Chapter 6 - Flares of Salvation

Elias was immobilized by fear, his gaze fixed on the beasts approaching with deliberate steps. The pounding of his heart resonated in his ears, a frenzied drum marking time amid the terror. He tried to swallow but his throat was as dry as desert sand. He knew he had to act, had to do something to protect Kael, but his body resisted obeying.

The beasts slithered between the trees like stalking predators. The sound of crunching dry leaves under their paws echoed like a dire omen in the silent forest. Elias desperately wished to be invisible, to blend into the night and escape the gaze of these abominable creatures, but his presence did not go unnoticed.

With stealthy steps, he tried to retreat, to distance himself from the beasts, but it was in vain. The moon cast a ghostly light over the forest, revealing the grotesque silhouettes of the creatures surrounding him. Amidst the shadows, the yellow eyes of the largest beast glowed with sinister intensity as it detected his movement. A guttural growl escaped its throat.

The air thickened with palpable tension, as if the forest itself were on the verge of erupting into a frenzy of violence. Elias's muscles tensed, preparing for the inevitable. The beast advanced slowly, its intense gaze fixed on him as if it could see every thought, every fear tormenting his mind.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, seeking strength deep within. When he opened them again, his gaze was filled with fierce determination.

Without thinking, without time to breathe, he turned and fled, carrying Kael in his arms as his last hope. He ran as he had never run before, his feet barely touching the ground as the beasts, monsters born of nightmares, pursued him with a ferocity that chilled his blood.

He could feel the hot, rancid breath of the beasts on his neck, ready to devour them alive. The sound of their claws scratching the earth reverberated in his ears. Every step he took, he could hear the guttural roars behind him, as if the very jaws of hell had opened to swallow them.

The darkness of the forest closed in around them like a coffin, each lurking shadow taking on a life of its own in his mind, fueling his fear with dreadful images. The sense of helplessness pricked at him, every muscle in his body screaming to stop, but he knew that stopping meant death. Desperation enveloped him like a noose, tightening with every beat of his heart.

As he carried Kael, Elias desperately searched for an escape, a crack in reality that would lead them away from the jaws of the beasts. But the forest seemed to stretch infinitely, with no salvation in sight. Kael's breath was a fragile whisper in his ear, a constant reminder of the responsibility he bore. He could not afford to fail.

Each time he stumbled, each time he felt his legs could carry him no further, he found strength in some dark corner of his soul and pressed on. The need, the sheer need to survive, propelled him forward.

As he ran, tears mingled with sweat on his face—tears of fear, of anger, of sorrow. But there was also a blazing fire in his eyes, a spark of hope that refused to be extinguished.

In an instant, reality twisted into a whirlwind of terror and despair. He barely had time to scream before one of the beasts leaped upon him, violently knocking him to the ground with Kael still in his arms. The impact was brutal, shaking his bones and stealing his breath.

The sound of fangs clashing against bone echoed in the night's silence, accompanied by Elías's scream. The pain, sharp and piercing, became his only reality as the beast's jaws closed around his shoulder. Blood spurted, a dark flower in the gloom, as he struggled to free himself from the creature's deadly grip. Every attempt to escape was laden with desperation, an unequal struggle against an enemy that knew no mercy.

In that moment, the world's injustice weighed upon his shoulders like an unbearable yoke. Life, once a river of hope and dreams, had turned into a dark, bottomless abyss. Amidst the despair, rage burned in his eyes.

Kael, still unconscious, stirred in Elías's arms, as if his subconscious sensed the tragedy unfolding around them. Screams of pain filled the air, resonating as a heart-rending echo in the night's silence.

The shadows of the beasts closed in around them, forming an ominous circle of death. Elías gritted his teeth, feeling the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, as he tried to shield Kael with his own body.

"Run, Kael, run!" Elías's voice thundered, his cry echoing in the night like a roar torn by pain. He wanted Kael to wake up and escape, to be saved from this engulfing nightmare, but time was running out.

In a fleeting flash, Kael emerged from the depths of unconsciousness, a spark of clarity piercing through the dense fog of his confusion. In the depths of his being, a fierce and resolute will ignited, an intrepid flame defying the shadows of pain and despair. Though his eyes remained plunged in darkness, his spirit stood with unwavering determination that shone in his gaze.

With a strength seemingly born from an unknown place, he freed himself from Elías's arms. Guided by a primal instinct, he crawled towards a nearby stone. His hands, trembling from effort and pain, clung to the rock with surprising tenacity. Ignoring the torment that ripped through his body, seizing every glimpse of his inner strength, he struggled to his feet.

"Who would have thought living in complete darkness would become my new way of life?" Kael muttered ironically under his breath.

Elías, his vision blurred by pain, witnessed helplessly as Kael lifted the stone with unwavering determination in his blind eyes. With a cry of rage and desperation, he hurled it toward one of the beasts, causing it to momentarily recoil.

As the creatures watched him, Elías looked at Kael, whose sightless eyes showed no trace of fear. Instead, there was an unyielding determination burning within him.

Elías spoke with a hoarse voice, laden with pain and urgency, "Kael, we cannot give up now. We are stronger than you think."

Kael offered a wry smile, his cynical tone barely perceptible as he replied, "Stronger? It seems we're trapped like mice, don't you think? Although I suppose it's better to face death courageously than to passively wait."

Since regaining consciousness, Kael had fought against the darkness unflinchingly. His wounded body and lost vision would not bow before the threat looming ahead. He gritted his teeth firmly, defying the beasts with the sheer force of his will.

The bloodthirsty beasts, guided by savage instincts, surged toward them in a frenzy of relentless violence. Elías couldn't help but release a cry of anguish when he felt the sharp fangs of one of the creatures sinking into his leg, tearing his flesh with the ferocity of a predator. The piercing pain shot through his body like lightning, as his figure contorted in a mixture of terror and suffering.

Meanwhile, Kael, defenseless and at the mercy of the beasts, became their sadistic plaything. The creatures moved around him with a mix of ferocity and delight, as if they knew they had their prey in the palm of their claws. Each of Kael's attempts to defend himself proved futile and desperate.

His sightless eyes felt the chill of malevolent anticipation looming over him. His hands frantically sought a glimmer of hope, a weapon, or anything that could halt the torment about to unfold. Instead of finding a lifeline, they encountered only the despairing void of air.

Amidst the absolute darkness, the brutal onslaught of the beasts unfolded like a macabre dance, with Kael as the unwitting protagonist. Every scratch, every bite, was like a torture instrument playing a symphony of suffering.

Just as the beasts seemed on the verge of ending Kael's torment, a miraculous twist occurred. It was a breath in time, a blink in the abyss of despair. One second more, and the jaws of the beasts would have finished him.

In an act of grace, a storm of fiery arrows descended from the sky, piercing the air with incandescent fury. They struck the creatures with a deafening crash, and cries of pain filled the dark stage.

The searing heat of the flames intertwined with the pungent scent of singed flesh, creating a tense atmosphere charged with desperation. The beasts, amidst their agony, howled with a wrenching sound that mingled with the incessant crackling of the devouring fire.

Each fire arrow that struck the creatures resonated in their ears like an echo of redemption. The air was filled with the whistling of flames consuming the beasts' scales, and a sense of relief merged with confusion as they struggled to understand who or what was rescuing them.

Chapter end