68 Lets Meet at the Oasis (1/2)

'So you've located the fruit?' My sister's voice rang in my head as I quickly sped through a door, the sound of hooves and screeching follows behind me the entire way. Right after I had entered into this temple like ruins, I'd been enveloped by a darkness, and it had brought me deep into the ruins itself.

This place was crawling with evil energy and the stench of death.

My body was starting to get tired, I'd been chased by these skeleton horseman for the entire time. At first, I'd taken to slaughtering them. By ripping them apart and crushing their bones into a dust. I thought that was the end of it. However, they quickly spawned back, it didn't matter how I killed them.

They'd come back to life, it was like they were invincible!

”Fuck,” I growled as I grounded my teeth together, I forced myself forward.

All of the sudden I felt a strong tremor run through my body and I quickly dodged to the right as an arrow whizzed through the air right where my head had been.

These annoying bastards! The arrow was made of bone and coated in poison, sucking in a deep breath, I throw a glance over my shoulder and the horseman could be seen. I wanted nothing more than to bash their skulls into bone dust.

Their eyes were glowing dark red as they charged towards me, smoke curled out of the horses' nostrils as they kneed and whined as they thrashed against the hold of the horsemen. They were wild stallions made up of bone and covered in clothing and desert-like outfits.

These damn flies were enough to drive one insane, no matter how many I slaughtered, they kept on coming and multiplying. It was infuriating to think that I couldn't just get rid of them. No matter how much, I smashed, grounded, or burned them, they multiplied.

It went around from three of them chasing me, to a little over a dozen of them hot on my heels and thirsty for my blood.

'Yes, it apparently grows at the oasis that I'm heading for,' Rain's voice rang in my head, I wasn't fond of her, something about her sets me off. It made my skin crawl when she looked at me. It was like she was dissecting me with those eyes of hers. Granted, I didn't have time to dawdle.

Grumbling to myself, I ducked and barely dodged another arrow as it whizzed past my head. It made a loud 'thunk' as it stuck out from one of the large pillars. I grounded my teeth together as I kept sprinting. Taking a deep breath, I started to cast a spell. A bright glow started to appear around my feet and body.

[Haste of a Ghost], a special buff that made one as light as a ghost. There was no point to fight something that I couldn't kill, I thought bitterly.

My speed dramatically increased. I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding. With the buff, I was able to pull away from them. I threw a glance over my shoulder and shot them the bird before I lost sight of them.

That was rather boring, I thought to myself as I sped along the corridor. I need to find the fucking exit already!

I wanted nothing more than to leave these detestable ruins at once. There was no point for me to be in here if it wasn't prudent to the Dryad's quest. I hated having to go out of my way to do something.

However, no matter how far I ran there were no signs of an exit anywhere, and if anything it seemed like I was making my way further into the ruins themselves. This is just great!

'Bav did you hear that? Let's all meet up at the Oasis,' my sister's voice rang in my head.

'Got it,' I responded shortly. A new chill ran down my spine and I looked around for the source of the ill feeling.

It was as if something was hunting me...

However, I couldn't see anything, there was no other visible presence than my own. But no matter what my eyes saw or even what I could perceive, it was like something was breathing down my back, it made my skin clammy.

Speeding along the hallways that stretched and turned, I kept my eyes peeled and began to remove my book from the confine of my waist. While my sister held the grimoire of the dead, I held the grimoire of the living, we're like yin and yang, black and white, night and day.

Perfect opposites, yet equal and the same in every way.

Flipping to a page, I began to recite the incantation.

”Oh Goddess of Life Zhiva, I ask thee, I beseech thee light the way of the living in this land of the dead,” I say as a blinding light burns from my grimoire of the living, in an instant a burning white arrow coated in flames with two hands encompassing it appears above the book and spins for a bit as I continue my mad dash in the dimly lit hallway.

The arrow spun around three times before it tilted to the right, I let out a small sigh of relief as Ifollow the arrow's direction, moving left and right as it turns in the hands. With the light of the Goddess, I felt the evil presence that hangs behind me lessen.