Chapter 12: The Cross of Chaos

Yesterday, we found the corpses of animals at the eastern edge of our forest. About 40 carcasses of dead bears were gathered in a heap. They were missing their right eyes and livers.

What else did you find?

Nothing more. No signs of life, extinguished fires, or anything suspicious.

Millisenta, can you go there and inspect the area?

Yes, but I don’t know what I’m looking for.

Inspect the entire eastern border. The bears were spotted by regular guards; maybe with your abilities, you can find something.

Alright. I’ll take the third group of rangers with me, and we’ll head out at dawn tomorrow.

I’ll go with you as well.

No, Bogdan! Even though it’s not a dangerous mission, I’d prefer you didn’t leave the city for now.

But I’ve been training and learning for three months now. There’s nothing particularly special or dangerous about this outing. Nothing will happen. Plus, it’s a chance for me to get a better look around.

Millisenta pulled me aside, presumably so the others wouldn’t hear her incredibly persuasive arguments.

If you haven’t realized, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, idiot... The forest itself is a dangerous place, not to mention potential visitors.

Thanks! But I’m capable of taking care of myself. Moreover, what about you? Have you thought about how I would feel if something happened to you? Remember how last time ended, who helped you then? I’m useful, and it’s foolish to deny that.

Millisenta blushed. I understood that part of it was due to embarrassment, as she had just told me quite directly that she cared about me. The other part was due to anger. Elves are strange; it’s important to them that I listen to them like a child.

You’re not going anywhere!

That’s not for you to decide. If you keep insisting, I’ll just take it to Lady Phoebe.

Go ahead; I’ll be more than happy to tell her how a bear tore you in half and present her with your insides.

I always knew that’s what you really wanted.

There was no point in continuing this dialogue. So, I simply went to Lady Phoebe.

Wait, that’s not what I meant...

Indeed, Lady Phoebe gave her approval. I think even the Queen would be fine with it. In any case, I needed to get out of my routine somehow. I needed to understand what my strength was, to test it, and to learn to control it.

In the sheltered environment where they keep me, it’s nearly impossible to do that. I needed a breath of fresh air. The main thing was that Millisenta didn’t get too angry.

After speaking with Lady Phoebe, I went through my daily training and then headed home. I walked deliberately slowly to postpone the conversation with Millisenta for as long as possible.

It was surprising how different the atmosphere of my solo walks had become. In the past world, I rarely went for such walks because they distracted me from my escapism. Now, however, I felt like I could even tolerate myself. I no longer hated myself, at least not as much as before. The thought often gnawed at me that if I were worth something here, maybe I could have made it work there too?

I’m home.

...

Millisenta, are you here?

There was no response. I saw her shoes in the hallway, so she was simply upset and didn’t want to talk to me. It’s true what they say—if a woman is in a bad mood, it will be bad for everyone else too. I experienced this with my mother. Such situations taught me that ignoring them often made them end sooner, at least in my experience.

So I decided not to force this strange and confusing dialogue. It was time to go to bed.

Are you asleep...?

Not yet.

Please don’t be mad at me.

I’m not mad.

Then why haven’t you been talking to me?

I tried to talk, but it seemed like you didn’t want to, and I didn’t insist.

Just...

I understand that you seem to feel responsible for me and that anything bad that happens to me will reflect on you. But as I’ve said, I’m a grown-up now, and I assure you—I’ll be fine.

It’s not just about that.

About what then?

You see...

She was blushing more and more. If I had been watching this situation from the outside, I would have quickly understood where it was heading. But at the moment, I was never particularly perceptive, especially in conversations with women. Once, I spent an entire year doubting very direct hints from a girl, to the point where she lost interest in me. So, yeah...

You see, I’m afraid of losing you.

Do you think I’ll get lost in the forest? You could tie a rope to me or throw stones so I can find my way back.

It’s not funny! I’m trying to be serious.

Sorry.

I don’t mean losing you in the literal sense. I mean it in every way!

...

Since you’ve been here. No, that’s not it.

...

You’re the first person I’ve become so close to since my parents died. I didn’t allow myself to get close to anyone because of them. Because I haven’t forgotten that pain. I probably never will.

You’ve never talked about your parents.

I don’t want to talk about them right now! Just listen.

Alright, alright.

I know this outing doesn’t seem like a big deal, and my behavior is quite selfish. But I never want to feel that pain again.

I know it might not seem like it, but I’m quite strong and brave.

Hahaha.

Hey...

It was clear she was about to cry. As a true gentleman, I couldn’t allow tears to appear on the face of a beautiful lady, even if she was a warrior. So, I decided to lighten the mood a little.

Actually, I know you’re strong. I’m not sure how to explain it. I just know. I saw how you trained, I remember how you saved me, how you spoke with the elders. You’re definitely not a coward. But my experience shows that life often takes the best people.

Yeah. But I’m not the best. Weakness and strength are two sides of the same coin. You can’t become truly strong without having been weak.

Philosophical dichotomies aren’t what I want right now.

What do you want then?

I want you to promise that we’ll come back from this mission safe and unscathed. And that you’ll never die before me or get injured.

Oh... That’s a lot of promises for one square meter.

PROMISE! Otherwise, I’ll do it all myself.

I promise!

For real?!

Depends on the kind of injuries, of course. Because if we keep this up, I’ll definitely end up with emotional trauma.

I didn’t mention emotional stuff. Sometimes it can even be useful...

You’re a masochist.

I haven’t even tried yet. So if you behave badly, you’ll find out all my abilities.

I only want to know the good ones.

You will. You’ll definitely find out over time. Now let’s go to sleep. We have an early start tomorrow.

You’re playing my mom again. Good night!

Sweet dreams.

Everything happened so quickly. The only thing left from that moment was the airy and magical feeling on my lips, after which I fell into the embrace of Morpheus like a happy corpse.

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“Wake up! We’re about to head out.”

“Good moooorning...”

“How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m fine, but...”

“Don’t think anything too much. It was just a quick recovery spell.”

“Ah, I actually guessed that right away.”

“So how do you feel? ‘Fine’ doesn’t quite cut it.”

“I feel magical!”

“Don’t overdo it.”

“Excellent.”

“That works. Be ready in 15 minutes. We need to meet the group at the city exit soon.”

After getting ready, Millisenta and I headed to the city exit. It was still dark outside, just starting to get light. The rangers were already waiting at the exit. They all had their faces covered with masks and their bodies cloaked in green. They looked like some sort of cleanup operation team.

They discussed the plan with Millisenta, and we set off. No one even greeted me...

As we descended, we took the central road toward the eastern edge of the forest. If I didn’t know where we were going, one might think we were a group of friends just going on a picnic. The pleasant air, the morning coolness, the tall trees, and the beautiful wildflowers, which were far more abundant than in our forests. Silence and beauty. At one point, I wanted to give in to my feelings and pick flowers for Millisenta, but quickly remembered we were actually on an important mission.

“How are you? Not tired?”

“Are you kidding? We’re just walking.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the air and pressure here are very different from what you’re used to in the city.”

“Well, let’s put it this way: the air quality I constantly breathed in my previous world was thousands of times worse. So I haven’t noticed much of a difference.”

“It’s amazing you’ve lived this long. I don’t feel very comfortable here.”

“Well, we adapt to our surroundings, so it’s not surprising.”

“You’re right, so I don’t want to adapt to this environment. In any case, be careful and don’t touch anything with your hands. Half of the plants you see here are either poisonous or alive, and you’d be their prey.”

“Thanks for the heads up before...”

“You’re welcome.”

We walked for about an hour and a half to the border. It could be considered a very healthy morning walk. We breathed in the forest air and admired the beautiful scenery. Nothing happened along the way—I glimpsed some white deer near a watering hole and saw a forest panther. Nothing more. Though, given my past, this was quite something. Apart from cats and dogs, I had only seen animals in zoos. At most, I had seen squirrels in parks and mice in my grandmother’s barn.

But the sight that greeted me upon arrival was something I’d never have seen in my previous life. A huge pile of animal carcasses was scattered in a clearing. The stench around was hard to describe and you wouldn’t want to smell it. Since almost a day had passed, the bodies had started to decompose, and in addition to us, a large number of mosquitoes had come to investigate. It was as if I had entered some sort of Beelzebub’s arthouse realm.

“How horrible... Whoever did this...”

Millisenta was clearly disturbed, which was no surprise. Whoever did this clearly didn’t want to send a sign of friendship or peace to the inhabitants of this forest.

“Don’t you think they’re arranged oddly?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, look. Heads on one side, limbs too, intestines laid out in the center. It would be reasonable to get a higher vantage point and look at it from above.”

“Gladly. Will you do it?”

“Of course, miss.”

Rad is one of the elves accompanying us.

“What is he going to do?”

“Rad is a warg; he can possess a bird and observe the clearing from above.”

“Is he born that way?”

“Yes, wargs cannot be trained. There are more wargs than there are people who can read minds, but they’re not born very often. Currently, there are about 20 wargs in our forest. Rad is one of the best.”

“What does that mean?”

“It depends on what you can possess and how much control you have. When wargs are very young and weak, they can only possess hamsters and barely control them.”

“And who is the strongest Rad can possess?”

“I’ve heard that on one mission he possessed a thousand-year-old dragon.”

“And could he control it?”

“Hardly.”

“But it still sounds very cool.”

“Is that how you say it? I suppose if I hadn’t seen such things before, I’d think it was really cool.”

Millisenta tried to show she wasn’t worried, but it was all written on her face. It seemed strange to me since she was an experienced warrior who had seen similar things before.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry so much.”

“I’m not worried.”

“It’s all written on your face. You’re anxious, something is scaring you, and I can’t figure out what it is.”

“Just...”

“Miss! I’m finished.”

Rad called us over.

“You were right; the animal body parts were indeed arranged in some sort of symbol.”

“What does it look like?”

“I’ll try to draw it.”

Rad picked up a stick and began sketching.

“Do you recognize what this is, Miss?”

“No... I’ve never seen anything like it before. But it looks horrifying.”

“I know. It’s the Chaos Cross.”

“What do you mean? What is that?”

“Well, in my past world, I sometimes visited occult websites. Occultists in my world are like...”

“I know who occultists are! What does it mean?”

“As far as I remember, this symbol represents Chaos. The Chaos Cross.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Most likely, it was used for some sort of ritual. The bears are the sacrifices, and the symbol is supposed to... I don’t know... cause chaos?”

“Sounds like nonsense.”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Rad, what happened?”

“The raven isn’t listening, it’s very unruly. Stop it!”

“Alright, we need to wrap this up. I’d have gone all the way to the border and then headed home.”

“Ahh!!!”

We didn’t even notice how the raven, which Rad was supposed to control, flew straight at him and plunged its beak into his neck. Millisenta reacted faster than anyone. She drew her slender, slightly curved sword, very similar to a katana, and killed the raven.

“Quickly, administer first aid to him! Rad!”

“Kk... I’m fine. And that creature was a real pain.”

“Don’t say that. Hurry.”

We had an elf with us who had the gift of healing. I didn’t know his name yet, but he started quickly treating Rad. I wasn’t sure if it was normal for wargs when animals didn’t obey them, but it looked very strange. Something was bothering me and I couldn’t figure out what. I approached Rad to examine his wound, but he suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Don’t worry! I’m... going to be alright. You didn’t want to see this on your first mission.”

“It’s better if you don’t say anything for now... But thanks, I’m fine.”

A strange sensation coursed through me when Rad touched me. But right now, it didn’t matter. I needed to understand what was wrong here. And then, I realized it. Rad was literally lying in the center of the Chaos Cross.

“Could we move him to another spot?”

“What are you talking about?”

“No... It’s too late!”

“We need to run!!!!!”

“WHAT IS HAPPENING?”

Blood was needed to activate the seal of the cross, and the raven hadn’t attacked Rad there by chance. Once I realized that, the circle activated.

“RUN!!!”

I ran with all my might out of the cross. But no one listened to me. Almost everyone from the team was around Rad, only Millisenta, whom I had spoken to, was standing a bit farther from the others. In the last moment before the cross completely ignited, I managed to grab Millisenta and pull her out of the boundary.