He was here again.
Darkness, that was all around him. It spread around him and clouded his vision making him unable to see anything. A thick fog spread around and settled itself allover. Where he stood he could feel the little water beneath him and after that nothing else. Far away from where he stood he could hear the sound of breathing as if someone was sleeping. He knew very well where he was. It was the same place he always appeared to since seven years back.
The first time he had been here, he had to figure out where to go and it had been a real struggle then but with having repeatedly coming here, he knew exactly where to go. He started walking forward even as he saw nothing and the darkness took over his sight.
A long walk, for how long he knew not. He didn't bother hastening his steps for he already knew what will happen so he made no effort to rush into it.
After walking for a while, he had reached a certain point and was able to hear the breathing sound clearer. It sounded ragged and smooth at the same time. He knew it would lead him to something or someone he could tell. Determined to find out what it truly was that had been here, he didn't even taken a moment to rest from the long and excruciating walk but instead quickened his steps. It had been a steady occurance but yet every time he was in the pinnacle of finding out what he was, he always regained consciousness.
At a time after a long and what seemed endless walk, he could make out a little light and now the breathing had become louder. It was so loud that one would think it was a giant that layed ahead. The knowledge that he was getting closer to his destination brought a certain excitement on him which was surprising as he hardly ever felt anything towards things like this. More like any other things at all.
His steps halted when he noticed he had come to the end of the road as he stared at the darkness in front of him as he waited for something to happen. Slowly his eyes suddenly started to adapt to what was in front of him as the fog started to disappear slowly and the outline of something was seen. The breathing had also stopped the moment he had approached the end of the road and now there was complete silence.
His heartbeat quickened to shock him once more as his eyes and mind waited in anticipation of what was to happen. The outline started to move and slowly, he could see what he could make out as a eye open.
The eye was bigger than him as he seemed like ant compared to it. The movement was slow but he could already make out what it fully looked like. Though he couldn't explain how terrific it was as it completely shooked him to see it as he had no idea what it was.
Yet at the moment of it opening fully, his own vision started to darken slowly as the loud sound of something seem to wake him up.
Young eyes flew open at the disturbance. The loud cry of something had interrupted his focus. Instantly he took a dagger in his hand and in an amazing speed, throws the dagger forward which moved so quick that it went past the river and into the huge trees ahead until another cry of anguish was heard indicating that the disturbance was no more.
Realizing what he had done, a sigh escaped his lips as his eyes closed once more. Breathing in and out, he opened them once more and felt like cursing at what just happened.
He was so close and once again, he couldn't see it. It had been like this from the beginning. Whenever he was close, something always obstructed him from seeing it. The being he had been told many times was present inside his body.
He settled his thoughts and diverted his attention to his surroundings.
The sky was a clear blue with a few clouds on it. The sun shine in his glory over everything below. Birds took over the air, their number a plentiful. They flew and glided the air as if they were holding a festival. Just beneath where he sat on a boulder on the outside of the forest layed the thallum river which demarcated the other part of the forest. The wind was calm and refreshing as it sent a group of fallen leaves in different directions. The atmosphere was beautiful and the air whispered a silent Melody.
At the look of it, everything seemed so peaceful but Young knew better. For all this calmness was just an illusion. For the forest was known to keep so many monsters. Monsters which rampaged at every time except for when it was mid afternoon. It was the reason it was given the name the Dark Forest. It was known to be the second worst forest in the entire world.
Young eyes went over to the trees far ahead, the quiet a huge burden for it made him do the one thing he hated the most but which he had to live with always. It made him think.
Think of everything that happened, of his suffering, his sins and the condition of the world. It made him think of the past, thoughts he never wanted to have again.
Yet he preferred this situation where he was alone in a place he knew no one would dare come to.
He had left the world eight years ago to come to this forest. He had grown tired of the people complaining. He grew tired of their deception, the hatred, the lies, they made him sick. It was the reason he had trained himself to be void of emotions so nothing and no one could hurt him no more.
The daily life and death situations in the forest had given him the chance to advance and become stronger and better. Though it also seemed to shred all sort of emotions he had left.
He thought back to the vision again and once again closed his eyes to concentrate on the feeling. It didn't always appear but he seemed to be getting good at entering it better whenever he meditated and tried to loose every bit of consciousness.
This time however, he didn't get the chance to as another noise disturbed him.
Slowly his eyes opened revealing coldness and a certain promise of punishment to what had disturbed him once more. His hand had gone into his bag another coming out from it another dagger.
This time however he stopped a moment to look at what it was. From the river below, he hear the sound of something swimming and getting ready to emerge from the water. His grip hardened with his eyes not leaving the water for a moment as he didn't want to take any chances.
However, at the moment when he was ready to send his dagger towards whatever it was, the creature emerges and the sight of what it was had made him freeze.
"What a beauty." His mind spoke the words his mouth never could.
For out of water came not a beast but a woman who had suddenly mesmerized him.
His heart skipped a beat and then went on a frenzy. Shock hit him hard at the emotions that started to manifest all of a sudden.
For the first time in a long time, he could feel.
His eyes didn't leave her for a second as her body slowly emerged and she slowly walked towards land.
Naked, she was. Her beauty fully exposed for him to see. Her long jet black hair fell on her shoulder as the water dropped from it. Her fine middle sized breasts stood as the water on her skin complemented them making her pink nipples shine brighter. The sun shone on her pale fair skin as it worshipped it for it's mesmerizing beauty and her buttocks, full and beautiful in size were held by long and delicate legs.
Sensations and emotions ran around inside him at the sight of her. She made him feel things he hadn't felt before and the strange feeling was confusing.
She had gotten out of the water and walked over to a tree where her clothes hanged on a branch as she raised her legs to retrieve them. He in his stead shoved away the strange feelings and then curiosity filled his mind.
This was the Dark Forest where not only humans but even other beings never came to yet she had come to swim here of all places. He wondered where she had come from and why such beauty would come here considering the fact of the forest always being dangerous. He didn't think her to be as experienced as he was so what could possibly prompt her to come here of all places.
The sun shone at his back while he thought. He was too deep in his thoughts only snapping out of it when he felt the state of something. He looked at her to see her staring back at him.
He froze at the fact of being seen. She already had her clothes on and now stood with her face up looking to see what was above. He could see her trying to make out his face but the sun behind him make it hard for her to see what it was though she could tell that it was a human. They both had frozen and didn't move an inch both complementing on what to do.
However, the sound of something distracted her as she took her gaze away from him giving the opportunity to quickly withdraw himself and seek refuge in the trees behind him.
For a while later, he made his way down the tree after he was sure she had no intention of coming to find out what she saw.
He dusted off some leaves that stucked in his clothes as his mind continuously replayed the image of the lady. It had almost been over a decade since he had last seen or had any contact with people. It was what he had hoped to achieve when he came to this forest. The image of people he had left flooded his mind and he closed his eyes to dispatch the memories.
Having nothing else to do, he decided to go back to his hit to resign for the day. He had come out to hunt and was lucky to have seen a rabbit which he had killed without much chase. His black panther fur leather bag was filled with two nice rabbits which he simply needed to roast.
He checked the bag as he checked to see if everything thing was complete. A kunai rope, some krises and short knives daggers, the two dead rabbits and some other few things.
With the assurance, he started walking back into the woods as he navigated his ways through the trees and bushes and then diverted to the path that lead back to the hut.
He had gone far in his hunt and it could be evening before he got there, that's if nothing disturbed him on his way back which was unlikely to happen. He put some daggers around the belt on his waist preparing for anything that might happen as he moved onwards.
For a long time, he came across nothing but when he had reached a certain area which was scarce of trees but full of long grasses and weeds which colors were worn out, the certain shuffle of the grasses alerted him of something approaching and his daggers were in his hands in an instant. He moved cautiously, his instincts kicking in as he focused on his legs to feel the movements on the ground, a skill he had learnt and mastered and of which helped alot during his hunting and battling.
His ears listening carefully to the sounds around him as suddenly the thing causing the shuffle jumped out from the grasses as it dived at him. He ducked and rolled over to his right evading the attack. Back on his feet, he could clearly see his attacker who had gained it's composure and readied itself to strike once more.
It was a monster known as a skull tiger. Two times larger than a normal tiger, their body was made of bones which covered their entire body except for underneath their belly which contained a little flesh which was the only weak point in their body for it was where their heart resided.
They were two types, the boned and the unboned. The significant difference being the boned had a set of bones that protected the heart making them the hardest to kill as their bones were almost impenetrable while the unboned had no bones protecting their heart. The annoying thing about the Skull tigers were their amazing speed and stunning reflexes.
This was gonna be a tough one as he had only daggers on him being the only thing that could be used on the tiger. At least it was an unboned or this would have taken longer than expected.
Both of them got on a stance as they prepared themselves. The tiger moved first using his amazing speed as it sent a slash at Young who moved past the attack and struck his dagger aiming for the flesh immediately. The tiger had surprisingly twisted his body evading the attack and sending out one of it's own. Young kept a little distance dodging once more and then in an incredible speed struck at it's eyes which it had covered in time making the daggers hit the bones as it made a clanging sound. However, as if Young had vanished, he appeared once more below the stomach and with all the speed and strength he could deliver, he struck fast stabbing it multiple times in the flesh straight at where the heart was as the tiger screamed and roared till it became silent.
Young had immediately left and continued his journey like nothing happened. In a matter of minutes, he had killed a monster most men wouldn't even survive against in seconds and was back on the road like it never happened.
Through his walk, he has come across four to five monsters of which he had less difficulty in dealing with and had finally come to the final path to where his hut was. The trees were taller and more huge and they usually blocked out the sun most of the time.
He has walked to a certain point and had turned to one of the trees as he made to break of some branches which he would use to lit fire in roasting his meats when he sensed the presence of something around him.
His body moving on his own, his head tilted and his body twisted dodging the sticky substance that dropped from above the tree and then did a back flip dodging what was an attack from the creature responsible for the dropping the substance.
He stood to see that he has been surrounded by not one but five of the creatures.
He looked at the extremely bony pale creatures that growled back at him. It was a Man Gecko.
This creatures having every features of a human except their private parts, Man geckos were creatures who had extremely long and sharp teeths with long and rough hair who had long sharp nails which they could use to climb anything and used for attacking their prey. They walked on fours and surprisingly was fast. Their best weapon was the poisonous substance they usually spitted out from their mouth which caused drowsiness and sudden death.
They all surrounded him forming a circle around him. He simply stood looking at them with a calm expression as he readied himself for their attack.
And then.