Chapter 07 - Daphne

"Rosalind!" I shouted, but it was too late.

The interior of the cave was gigantic, the brightness of the entrance giving way to increasingly dense shadows, which became a deep darkness where Rosie disappeared, almost as if she had been swallowed. My heart pounded in my ears and, even with fear chilling my soul, I walked towards her as fast as possible, even though I could barely see anything in front of me.

Rosie was probably too flustered, the Goddess's magic telling her she had to act fast. I could understand. I was feeling the same, even if certainly with less intensity than her. However, we couldn't be separated. I couldn't let the saint, our only hope, be attacked by one of those monsters.

Fortunately, the deeper I stumbled into the cave, the more moonlight filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, allowing me to see, at least vaguely, where I was going. Or, rather, where I could go.

The deepest part of the cave was divided by a thick stone wall right down the middle, creating a fork in the path. The only sounds I could hear seemed to come from some kind of dripping tap or water source on the left, trickling slowly. However…

The path on the right was covered in those strange runes, emitting a very subtle reddish glow that almost blended into the shadows. As expected, that same feeling of nervousness and unease washed over me, like a silent voice in my mind trying to warn me that something was wrong.

But at the same time, that's where I felt drawn. That's where I needed to go.

It was as if those marks were singing… And something inside me hummed back.

I clenched my teeth, trying to expel that incoherent feeling. Of course, that was the place I should go, because it was obvious that something evil was heading in that direction.

And that was where Rosalind had gone too, I was sure of it.

Holding onto all the courage I had left, I followed that passage, noticing how the runes seemed to glow with a more intense red as the path narrowed. The walls grew closer and closer together, until I had to squeeze between them, my only hope being the intense glow of the moonlight beyond, as if the end of it all were somewhere out there…

It wasn't anything like that, of course. There was a hole in the ceiling through which I could see the waning moon in the sky, but that was all. That place was an open space as wide as the entrance to the cave, surrounded by small piles of stones adorned with symbols and an immense rocky wall at the back, which seemed about to crumble…

Until the sound of what seemed to be something collapsing filled the air.

And then I realized it wasn't a wall.

I had been dealing with those stone demons for a year, but I had never seen anything like this. They all looked like wolves carved from a single piece of rock, only slightly larger than wild wolves. They were like pawns in a game of chess. Their bodies weren't impossible to defeat, but their sheer number was frightening. That creature before me, however…

It was a giant. It was easily five or six meters tall, enough to almost touch the cave ceiling. Unlike the others, its body seemed to be formed from several stones of different shapes, joined together by an invisible force. When it “turned” towards me, I noticed that the only thing that seemed to have been sculpted there were its eyes, which shone with an intense ruby ​​hue, and a single enormous rune on its forehead. If I could even call that a head.

The giant moved again, its four legs moving in strange ways, turning in different directions. Its eyes had no irises or pupils, but even so I could tell it was looking at me, almost curiously. And, in that instant, completely consumed by its attention, I found myself paralyzed.

No! I couldn't back down! Rosalind wasn't there, but she would arrive soon, I was sure of it.

I just needed to do my part before the Goddess guided her there.

“Profane beast. Your existence is an affront to the supreme power of the Moon Goddess!” I uttered the sacred words, raising my hand in its direction, even though I was trembling “Return to the deep darkness where the enemies of the moonlight dwell and never disturb this land again!”

Power flowed out of me more easily than I had ever felt before. For a moment, I even felt a thrill, thinking that perhaps, finally, my magic had reached the level I had always wanted. But when my legs trembled and almost made me fall, those hopes quickly shattered. My magic was no longer strong.

She was just slipping away from me too quickly.

My eyelids grew heavy and the pain in my head exploded. My body began to beg me to stop, but I kept my hands raised toward the monster. The only clue that I was succeeding was that small parts of the giant began to break off, stones falling around as it moved toward me, its footsteps making the ground tremble.

With my heart in my throat, I watched him bring his face closer to mine and wondered if he would crush me at that moment, without me having the strength to even run.

But instead, he cowered before me, his enormous body creaking and bleeding rocks. That's when it dawned on me. My life force was draining from me like blood from a deep wound. And he was drinking it all like a vampire. But it didn't seem to be making him stronger. It was… The opposite. And yet, the creature stood there, quiet, letting me slowly destroy him, while staring at me with… Gratitude?

“Why…” I murmured, my voice barely audible, while those red eyes filled me with sorrow, almost pity “Aren’t you fighting against me?”

That question, however, was lost between the two of us. My knees no longer had the strength to hold me upright, and I collapsed to the ground, my mind almost slipping into unconsciousness. I couldn't see it, but I felt it die too, the deafening sound of the stones hitting the ground, making everything around tremble. 

I tried desperately to gather the strength to get up, but my body was like a puppet whose strings had been cut. I could barely move my eyes, because even that hurt and made me feel like I was about to shatter, just like the creature.

Please, help me.

That was all I could whine, in my own mind.

Please help.

The floor and walls continued to tremble even when the giant was completely still. Therefore, I didn't really realize my prayers had been answered until a pair of perfectly clean sandals appeared before my eyes.

“You…” Rosalind’s voice sounded, listless, and I did everything I could to look at her “You did this.” She stared at me, without a smile, just surprised “You really did this.”

“Rosie…” my throat felt like it was cutting off the words “Help…”

“Things shouldn’t have been like this…” she continued, without even bending down to look at me “You ruined everything. You chose the worst path for yourself!” Her words turned into a growl and, for a moment, her blue eyes flashed red “Stupid bitch!”

My trembling lips parted slightly to ask what she was talking about, but a series of growls stopped me. My blood ran cold, but not even that adrenaline rush could make me move. I could only watch, terrified, as several of those stone minions appeared behind her, running towards us. I wanted to scream for her to run away before they devoured her alive, but I couldn't.

Especially because, when they got close enough, they all walked past her, ignoring her presence.

And they came straight to me.