Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 20

     Ori's consciousness slowly returned to his body. As the haze left his mind, he found that his body was still reaching out for Naru. But instead of Naru, his arms were wrapped around a long, spindly arm. His half-lidded eyes traced along the arm, reaching the body of whatever he was holding onto. A pair of big amber eyes stared back, and Ori saw a warm smile. It was the Gumon.

     Ori felt the Gumon gently detach Ori's half conscious body from his arm, before setting Ori down on a patch of warm, soft grass. Then, the Gumon slowly walked to the treeline, giving Ori another smile before disappearing in between the trees. Ori's body laid limp for a while as it fully woke up, and all of Ori's senses came back to him. His eyes were flooded with vibrant green and blue colors, in stark contrast to the dull gray that he had seen prior. His ears picked up the sound of rushing water, and his nose smelt the smell of wet rocks and healthy foliage. Slowly, Ori sat himself up, and looked around. He was at the bank of a river, which was now full of pure, clean water. The foliage around him had regained their green color, nurtured by the water.

     Ori rubbed his eyes, not believing that he was actually awake. But he was. As realization set in, a smile crept onto his face, and he basked in the beauty and tranquility of the restored patch of forest. Then, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

     "Ori! I thought I had lost you to Kuro's talons of hate... but it was Gumo who saved you, delivering us from an uncertain fate," Sein said in a relieved voice, before floating over to the edge of the riverbank, gazing into the clear waters. Ori followed, feeling a cooling mist splash onto his fur from a nearby waterfall. "Look here! With the Ginso Tree restored, Nibel's waters are clear!"

     Ori stared down into the clean waters, seeing his distorted reflection. Only then did he see just how dirty he was. Dirt was clumped over his fur, so thick in some places that it completely hid the whiteness underneath. He felt dirty, too.

     After a moment, Ori backed away from the riverbank, before charging forward and diving into the waters. He relished the feeling of the cleansing, cool liquid enveloping him, and he scrubbed himself vigorously. He watched as the dirt sloughed off his body and into the water. After another moment of basking in the water, he decided to dip his head into the water. The cool water enveloped his head, and as he opened his eyes and looked around the water, he saw a pair of golden eyes staring back. Then another pair. And another. Soon, six pairs of eyes were staring at the little spirit. Then, he saw the things swim out of the darkness. They were giant fish, with huge maws filled with sharp, vicious teeth. They all dashed at Ori, their mouths wide open.

     Ori squealed, and immediately started swimming towards the shoreline, desperately slamming his limbs into the water to propel himself away from danger. Luckily, he managed to make it back to shore and haul himself out of the water before the fish could harm him. Sein hovered above him. "Ori! Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone, which melted away when Ori nodded. "You must never let your guard down, for we are alone. Until we restore the Spirit Tree, the Decay's presence will make itself known."

     Ori nodded, and then his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, we're alone?! What happened to Blitz?!" he asked, standing up and looking around for his friend frantically.

     Sein responded in a slightly grim voice. "He saved you from Kuro, but got taken. Where? I do not know. But come! Come! To the Forlorn Ruins we must go!" Sein then began to float away in the direction of the strange, gravity-defying ruins far to the West.

     However, Ori stayed put. "But-" he began to protest, but was quickly cut off by Sein, who spoke in a gentler voice. "Now, now, child, I know this situation is grim. But if anything, the Decay should be afraid of him!" she said, clearly trying to lighten Ori's mood with a joke. Ori chuckled a little, and stood up and followed Sein back to the Spirit Tree. But he couldn't shake his feeling of dread and worry. This forest was dangerous, even for Blitz. And even worse, it was certainly not afraid of him.

~~~~~~~~~~

     Blitz limped along the edge of the stream, clutching his side. The pain had far lessened, but it still hurt quite a bit. Blitz kept looking around him to check for any threats, yet kept finding none. The forest was so quiet. Blitz hated it.

     The tiny trickle in the dried up stream had slowly grown, and was now a small, bubbling creek. Also, the foliage around the stream seemed just a little bit greener. Blitz sighed a little, staring up at the Ginso Tree that loomed above the treeline, and the several massive waterfalls that billowed down from its crown. Then, his eyes turned to the Spirit Tree. Its lights were a little brighter now.

     Blitz kept walking on for what felt like hours, but was only around 40 minutes. The foliage was even greener now, and the bubbling creek had evolved into a healthy stream. Yet, as healthy as the foliage was, the forest was still deathly silent except for the sounds of rushing water. No wind in the trees, no birds singing or critters chittering. The forest was still far from cured.

     Blitz took a moment to sit down, resting against a fallen log. He took in several deep breaths, his wounded body aching from the strain he had placed on it. He laid his head back, letting himself relax for a moment. His thoughts drifted back to the body that he found in Ori's old home. He felt another twinge of sadness and sympathy for his little friend.

     Snap.

     Blitz shot up, hearing the sound of a twig snapping. His head swiveled to face the direction of the noise, deep within the trees. He barely caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure dashing behind a tree trunk. He froze, eyes unable to tear away from the trunk. Minutes passed, and there was no movement from the trunk. So, Blitz slowly stood up, and got back to walking, a lot more cautiously this time. He was definitely being stalked. He kept a tight grip on his pistol as he continued to walk, listening for even the slightest noise. He also picked up the pace.

     Eventually, Blitz came upon a fork in a river, where it split off into two directions: one was the stream that Blitz had followed, the other flowing off to the west. Blitz felt exhausted again, and leaned against a tree to catch his breath, letting the sounds of the water fill his mind.

     Rapid footsteps knocked him out of his daydream. His head swiveled around, and a shape charged into him, screeching a horrible screech. Blitz had no time to react. The force knocked him prone, and he quickly tried to get back to his feet, but whatever was attacking would not let him. It charged into him again, knocking him prone before he could regain his bearings. Blitz flipped onto his back, grabbing his pistol and trying to get a glimpse of his attacker. He caught a glimpse of a large, gankly creature charging at him with hungry yellow eyes. Blitz fired his gun.

     A loud bang rang out, followed by a shriek from the creature. But the creature didn't stop. It leapt onto Blitz, viciously tearing at him. Blitz held up his arms to protect himself, and heard the creature's claws screeching against his gauntlets. After a moment, he managed to catch one of the creature's hands, and then the other, and managed to toss it aside. As it tumbled, he quickly stood up and aimed his gun. But his heart dropped as he heard an empty click as he pulled the trigger. He didn't have time to reload, so he instead drew his blade and charged at the creature. The creature got up and lunged at him, but Blitz dodged the lung, slashing the creature's side. The thing yelped, and purple ooze splashed onto Blitz's blade. Blitz charged again, and slashed at the thing. It blocked the blade with its arms, before shoving the blade aside and grabbing onto Blitz. It held him in the air as Blitz struggled, it's yellow eyes glaring at him with a primal hunger.

     Blitz stabbed his blade through one of the thing's wrists. The thing shrieked, tossing Blitz aside. Blitz tumbled on the ground, not able to stop himself. Then, he felt the ground underneath him disappear, and he fell into the river. The powerful torrent of water instantly carried him away.