Howdy, Strider

The voice breaks through the silenced withered landscape behind me.

“Howdy, Strider.”

Turning around to see the speaker I’m surprised to see another Daystar.

This one is dressed in a dark crimson suit, his face lit with golden eyes staring daggers into mine, and a jagged smile that holds a monstrous grin. A pair of long golden horns protrude from his short blonde hair.

But in his hands, is another shovel. One similar to mine. However, it has a steel with a much more reddish hue. Besides the color they look practically identical.

I look around, hoping there’s maybe some other person he could be addressing.

With my amazing luck there’s nobody here except for me and the yellow devil.

“Strider, you’re supposed to greet a fellow when he greets you.” He says with a slight chuckle in his voice.

I compose myself and do as the alien says.

“My name is King, I’m–well I’m a treasure hunter.”

“You? A treasure hunter? Hahahaha.”

His calm demeanor sends a shiver down my spine. Nobody should be wandering out in the withered lands. Everything the decay touches is consumed by it. Speaking of which, I need to find a way out of here.

My head twists and turns, searching for any sign of undecayed lands, but my hope is hopeless as there really isn’t anything here but the nothingness of desolation.

“24 hours. That’s how long you were in the other world... A lot can happen in 24 hours.”

His voice brings me back to the situation at hand.

Wait what? It's been that long already. So everything that happened was truly 100% real. I mean, it's not like I don't believe it at this point.

No wait, it's been 24 hours?!

Damn it, no!

Lala! Gil! Do they think I abandoned them?

Are they looking for me?

No no no no no!

“Relax Strider, your kiddos are okay.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM, DEVIL!”

“I saved them, after you heartlessly left them to die as the decay consumed your little shelter.” The devil speaks as if this conversation is just idle chit chat to him.

“Where did you take them too! Who in the hell do you think I am?!”

“You? You’re just a greedy human being, no shame in that really. And for their whereabouts, well there much further in the withered lands, this town’s area zero.”

“Why? What’s wrong with you!?” I scream out, my voice echoing across the barren landscape.

“I felt some pity for them, so I brought them to the gate.”

“Gate?”

“That’s correct. That fantastical world you were off having a grand old time in, is a world created from our technologies. Your kind was never meant to experience it. It’s an infection we created to take over your world.”

“The withering comes from my world, your digging and the wider world’s own curiosity brought the curse into your home. The gate I mentioned before is like a big tunnel that connects our two universes together, hence the term gate.”

“Sounds brutal doesn’t it? You humans never stood a chance against our silent invasion, and now your world ends. Just like that.” He crushes his hands together, gesturing it to be a quick immediate death.

“But I believe even the withered deserve a second chance at life, they were murdered by our world’s technology. None of this would have happened if we hadn’t invaded earth.”

“What do you think, Strider?”

“Do you think the withering monsters of this world deserve life?” His arm waves forward, awaiting my response.

The wandering zombies? He can’t be serious, or maybe he’s just so naïve. Those that are taken by the twisted nature of decay are gone, it’s just survival of the fittest.

“No, they don’t deserve life. They’re mindless beasts that only seek to destroy the living.” I say with conviction.

“Hmm, that’s not the answer I was hoping to hear. Alas I guess you just aren’t the one.” His head shakes in dismay.

“Now give me back my brothers!”

“I never said I’d return them to you. Especially not now after your unsavory answer. If you want them so badly, how about heading for the gate?”

“Maybe I will…”

“But I can’t let a kidnapper just walk away from this unscathed.” I say pointing my shovel at him threateningly.

“Oooooh scary, Strider’s making threats now.”

“Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a human, this shovel’s gonna show you a world of hurt.” I start my charge toward him.

My body retains a bit of the acrobatic feel from the other world, however I definitely feel heavier here than there.

I might already prefer life in the other world.

The power I felt.

The magic I could possess.

It was all amazing.

FTANNGG–

My shovel connects with the yellow devil, clashing with his red shovel. Causing a metallic sound to ring out.

“Oh my, it appears you made the first move. And with that I have the right to strike back. Although you are quite outmatched, so I’ll match your terrible combat skills, make it equal.” the daystar mocks.

“Please, I’d never lose to a filthy kidnapper!” I exclaim as I prepare for another stab.

KLANG–

CLASH–

The shovels bounce off each other, no clean hit making it through to the opponent. The yellow Daystar appears to not even break a sweat with all this movement.

“HUFF HUFF”

Shoot I can’t actually be outmatched again. I can’t let this guy think he’s won any more than he’s already feeling it.

“Tired? Your attacks against me are meaningless, at least for a weakling like yourself. Right now you’re just a magicless wannabe hero, flailing a shovel around like he owns the place. It’s quite comical actually hah.”

He’s perfectly parrying all my attacks.

“Notice how you’ve done all this moving, and my legs haven’t moved an inch. That’s the difference in our strength.”

It’s true he hasn’t moved at all since I started swinging on him. And yet his shovel always manages to deflect my own.

Wait, his feet, what if I dig a hole beneath him, and transport me and him to the other world. Then I’d have greater enhanced movement, I could win.

Thinking quickly I wield the shovel readying to plunge into the ground.

SCHTICK–

The shovel digs into the dirt…

Like any old shovel digging up dirt.

“Huh what, why didn’t anything happen?!” speaking openly in front of my enemy.

“You really are such a fool Strider. Your shovel doesn’t work in withered areas”

BONK–

In my failed attempt at digging a hole between worlds he bonks my head with the shovel.

“My shovel however does.”

SCHTICK!–

SKRRRCH!–

KRAK!–

The withered ground collapses beneath my feet. Looking up I see the Daystar staring down as I fall into the darkness.

“Be seeing you, Strider! tootles!” waving goodbye as I descend into the void.

~         ~         ~

I can’t imagine why things ended up the way they did.

But now I have a real quest.

I need to save my brothers from the clutches of that demonic Daystar.

And I need to do it fast.

There’s no telling what dangers lurk in the witherlands.

Or how safe they are left all alone.

I need to save them.

I will save them.

~         ~         ~

As I came to, I lay sat in a pile of ash and tattered books. Above the skies are darkened with a breeze full of black ash.

Screams of terror wash through me as sounds of destruction wage forth a few hundred feet behind me.

That’s when I realized.

The study.

The town.

The people.

The children.

The withering.

It’s here.

END CHAPTER 8