In a dark room, a handsome-looking man with slicked jet-black hair stood in front of a hovering screen being projected out of a crystal.
Within the projection shone the image of a beautiful woman with short light brown hair and a pair of striking brown eyes.
She had subtle bags under her eyes. They weren't noticeable at a glance; however, even without them, it was obvious that Jessica was tired.
Yet, despite the exhaustion in her eyes, a subtle smile pulled onto the corner of her lips as she looked at the man standing before the projection.
"What is it, Eclipse." She asked.
"Give me Judgement. I need to talk to him." Eclipse voiced in a low and calming voice.
"Sorry, but I can't do that right now, I'm afraid..." Jessica sighed.
"It's about his sister." This time Eclipse narrowed his eyes, yet the expression on Jessica's face did not change.
"I know this is important. You wouldn't be calling me if it wasn't... But he's busy right now." She subtly glanced to the side before returning her gaze to him.
"He's too busy to save his own sister?" Eclipse felt a little angered by what Jessica was suggesting.
"No... If he knew, he would most likely immediately go to prevent the problem." Jessica let out a staggered breath before continuing. "He puts her safety above himself. He consumed the Giant's blood drop barely a few days ago. I can't let him waste it the same way he did with that last drop of Phoenix blood he bought just because his sister might be in danger again." Jessica explained while Eclipse rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Can you send someone else over then? If not Judgement, then maybe Archie or Death?" Eclipse questioned.
"They're both busy. Death is on a mission, while Archie is..." Jessica paused momentarily, and Eclipse quickly understood what she meant to say.
However, before Eclipse could say any more names, Jessica's eyes widened when she remembered something.
"Now that I think about it, there are two people who are currently available." Jessica smiled.
"Oh god... Fine. I'll be going with them, alright? I'll send you the coordinates, and you just send them there as soon as possible. If you don't hear from me in two days, send Silas in." He sighed.
"Understood... Greed out." She said before the projection of her disappeared.
"Eclipse... Out." He muttered to himself before stashing the crystal that he used to project her image into his pocket.
Turning around, he left the room while walking in haste.
He really hoped that they wouldn't be doing what he was thinking, but if it were the case, then he would most likely be in a very dire situation, even if backup comes in time.
Leaving the room, he paced toward the teleportation hub, gave the person standing in front of it a token, and disappeared within an instant.
***
An eerie silence permeated the atmosphere.
The swaying trees of the snowy forest didn't make a single sound.
Everything... Was silent.
Not a single thing throughout the entire forest dared make a sound.
Even the wind itself seemed too afraid to make a peep.
The sun had already set, and within these parts of the continent, it was normal for the days to be short. It was winter, after all...
A shrill coldness could be felt by the group of teenagers who were walking within that very forest.
Their breaths were baited, while the steam coming out of their mouth was limited.
Silence had fallen upon them after they had left the town.
Not a single one of them said a word.
They were as silent was the environment around them.
Shivers went up and down their spines.
They felt eyes upon them.
They felt breaths on the back of their necks.
They felt like they were being followed...
As if something was stalking them... Lurking in the shadows, and waiting for the moment, they would look away.
"Couldn't we have waited until the morning." Herla whispered.
"I'm certain this place isn't safe." David added.
"We should go back and wait for the morning." Zelon awkwardly chuckled.
"No... It only comes out at night." Syra silenced them with a single sentence, yet the fear of whatever was around them still caused them to walk closer together.
Humans are really unlike any other species. Their fear of the unknown is far greater than any fear other species can feel.
"Are you sure we're going in the right direction." Argon, who had already been walking a step ahead of Syra with his blade out, asked.
"Yes." Syra snarled.
"Did... Anything happen?" Argon asked while looking back slightly, but when he did so, Syra's eyes widened slightly. Her body moved independently; without delay she swung her staff and pointed it toward his shoulder.
Without thinking twice, Argon jumped out of the way and swung behind him.
His sword seemed to have hit something tough. However, he didn't question what it was for a second as he knew that Syra would quickly take care of it.
"Air Cutter." Syra's voice echoed throughout the area they were in as several blades of wind shot out of the tier 2 magic circle before her staff.
The wind blades cut the creature that had come out of the bush into several pieces that quickly fell to the ground and created a gorry mess.
"What... Is that." Argon took a step forward to look at the thing more closely; however, now that it was in a dozen pieces, it was much harder to analyze the creature.
"A spider." Syra answered simply.
"R-Really? I thought we would be killing the spider much later." Argon chuckled with a little bit of fear in his voice.
"What... Scared of spiders?" Syra asked with a little smile on her face.
"N-NO!" He shouted a little too loudly, and when he did so, the sound of several creatures echoed from around them.
"Well done Argon... Now we're surrounded." Syra sighed before letting out a little chuckle.
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