Effugium

VI - OCULOS

Eydis

He nodded quickly, as if he would prefer to bury it rather than bring it up with anybody else. I'm afraid what's happening in my body. I cut myself, squinting as soon as I felt Barron's dagger's sharp edge.

"It hurts," I said, displaying the wound on my forearm to him.

"Obviously it is!" He quickly wrapped my cut in gauze to halt the flow.

"What made you do that?"

"My wounds bleed and pains, but they do not heal right away. I am still mortal."

Our puzzlement grew as we both continued to stare at my hand. Things are becoming increasingly strange and difficult to comprehend, to the point that we thought this was all a horrible dream.

Looking back, I saw how many times the Numen's body regenerated throughout our battle. Not only did their wounds heal, but their chopped limbs regenerated back within a minute of being sliced.

It was the same as my wound in my neck. It should not heal immediately after hours because my wound is rather deep and would take months to heal. Furthermore, it left no scars-just smooth skin-which gave rise to an apparent mystery.

My first encounter with the numen occurred when I was fighting it. I used to read it or hear it from the elders. When I discovered that those creatures are immortal-something I had no prior knowledge of-I started to dread them and want to get away from them. Our current weapons are not strong enough to destroy them; in order to equal their unending lifespan, we must acquire more potent and deadly weaponry.

"I saw Rois earlier on our way here."

"Where is she?" He asked again.

"I know it's hard to believe this but, she became Numen."

"You better not messing around."

My head shook in response, just as how I wish for all of this to be just a dream. I can read his eyes, our questions of how really needs an answer.

When daytime arrived, we were unable to close our eyes due to the constant stream of thoughts in our minds. I get irritated by that, so I got up and organized our stuff. As soon as the two wake up, we will depart.

Joakim made the decision to employ the brown horse they had earlier seen while exploring this cave as a means of transportation. Upon the two of them waking up, we filled our bellies and got ready to depart. Barron proposed that we head to Jandel, which is a district at Soliana right at the edge of the woods, as we are not sure where we are going.

"It's December when I go to the post office to greet the postmaster. He handed me a letter that Marcel had written to me just a week before Christmas, in which he mentioned that they were staying in Jandel.

Barron tried to communicate with me despite of his inaudibility.

"That's all?"

"Yes,"

"What happens if we get there and they are not there?"

"Why not there?"

"The numen might dominated Jandel,"

"Don't think that, they are safe there. They won't let themselves to be killed."

We traveled securely to Jandel and encountered no Numen during our two-hour journey. Barron did not receive the precise address from Marcel, so we spent our time looking for them at every abandoned home we passed.

Jandel has changed from the place where we grew up. The land turned into rubble, and although trees are beginning to sprout, the smell of burned earth lingered. White blanketed the darkness of Burnt this winter.