Fate´s Bloody Path

I woke up with my body aching, the tense muscles immediately reminding me of the previous day’s training with Kael. Although surprised, I noticed I didn’t have any serious injuries, just some bruises. Maybe the mana from the sword had given me a resistance I still didn’t understand.

I dressed quickly and went down to the bar. There, once again, my ever-friendly ‘companion,’ Grimmor’s lizard, was waiting for me as usual, but this time he wasn’t alone. Next to him stood Loran, the demi-human from the training arena.

"Good morning," Loran greeted me with the same enthusiasm he had shown the day before, contrasting with the lizard’s tense presence. It still felt strange to me that this demi-human was so polite.

"There won’t be any training today," Loran said, smiling conspiratorially. "Grimmor has another plan. We’re going to visit a retired Being in the mountains."

I felt both curiosity and slight discomfort. "And why are we visiting this Being?" I asked, looking for more details. But Loran just shrugged.

"I’ll tell you what I know on the way."

We headed towards a cart pulled by two dark, muscular horses. I sat next to Loran and the lizard as the sound of the wheels and hooves filled the silence between us. The fresh morning air cleared my mind, and I finally broke the silence.

"Does this Being… also work for Grimmor?"

Loran let out a soft laugh. "The Being doesn’t work for anyone. Not even Grimmor has managed to see him."

That answer unsettled me. If not even Grimmor could handle this Being, what did they expect me to accomplish?

"So why me?" I asked, frowning. I knew Grimmor never did anything without a reason.

Loran glanced at the lizard before answering, signaling that he couldn’t speak freely. "Look, no one really knows who this Being is. I know it sounds confusing. But the legends say he’s a spiritual being, and if he lets you see him, it’s because he has something important to tell you."

Those words raised more questions than answers. "So… have you tried to see him?" I was beginning to feel like Grimmor was playing with pieces I couldn’t quite see.

"Of course!" Loran replied. "I and many others have tried, but with no success. And besides, the path to him isn’t exactly easy."

That comment from Loran made me even more uneasy, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this possible encounter.

The journey took longer than I expected, but the road was peaceful, allowing me to recover from the muscle fatigue.

Finally, after several hours, the horses stopped at a narrow path that wound up into the mountains. The cold wind hit us forcefully.

"We’ve arrived. This is where you continue alone," Loran said, calmly stepping off the cart.

"Good luck."

With no other option, I also got off. I looked at Loran one last time but received nothing more than a smile. The lizard said nothing. The narrow path before me was a reminder that this part of my journey would be in complete solitude.

As I climbed, the wind began to blow harder with each step, making it increasingly difficult to move forward. The cold bit at my skin, and the air seemed to grow denser.

With every step, the wind intensified, pushing me back as if trying to stop my ascent. I forced my legs to keep going, fighting against the resistance as the path narrowed even further.

The wind felt unnatural in its rhythms, and a headache began to build. Each gust seemed to carry an invisible weight, until I thought I could hear voices in the air, murmuring, and growing louder with every step.

"Do you… know who you really are?" was what I managed to make out.

The wind howled in my ears as the voice blended with the air. The cold, now more intense, reached deep into my bones, creating a discomfort that coursed through my body. Suddenly, a flood of memories hit me hard.

The feast. The intimate encounters I had had. I saw myself again in that room, intertwined with bodies that meant nothing to me. The heat of intoxication and desire enveloped me once more, but this time, in the memory, everything felt hollow.

Her.

Selene. The thought of her tore at me. The guilt rose within me, far heavier than the wind. The images of the bar, the bodies surrounding me, and the gaze of that feline woman all came flooding back with overwhelming clarity. I had let myself be swept away by the chaos inside me. I had betrayed myself and I had betrayed her.

The images intertwined with the memory of my own death, along with the Harpies, the encounter with Eldrek… everything crowded into my mind, plunging me into confusion and disorientation. I didn’t feel pain, but a different kind of discomfort overwhelmed me.

The images and the voice seemed to attack me. Who was I, really? Who was I becoming? Had Loran experienced this as well? Now I understood why he said the path wouldn’t be easy.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the path opened into a cave. The wind stopped as I crossed the threshold, and the pain in my head subsided. An unsettling silence replaced the roar of the wind.

In the center of the cave, a warm light shone, cast from a crystal resting on a stone table. Beside it stood an elderly man, strangely familiar.

"You’ve arrived," he said in a soft voice that echoed off the walls. "It’s time for you to understand what you’re searching for."

I approached cautiously. His presence was unsettling, but I knew I wasn’t there by accident. I couldn’t help but ask:

"Who are you, old man, and why did you lead me here?"

The old man observed me calmly, his eyes ancient but full of wisdom.

"Over the ages, I’ve been called by many names. None of them were chosen by me, nor have they defined me. I am simply a being who endures, existing beyond time and the ties of the material world. Call me whatever brings you peace."

His response left me speechless.

I looked at him closely. Was he the same old man I had met in the market before? But now, under the light of the cave, he seemed taller than he had been then, much more imposing. Everything about him suggested that he wasn’t just an ordinary Being.

Back then, in the market, his clothes were simple, like any other townsperson: a tattered cloak and a dark gray scarf. His eyes, full of deep calm, had intrigued me, but at the time, I hadn’t given it much thought.

Now, standing before me, the old man wore a robe adorned with symbols that glowed softly in the light surrounding us. The fabrics, though elaborate, didn’t diminish his humble demeanor. He seemed as serene and simple as before, but his presence felt different. He was the same person, but with a purpose that I was just beginning to grasp.

"So, you’re the old man from the market. What a surprise," I muttered, beginning to realize that none of this was by chance.

The old man gave a faint smile. "It’s not a surprise at all, Darius. We have always been connected, though you may not yet see it clearly."

His words echoed in my mind. Something in his tone made me feel that he knew much more about me than I knew about myself. I had so many questions, but before I could ask them, something deeper in the cave caught my attention.

Beyond where we stood, the cave opened into a chamber full of crystals. The crystals were of various sizes and colors, scattered throughout the cave in a seemingly natural way, as if they had grown there over centuries.

Some were as small as coins, while others were as large as my arm. Their shades varied from deep blue to intense red and bright green, and in some of them, the colors swirled within the crystal, moving as if they were alive, creating a warm and almost hypnotic atmosphere with the light they emitted.

But one crystal in particular stood out from the rest. It was in the center of all the crystals, slightly elevated on a small rock formation. Unlike the others, this crystal was completely transparent, pure. It wasn’t much larger than my closed hand, but its presence dominated the room. It emitted a subtle, almost ethereal glow.

"These crystals are made of mana," the old man explained, never taking his eyes off me. "Each one reflects the nature of the mana of the person who touches it."

"And why are they different colors?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the crystal.

"Mana takes many forms: fire, water, earth, wind… light and darkness. The color reflects its essence."

I felt a connection to the transparent crystal at the center of the chamber. Something inside me knew that was the one that belonged to me.

"This crystal has not yet been claimed," the old man continued. "It will show the nature of the mana of whoever touches it for the first time."

My hand trembled slightly as I approached the crystal.

Should I touch it?

I took another step forward, extended my hand, and touched it, waiting to see what would happen.