A couple of days have passed since we started back up on the road...
Honestly it hasn’t been that bad these last few days, if anything it has been kind of peaceful. Almost like this peace keeps following us before immediately disappearing.
Not everything about it has been bad though.
Sylvia and I have gotten to talk a bit more about our lives. She finally understands the full extent of what happened with my village...
It was rough to talk about at first but after a little while I managed to get through it.
I think she finally understands how brutal everything was for me. This is also a bit of a stepping stone for me since I haven’t told many people about it.
Ash probably knows because of the Elder, but I don’t know about Raven or Veronica.
"I think it’ll be awhile before we reach any of the kingdoms," Sylvia speaks up.
"Why do you say that?" I question with a bit of curiosity.
"Honestly I don’t go to them much so I don’t really know the path to any of them," Sylvia answers with an honest tone.
I never fully anticipated going to one, at least not any time soon.
"Whether we reach one or not isn’t a big deal to me," I assure her.
The land around us is still mostly just grassy fields with some flowers mixed in, some mountains far in the distance.
"It would just be a nice change of scenery," Sylvia says with a bit of disappointment in her voice.
"Do you know any of the names for these kingdoms?" I ask curiously.
Silence lingers for a few seconds.
"Aerithel is one that we’ll probably stumble upon first," Sylvia answers as she looks ahead.
Aerithel? That is quite a name for a kingdom but at least I have something to think about for a little while.
~Yes, The Kingdom of Aerithel might be quite resourceful for you two.
So it is exactly how I would imagine it to be then?
~I don’t know. I’ve not been to the kingdom myself Kain.
I shrug.
We continue walking through the fields for awhile after that, eventually reaching a small opening into a strange forest. It almost feels like the color itself has been drained from this place.
"This looks like a wonderful place to venture into," I say while staring into the forest.
Nothing good is coming from the forest itself, at least that is the feeling I’m getting as I stand here looking into it.
"Hollow forests are always a gloomy place but I’ve never heard about them being dangerous before," Sylvia replies while resting one of her hands in her waist.
"So you trust entering the forest here?" I ask with a curious tone.
"I believe it is safe," Sylvia answers with some confidence.
I give a nod.
"Then we should head on inside," I suggest.
Sylvia walks forward without any hesitation after that and I quickly follow behind her.
Upon entering the forest I can immediately notice that the life around here is little to none. No animals or creatures really appear to be living within this forest.
Step. Step. Step.
Even as we get further in I can’t tell what this strange feeling is here.
"So why are they called hollow forests?" I ask calmly as we walk.
"Hollow forests have the name they do because some believe that this is where souls are lost," Sylvia answers with more of a serious tone.
"Souls are lost here?" I question.
"According to the people who names the forests, yes. Personally I don’t think souls are wandering about here," Sylvia responds with certainty.
Crunch.
The sound of leaves breaking behind us immediately takes our attention away from the conversation as we both clench the handles of our swords.
"That was definitely someone or something else behind us," I say while cautiously glancing around.
It almost sounds like someone is whispering as they get closer.
Crunch. Crunch.
More leaves break underneath the things feet until I finally see someone approaching with two girls by his side.
He appears to be wearing some sort of all black trench coat, black pants, short black hair with some blue mixed into the front, and grey eyes.
I’m not oblivious to the scythe on his back or the girls by his side.
"You don’t seem to be what I’m looking for," The Man says while scratching his chin.
"Of course not. They still are very much alive Leon," The girl with red hair speaks up.
"Something was drawing me this direction so I apologize," Leon says while looking towards the girl.
I watch for a moment as the girl with long white hair stares back at us. Her eyes look a bit soulless.
Slowly I glance over at Sylvia who is just watching them as they talk for a few more moments.
"I don’t mean to interrupt you two, I am just passing through," Leon says with a laid-back expression on his face.
"Not interrupting at all. Happy to move out of the way," I reply while stepping to the side.
I’d rather avoid any fights with people that aren’t necessary at the moment.
"Let’s go girls," Leon says while beginning to walk towards us.
As he is about to pass me, I feel him grip my arm out of nowhere.
My heart begins to race as I don’t really know what to expect at this moment... I haven’t really fought another human being... Just dragons posing as humans.
"You got a lot of souls lingering around in you," Leon whispers as he stares back at me.
"Dragons," I whisper back.
He lets go of my arm.
"Personally I don’t really care but it did catch me by surprise to see such a thing residing within a human," Leon says with a carefree tone as he walks past me.
"Aren’t you human?" I ask without turning around to face him.
"Yes and no. I mean I am a reaper but I do look human, huh?" He responds. "I’m sure we’ll cross paths again at some point dragon slayer."
That was an odd interaction.
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