-woosh
-woosh
In the bright sunlight of Galafray, a shadowy figure flashed from one patch of darkness to another, doing his best not to make a sound.
"Three-hundred-meter radius is barely manageable," the figure muttered after appearing next to the shadow of a broken sand wall. He sat on the ground, breaking into a ball of sweat for a moment before he glanced through the corner of his left eye.
There, a giant sandworm was diving into a sea of sand.
He had barely escaped with his life just now.
He was only just getting the hang of the skill. Traversing this hellish desert filled with creatures that could chew him like gum was proving overwhelming. After his first leap, he had stumbled into the desert and was instantly besieged by Sand Trihorns. Thankfully, Victoria had been there to help.
But as time went on, she became less and less involved, until the sun appeared, leaving him completely alone every so often.
"At least I have this," Enzo muttered bitterly, pulling out a dark piece of clothing and wiping his forehead with it. Victoria had given him two rewards for freeing her.
One was the Shadow Step skill.
The other was this cloak.
[Night Cloak: A cloak knitted from the eternal shadow of the dead tree of Ethrils. It enables the wearer to conceal their presence from diviners, gods, and human knowledge — Corrupted Echo (special).]
It was an extremely powerful tool, according to Victoria. Its concealment ability was a huge boon in a desert crawling with monsters.
It also had other perks, of course; its durability was unmatched, capable of taking brutal hits without so much as a tear.
The only downside? Its concealment weakened significantly while moving. Absurdly so.
[7,000 kilometers to goal. You can rest here. No signs of beasts in the surroundings.]
Enzo heard the coffin HUD voice in his head and nodded, falling into a daze from exhaustion.
When he next awoke, a familiar figure stood in front of him, gazing into the horizon. The wind blew her dress, revealing long, luscious legs and thighs.
"You're awake…." Victoria muttered, turning to meet Enzo's very noticeable gaze.
Immediately, his expression changed, lust replaced by fright. He didn't know what came over him just now. It was like some kind of dream.
"Yes," Enzo nodded.
'She really is hot though…' he unwittingly thought.
Victoria was the epitome of beauty. Not only was she attractive, she was powerful, charismatic, and devilishly radiant. Only a sick man wouldn't be tempted.
That being said, he was technically still a teen. So these thoughts were wildly inappropriate.
"Hmm." Victoria walked up and sat down next to Enzo, Nibbleskin curled in her arms.
"Do you want to hear a story?" she asked, a coy smile on her face. She clearly saw the look on Enzo's face, but she didn't really mind it.
"Ehn, why not?" Enzo replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable with her bosom so close.
"Okay," she said with a twinkle in her eye. "I want to tell you about a battle, between a brother and his very own sister."
She began narrating:
"Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was found in the dark woods of the floating forests, deep in the Nightosphere. When they found her, she was barely nine years of age, yet had survived one of the most dangerous zones in the known universe.
This, of course, was expected. She was the long-lost offspring of a very powerful ruler, after all.
Before she knew it, her world flipped upside down. She was taken to a castle in an unknown kingdom, served the rarest things in the universe, and trained by the most reputable beings in existence.
She lived what many would call 'the dream.'
But was it really?
Most of what she knew was the cold, bloodthirsty night. Now she was to live like a princess, in castles and dresses with servants and elegant horses.
It was like dragging a beast out of the jungle, dressing it in a lace, and expecting it to sit pretty.
She conformed, of course. She had to."
Victoria stretched her hand forward. An apple appeared.
-crunch
Red fluid dripped down as she bit into it.
"On her sixteenth birthday… a change came. A new resident entered the castle, not so different from her. His name was Raz.
He was introduced as her younger brother. Only twelve. Brought back from a warzone in the depths of the universe, very similar to hers.
For the first time in a long time, Victoria didn't feel alone.
Raz felt like a birthday gift, a little person she could finally connect with.
But Raz wasn't as strong-willed as she was. The countless battles had left him broken.
So she tried to fix him. She had to show him that the world wasn't always a battlefield. That he didn't have to live in fear."
"Enzo," Victoria suddenly paused. She looked over at him, holding the half-eaten apple by its stem.
"Fear is a dangerous thing," she said. "It doesn't just destroy you, it ruins the people around you.
Whatever you do, don't let fear win."
Her tone was firm. For once, not teasing.
Then she stood and walked toward the void coffin.
"The sun is rising. I'll see you when it goes down," she said. "Oh, and get yourself a good weapon.
You won't be able to avoid fighting for much longer."
With that, she passed through the coffin's door and closed it behind her, leaving Enzo hanging with an unfinished story.