Shadows on the Path

The journey back began under a cloudy sky. The wind carried heavy clouds that seemed to foretell a storm, and every creak in the trees kept us on edge. Although the Veil Spear rested on my back, I felt that we all knew the same truth: we were not returning alone.
Lysbeth rode at the front, her gaze fixed on the path. Rei kept watch over the surroundings, his hand always near his sword. Nara, strangely enough, hadn’t made a single joke all day. Aria stayed by my side, her eyes steady, as if ensuring I didn’t stray from her for even a moment.
The echo inside me wouldn’t stay silent.
"They feel it… the fear. The spear doesn’t reassure them, Kaoru. It only deceives them. When the time comes, they’ll step aside, and you’ll be with me."
I tried to ignore it, but its voice was like a poison seeping into every thought.

The ambush came at dusk. The path narrowed between cliffs and twisted trees, and suddenly, a whistle cut through the air. A black arrow lodged itself into the ground in front of us.
—“Halt!” —Lysbeth ordered, raising her hand.
Hooded shadows emerged from the trees and cliffs, armed with spears, swords, and bows. Dozens—perhaps over a hundred—of them. Their eyes glowed with a crimson light.
—“Devotees of Chaos,” —Rei spat, drawing his sword.
A leader’s voice echoed from a hill. —“Hand over the spear! That power does not belong to you!”
Aria stepped forward, her gaze ablaze. —“Over my dead body!”
The enemies responded with a guttural scream, and the battle began.

The clash was brutal. Lysbeth lunged forward, her sword tracing perfect arcs that took down two or three enemies in a single strike. Rei fought like a shadow, his speed impossible to follow, slashing throats while deflecting arrows at the same time.
Nara extended her hands, and a sea of fire erupted among the devotees, incinerating several. Her laughter echoed amidst the flames, though her eyes revealed fierce exhaustion.
Aria stayed by my side, summoning bursts of light that blinded the enemies and gave the others a moment’s reprieve.
I, however, could barely contain the pressure in my chest. The voice screamed inside me, demanding control.
"Release me. Let me annihilate them all. With me, none will survive!"
I gritted my teeth and threw myself into the fight. My sword cut through the devotees as if they were smoke, and each strike released flashes of darkness that spread farther than I intended. Bodies fell around me, and with each death, the voice grew louder, celebrating.
—“Kaoru!” —Aria shouted, grabbing my arm—. “Stop, you’re losing yourself!”
I looked at her, and for a moment, I didn’t recognize her face. The entire world seemed drenched in red, and all I saw were enemies that had to die.
With superhuman effort, I stepped back and drove my sword into the ground. The dark power dissipated in a wave that knocked down several nearby devotees but left me kneeling, gasping.
—“No…” —I murmured—. “I won’t give in.”

The enemy seemed endless. For every devotee that fell, two more appeared. The leader on the hill raised his staff, conjuring a dark circle that began spinning in the air. From it emerged a deformed creature, with black wings and venomous glowing claws.
—“Great!” —Nara shouted, dodging a strike—. “Now we’ve got demonic pets.”
The beast roared and lunged straight at Aria. Without thinking, I stepped in. The claw clashed with my sword, throwing me several meters back. Pain surged through my body, but I stayed on my feet.
—“Kaoru!” —Aria shouted, but I raised my hand.
—“I’m fine… focus on the beast!”
Lysbeth gave the signal, and together we attacked the creature. Rei cut its wings, Nara wrapped it in flames, Aria unleashed bursts of light, and I poured all my strength into precise blows. The monster roared, but gradually yielded to our combined assault.
Finally, a coordinated strike from Lysbeth and me sliced it in two. The creature disintegrated into black smoke, and the devotee leader screamed in rage.
—“Cursed ones! The goddess Kiseki will make you pay!”
With a gesture, he ordered the retreat. The devotees vanished into the shadows, leaving behind a field of corpses and ashes.

The silence that followed was overwhelming. Blood soaked the ground, and the smell of burning filled the air.
Aria ran to me, touching my wounds. —“Are you hurt?”
I shook my head, though my hands trembled. —“Just tired.”
Rei cleaned his sword with a serious expression. —“This was only a warning. Kiseki already knows we have the spear. She won’t stop.”
—“I know,” —I replied, looking at the weapon on my back—. “But as long as we have it, there’s still hope.”
Nara snorted, sitting on a rock. —“If by ‘hope’ you mean ‘they’ll chase us even in our dreams,’ then yeah, we’re full of hope.”
Lysbeth sheathed her sword and looked at all of us. —“We must return to the castle as soon as possible. We don’t know how much time we have before Kiseki sends something worse.”
Aria took my hand, squeezing it tightly. —“Kaoru… promise me you won’t let that shadow consume you.”
I looked into her eyes, feeling the weight of that promise. —“I promise.”
But the voice inside me laughed softly.
"Empty promises. When the time comes, you won’t have a choice."
I held her, trying to drown that echo with the warmth of her body. I knew Kiseki wouldn’t rest until she took the spear from us… and I feared that, before that happened, I myself would become the enemy we feared most.