Through The Worlds

1.3

Then, pushing the door open, Eras beckoned Haldis forward.

Stepping through the door, Haldis could only stare in awe at the grounds before him. A forest greeted him, with trunks stretching up towards the heavens even as the branches covered up the sky, only letting small amounts of light through.

"It's great right?"

"Yeah..." The words fell from his lips even as he took another step forward, and then another and another until he was running through the forest, eyes closed in bliss. The wind rushed through his hair, sending his hair streaming behind him. And for some reason, his path was unhindered, not a single root or vine standing in his way.

As he ran, he saw.

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He was run-no, he was being chased.

His bare feet pounded on the ground as desperation filled his veins giving him the extra energy to run. Drops of blood followed his wake, the crimson liquid seeping out from the numerous wounds adorning his skin as he ran.

Around him, his garden burned. The trees collapsing behind him, their final stand to delay his pursuers even as they burned, the flames eating away at their trunks, branches and leaves.

Why? Why was this happening to him?

Tears trickled down his face even as he continued to run forward.

He was the last one.

Everyone had already sacrificed themselves for his sake.

His father, screaming at him to run as he prepared to sacrifice himself in a spell to halt the cursed beings.

His mother, her corpse disappearing into the air after she pushed him out of the way of the cured beings strike.

And even his lover was gone! That pathetic, annoying person... That pathetic annoying person who had smiled at him while casting a spell to send him away from the carnage...

Swallowing, he continued to run.

[Y̹̜̰̲ͅoͥ̎̽ͩu̜͙ͯ ̞ͧ̓̋̑c̻̫̤͖͆̃̇̂͒ȃ͂ͤͥn͍̤̤̫̋ͣͫ'̥͔̬̥̮̅̿ͨ̆ͅt̮̫̠̒ͤ̆ ̈́ř͖̦͙u̠̫͓̞̙̗̿ͅǹ͔̮̭.̠͉̻̭͍̜ͅ ͓Y̹̩͔̫̘͍̊̈͂̓õ̳̺͖̹͈͈̍̉̊u̟̺͊̎ͦͅ c̼͇̖̃̈ã̺̻̭̘̘̰̿͋͌n̄͂͗ͨ'̠̙̼͓̞ͬ̈̓̚̚tͣ̎ͤͤ ̦̜̐ͮ͒́h̭͉̦͖͑̃î͚̮̩̰̤̀ͣ̋̑̇d̘̥̦e̠͛.]

Behind him, the cursed beings jeered and taunted as they closed in on him.

[J̙̪̆̑͑͑̾̋u̳̦ͫ̑͋s̭̱̮̭̏̊͑̿ͅͅt̼͇̜̗ ͔̈́̓͆ͅs͈̭̼̞̫͈͖͑͛u͇b̥̘̱̭̜̫̐͆̍m͙̝̺̝͍̮̬̉i̗̥̫͌̇̅̃ͣ͆̚t͕̫̟͒ͧ̍̊̏͂. J̘̈ͨ͛ȯ͈̝̚i̳̋ͩ̂ͫn̥̩̺̄̔̔̐̍̔ ̖̠͕̼̙̩͇͌̓̓͐u͓̗͙͔͒̈́͒͛̋͗s͓͍̗̬̤̼͖̓.̘͔̻͍̄ͮ͌̔̋̂͗]

"Never!" He spat out those words, rage giving him the strength to pull forward. "I'll never join you cursed creatures!"

Yet, no matter how fast he ran, the cursed beings remained at his heels, always in constant reach of him.

Eventually, his strength drained, he crumpled onto the ground, fatigue chaining him down.

[M͍̱͔͑͌̇y̞̯͐̔ͯ̆͂ ̼̣̣̐ͅs̺ͭͤ̽̓͒ͅw̩ͦͥe̠ͫ͗̅ͩẻ̗̠̘̩̑̀ͧ̈́ṭ̟̤,̱̌̍̏ͥ ͈͈̙̠̭̠̟̃͋͛̿͂̈́s̍ͨ͐ͦ͗̽̚ẃ̼̯͋͋ͧe̦̒̐e͖̖ͮ̎ͩͤ̄̎t͉̱̂ͅ ̳̩̪̬͋S̜̈̎̓ͯ̄̓͊i͙̹̦̬̍̐̾ͫo̲͕̽̽n͎͉̝̣͐.̲̫͙̞̖ͤͦ̉̾ͫ]

The cursed beings surrounded his prone form even as one crawled on top of him, caressing his face as it chanted his name mockingly.

As he turned to look up at the cursed being's eyes, all he could see was complete whiteness. One could say that it was an all encompassing white.

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"Dia!"

Haldis gasped as he regained consciousness. Breathing rapidly, he stared uncomprehendingly at his surroundings.

The system's eyes... Weren't they the same colour as the cursed being's eyes?

Trembling, he hunched over himself, pulling his shoulders in. He felt like a boat left to rot adrift at sea, absolutely helpless. The vision lingered in his mind, the conflicting emotions coursing through his being and leaving him a wreck. Fear left him paranoid, jumping at non-existent shadows while grief clung to him, heavy and restricting. Then there was rage which surged through his veins, leaving him with the burning desire to fight, to do something!

"Snap out of it!"

His shoulders were grabbed as he was shaken back and forth.

Gazing into Eras' eyes, Haldis was shocked to see the sheer worry in Eras' face. Why was he so worried?

"You... you just started running when we entered. You didn't respond to my calls, you didn't respond to anything." Eras sighed softly before continuing. "And then you collapsed."

Haldis remained silent.

Eras shook his head slightly, patting Haldis' head gently. "Well then, I'll take you to meet the squad okay?"

Pulling Haldis to his feet, Eras guided him to a clearing in the middle of the forest. The clearing was filled with several males sparring with one another.

"Squad 2! This is our newest member!"

At Eras' shout, all the males stopped sparring to surround him, staring curiously at Haldis as they weighed his worth.

Seeing that none of them were going to talk any time soon, Haldis shrugged and decided to introduce himself. He didn't really want to spend his entire day watching them watching him after all. "I'm Haldis."

"A 'H' huh?" A long haired man stepped forward, offering his hand. "I'm Galen."

With those words, it was as though the ice had broken and Haldis found himself being bombarded with names

"Call me Iathe."

"Kyrin at your service, well, not really..."

"Seriously Rin? Well anyway, I am Icarios."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Jacinde but please call me Jay. Please."

"He finds his name way too feminine you see. Though I can't help but thank the gods that my name is Junius."

"Luka here."

.

.

"Huh, so it's finally my turn? Well, I'm Lycoren."

Haldis just gave a smile. His head was spinning, the many names drifting in and out of his mind, most of them staying out of his mind. There was someone called Iarin? Or was it Kythe?  

"Don't worry with remembering all their names." Seeing his worry, Eras placed a warm hand on Haldis' shoulder, a reassuring grin on his face. "The only one you need to remember is me."

"What! Captain you bastard!" The members of Squad 2 erupted, each sending a glare over to their narcissistic captain. What kind of captain would say to forget about his squadmates? Oh wait, obviously it was their captain...

Haldis couldn't help but let out a shocked laugh.

He didn't expect this for sure.

Wiping away the mental images of heavily muscled men towering over him, Haldis berated himself for his foolish thoughts. Squad 2 was basically an assassin squad! What the heck was he expecting?

"Come Dia, you'll spar with me!" Standing towards the side, Eras nodded towards him as he prepared to fight. "Let's see if those months of sitting outside cells did you any good!"

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AU: Thanks for reading. If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a vote or leaving a comment. Feel free to point out mistakes too.