187 Ruined City
Leo glanced up at the System Window hovering before his eyes. The display showed a map with grey shading surrounding him on all sides, with only four cardinal directions and the names of the territories he was passing through visible.
He was currently traveling through a ruined village, where many buildings were overgrown with vines and the pathways were broken. The treacherous terrain almost caused him to twist his ankles several times, but Leo persevered through the obstacles.
He kept a keen eye on his surroundings, aware that monsters could be lurking in the shadows of the buildings. Leo was especially cautious of the dark alleyways, shrouded in complete darkness and impossible to see into.
It was ironic that he was a Shadow Mage and yet was afraid of the dangers lurking within the shadows.
A part of him even whispered that he could conquer anything within the shadows, since it was his element.
However, Leo refused to let his power get to his head. He had seen too many people fall from their own arrogance, and he knew that even a Fire Mage could be burned by the flames.
Moving further, he came across a massive plaza that stretched out before him. The bright red trinkets that adorned the area seemed to be painted in blood, catching his attention immediately.
In the center of the plaza, there was a fountain with a single pillar rising up from it. Perched atop the pillar was a huge, lonely figure of what appeared to be an angel, complete with wings. The being wore a cloak, its face perfectly hidden beneath it.
“Weird...”
.....
Muttering to himself, Leo used his Shadowmancy to summon a Dark Skeleton from the depths of his shadow.
‘Search the area...’
Giving it orders, Leo watched as the being melted into the shadows cast by the surrounding buildings and turned his attention back to the fountain.
As he surveyed the strange structure and the angelic statue on top of it, a faint memory stirred within Leo’s mind. He vaguely recalled coming across a forum post that described a similar fountain, but the details were hazy and difficult to recall.
In the end, all that came to Leo were unimportant tidbits, which had no use to him.
His Shadow had also returned from its search, reporting that it had found nothing in the vicinity. This made Leo feel slightly uneasy, but he knew that running away would only make him an easier target. He resolved to stay put and investigate further.
Pointing towards the angel statue atop the pillar, Leo commanded his Shadow to inspect it.
He watched as the dark silhouette leapt towards the statue and landed a few millimeters away from it, almost crashing into it.
The Shadow reached out to touch the statue’s marble surface, rubbing its eyes and ears, trying to make something happen. It even tried to push the statue away, but it didn’t move.
“Try touching its wings!”
Leo suddenly had a faint recollection of the forum post he had read. He couldn’t quite recall the details, but he remembered something written in bold letters about the statue’s wings.
Leo watched intently as his Shadow’s fingers extended towards the angel statue’s wings, making contact with their surface. He held his breath, waiting for something to happen.
“Nothing happened...”
After a few seconds’ wait he muttered to himself, feeling slightly let down by the anticlimactic outcome. He had expected the statue to come alive and attack him or reveal some hidden secret, but it remained motionless and unresponsive.
Leo absorbed the Dark Skeleton back into his Shadow and turned to continue his journey north. However, as soon as he took a step forward, he felt his senses screaming danger. A chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively jerked his head backwards.
To his surprise, the angel statue on the fountain was missing. His heart raced as he frantically scanned the area, searching for any sign of the statue. His eyes finally settled on its frame standing just outside the fountain, its face turned towards him.
“What...”
He couldn’t recall hearing the marble structure moving, and he couldn’t fathom how it had vanished from the fountain and reappeared outside of it so quickly.
Leo turned to his Shadow and ordered it to scan the statue again. But to his dismay, the inspection yielded no results. The Shadow even tried to damage the statue, but it remained unscathed, as if it were invincible.
“Wait, it can’t be...”
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to test out his theory and when he opened them again, his pupils shrank as he realized that the statue had gotten even closer!
Leo’s heart skipped a beat as he instantly recognized the being standing before him. He knew all too well the trouble he had gotten himself into.
It was a monster called ‘The Sculpture’ – a creature that could only move when out of direct line of sight. Even blinking could allow the Sculpture to approach its prey.
“Fenrir!”
He shouted, calling forth a wolf with abyssal black fur that emerged from his chest. The wolf’s eyes locked onto The Sculpture, and without any need for instructions.
Leo ordered his Shadow to approach the being and try to punch it a few times, but once again, it failed to leave even a scratch on its surface.
‘As I thought, it can only be damaged while moving...’
Leo muttered to himself. as he instructed Fenrir to close his eyes and then gave his Shadow the command to attack the statue.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned...
Crash...
Leo opened his eyes just in time to see the Angel Statue hurtling toward him, having closed the distance between them in an instant. His Shadow had been sent flying by the creature’s sudden movement.
‘Shit...’
Leo’s eyebrows furrowed in concern. He didn’t like this at all.
He had hoped that his Shadow would at least be able to damage the statue. However, the fact that it had been flung away before it could even react spoke volumes about the statue’s strength.
“Well, that didn’t go as planned...”
Leo dared not break eye contact with the statue as he slowly retreated backwards. He and Fenrir blinked at different times, ensuring that the statue wouldn’t have a window of opportunity to move.
As they reached the corner, Leo left Fenrir to continue staring at the statue as long as possible before blinking. He then quickly ran towards the exit of the village, knowing that the statue wouldn’t chase after them once they left its territory.
Soon enough he was informed that Fenrir had blinked and that the statue had disappeared from his sight.
Swish...
Leo’s head snapped backwards, his eyes widening as the face of the statue was right behind me. If he was even a millisecond late, it’d be his death or rather he’d lose two levels and respawn in his last visited ‘inhabitable’ city, which was miles away.
Soon he felt that Fenrir had blinked, causing the statue to disappear from his sight. Leo knew he had to act fast. One false move and he would lose two levels and respawn miles away in the last ‘inhabitable’ city he had visited.
Swish...
Suddenly, Leo heard a swishing sound and his head snapped back to see the face of the statue looming behind him. His eyes widened in terror.
“This is getting ridiculous...”
He muttered under his breath. He stared at the hooded figure, its marble eyes following his every move.
Desperate to escape, Leo called upon Fenrir once again and began to inch his way towards the exit. As he made his way through the city, he repeated the process, each time feeling the tension and pressure mounting.
Finally, he reached the rusty metal gates to the north of the city. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the statue’s hand suddenly emerged from around the corner, sending shivers down his spine.
‘...’
Leo held his breath as he watched the hooded figure emerge from around the corner, its marble eyes fixed on him. Despite the shadow cast by the hood, he could see the angelic beauty of the statue’s face. But there was something unsettling about the way its lips twisted into a sinister smile.
The statue’s expression remained fixed, only changing when Leo blinked. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was like facing his own Ego – twisted, inhuman, and powerful.
The discomfort lingered even after he backed away from the city and watched as the head of the Angel Statue disappeared. Leo reassured himself with a whisper.
“It’s gone...”
But warily scanned the forest surrounding the path he walked.
Towering trees and lush greenery cast giant shadows, enveloping Leo in a dark and eerie atmosphere. He knew this would not be a comfortable journey.
As he trudged deeper into the woods, Leo’s thoughts raced. Why did the statue unsettle him so? Its presence seemed to follow him, and the shadows of the trees danced making him feel intimidated.
‘This will not be a comfortable journey...’
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