Everyone had paused for a second to look at what was in front of them after climbing up the hill. They were stumped at the scene because everything in front of them was destroyed and ravaged. Even now, they could see things still burning.
It was clear that a tremendous fight had taken place right here, if not a war. It wasn't like none of them had seen such a sight before, but compared to the scenic views that had just come across in the previous territory, it wasn't a wrong guess that this place must have also been quite beautiful. But even this couldn't escape from the ravages of war.
The land looked somewhat scorched but not by one's typical red flames as they would see. These flames nonetheless were boring down the ground and slowly disappearing.
Everything that was being destroyed was letting out a strange mystic mist that would add to the sky and more. Another reminder that this world and its actions weren't quite like theirs.
"What happened here? I mean, I know you said that there was a war between the familiars, but where are the familiars?" Layla asked since they didn't see any dead creatures on the ground.
It almost was as if everything had just vanished.
"When familiars die in this world, they just disappear," Ovin explained. "Their energy is then taken by the world and redistributed as you can see."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe others at first were wondering what Ovin was talking about, but soon they could see that once the flames had dwindled, the land was quickly becoming what it once was. The grass slowly grew, the trees reappeared, and even what looked like strange destroyed rocks were now reforming back into the shape they once were.
"This world is fragile, and there needs to be a constant balance. This world is alive the same as us familiars, which is why its energy is so important to us." Ovin explained. "But it will need more energy to restore itself to its previous state than the energy it's getting from the dead, which means that perhaps a purge might take place soon.
"Honestly, war in the familiar world doesn't help anyone. Even if a king were to wage war against another, then after the fight, the land would need to heal itself, taking more energy than required, and they would have to kill their own so they wouldn't destroy the world. It doesn't make any sense what that fat man is doing." Ovin said, surely annoyed.
While talking, one was staring intensely at the other side and even walked forward, placing his sword into the ground.
"I would suggest avoiding this area," Leo replied. "The land seems to be drawing energy from anything nearby at the moment, and it is hungry."
"Won't that take longer then?" Sunny replied. "If we have to find another way, then more energy will drain away from us anyway, and since this land is healing, then they can't be far. or at least those responsible for this can't be far."
"The old woman is right," Ovin claimed, although Sunny clearly didn't like the nickname. She folded her arms after hearing those words and even kicked the ground, sending a piece of it far off into the distance.
Seeing this, Ovin looked at her with the corner of his eye and thought he better calm down with the teasing if he didn't want to become that rock. "If the place was like this, then it means they are close. Perhaps an attack happened, and then they returned to their own territory. The fact that the Horse doesn't know about this yet just means that they fought and left this place recently."
The group moved forward onto the land. They now had to travel by foot, so their speed had greatly reduced. But the second they stepped on the land, they could feel energy escaping from their feat. It was a strange feeling as if someone was pulling on their insides, making them weaker by the second.
The land was even still growing around them, restoring itself. It looked like they were watching plants and trees grow on a timelapse but in person.
They sprouted, bringing new life in seconds.
The only one unaffected by the energy drain was Samantha, as she had stayed on the large Horse while everyone else walked. She didn't even have the choice to say anything; the large figure had already picked her up and placed her on the Horse. Not that she was complaining about not having to use her legs. She just thought she was getting special treatment like some type of princess. It made her worry a little about what the others might think of this, but no one complained. Well, nearly no one.
"You know, I'm starting to think Samantha doesn't need a familiar. She has that big guy protecting her, and he has the Horse anyway. She basically already has one. Don't you think it should be given to one of us?" Abdul said, smiling as he had hit Layla on the shoulder, thinking she would agree with him, but she just stared back at him, remembering what he had said earlier.
The group saw densely forested areas up ahead and in the distance two large mountains. It looked like an endless valley as the tree's continued like a tunnel past the mountains. But before they entered the forest, the Horse suddenly stopped. It plodded on one of its hoofs onto the ground two times, creating rings of green aura that went across the land. It looked like two ripples in water, only there was no water, and they were going through the air.
The green ripples went through everyone and continued until they eventually hit the forest trees and shook slightly.
"They're here!" Ovin shouted as he stretched out its back and jumped off from Leo. "It looks like we won't be getting the warm welcome I was expecting!"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhen the ring of aura had hit the trees, they could see something on its trunk start to emerge. It was as if its body was changing, and a large black colour could be seen, but it was moving. Finally, when it lifted up from the ground, they saw two large heads; it looked like they were two giant snakes. Their bodies were as thick as the trees themselves.
They were disguised with camouflage, but the Horse had managed to see through it. The snakes opened their mouths wide, showing their two large, long fangs as they scurried off the trees and onto the floor towards them.
"You dare bare your fangs at me! Do you know who I am!" Ovin clamoured as it jumped up. The snake was about to snap at the small cat, but the latter slammed down on the top of its head before it could move. The snake was whacked to the ground, and in a few seconds, its body started to turn into balls of energy, similar to what the group had seen around themselves.
"Feel free to kill these guys. It's clear that they haven't learned their place, and by fighting against us, they no longer care about the world!" Ovin declared.
It was then that the group could notice a disturbance in the trees up ahead. All of them took a deep breath as they stared ahead because the enemy didn't have just a few snakes, rather a whole army.
Then, Quinn turned around to the others walking in front of them all.
"It's alright. If we can't get out of this, then what hope do we have against the Dalki."
When Quinn had his head turned towards them, the other remaining large snake near the tree charged straight towards him with its mouth wide open. The others hadn't seen the real Quinn fight for a while, and they were about to see what he could do first hand. Suddenly, the snake fell to the floor, collapsing before it even reached him.
They saw nothing, as it turned into particles like the others.
As they stared at Quinn, it felt like they were looking at a god, one who these insignificant creatures can't even touch.