Riley knelt down and pressed his finger against Ophieus neck as he desperately searched for a pulse or tremble.
Riley then muttered to himself. "These clothes… They aren't normal, could he be one of the Dark Wardens? But the clothing isn't the same."
It was then Ophieus who was viewing the crystal began to hear even Riley thoughts echoing out of the shard. The armor that adorned Ophieus was unlike the normal Dark Wardens knight he had come to know.
In addition, the black sword around Ophieus waist looks like it was made from very good materials. Riley shaked his head as he thought it was not the time and began glancing around for movement from the man.
At first there was no pulse.
"Are you dead?" A moment felt like forever to Riley before his eyes widened and a beaming smile appeared, illuminating his face. "No, you're alive! I am lucky!" he exclaimed as he began gently shaking Ophieus body. "Thank goodness… Maybe you will know what is going on."
But as the dread inside of Riley began to appear, no matter how much or long he shaked the man before him.
Ophieus wasn't waking up.
Riley tried striking him with a slap or a soft fist but nothing was stirring Ophieus awake.
"Nothing is working… This is bad." Riley muttered as he moved his hand against Ophieus chest. "I can faintly feel your heart beating…"
"Could you be in a coma or deep sleep?" Riley began to panic but then his eyes widened and then a smile appeared on his face. "Alissa should be able to help, her River Stream crest should be able to assist."
Riley clenched his fist with a plan in mind before then carefully lifting Ophieus's sleeping form. He slung him over his shoulder then picked up his golden armor with his other hand then began moving forward.
After a couple steps through the fog, Riley shivered as he glanced behind him and then grimaced in realization. "Oh no! They must have caught the scent of blood. Alright, let's overcome this and get you back to town!"
Riley rushed ahead, a few seconds later the fog revealed crimson eyes staring at the direction where Riley went.
He moved me because he thought I knew what was going… A bitter chuckle escaped Ophieus mouth while the shard faded. Ophieus picked up his pace as he was skipping some of the steps as he launched himself forward.
But then Ophieus stopped as he looked above to see a bronze shard appearing and displaying another scene. He peered into the shard to see Riley place him on his back and then he saw the look of disbelief on Riley's face. He furrowed his brows before looking to see the group of sleeping people surrounded by the fog that was wrapped around their limbs.
"They were all victims of these monsters? Wait, Lacas!" Riley's eyes widened, spotting a blond-haired woman lying on the ground with a faint smile.
Riley's expression contorted in agony as Ophieus felt an intense wave of sadness, and grief. This led him to gently grip his chest as his expression shifted to a slight grimace.
"Why did you go into the Guren Forest without me?! Damn it! Why couldn't you have just waited!? Why was I late?!" Tears streamed down as Riley approached Lacas but then he froze from the sounds of countless footsteps. Riley's figure trembled as he glanced behind and then back at Lacas a couple times before gritting his teeth.
The feeling of hesitation, pain, and disgust swept through Ophieus as his frown increased a bit more. Veins appeared on Riley's head and his fist clenched before he closed his eyes with a faint mutter and rushed out.
They're closing in. Ophieus heard the footsteps behind getting louder and louder while ignoring the surge of anger and disappointment inside.
The feeling of Riley had appeared but was overpowered by his own rage, which lingered until the scene faded. But a new one appeared where Riley was rushing with a frantic expression as the footsteps behind increased.
"Will they ever give up! Didn't they already have their fill from before?!" Riley ran, jumping over fallen trees and ducking under branches that appeared at the last second, all while waving the fog away. Even as he was rushing away, Ophieus could feel the rage and angle bubbling inside of Riley.
The fog is getting denser. It's becoming harder and harder for him to see properly. Soon, Riley will only be able to see shadowy outlines.
"It doesn't matter, we will make it out alive. We just need to reach the town and then we will be safe." A smile appeared on Riley, eyes shining. "Then you can tell everyone what is going on-"
In the next moment, a shadow rushed out from the mist and bit down on Riley's left shoulder. Agony appeared on Riley's face before he ram his left shoulder into a tree. And then his right hand crashed down, over and over onto the Beast Festival who still bit down on his shoulder.
Then Riley dropped to the ground while holding with one hand Ophieus to the ground and the other clutching his left shoulder.
A clank sound rang out as the black sword tumbled in the fog.
"I can't outrun them. The fog is slowing me down, if this continues, this will just happen again, and it might be more than just one next time." Riley quickly turns to Ophieus, expression full of worry, "they might hurt you…"
Ophieus watched the shard fade away before he rushed up the stairs even faster. He felt his heart speeding up as he could already sense what awaited him but it's a truth he loathed. Then another shard materialized next to him and displayed a familiar graveyard with no fog.
Ophieus saw Riley laying him in the graveyard he woke up in.
"They're following us… The fog isn't appearing here, so that's a good thing… Stay here, I will go deal with the closest ones. After that we will get out of here and back to Everglan." Riley's grin was strained but Ophieus saw his eyes were shining, "I hope. You will have the answer to what's going on and hopefully their deaths weren't in vain."