Sami sighed to himself walked away from his last day at the library. Mercer had gone back to the academy, deciding to formally enroll into the school. Sami, while excited, still feels scared at the fact of leaving the city he's been in for so long. He decided to close down the library early, to take one last look around town before leaving.
Lyra decided to stay with Sami, apparently finding him interesting. Though she said it in more vulgar terms, she happily decided to join in as another teacher in his training. With the academy starting in three months Mercer thought it was important to give Sami a crash course in magic, and how to fight properly.
The noise around Sami broke him from his thoughts. Sami never realized how busy the city actually was. Preferring to go straight home or to the store after work. While walking he saw so many different stalls selling wares he had never seen before. There were many things like clothing and food different from what he usually sees in the kingdom.
While glancing at some of the items, Sami thought about how he himself would usually be stuck at the library. Always imagining going on an adventure, seeing the world in a different way. He felt as if he didn't exist to the people around Astrum, never really making any friends or connecting to people.
Fighting the Gbahali had actually made him excited to learn about magic. He could still feel the newfound energy coursing through his veins. The world felt alive in a way he couldn't describe. If anything, after learning about magic, it made him feel like he can make friends with others that could do magic as well.
Sami after a while grew tired of looking around and decided to relax in his old clearing in the woods. Lyra told Sami she wanted to go hunting before he left for work. Not having anything better to do now, Sami thought it was a good time to say goodbye to his old safety net. He thought it would be a good way to start a new journey by letting go of old feelings.
After walking for thirty minutes, Sami began to feel suspicious. Today, the walk seemed different, as if it was taking longer. Something felt off, but he decided to just ignore it. Sometimes he could overthink things,but he still had a bad feeling about something.
As Sami walked deeper into the woods, the trail he usually followed changed. Leading him on a trail that seemed to beckon him forward, the sunlight quickly grew dark. As he tried to peer at the path behind himself.
Sami tried to go back that way which put him right back at the start of this new trail he hadn't seen before. The only light coming from the trail ahead.
"DAMMMITTT", Sami screamed, his voice echoing in through the trees. He felt like he was trapped, his heart raced as he tried to calm down his breathing. He leaned against a try as sweat dropped down his face from the heat.
Sami felt a cold shiver down his back, as if something was watching. Not knowing what to do, he started walking forward again. A feeling complied him to keep moving, as if a distant whisper of the past. His ring lit up every couple of seconds, though Sami didn't understand why it was doing that.
The trail was void of all animal sounds; the only noise was his breathing and footsteps. At the end of the trail partially concealed by overgrown vines and moss, was the entrance to a cave. Curiosity piqued, Sami cautiously approached, his heart pounding with a mix of excitement and fear.
The air around the cave's entrance was cool and damp, carrying the earthy scent of moist soil and decaying leaves. A shiver ran down Sami's spine, not entirely from the chill. Yet pushed on hoping that if he continued into the cave he might find a way out of the woods.
Hesitantly, he reached out and pushed aside the tangled vines, revealing the dark entrance of a cave. Sami had always loved stories of hidden caverns and forgotten treasures. Always dreamed of finding an old cave and discovering something interesting. Maybe today he might get the chance to find an old artifact that he can show off to Lyra.
Sami realized he was overthinking once again , he took a deep breath, and stepped into the cave. His footsteps echoed in the stillness, and began his second adventure. His ring glowed even brighter, though the ring itself didn't feel warm at all. It was just comforting, as if reassuring him he'd be safe.
The deeper Sami ventured, the more oppressive the dark felt, the only major light being his ring. The sound of water echoed eerily in the cave. His footsteps were muffled by the damp earth.
As he rounded a bend, the tunnel opened into a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow. A faint, pulsating glow emanated from the far end of the chamber, drawing Sami towards it. The object pulsed as if it noticed him in the room. In his mind, he was only focused on approaching the wall.
As he approached, the wall began to open up, and a shadow figure came out, falling to the ground. THUD! Sami jumped at the noise, but calmed down since nothing attacked him. Holding up his ring as a light source he saw a humanoid figure on the ground. Close to where the wall had opened up.
Sami began to move closer to the shadow to see what it actually was. Stopping before getting too close, not wanting to touch something that might infect him.
Sami almost wanted to gag from the smell of the creature. It smelled of stale blood and decayed body parts. The closer he got to the creature, the harder it was to see. It appeared the creature was absorbing the light from the ring.
Slowly, the monster started moving, each limb cracking as it began to gain mobility.
Its skin was dark, as if its entire presence was made to absorb light. Its eyes glowed with an unnerving crimson light; no pupils could be seen as the eyes simply burned. Its mouth was a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged teeth, with a long tongue lolling out.
Sami's breath hitched in his throat. He quickly scrambled back, away from the creature as it began to stand.
"Fresh... Blood," it hissed, the voice raspy as if it hadn't been used in months, though the voice did sound oddly feminine. The creature moved slowly towards Sami, like a predator stalking its prey. "I... I... hunger..."
Sami's body began to shake as he saw the tongue lolling from its mouth. "I... I... I don't," he stuttered, trying to start the sentence but failing due to his own fear. "I don't have any food. But... but if you would follow me to this cave... I... I could help you get fo... food."
The creature ignored Sami's words, instead lunging at him. Its clawed hand outstretched to try and grab him. Sami instinctively dodged out of the way. The creature moved slowly in his eyes, as if it was making its way through water. Compared to the Gbahali, this monster moved like a snail.
The monster, after recovering from the failed lunge, let out a loud roar. Sami felt a dark presence invading his mind, trying to wrest control of his body. The ring on his finger began to glow brightly as the world around him began to grow dim. The monster began to walk towards Sami, who couldn't even move.
The monster ran its tongue across Sami's face, savoring the taste of its first meal in centuries. Sami's body was still frozen as the creature brought its fist up, throwing with as much strength as it could manage. Hoping the death of the boy will make it easier to drink the boy's blood.