IT GETS BETTER?
"Wherever the hell you came from, it has nothing to do with me. You want the Ather...An" he stammers, struggling over the word. "There it is." He points at the artifact.
"Take it, and leave me be."
"Thou must yeild it out of thine own will"
"I thought I had made it clear..,I don't even want the Ather...an to begin with." He stumbles again, still unable to shape the word upon his tongue. Frustration breaks through as he raises his voice. "I said it already, I do not want it!"
The being draws back the hood of his black cloak, unveiling a dreadful visage. darken features, and elongated ears resembling that of an elf. His appearance alone is terrifying enough to drive a child into unconscious fear.
Will stands frozen, as though he is caught by a magic spell. "With all that has already transpired, this only grew more unsettling and he finds himself whispering beneath his breath.
The being walks closer to Will.
"Pick up the Aetherfang"he says with authority written in his voice.
Will is already growing accustom to the being's dreadful visage, and so, without fear, he takes a step backwards and picks up the Aetherfang from where it lies upon the tiled floor.
With the Aetherfang in his grasp, the tattoo markings upon his hands glows with an even brighter radiance.
The being step closer and gently place his hands upon Will's head. In a low, measure tone, he begin to whisper in an incantation, the words carrys an ancient weight that seem to be stirring the air around them.
In the blink of an eye, he is taken from his room and cast into a vast battlefield, alongside with the being. where the ground trembles beneath the clash of dreadful beings with human figure, wrought of shadow and flame, each as fearsome as the one he had face before, lock in a war that seem to shake the very fabric of the realm.
"OMG… am I inside a book!," Will cries out in terror. His voice rise even higher when one of the fearsome being seem to be charging straight toward him. But instead of striking, the creature pass through his body as though he were nothing but air. Will realize suddenly that he is not here in the flesh, but only in his mind.
"Please, bring me back! I have deliveries to attend to by 8am!" he cries, his voice echoing in desperation.
And in an instant, Will finds himself back in his room. Gasping for breath, he yells, "What was that all about!?" his voice unsteady as his chest rise and falls heavily.
"That will soon be the fate of your world if you do not surrender the Aetherfang," the being says, his voice steady and resolute.
"You mean the same Aetherfang you've been refusing to take back? Oh My goodness , what have I gotten myself into?" Will cries out in frustration.
"If I may ask… how did it even get here in the first place?"
he mutters.
Perhaps all of this is nothing more than a dream.Yet as his gaze falls upon the shattered window, the glowing markings etch across his hand, and the lingering sting from the glass that had cut into his skin, the weight of reality press heavily upon him.
"Moved by his lust for dominion, my brother doth seek the Aetherfang and the dread power it bestoweth, power which now abideth in thine own hand."
"Together with the rivalries he hath kindled against me, he brought war upon mine own realm, claiming innocent lifes.
He seized the Aetherfang and sought to bring ruin upon the realms. In that dire hour, I invoked a spell, one that only I, the king, could wield, and by its power, we were cast forth and brought into your world.
I must return to my people, and that can be done only if you Surrender the Aetherfang.
"Surrender?
"Here we go again," Will whispers in frustration, his right hand press against his head while the Aetherfang rests on the other.
"You said you're not here alone, does that mean there are more of your kind here in my world?"
"My brother, who seeks the Aetherfang, and the army of rivals he has turned against me."
"He and the others lurk in the shadows of your world, and they can only emerge once I wield the Aetherfang."
"So you're saying that if you're able to hold it, more of your kind would find their way here? Well, I wouldn't want that you know?. So it's best I keep it for now, don't you think?" Will says, speaking formally as though addressing another man.
From the way the being stare back, Will know at once it isn't a matter of jest. "What's wrong with you, Will? You're joking around with beasts now?" he mutter to himself.
"So tell me, why is it that the Aetherfang rejects your touch, yet respond so keenly to mine since you're the king and all..?"
"That I do not know"
"This is beginning to wear me out," Will says with frustration.
"Perchance I shall bear thee unto mine own realm, and there seek the means to wrest the Aetherfang from thy keeping."
"You mean that hell I just escaped from? Absolutely not," Will says, his tone carrying a rare seriousness.
Will immediately drop the Aetherfang upon sensing that the conversation is heading in a direction he didn't like.
As the Aetherfang strikes the tiled floor, the being vanish. Will proceed to his bed, takes up his phone and then he set an alarm for 7 a.m. and collapse into his bed, as though nothing had happened.
After only a few hours of sleep, Will wakes to the insistent ringing of his phone alarm, already far later than he had intended.
Will hurries into the bathroom to bathe. He didn't waste much time there; he quickly rush out, dried his hair and body, and slip into his casual working uniform.
With his hair neatly brush in place, he steps out of his room and head toward the door. he inserts his key, turns it, with a click he pulls the door open. The instant he crosses the threshold, his eyes froze, the first figure that meets his gaze were two police officers, one gazing upon him, while the other facing the opposite direction.
It's will right?
"Yes, Will answers.
"Your neighbor reported a series of unusual activities at your house last night. I'm afraid you'll need to come with us, to provide an explanation."
"Seriously"?
"Just like that."
"I'm afraid so,"the officers says, then leads Will to the car parked outside the compound, the other officer follows behind, They didn't cuff him. Dress in his work clothes, Will step into the back seat. As they drive pass his house, his gaze falls on his neighbor, the elderly woman who seemed to have reported him, standing at the gate with a cat in her arms.