Ice Cold Words

When Rose saw I understood what she was saying, she withdrew again and walked at a rapid pace. Her annoyance at what I had said increased, but I had nothing further to say. She also refused to talk to me and would not give me a logical explanation. So I figured maybe nothing would happen if I stuck to what she said for now. Because if I continued to inflame the situation, she would only get angrier.

I rose from the floor and shook myself off again. The clothes I was wearing were almost tattered and worn out, and I had also seen the shoes I was wearing torn and falling apart every time my feet hit the ground.

It was only natural that running all over the forest would leave them in this state.

But I did not have the energy to deal with them at the moment. All I could do was walk quickly so that I could keep up with her walking pace.

I ran until I was out of breath, even on normal flat trails, to places where there were lots of rocks and the terrain it was very uneven. I climbed up slopes, jumped at certain points, and held on to wet rocks with my hands in the most brutal way. This was one torture for my damaged skin and open bruises.

The smell of blood on my body and my hands aching with pain reminded me of their wear and tear. Both were red and had deep scars on the surface

I felt bad looking at them, but I soon closed them again so as not to dwell on the pain and its psychology.

So I quickly made my way and followed Rose, whom I watched.

Soon we had completed an hour's walk, the forest path became deeper and the number of animals around us increased again. The sky was brightly lit, and the leaves of the trees swayed in the wind. The earth beneath us groaned along with the pebbles, giving off small sounds of crunching leaves under our feet.

The forest was also getting denser and denser. But I remembered that I still had time until noon, so I felt reassured.

We walked for a while until we came upon tall trees somewhere in the forest's south.

Overlapping pieces of wood and trees fallen on the ground were the first things that made us stop in shock. Huge claw marks that made you shudder proved the trees had been uprooted. Huge claw marks had split the trees, the branches had broken off, and it looked as if half the forest had been exposed to an explosion or a battle.

And it was not just one tree. More than one tree had claw marks on its chest parts, and it was clear to see that towards the end of the forest, there was a claw mark on every single tree.

The claw marks belonged to an animal or creature with large, sharp nails. Its huge hands, clinging tightly to its torso, wrapped around the tree trunks and left deep claw marks on the trees. These marks were usually on the left and right sides of the trees, indicating that the creatures that left them had large palms. It also indicated that they had incredible gripping power to bring down these types of trees.

Just like the creatures that had previously climbed the mountain, which made it easier for them to move.

There was plenty of evidence that the creatures that followed me retained their natural killer instinct at every second looking for other prey and showing their exact location. They were bloodthirsty monsters that looked like they were running through the forest for hours chasing other animals. We were probably other prey that got in their way, because it was a rainy moment and we were emerging from the darkness from one point to another, making different noises to distract them and confuse our voices and sounds in the thick air and loud storm.

I knew I had to get my head out of the noose, but now they had blocked our way as well.

Overlapping pieces of wood, dozens of branches lying on the ground, the bright sun shining directly into the forest. It all added to the ruined look of the forest. We thought about how we would continue the way from here. Because going along from here, especially with someone like her, would mean enormous trouble if I broke her rules or upset her.

And on the path we followed, we were left confused, not knowing where to go next.

"They are getting wilder by the day." Rose clenched her fist, "Every single day. That makes it a little harder." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "Filthy creatures."

Her way of speaking was very experienced and familiar with the tracks, as if she had encountered these creatures before.

"I did not know the creatures of the shadow bloodline were so dangerous." I said, not knowing what was going on in her head,

Rose did not speak to me right away when I started talking. She waited in silence, tilting her gaze slightly as she stopped looking at the destroyed forest.

"They have hunted us, under the compulsion of power and compulsory regulation. Under the big hand over their head and a bit of spell. Either way, they are not extremely smart in their movements. That is why it would be foolish for us to rush things up as we get away in this forest. They are creatures that are dangerous, I wouldn't dare to say otherwise. But they were hypnotized by the third epic and acted much more unrestrained when they chased us."

Then she looked at me and added,

"Their nature has changed and become much more fearsome than even we could handle."

Then she continued speaking while picking up some branches from the ground and moving on,

"You are obviously not from this kingdom. You seem to pass over everything you see, or the things I have told you, just to walk around blindly."

"Why do you say that?" It caught me a little in surprise she would say something about me not being from here, I wasn't very sure how he even got to understand I wasn't.

"The fact that you are running around without knowing what he has done says it all. And no wonder you call your friends so callous. If you had tried a little harder, you would have been destroyed by these creatures, or maybe you would be eaten by now."

"Him? Who are you talking about?"

She was still looking at me a little confused, trying to find something under my mumbled words that she would approve of,

She looked at me with a look just as serious as before,

"I am talking about the Third Epic. The person who sent all of his dogs here just to watch some innocent people fight like cockroaches." Her voice had anger and sadness in it. It was sure she carried many burdens in her voice. Going battle after battle.

It was as if she had lost many people by this very dangerous person, by this very dangerous thing.

But I then understood what she was talking about. It was an "Epic", just like the ones I have fought.

"Just like the two I met before."

"You met with the Epics before?"

"It is a long story. I could explain to you afterwards." I shrugged it off with a smile,

Then I continued to push the conversation further more,

"But hearing that you have been living here for a long time, what do you know exactly about him? You said he left people here to fight and send his own soldiers. Does he also govern these countries?"

"Very much so. He has killed so many of us and left us in despair and threat, with all this poverty and humiliation. His subordinates have made him the mainstay of our suffering, so we could not harm him, anyway. He is a madman of these lands. A face we could never see before, but were afraid to look up to. The fact that you have not even heard of an event around which the third epic revolved, or even fear a name that you should not roll on your tongue, seems here like a mistake you have made, as if you were going to war with a weapon as empty as possible."

"I might be doing that, unfortunately." I nervously smiled again,

She sighed and just kept on walking. "Whatever."

We strode through the large patch of forest, treading off one small point after another. We walked away from there, crossing the trees and leaving them behind. We found ourselves on another path behind the area and followed another route.

As we walked along, I felt softer ground beneath us as I walked on it, and shook my feet as I talked to her,

"How long have you lived in the third kingdom?"

Rose had given me a cold, mocking look because of the way I'd acted earlier. She seem to keep her distance from me in our dialogues and was getting even far away by talking less with me. But I needed information. And if we were going to go all this way together, I thought I should at least be informed before I ran into any danger. So I was more or less sure that the silence would be broken.

And I was right.

"Since the day I was born." She said in a calm voice. Her anger seems to cool down a bit. "Was always in this pit."

"Is that why you became a knight? So you could stop the epic?"

I was choosing my words so recklessly because I was in such a wonder about how she ended up here. She wasn't giving me any chance to talk, so I thought I could hear some things from her. And maybe melt the ice between ice.

But the sharp cold between us was much bigger than I thought.

She looked at me and gave me a stay away taunt,

"This is none of your business."

I got nervous, but I didn't want to back off from talking,

"I noticed you control the vines with your sword. If you have such power, what do you use it for? Although the weapon has power, you also use it quite well."

"And you have a lot of strength and courage for your age. But your mouth won't shut. You're a loudmouth."

I know I would not take words out of her mouth. She was like a tough metal shield that saw no light from any direction. From her reddish hair, to her burning green eyes, her endless forest like heart, and ice cold personality, she was somebody that I never awaited to meet.

She was somebody so different at last.

Her uniqueness made me laugh.