The Inner Gambit of Darkness - Continued (Part 3)

Dalikos heard it just before hand and thrusted his foot at the figure.

"Dont worry! I'm here to help kid!"

"Fire gives light to the world, Deserax. It pierces the deepest darkness to bring sight to your eyes. Focus on your inner light, and bring it out to guide your path."

The thing that pounced at Dalikos was knocked back into a tree. It landed on its feet and revealed itself to Dalikos...

The thing would be human, if it weren't for the goat skull for a head and the chest cavity. No organs could be seen from inside. Little spikes were growing out of its arms and back, breaking through the skin with blood and puss leaking out. This thing looked at Dalikos with the red lights within the eye sockets of its skull, that were eyes, and let out an unearthly roar that was a combination of an otherworldly beast's and the scream of a man in pain. The creature threw its tomahawk at Dalikos before darting behind a tree.

Dalikos ducked under the Tomahawk and then watched it run away.

"What... The... Fuck was that!"

-----

"Fire gives light... You mean to tell me, i could've been able to use light all this time?!"

"Not if you focused on rage all this time." Prometh replied in the dark. "There is far more to your power than you currently understand."

"Monsters...monsters...monsters..." the boy chanted deliriously in between sobs. The monster returned with a second tomahawk, swinging swiftly with the speed of a predator at Dalikos.

"Ok. Ok, um... Light can be associated with happiness... Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts..." Deserax said quietly. He extinguished his fire ball and held it out, still concentrating on happy thoughts. Slowly, a small ball of light formed, but only about the size of a golf ball.

"Come on! Come on! I can do this!"

----

Dalikos hit the tomahawk away with his sword and shot a small wave of water at the thing. He quickly went over to the boy and looked him in the eyes.

"Kid! You want to see your mom right?"

The child was too traumatized to speak. He bobbed his head up and down. The creature recovered from the attack and swiped at Dalikos with its claws.

Dalikos used one arm to take the claws, and while the thing was close, sent a punch to deck it in the face.

"Good! Jump on my back, and for the love of everything good, dont let go!"

Verron released a loud sigh and turned her back on the other sage. "I need a drink" she muttered, but before reaching the door, she stopped. "oh, and here's your stupid sword" she gestured to the case Cyrus was holding.

The boy climbed onto Dalikos' back and screamed as the creature returned with swipe at Dalikos' face.

Deserax closed his eyes and headbutted the thing away from him. He felt right above, and below start to bleed.

"That's going to make a scar..." Deserax said quietly. He kept the right eyes closed and took off sprinting, taking the same trail from were he came.

The sound of monstrous panting followed Dalikos as he ran. Arrows and tomahawks whizzed past him.

Dalikos dodged most of them, but he kept running. He was now at where he saw the first dead body.

"Kid! Reach into my pouch and take out a bottle that looks like water! Take a sip of it, then run back to your house!"

"Not happiness boy, light!" Prometh scolded. "The thing in life that brings you knowledge, safety, and peace."

---

Dane looked curiously at Cyrus. "My sword?"

The boy did what Dalikos said and hesitantly took a sip of the clear potion. The effects worked, and he became invisible. With no time to marvel at his invisible form, the boy fled to the village.

More of the monsters caught up with Dalikos. Each was unique and different with skulls of animals for heads. They shared one similarity: chest cavities. Their chests were ripped open with no organs, just open ribcages. The monsters began uttering strange noises and ran at Dalikos like savages.

Dalikos sent a blast of water at the things, trying to get them away.

The monsters were surprisingly hurt by the water. They shrieked and roared in pain as the water burnt away at their skin and bodies. Only a few survived, and they came closer to attack.

Dalikos didn't get the logic, but he ran away, and came to the village, where he saw small foot steps already past the guards.

"Guards! Attack the hell out of these things!" He shouted.

-----

"Ok! Knowledge.. Safety... Piece..." His thoughts started to drift to the safeness of the Temple of time, then to his house, then him remembering the safety and happiness of being in his parents arms. Deserax unknowingly started to smile and the light ball started to get to about the size of a basket ball.

"Better. Now embrace that light; let it be your guide through the darkness."

Unfortunately, the guards already had their hands full. The village was under attack, and on fire! People were panicking and evacuating while guards were fighting off the monsters who did this. The whole woods seemed to be infested with these abominations.

The house of the boy and mother was on fire, and near to collapse. Their condition was unknown.

Dalikos saw the house of the boy and started running even harder for it, while spraying some houses with his water. Soon, he got to the boy's house and doused it in water. He busted in, before the building collapsed and looked around.

"Hey! Are you ok! Speak to me lady!"

The woman was screaming in pain as one of the monsters just got down ripping her left arm off, and proceeded to take a chunk out of her neck with its ghastly teeth. The monster threw the dying woman against the wall and slowly walked towards the cabinet, where muffled sobbing could be heard.

Dalikos blasted the monster with a rather large ball of water, then ran to the women.

"I-Is you son ok? Can i do anything to help you?" Dalikos put one hand on the neck wound of the woman.

"...Go....take my boy....somewhere safe...please...." the woman said with teary eyes as she weakly pointed at the cabinet with her only arm. "Don't let him...see me like this..." she managed to say with blood seeping from her mouth.