It came from Nithara’s mouth, but it simply did not sound like her. It was as if she was possessed by something—or someone
Her aura also changed.
The two girls in front of her didn’t need any second glances to know something was completely wrong.
‘‘Hunters! Stand on guard! There are Arcanians above!’’ A shout came from below the tree house.
The two of them realized that the glow Nithara emitted must’ve given away their hiding spot.
Feywa panicked hearing the hunters not far below them and quickly relocated and thickened the tree house walls to lessen the chances of being discovered.
But Nithara, on the other hand, looked up to meet Feywa’s eyes with ones that were wide open, revealing black voids where eyes should be.
And right at the centre of those voids are purple glowing dots that seemed to pierce through their souls.
Cold shivers ran down Feywa’s spine as she shielded Eruana with her own body. Eruana simply obeyed her companion’s unspoken order to stay still and prepare for anything.
Silence enveloped the room. The two girls did not dare to move, afraid that this girl—or rather ‘‘entity’’— would target them. Who knows what would happen if it did!
The entity slowly stood up and walked towards Feywa.
‘‘Fear not child, I am not here to hurt my own kind, I am simply here to fix humanities biggest mistake.’’
Eruana peaked over Feywa’s shoulder, finally seeing Nithara’s state.
The entity simply looked at Eruana and gave her a smile before suddenly disappearing into thin air, leaving both girls startled at first and eventually confused.
Eruana, however, felt this sudden familiarity towards it. Not the kind you feel towards a well-known friend, but rather something much deeper.
Eruana could not exactly pinpoint what she was feeling towards it. But one thing was clear to her.
She did not feel frightened by the creature that stood before them, nor did she feel any evil aura from it.
The silence was immediately pierced with echoing screams from below. Accompanied by loud sounds of thunder, weapons being shot, and gnashing of flesh.
‘‘Come on, let’s check on that little friend of yours.’’ Feywa spoke with a tint of hesitance, pulling Eruana back from her wandering thoughts.
Curiosity got the better of Feywa. She needed to know what that thing was!
Eruana gave a simple nod before letting Feywa lead the way.
Climbing down the side of the tree, they were met by a strong metallic scent.
‘‘Is that b-blood?’’ Eruana asked, pointing at a pool of liquid by the roots of a nearby tree.
‘‘Let’s just go and find out for ourselves.’’ Feywa replied.
As they landed on the ground, multiple dismembered bodies of hunters were scattered all over the place. Some in crimson piles, while some hang from tree branches while blood dripped from them.
Suddenly, a loud thud came from a distance, alerting them. Through the darkness not far from them lay a figure—it was Nithara—seemingly unconscious again.
Eruana quickly ran towards her, looking like she hadn’t seen the massacre displayed around them.
Feywa tried to stop her, sadly ending up with an outstretched hand, motioning to grab Eruana’s arm and call out, ‘‘Eruana no—‘‘, but to no avail.
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She could only watch her friend run towards the person who had just murdered thirty-something hunters.
Looking at her friend who was now cradling Nithara’s body, Feywa slowly walked towards them as she listened to Eruana pleading with Nithara to wake up.
“Nithara please, wake up! Don't die on my watch, We just met, but you're already my friend!" Her tone switched between sad and yelling.
Feywa couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, remembering that this scene in front of her was exactly how Eruana became her companion.
Nithara groaned, opening her eyes once more, followed by a joyful shriek from Eruana as she hugged Nithara tightly.
‘‘Wha-What happened?’’ Nithara asked, sat herself up, and looked around.
"What are we doing here?’’ She added, her hand making its way to her head and lightly pressing onto her temple as her brows furrowed.
“What do you mean ‘what happened’?’’ Eruana exclaimed.
‘‘You turned into this black-eyed creature and started killing these guys. You were so cool!’’ She added—exaggeratedly.
Nithara looked around once more before saying, ‘‘I... did this..?’’
Feywa had already concluded something in her head. She stood up to check one of the bodies near them.
She noticed the electric currents running across each and all the dismembered bodies.
The gashes and cuts were made so clean that it looked like they were the work of a butcher. Blood still dripping from the wounds, its stench growing stronger and stronger.
This only fueled Feywa’s thoughts about whatever this girl they saved was.
Seeing how happy and concerned Eruana was by her newfound friend, she can’t help but brush it off and not speak at the moment.
Not long after, raindrops started to pour from above.
‘‘Shit— guys, we should get going now. The storm is here!!’’ Feywa exclaimed as she ran towards Eruana and Nithara.
Eruana was quick to wrap Nithara’s arm around her shoulder while Feywa held the other.
Eruana waved her hand to the side as a yellow hue trailed after it. She threw her hand in front of them and came upon a creature that looked like a jellyfish.
The only difference was its head resembled a turtle's shell with its jellyfish tentacles swaying all around as it danced around them. Making joyful noises, symbolizing its happiness of being summoned.
The three quickly hopped on the creature while yellow shimmers trailed behind it as they made their way up the tree house.
Feywa, on the other hand, puppeted the trees to make a tunnel for them to cross in order to avoid contact with the rain.
Upon reaching the tree house, they all breathed a sigh of relief ‘‘Well that’s totally something you don’t do everyday HAHAHAHAHAHAH’’ Eruana squealed as they got off of the creature.
The rain began to pour harder, Eruana swiftly moved in front of the creature and placed her forehead against its shell-like head. It soon scattered into tiny yellow shimmers.
‘‘It’s been a long time since you last summoned that one.’’ Feywa stated, raising one hand to command the tree house to seal every opening.
‘‘Yeah, it’s actually just the sixth time I’ve summoned her.’’ Eruana replied, but their conversation was cut short by a thud behind them.
Nithara was unconscious—AGAIN.
Eruana ended up slapping her forehead before saying, ‘‘Oh dear Astro, what on earth are we gonna do with you.’’
Sighing at the thought of her statement. However, upon hearing this, the previous thought resurfaced in Feywa's mind.
‘‘WHAT?! Haven’t you seen what she did to those hunters? What do you mean ‘what are we gonna do with her’?!” She couldn’t help but shake Eruana by her shoulders in hopes of making her realize that it was a bad idea—a very bad idea.
“I know, but c’mon, we can’t just leave her in this state. Look at her!” Eruana pointed at Nithara, who was sweating nonstop.
This caught her attention, causing her to abandon their petty argument and tend to Nithara’s needs.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve made up my mind, Feywa, we are taking her with us."
"Besides, she didn’t hurt us earlier. Those hunters deserved what happened to them.” She uttered every word with a cold tone without even looking up at Feywa.
Feeling helpless, Feywa wanted to argue but chose not to, knowing she had no chance of changing Eruana’s decision.
Letting out a deep sigh, Feywa simply went with it. ‘‘Alright, we’ll leave first thing after the storm stops. We’ve got everything we need for our next journey.’’
Devastation was clearly displayed in her tone.
Going back to her corner of the tree house, she turned her back to them with the faint light from a nearby lantern reflecting on the wall she was facing, being the last thing she saw before dozing off to sleep.
Eruana, on the other hand, continued to take care of Nithara. Constantly wiping her sweats, and made her a comfortable bedding—dismissing her own comfort.
It was clear that she was led by something more than kindness.
Two souls resonating... perhaps.
