Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

'This does sound like something I would do,' a part of Zaroth found Vera's words believable. He wasn't one to break under pressure—no matter how grand or hopeless things looked, he would fight to the very end, no matter how slim his odds of winning were.

But then a seed of doubt entered his mind. Vera had lived through the eyes of so many, experienced the pain of torture up until their death. Then how could he have experienced something far worse?

The only possible explanation was that he would go through something no mortal ever had. Yet, he couldn't imagine what that might be. Perhaps his soul could be shattered—only to be restored, then shattered again?

Perhaps his mind was being clouded—altered by some kind of spell or curse?

'No that makes no sense,' he shook off his head, 'she said that I chose it willingly, what could be the reason for me to go through something like this? What is there to gain?'

His thoughts were erratic with no clear sense of direction or meaning, but it was only natural considering the nature of the vision Vera had shared a few moments ago.

"Do you perhaps remember something specific?" he asked. The information he had right now was too little to make any judgments.

She slowly lifted her gaze, the dark underwater was illuminated by her light skill in her palm creating a sort of arching glow.

There was no trembling anymore, the meteor shower had ended, resulting in a tense silence.

Still, her legs shook faintly—no doubt remembering the vision.

"It was beautiful," she said finally.

This prompted Zaroth to frown. "A vision that held more suffering than anything else… was beautiful? Not scary, deadly, bloody, horrific, or anything of that nature?"

She simply nodded, "As I said, after they're over, most of the memories are a blur. The pain stays. But one thing I remember vividly... there were flowers. Crimson in color. They only bloomed after absorbing a great amount of blood. Bloodthorn, I think they were called."

A sigh escaped her lips, "I have never seen them, only heard about them, but words alone don't do them justice."

Zaroth's frown didn't disappear, it only deepened, 'We are talking about serious matters here, and she is telling me about… flowers? Is it possible she is trying to avoid the topic or has she been too scared to recall the vision at all?' he wondered.

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to probe further for now he exhaled, "Well from the looks of it the meteor shower has stopped so we should mov–"

His words halted mid-sentence.

A fragile, soft hand covered his lips. Vera's hand had stopped producing light and moved to his mouth, plunging the dome into pitch-black darkness. So deep underwater, not even Darkgaze could pierce through it.

He could have moved her hand off him of course, yet the message she had conveyed with this simple motion was more than clear.

Don't make a sound.

Seconds passed, stretching into minutes.

His back broke into cold sweat, Vera's hand never moved from its position.

Either she thought Zaroth was too impulsive and would speak the moment she let go… or the threat was so terrifying, she wasn't willing to take the risk.

'Don't move,' he sent a mental command to the serpent—his only summoned beast. The creature froze immediately. The glass dome held enough oxygen to last, so it wasn't a concern for now.

'Should I dismiss him as well?' Zaroth thought, the beast could attract trouble, yet if all his beasts were dismissed they were sitting ducks. He had grown somewhat accustomed to having at least one of his beasts by his side, should the worst come to pass. It wasn't that he was afraid—he just didn't want to take the risk At the end he decided to keep the serpent summoned.

Several more minutes passed. Vera's hand, now damp with sweat, remained firmly over his mouth. It was faint, but he could feel her rapid, agitated heartbeat pulsing through her palm.

At this point he was starting to think that she was just paranoid.

But then he felt it.

A faint tremble passed through Vera's body, reaching her hand—just enough for Zaroth to notice.

'Enemies,' the serpent relayed.

Zaroth's eyes widened. He knew that Vera could sense where there was trouble, but for her to be able to sense a danger from so far away that even his Mythic beast was unable to feel was staggering.

'How many?'

Deciding to form a plan B just in case, he asked the serpent.

'One,' the serpent spoke coldly.

Zaroth cursed internally, 'Only one? What singular being could be so terrifying?' he wondered.

'How far away is it? With what speed is it moving? How long until it reaches us?' He needed answers—desperately. How could he prepare if he didn't even know what he was facing?

A pause.

The serpent didn't show it outright and even if he did Zaroth wouldn't have seen it, but due to his connection to the beast he sensed it. The serpent was weighing if he should reveal that information.

'Could it be harmful to me?' The worry crossed his mind, yet he pressed on. He needed to know!

'Answer,' he demanded.

A silence stirred for a few seconds until the beast finally complied.

'Behind you.'

'As in the fucking dome?!' he nearly shouted—but Vera's hand remained in place, reminding him again to be silent.

There had been a meteor shower a few hours ago, then he had been told he would most likely live through a traumatic event, and now there was something inside the dome?!

'I just can't catch a break, can I?' If this was what he was dealing with on the way to the elf continent, what awaited him once he got there?

Due to his wild nature he considered going wild and attacking the supposed being behind him, but if Vera didn't want them to fight, then it was most likely the right thing to do.

"Three this time?... No, I sense only two souls,"

A low male voice came from behind, and Zaroth's muscles tensed, ready for battle.

"Whatever you are… I'll be waiting."

As the voice faded, Vera's hand stopped shaking, she slowly took it off.

Opening her palm, she reignited her light skill, casting illumination across the dome once more.

She was drenched—her body soaked in sweat as if she'd just stepped out of a downpour. Considering she hadn't shown this much fear even during the meteor shower… Zaroth knew he'd been right not to provoke the creature.

"What was that?!" he spat, searching for any signs of wrongdoing behind him.

His eyes moved quickly, not missing a single detail of the glass dome, yet there was nothing unusual in sight. The dome remained perfectly intact. Whatever the being was that had entered it, either it didn't have a physical body… or it had passed through the surface by some unknown means.

"The thing that has troubled the elves for a while and the reason Night and Sira saved you that one time,"

She adjusted her robes, checking how much she had sweated.

"And as promised… we're going to the elves' continent to kill it for them."