible, Quartz tries to walk in a subtle pace with sweat flowing off his pale face. His left hand then clenches the sword, preparing to slash any foe who would dare to attack him. However, Quartz is uncertain of the beasts which dwell in a forest he hasn"t been through.
Suddenly, from his left, the young man hears a high-pitched howl, scaring the life out of him. His body starts to shivers, and his hand puts out his sword. The howl intensifies, and Quartz starts to hear footsteps circling him. The footsteps fiddle around with Quartz"s auditory perception. His mind couldn"t keep up with the pace.
"Whoever you are, show yourself! I am not afraid to fight." His voice stutters, then echoes throughout the woodland.
"Tell me, do you bleed?" A strange deep voice echoes to the young man"s ears. His confidence and bravery are chained into the depths of his mind.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Quartz demands and tries to detect whoever is trying to talk to him. However, things start to intensify when red glaring eyes appear out of nowhere. He could also hear what appears to be hyenas, trying to sniff and growl at him from afar.
"I smell the flesh of a man." Another voice utters from behind. The haze then starts to clear, only to reveal a pack of hyenas with large horns swiveling around him.
The hyenas, however, aren"t those of Earth. They look much fiercer and their jaws are way sharper. They have horns on the sides of their ear, and for some reason, they can speak the language of men.
The hyenas look similar to one another, except for the hyena in front of the young man. It has longer horns and sharper jaws, its pigment of dusk stands out from the rest of the pack.
"I am Wulfric Frost, the alpha of my clan. Your blood, satisfies my cravings." The alpha introduces with an intimidating voice. It continues to walk closer with a rather subtle pace. With its sharp eyes, it watches the young man"s every movement.
Escape is only a figment of his imagination for he is surrounded by Wulfric"s clan. Fighting will only make things worse, for he does not stand a chance against a horde of devil looking hyenas.
Quartz tries to remain calm, thinking of another way out. It looks like only the alpha is blocking his front. Perhaps by slashing its leg he would be given a chance to escape. However, Quartz is also aware that if the alpha is injured then the whole pack will start to chase him.
A leap of faith, Quartz swallows his saliva gravely and dashes towards Wulfric with sword pointed on its leg. Meanwhile, the alpha responds with a growl, then starts to dash at Quartz.
The young man dashes underneath the alpha and injures one of his legs. He learned that technique from Kingston. From there, Quartz runs as fast as he could and as expected, the hyenas start to chase him.
"Get him!" The alpha commands. Its wound isn"t severe, for only a drop of blood was able to drip.
"Come on! Come on!" Quartz utters with panic. Even with exhaustion, he forces his leg to exceed the compatibility of his own speed.
He then thought of an idea to outmaneuver the whole pack. From an intersection, he throws his sword to the right but he runs to the left. His plan worked for the sword"s sound was able to attract the hyenas causing them to turn right.
In the middle of nowhere, Quartz halts for a while in order to gasp for air. He sits on a dilapidated wood, trying to calm himself after such traumatic events.
From the pitch-black eerie of the forest, comes a spark of hope. A wisp of red flames appears out of nowhere, dragging the young man"s attention.
More wisps start to appear out of nowhere, serving as a path of light through the forest. Due to its charm, Quartz decides to stand up and follow the wisps.
His ears could hear the sounds of spirit which seems to have an extremely high-pitched tone. With the help of the wisps, Quartz is able to return to the camp unharmed.
He snaps out of the charm, and looks back at the forest. To his surprise, the wisps are all gone, including their voices. He then tilts to the front and sees the princess looking at him with a ferocious glare.