Salvation

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Chapter 23

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"I love you, my son."

His mother's voice had deeply moved across his unconscious mind, causing the boy to wake up with a resounding gasp from deep slumber that felt endless in its nature. Seth's eyes shot open to see the fluttering trees, clouds, and skies before him, along with the dim moon hovering above his figure.

Slowly, he sat up on the ground with weary grogginess still clouding his thoughts. Feeling strange in my surroundings, it felt somewhat different from usual. Glancing at his right hand, where his cross was still within his very grasp, Seth was more puzzled about where exactly he was right now.

Looking left and right with a cautious pace, he realized that wherever he was, it's somewhere strange. Everything is empty—the forest, the meadows—everything around him looked hollowed out as if it's lacking color because of how dark it is.

The only light source is the moon, which somehow illuminates brightly, and his beloved crucifix, which shines like fireflies. Then finally, a memory came to him about the events that occurred in his armory. Recalling how he landed himself in this situation, including his friends.

"Billy...Guan Yu..."

Worry sweat under his quiet voice from calling them, anxiously hoping that they are okay and alive somewhere in this creepy forest at the late hour. He hopes to reunite them again, but he has to find them first if he wants answers and explanations.

However, not all is bad. There are sounds of life from crickets chirping in the night, their noises bringing comfort for him to ease down from the stress of being alone in this world, even if it is merely temporary, appreciating the solitude it has been with him since he started being alive.

Even though deep down, his friends are nearby, possibly around these areas in search of one another. Seth has to keep moving rather than standing here in the open like target practice for whatever danger lurks inside this eerie place of unknown territory, its mystery enticing his curiosity to discover.

No more wasting time standing idly as he started to explore this strange place; the longer he waits and contemplates, the harder it will be for him to find them while venturing through these woods, walking past every single tree in sight, searching for his friends.

Despite the ambience of insects and a calm breeze brushing through his messy black hair, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched by something that could be observing him from a distance—a sinister presence that could strike at any second with lethal precision.

It is if whatever it is has been observing him since he woke up, constantly stalking the boy's movements with malicious intent of causing harm towards him, not showing any signs of ceasing anytime soon by the mere presence of the thing.

Quickly, he turned his head to look behind his shoulder, only to see nothing as he held his crucifix firmly from this growing stress, not daring to release it when his life depended on it from preserving his energy and stamina for the duration of this unsettling nightmare.

Still, he was paranoid about being alone in a scary atmosphere where the presence of being followed by some kind of creature lurking behind bushes or inside caves With no one to protect him, Seth knows that he won't survive against anything that might throw him; all he has are his wits and willpower.

Sweating profusely, he continued moving while still feeling the presence of something or someone following behind him beyond reason. His eyes scanned the surrounding areas to make sure he wasn't being fooled by any tricks or traps that might lead him to certain demise if he didn't watch out.

It's difficult for him to make sense of this unusual phenomenon, unsure of what he should do or what this thing wants from him since it has yet to reveal itself, leaving him to struggle with the impending doom that will befall him if he continues this path.

What can he do? What should he do? These questions circled in his mind, continuously repeating over and over, tormenting his consciousness of this situation, which left him paralyzed from the inside out with sheer terror. While Seth's thoughts are consumed by these overwhelming emotions of dread and horror, he fails to realize that he has accidentally tripped on the ground due to being preoccupied, falling onto dirt with a painful grunt.

Quickly, Seth got up from his fall before hearing the sounds of predators starting to growl close behind, but he doesn't have time for this because he needs to keep moving fast. Picking himself up, the boy was horrified at what he saw in front of his very eyes after turning around.

It was a terrifying abomination that was towering over him, having an enormous humanoid body with long limbs and a hunched back. The creature's face was contorted with long, razor-sharp teeth and a row of jagged fangs that were stained with dried blood from its recent meal. Its long claws were protruding from its hands and feet, making it capable of ripping apart flesh with ease.

The eyes of this monster were lifeless and soulless, staring blankly at the human, and its body was covered in patches of fur that were matted with dirt and grime. The scent of decay and rotting meat was emanating from its body, which caused Seth to gag in disgust and fear.

More importantly, the very aura emitting from this beast was intoxicating, driving him to feel sick to his stomach. But there is also a strange, eerie familiarity to it, something that sends shivers down his spine and makes him feel cold from within.

Just when things got any worse, it cautiously took a step forward; his croaked legs were on full display for the child to see, as were his disturbing features of being mutilated, tattered, and wounded from fighting or whatever incident caused these injuries to this monster.

Then, as Seth took a step backward, he also did not know or understand the intent behind this creature's actions. Is it hungry or thirsty? Is it going to eat him? Does it want to play? Is it simply curious about him? Seth had many questions about what this mutilated monster had in mind, but they were cut short when another wave of strong, negative feelings crashed down upon him.

This monster emitted a sense of malevolence, something that no animal has when preying on their food; whatever it is, it's not scared but simply curious, cautious, and ready to attack if he senses any vulnerability that Seth possesses in his very existence.

When the creature started to approach closer with slow, calculated steps, the boy immediately turned around once more before breaking in full sprint, his quick panting as he ran as fast as possible with heavy breathing that escaped from his throat while the nightmarish monster behind him began to give chase after him.

He couldn't believe this is happening in real life; this is too surreal to even be considered some sort of dream or hallucination from eating something that might trigger this. In fact, this isn't the first time he has been chased, but when he is in a creepy, foreign forest and has to face a beast instead of some stranger, it makes him question his sanity if it isn't a delusion that he's having right now.

Part of him preferred the assailant to be human because of how easy it is to cope with such things as being pursued by someone who wishes to kill him; however, it's definitely more difficult dealing with a nightmarish entity that can literally tear him apart and rip his entire body apart without being able to be reasoned with.

Moreover, it makes it easier to understand things that are natural to people, like being chased by someone or something that is dangerous, especially if that person has never seen the supernatural before, which means it's impossible to comprehend how their brain works.

Even though he will never enjoy being attacked just like any normal person would, Seth would pick the lesser danger of the two options since at least it's simple for his mind to wrap around how dangerous his pursuer is compared to otherworldly monsters.

Focusing on ahead with so many trees all around him in this dark forest, Seth paid no mind to the horrifying sound of branches and leaves rustling, echoing in distance that sounded like heavy footfalls or thunderous stomps from what might be the monster chasing him from behind.

Seth wanted to look behind once more; he needed to see how far it was while he ran for his life, but he resisted the temptation, knowing that doing so would cause him to trip or stumble and fall onto his knees, allowing this entity to reach him within seconds before killing him.

But because of his growing temptation to see the truth, he knew he had to see the fate of his doom if he turned back, causing him to briefly turn his head to the side while looking back, which was the biggest mistake Seth had made on purpose.

The monster's expression showed only hate, malice, and hunger; its glowing crimson eyes were staring directly at him, filled with unbridled hunger and desperation with a mix of sadism, baring its rows of razor-sharp teeth at the small human as it continued to chase him relentlessly with an insatiable thirst for fresh meat to sink its teeth into.

For a moment, he mistakenly allowed himself to slow down his pace, which resulted in Seth having the monster take this opportunity to bite the boy's lower left leg if he hadn't picked up the speed before it reached him.

Releasing a painful cry from the bite, the monster then stopped its tracks and began to swing Seth around like a wild, hungry dog with its mouth still attached to the injured leg, causing him to let go of his balance as his body was dragged by this fiend's incredible strength, causing his whole world to spin uncontrollably, creating powerful nausea in his head from motion sickness.

Letting out a sickly groan, Seth then continued to scream tearfully as his leg and body frantically moved left and right from this monster's bite, trying to take his limb off to satisfy its monstrous appetite. In panic, he desperately used his crucifix to stab the monster's eye.

A reverberating, demonic scream bellowed through the air from the creature, releasing his torn and bloody leg, allowing the boy to collapse onto the ground, barely catching his breath from being choked and coughing excessively, struggling to take air from the immense pain he was feeling.

Luckily for Seth, he hadn't bled to death yet. Unfortunately though, he is now bleeding badly and will suffer from infection unless he stops the blood from leaking out from his injury. He's likely infected.  Crying in pain, he winced and grunted in agony before clenching his teeth from this searing sensation.

Meanwhile, the monster suffered brutally due to its unholy nature, for the crucifix, already deep within its supposed skin, had begun its effects, causing him to suffer a seizure as his body shuddered at inhumane means from the intense heat of flames rapidly engulfing him.

Once it ceased, the nightmarish beast turned into nothing more than ashes, blown by the wind; all that remained of this horrible fiend were nothing but ash and dust that scattered away into oblivion. Allowing him to have peace from this horrific encounter as he watched his cross fall after the body's disappearance.

Seeing his beloved weapon, he desperately crawled towards it on the ground despite the immense pain he was feeling in his left leg, as there is nothing more important than having the only source of comfort by his side during this time of crisis.

Grabbing it with his shaky right hand, Seth sighed in relief while holding it as if his life depended on it, giving a tired smile from this accomplishment of obtaining it, "Thank goodness..." He thanked under breath in a raspy voice, "Without you, I'm afraid of what will happen to me."

However, his moment of peace was interrupted by the newcomer as a woman's voice called out to him with a soft spoken tone, "It's a miracle that you haven't fallen into unconscious after suffering from such grievous wound you have," her voice had snapped him back to reality after hearing the sentence from her, "especially when it is coming from frail child."

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 13:21, Nov 8 2024