The silence thickened, a suffocating shroud in the Spirit Realm's dead forest, the pressure of the fleeting moment pressing hard on Sezel.
The mystic purple glow of the Spirit essence illuminating the spooky clearing, beneath the starless sky. Sezel wiped his tears to his shoulders, his arms tied behind him, the ropes biting into his wrists. His dislocated arm throbbed, a relentless reminder of his frailty, as he raised his gaze to the Mighty Black Knight King, enthroned like a god of death.
His eyes, devoid of light, mirrored a condemned man awaiting execution.
There is no way i am getting out of this. his mind concluded, resignation settling like dust. He waited, breath shallow, for the Black Knights to strike.
But nothing happened, instead the Mighty King ordered the Black Knights to untie him.
He stood there, confused, his gaze darting between the silent knights. What is this? What new game are they playing? His mind, struggled to process the sudden, inexplicable shift. Each second stretched into an eternity. Are they... letting me go?
The thought was a fragile, foolish thing. Even if they were, what then? Here, in the presence of these silent, black-armored beasts, he was paradoxically safer than he would be in the monster-infested wilderness.
He stepped back, one step, his mind racing, breath hitched What is this thing planning? Even if they free me that's for the worse.
He opened his mouth. "Kill me if you must." The words hung, a challenge born of despair, daring the Spirit Realm to end his torment.
All the Black Knight's turned towards him, no expression could be seen on their hollow helms but it was clear. They were surprised at the audacity of the fool.
The Mighty Black Knight let out a grating laugh that clawed at Sezel's heart.
[Run]
Sezel squinted his eyes in shock, What? What did this metal scrap just say?
"Run?" he asked his voice grim.
[Yes. Run as far as you can. You have one day. There is no sport in slaying you outright.]
Sport? The word was a slap in the face, Sezel gritted his teeth, What kind of logic is that? do they see me as a toy? his eyes twisted in fury.
He looked back towards the forest, It was practically a death sentence either way, he was exhausted and weaker than a child at this point. Was there any way he would survive in the forest?
He again gazed around at the numerous Black Knights, What kind of joke is this?
He stood just there, not willing to move. Why run to meet death among the forest's beasts, like meat offered to hyenas?
"Kill me," he declared, head bowed to the earth, praying for a swift end.
Silence stretched. The Black Knights remained still. Were the Black Knight's not going to kill him? if that was the case he was safe as long he refused to run.
But the Mighty King's patience had its limits. He raised his hand commanding one of the Black Knights, Sezel gulped the glob in his throat, stepping back as the Shadowy metallic figure advanced, raising his sword gleaming with malevolent intent.
Terror slowly gripped harder on his heart, his breath became ragged. He resisted and stood just there, head buried down, eyes shut.
The Black Knight reached him, the edge of its sword glinting in the purple light. The blade swung down, threatening to cleave him in two. Sezel trembled, his blood turned ice in the face of death.
Under the pressure of death, his body moved on its own. Just when the blade was inches away from him, he jumped back sprawling on the ground. Instincts betrayed his resolve.
Shit, I can't just die. His heart thundered, survival's primal urge overriding despair.
He glanced at the forest, its silence a deceptive lure, then he spared a glance at the clearing, sprawling with Black Knights. The Mighty king sitting at the throne in the center and the two other beasts that stood around him.
Fuck you all.
He ran.
He dashed towards the forest, running as if his life depended on it - and well it did.
The Black Knights followed behind pursuing him through the road.
Sezel sprinted, gathering all the strength in his body, the Black knights were slow as expected from the heap of metals. Their armored bulk no match for his desperate speed.
Soon Sezel reached the point they spawned at, the ground slick with black ichor, littered with the mangled corpses of Night Crawlers.
Sezel was quick, with his only functional arm he searched across the expanses filled with the black blood, Where is that one? Sezel's gaze darted, frantic yet focused, In a corner, half-buried in ash, he found it - the pickaxe he threw at the Night crawler.
He picked it up, as tired as he was, the pickaxe was something that could help him a lot if he wanted to survive in this hell.
He glanced at the dead Night crawlers head, severed but still it sent creeps down his spine, but fury won.
You filth he spat, kicking it, the act a small rebellion against the realm's horrors.
A rustle in the grass behind him. Crap.
He immediately ran and hid inside the wilderness. The Black Knights' steps faded, but the forest's silence was a lie, concealing beasts that stirred in the shadows—primal horrors, shambling corpses, their eyes glinting with hunger.
He may have chosen to flee but was it the right decision to make? the nightmarish forest hid all types of different hellish beasts.
There must be a way to get out of here. he pondered while slowly moving through the wilderness, heavens never close one's all paths.
With that single, fragile thread of hope, he pushed deeper into the nightmarish wilderness, each step a prayer for a path back to the world of the living.