Fate´s Bloody Path

The forest grew darker as the sun began to set. The shadows of the trees stretched long, and the little light that remained barely pierced through the dense layer of leaves and branches. I could hear the pounding of my heart due to the tension.

The ogre walked beside me, more alert than usual, his eyes scanning every corner of the surroundings. I tried to do the same, but my breathing quickened. Every shadow, every movement among the trees made me more nervous. Something was wrong; this couldn’t be a coincidence.

Suddenly, we heard a sharp screech that shattered the tense atmosphere. I turned just in time to see them appear. They were huge, their black wings spread, covering much of the sky. Their eyes glowed with malice, fixed on me. My heart started pounding even harder.

I had never seen creatures like these before, and fear took over me. But I knew there was nowhere to run. I had to fight.

“Dark Harpies!” the ogre shouted, alerting me.

The harpies didn’t hesitate. They launched themselves at us in a coordinated attack, screeching as they descended. The ogre and I were surrounded, attacked from all directions. I tried to defend myself, but every time I did, another harpy would strike from a different angle, tearing at my clothes and skin.

The ogre fought fiercely. He growled as he swung his axe, keeping some of the harpies at bay. His blows were powerful, and his light armor and thick skin protected him from the worst injuries. But I didn’t have that kind of protection. I was in trouble.

Every time I tried to strike back, a harpy would hit me or confuse me with a scream. My movements became clumsy, more driven by fear than anything else. I felt claws tearing at my skin, and soon my clothes were soaked in blood.

Then it happened. One of the harpies, faster than the others, dove at me from an angle I didn’t expect. Before I could react, I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head. The creature had bitten me and, with a brutal tug, tore off part of my ear.

I screamed in pain, a scream that echoed through the entire forest. The adrenaline kicked in, and with a roar of anger, I plunged the dagger into the harpy’s neck, driving it all the way in. The creature’s blood splattered all over me as it fell.

But there was no time to celebrate. Covered in blood, I began to panic. In the chaos, I was forced to throw Grimmor’s package aside to defend myself better, though I knew that could cost me dearly.

The harpies kept attacking, and every time I tried to defend myself, I made more mistakes. My strength was fading, and the wounds were piling up.

The ogre was also hurt, but he endured thanks to his combat experience. Whenever a harpy got too close, he would fend it off with a swing of his axe, pushing the creatures back.

However, I didn’t have that kind of resilience. I could feel the fatigue creeping over my body, my movements growing slower, and my reactions less precise. I knew I couldn’t keep this up much longer.

I found myself cornered, surrounded by the harpies, who watched me with a palpable malice. Each one waited for the right moment to pounce on me. The claws of one grazed my back, tearing through the fabric and flesh with terrifying ease. I screamed in pain, but there was no time to think; I barely managed to lift the dagger to fend off another attack.

The pain burned inside me, I could feel the blood running down my body, soaking my clothes. The adrenaline kept me on my feet, but every new blow weakened me more.

A harpy lunged at me, its eyes fixed on my neck. I barely dodged it, but in the process, I lost my balance and fell to my knees. It was as if an unbearable weight had descended on my shoulders, crushing me with every passing second.

Desperate, I glanced at the ogre, who was still fighting with impressive ferocity, but even he was starting to show signs of fatigue. I knew he couldn’t help me. We were both at our limit, and the harpies knew it.

Seizing my moment of weakness, one of them lunged at me, knocking me to the ground completely. I felt its teeth sink into my leg, tearing through the flesh as a gut-wrenching scream escaped my throat.

I tried to get up, but another harpy struck me in the back, knocking the air out of me and forcing me to brace my hands on the ground. My body wasn’t responding, and the darkness began to cloud my vision.

The harpies circled me, moving like living shadows, waiting for the moment to deliver the final blow. When several of them pounced on me, it was already too late—their claws gripped my body, and every bite made me question whether accepting that deal had been a good idea.

The pain was unbearable, but the feeling of defeat was worse. I knew I wouldn’t make it out of this alive. The last thing I saw before darkness took over was the ogre’s axe rising. Then, I heard his grunt as it fell again, and then silence.

It felt as if my soul had been ripped from my body. Everything turned dark, and I had the sensation of being pulled through a void. Fragments of my life in the ordinary world flashed before me—blurred, distorted images. Just before I awoke, I heard her voice, whispering the last sentence she had said to me.

That phrase echoed in my mind, leaving a deep mark just before everything faded away.

When I opened my eyes again, I was once more in the dark space, standing before the three giant entrances. The transition had been confusing, almost like a dream. But I knew what had happened. I had died. And now, it seemed, I had been reborn.

Little by little, I started regaining consciousness. The surroundings were the same dark, vast space, but something had changed. It took me a moment to remember what had happened. The last image I had was of the harpies tearing my body apart, the pain, and then... nothing. How was it possible that I was here again?

My mind struggled to comprehend it. Every part of me screamed that this couldn’t be real, that no one could return from death. But here I was, standing once again in the same place where it had all begun.

I tried to stand, but a sharp pain in my head forced me to stop. The pain was intense, as if my brain were being crushed from the inside.

Suddenly, memories from my life in the ordinary world began to surface. But they weren’t clear memories; they seemed to be crumbling, as if something was tearing pieces of them away. I felt parts of those memories slipping away, as if they were being ripped from my mind, leaving gaps where there hadn’t been any before.

My hands instinctively flew to my head, clutching my skull as the pain consumed me. I couldn’t understand what was happening. Was I losing parts of myself with each death? The thought terrified me. This pain, this feeling of being torn apart from the inside, was worse than anything I had experienced before.

After a few minutes, the pain began to subside, but the confusion remained. I stayed there on my knees, trying to piece together the fragments of my broken mind.

Out of reflex, I brought my hands to my neck, searching for something to anchor me to reality. Feeling the pendant still there, where it had always been, a faint sense of calm washed over me. For a moment, I felt like I hadn’t lost everything. That small object was the only thing connecting me to what had once been my life, and it was still with me.

In front of me, the three entrances I had seen before were still standing, but something had changed. Only the middle entrance—the same one I had entered through the first time—was active, emitting a faint blue light. The other two, however, were dark, shrouded in the same darkness that filled the rest of the space.

I didn’t understand anything. Why was only that entrance still active? What had happened to the other two? The feeling that I had been deceived began to grow inside me. Was this part of the deal I had made? Had the presence I had bargained with somehow tricked me?

Frustration and uncertainty consumed me. I didn’t know what to do or who to blame. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was trapped in something I didn’t understand, and it seemed harder to see a way out with each passing moment.

I stared at the entrances, trying to find some answer in the gloom that surrounded me, but all I felt was the loneliness of that place and the emptiness left by my last attempt to find my beloved.

With the pendant still in my hand and my mind full of doubts, I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. Even though I didn’t have all the answers, the only thing I could do was move forward. I looked at the active entrance one last time, took a deep breath, and stepped toward it. Despite the fear and confusion, I knew that the path to the truth lay in facing the unknown.