The Awakened Warrior

Chapter 2: The Whispers of Greenwood

Star: As he soared into the sky, he felt relieved to escape the crowd's clamor surrounding him. "It's overwhelming to be recognized like this; I'm not a fan of all the attention..." It was already bad enough that the people who once wanted nothing to do with him now suddenly liked him, but to be swarmed by this was another problem. While he was flying, he suddenly spotted something that caught his attention. He saw an abandoned town shrouded in mist.

As he descended to take a closer look, a wave of dread and fear washed over him. It must have been a suffocating and unpleasant sensation for him. Unfortunately, the fear was so intense that he struggled to flee.

"W-what, why can't I fly to leave this area?" His voice staggered and stuttered with confusion and fear. He looked up to observe this trapping environment, only to see the devastation of the past. The fog cleared up slightly to make the area more visible; it was a ghost town.

He gazed upon the dismal surroundings, and a wave of sadness washed over him. The town appeared in complete disrepair, with rotting wood and overgrown vines covering nearby buildings.

The pungent odor of decay filled the air, and dried blood was visible on the broken pavement. His heart filled with concern as he wondered what could have happened to this place. Approaching a large stone sign, he gently moved aside the vines to reveal the words "Greenwood."

Once his hand touched that title, a flood of screams and agony flooded his mind. He abruptly pulled away, grabbing the sides of his head. "Ah! What...What in the world happened here!" His voice echoed throughout the ghost town, and the fearful feeling grew in his mind and spirit. He was on this planet only a day and wanted nothing more than to leave, causing so much dread!

????: "Be quiet! He might hear you! He's probably already smelled the fear emanating from your body!" a young man's voice yelled to Star from behind, startling him. Star turned to face the kid, but what he saw seemed like an illusion.

It was a spirit, a glowing blue transparent image of a teenage boy, perhaps around 16, with poofy whitish-colored hair and old-themed clothes as if he had died long ago.

Star: "The spirit of a child?" He was confused by the sight of a lost spirit.

????The child was startled by this, "You can see me? You can hear me?!" This somewhat caused a slight smile on the kid's face. "I have tried to warn every person who has ever entered here that they are in danger but could never hear me because I'm just a ghost, but you can!"

Star: "Yes, it surprises me too; I am not even sure why I can see- wait, there have been others? Where are they now?"

????: "There have been many before you...some from here and some from around the world, seeking the truth of what occurred here long ago. None of them left this area alive; they all fell victim to the horror within this domain." The child looked away from Star as if he was extremely saddened by the topic of what had happened in this small town.

He looked back at Star before continuing the story, "I tried to stop them from entering. I tried to keep them quiet and their scent hidden from the beast, but they were too afraid...It feeds off of fear. It wouldn't let anyone leave, not their body, not their minds, not even their spirits could escape its touch."

Star: He felt horrible for what this child had seen but was somewhat confused. How come this supposed monster did not destroy this child's spirit? Was he immune to the beast's attack, or is there some more profound connection to this all? He got down on one knee to be more at the kid's level, "I am so sorry that you had to witness such horrors, my child, but I do not understand why this creature would spare you if it has been murdering all the other spirits."