"Alright buddy..." Sasuke muttered, sitting on top of Torrent, fully armored as he gazed into the gate against the mountain. One soldier on each side of a poorly paved pathway that sloped upward. Spikes behind them as they stood between the pathway and the mountain walls on each side and roadblocks made of wood blocking the path ahead.
"You ready to rush through?" He asked and Torrent neighs, stomping it's hoof against the ground.
Chuckling, Sasuke gripped the reigns tightly and tightens his legs as Torrent sprints forward.
"Ah! Raaah!" One soldier to his right yells out just as he entered through the gate, following the poorly made stone path on the floor.
At the soldier's yell, more soldier stepped out from behind the spikes, having hid themselves. While two soldiers pulled out crossbows and loaded them.
*Whoosh!*
Torrent sped past them, jumping over the first roadblock. "Good job, buddy..." Sasuke muttered, glancing back at the soldiers he passed. "Raaaah!!" a Deep voice echoes through the sky. The floor rumbles, a giant had jumped from who knows where and landed right where Sasuke had just passed.
"Holy..." Sasuke muttered, his eyes glued behind him at the towering... Monster. Grotesque flesh, seemly barely held in place. It's skinny malformed body tuned and it stared into Sasuke's eyes, letting out a roar filled with rage. "What the hell is that?!"
Suddenly, the giant raised it's right leg and crossed his arms in front of his face, tightened it's muscles and stepped forward, swinging it's arms to his side, releasing another roar with power. But this roar had something else.
The wind around the giant's mouth solidified and shot forward, aiming for Sasuke as Torrent kept running.
Seeing the attack, Sasuke turned back, facing the front. 'Almost there.' He thought, gritting his teeth seeing the path go upwards for a few meters before opening up. But he didn't have the time he thought he did.
Just as he wanted to turn around and glance back at the giant, a force struck against his back.
"Guh!" Sasuke let out, feeling his body fly off of Torrent. His eyes, wide, the wall of the mountain grew closer in his view before he turned around mid air and his back crashed against the wall.
*Bang!*
Spit flew from his mouth. Falling to the floor, his eyes catch the sight of Torrent vanishing, unsummoned. The floor rumbled as the giant ran forward slowly, the paveway cracking with each step he took running towards Sasuke.
Forcing himself up, Sasuke ignored the pain pumping through his body and he ran forward. One soldiers blocked his way in front, holding a sword and shield at the ready.
With grit teeth, Sasuke formed a few seals and shot a fireball towards the soldier, sending him flying back, crashing against the wooden blockade behind him, opening up the path for Sasuke.
Glancing back, he spots the giant closer before he turned his head back and ran. His body screamed in pain, but he paid it no mind. Pain seems better than death it seems.
As he ran, two soldiers jumped out from bushes in front of him, swords raised. Thinking quickly, he dodges the blades and ran past them, just in time as the giant's fists struck the two poor soldiers, crushing them.
"Raaah!" The giant bellowed in rage, mad at the boy who kept running away from him.
Not looking back, Sasuke sprinted forward as the path opened up. "Haah haaah!" His breath came out slightly labored, his eyes scanning the world in front of him. a Few feet away from him, he saw a small golden tree with a purple light floating at it's base while meters away he spotted two broken down wooden huts.
Opting to go there, he sprints past the little golden tree, picked up the purple light and went straight to the huts in front. "Haah. Please..." He muttered. After a few seconds of running, he jumped up, landing next to the huts and scanned the surroundings.
'a Grace!' He thought, seeing a grace sitting a few feet from the huts and sprinted to it. His legs slowly gave in, causing him to stumble to the ground while he stretched out his right arm, barely touching the warmth of the Grace in front of him.
"Haah..." He sighs, feeling the warmth travel through his arm before going through his whole body. Jumping to his feet, he looks behind him in search for the giant, but spots none, causing him to release another sigh in relief.
"What the hell was that..?" He muttered, looking at the one broken down hut before he heard something coming from the other one.
"Everyone... I'm sorry..." Low mutters and sobs came from the other hut. With a frown, Sasuke slowly creeped forward and glanced into the hut where he saw a woman sat on the floor, crestfallen and slumped. The red hood over her head fluttered a bit as wind passed through the broken hut and she lifted her head a bit.
"Ah!" The woman spots Sasuke and lets out a frightened yelp. "Ah..." She seems to figure out who he was quite quickly after her surprise. "Another Tarnished..?" She spoke and wiped the tears below her eyes.
Having been seen, Sasuke slowly stepped into the hut and stared at the sad woman on the floor in front of him. She wore plain white clothes, a red hood over her head, cloaked over her left shoulder.
As they stared at each other for a few seconds, the woman speaks up. "You're all on your own, aren't you?" She asks, breaking the silence.
Sasuke's eyes glanced around the hut, his focus on sensing anything with his chakra before he faced her again and nodded slowly, not speaking.
"And heading to Stormveil Castle..?" The woman spoke, lowering her head once more as her eyes misted. "Enticed by the one in the white mask, I suppose." Her voice wavered.
Sasuke frowned at that. 'White mask..?' As he thought, the image of the person he first saw in this world came to him. 'That guy that stood as if waiting for me?' He thought and looked at her timid form. "Uh..." He speaks up. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice awkward, not knowing what to do at her sad state.
The woman lifts her head up, her golden hair slightly revealed from it's hidden place below the red hood. "My name's Roderika..." She answered. "a Tarnished like you. Come to the lands between." She said but her voice went low once more. "Although... I have never seen the guidance of Grace..." Her voice sounded disappointed.
'a Tarnished?' Sasuke raised an eyebrow and glanced in the direction of the grace where it's light shone into a direction after he touched it. 'So it's true... Not all Tarnished can see it...' He thought and crouched down in front of her.
Removing his helmet, he reveals himself to her and his voice softens. "Why are you here alone?" He asked.
Roderika's eyes widen at his show of concern, but it quickly loses focus at his question. Tears forming, her voice struggled to come forward, but she pushes through. "Everyone's...been grafted. Everyone who came with me..." She started, her voice cracking throughout her words. "They crossed the sea for me. They fought, for me... a Lowly noblewoman who sought to travel to the Lands Between despite never seeing Grace..."
Her small hands clenched in anger. To herself or something else, Sasuke didn't know, but he kept quiet, listening to her.
"Heh..." She sneered. "Only to have their arms taken. Their legs taken... Even their heads...taken. Taken and stuck to the spider." Her sad voice overshadowed with slowly building anger. She lifted her head and looked at Sasuke. Did you know? If you're grafted by the spider, you become a chrysalid."
"It's quite the lark, when you think about it." Her voice returned to it's sad state.
Sasuke raised his right hand and placed it onto the woman's shoulder. His expression serious as he spoke. "What happened to them?" He asked.
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