“Your parents are dead, child. And the one responsible for killing them— for slaughtering your kin— was… her”
Novis’ eyes grew wide as he stared into the [Witch]’s gaze. The words themselves barely made sense, yet he saw a vision. A scene which he’d never seen before. Yet, it felt like he was there. He felt all the emotions— saw things he never thought of before.
It was magic. A curse. A hex. A divination. Novis wasn’t smart enough to know any of that, he just knew it felt unnatural. He looked around and saw a flock of Wyverns, flying so mightily in the sky. Each of them large and majestic. One even dwarfed all the others, clearly the leader of the pack.
He unleashed a plume of frost— one so powerful it made the boy tremble at its sight alone. Yet, something tore through the breath attack. A monster that moved so fast and swiftly, it killed the pack leader in a single slash.
Novis blinked in shock, only for the scene to change. He looked around, once again surrounded by Wyverns. This time, he was in an odd place full of Humans. With tall structures that lay frozen in cool sleet. He once again cast his gaze up to see the very same monster tearing through the Wyvern flock like a storm of death.
undefinedThe Wyverns screeched out in terror as they were cut down with ease. Novis himself felt the same fear they did in that moment. He stumbled back, heart racing, breathing heavily. He looked down as he grabbed at his chest, and the floor shifted.
The cobblestone streets were replaced by a dark cavern. Novis spun around and found himself in a cavern. He opened his mouth, throat tight with bands of fear. Then he heard a crash.
Spinning around, Novis’ eyes widened at the sight of a collapsed Wyvern. It was large— filling the entire cavern. He looked at it lie there, dying, and his heart ached for whatever reason. The boy slowly edged forward, raising a hand.
“Ma…ma…?”
He approached the dying Wyvern. Then there was a moment of silence. A pause where he didn’t say nothing. He simply stared at the Wyvern’s eyes. Then there was a slash. A scythe sliced the Wyvern’s head off.
Novis jolted back, looking up in horror. A monster stood before him. One that stood on two feet with two clawed hands, a pair of wings on its back, and crown-like horns protruding from its head. It stared down at the boy with glinting golden eyes as something finally clicked in his mind.
He’d seen this monster before. This… Demon. It had appeared so often, scaring him, sending running. He tried to cover his eyes. He hoped it would go away. But something— the same unnatural feeling from before— compelled him to look at it. And understand.
“Mama…?”
His mouth worked against his will. He stared directly at the Demon. At his mother. Except, she wasn’t his mother. She had never been his mother.
“I am not your mama!”
“I am not their mother, Willy!”
“I am Salvos! Stop calling me your mama!”
Her words resounded in his head. He found his head whirling. He blinked, and for a moment, he saw his mama before him. The majestic Wyvern with long silver hair and black scales on her wing-arms. But then that image was gone. He just looked up and saw a smiling Demon.
A monster that killed his real mother. One who had slain countless Wyverns. A Demon.
Novis backed up. He looked at this Demon, gripped in fear. She stared at him, moving her mouth— calling his name.
“Novis!”
And that broke him out of his stupor. He took off running, not even realizing the scene had changed back to the cave chamber with the [Witch]— not realizing that the visions had ended. He ran and ran and ran, overcome with a storm of emotions. Grief, confusion, and betrayal drove him forward as he ran up a tunnel.
He didn’t hear the voices in the background. He didn’t hear the blasts and explosions as the fighting resumed.
“Now let’s make a deal, Demon—”
“Willy! Stop him—”
Novis just ran. Everything went dark around him, but he continued onward. The knowledge that his mama… was not his mama… burned in his mind. He tried to forget it, clawing at his head as if that would scratch the memory from his brain. But it refused to go away. It lingered like a curse. A malediction on the soul. A scourge upon a farmer’s lands.
He didn’t notice the tunnel brightening, a light shining behind him and leading the way. Instead, he stumbled over the rocky terrain as he reached the end of the tunnel. Exhausting, panting, Novis slowly came to a stop when he was finally back at the outside world.
The sun was setting over the horizon. The tunnel led to a steep cliff overlooking a barren wasteland. There was nothing there, although it looked like there had once been a forest here. The boy didn’t care about any of that. He dropped to his knees before curling up into a ball. He lay there for a moment in silence. Then a gentle warmth overcame him.
“Tired?”
Novis looked up to see a ball of green flame hovering over him.
“Uncle Willy…”
He eyed the [Will O’ Wisp], still in his fetal position. Tears streamed down from his cheeks as he choked and wiped at his face.
“Is it true? Is Salvos really… not my Mama?”
Willy didn’t give an immediate answer. He just floated there, quiet as always. Novis bit his lower lips. He dug into the dirt ground and lowered his head.
“Did she kill my real mama?”
“...yes.”
The [Will O’ Wisp] finally spoke. And the answer— it upset Novis. It brought the baby Wyvern back into tears. He cried as he tried to speak.
“Will she… will she kill me too? Is she going to eat me? Is she… is she…?”
He couldn’t even put his thoughts into coherent words. He just sniffled as he lay there. He didn’t even notice the dark shadow rising from the horizon, blotting out the setting sun.
Willy’s flames flickered. He spun around, whispering.
“No…”
Novis sniffed— and paused when he heard the blast of flame shoot out. Willy shouted at him as he raised his head.
“Run!”
The boy blinked away his tears, looking up at what the [Will O’ Wisp] was attacking. His jaw dropped. He gawked up in terror as he stumbled back. A massive figure loomed over him. One that seemed to glimmer with specks of iridescent light. Novis didn’t know what he was looking at.
It looked like a giant mass of dirt, rock, and foliage, gathered into a single massive core. Like an island. It was partially obfuscated, blocked by a gradient of warped colors that flickered in and out of existence. Giant bits of stone and other materials rapidly orbited this island like long arms— tendrils that were disjointed and disconnected.
Novis’ mind went blank as it cast its non-existent gaze on him.
[-̷̫͇͈͎̞̌̓͛̔̌͌̔͂̒͗-̷̜͓͚̩̞̖͎͍͍͕̆̿̋-̷̳̼͖̙͖͎̩̥̜͕͈͈͓̱̈́͌̐̀̔̔̌̎̓-̴̙̺̂̍͐̈́͋̃̔͋̈́͝ Island - Lvl. -̷̫͇͈͎̞̌̓͛̔̌͌̔͂̒͗-̷̜͓͚̩̞̖͎͍͍͕̆̿̋-̷̳̼͖̙͖͎̩̥̜͕͈͈͓̱̈́͌̐̀̔̔̌̎̓-̴̙̺̂̍͐̈́͋̃̔͋̈́͝]
“What…?”
And Willy unleashed a wall of crimson flames at the corrupted island. It reeled back as the [Will O’ Wisp] repeated himself at the baby Wyvern.
“Find Salvos!”
But Novis froze. He lay there in too much shock and confusion to react. Salvos? the boy thought. But monster—
And a corrupted tendril of warped matter tore through Willy’s flame. It knocked the [Will O’ Wisp] aside, sending him flying. It turned back to the vulnerable baby Wyvern as he cowered there. It made a deep humming noise as it slowly descended on him.
“No—”
The boy squeaked. And there was a flash. The approaching island was knocked back, a large chunk of its side breaking off from a clean vertical slash. The corrupted island cracked, looking like it was about to crumble.
And a figure landed in front of Novis. He looked at it— at the Demon with two pairs of wings. One that was made of bone, and the other that belonged to a bat. She stood there with her regal horns, carrying a glinting blade at her side.
Salvos spun around and faced him with a worried look.
“Are you ok?”
She ran up to him. Novis brightened for a moment— then something in his mind flashed. An anger. A fury. A melancholy. He snapped at her.
“Go away!”
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