Chapter 504 - What Must Not Be Named, What Must Not Be Feared.

Dave and Blaster both rode on Grumpy’s back, coursing through the forest at fat speed.

"So what’s that thing you wanted a lot of firepower to fight?" Dave asked.

"It’s best not to talk about it," Ralph said.

Dave frowned, "What the hell man?"

"Trust me man, I think the game creators went nuts with this one. It’s old, dangerous, and fregging absurd."

"I’m going blind, I need info."

"Alright, all I can say, Skin walker."

"Oh, right, it’s best not to talk about it then. For you that is, it feeds on the fear of those who talk about it in fright, I don’t fear it, I’m an undead."

"Yeah, you don’t, but others do. And even if they didn’t actively think about it, the game developers made it so it would feed on the fear of every player in the game. I found it when I was headed to the Fu Temple’s remains in the Wilds."

"What level was it."

"That’s what bugged me the most. It was level 1, and had the stats of a beast..."

"Dang, alright, let’s see how we’ll get through that one."

Grumpy followed Ralph’s instruction, turning every now and then, sometimes making half circles, going back and forward. It was dizzying enough that Dave had to ask.

"Bro, are you sure we’re going the right way, we passed this tree, five times now."

"Yeah man, trust me, it’s hard to explain but the temple is hidden by some space law, remember what the Tengu said about the Space God’s rule?"

"Not really but continue," Dave said.

Ralph huffed and said "Tengu said that the Space God made sure the Fu Temple’s legacy is sealed off the hands of mortals. Because it was too powerful, so he created a spatial maze in the Wilds to make it hard for anyone to find the temple. If we don’t follow these exact steps it’ll never reveal itself to us."

"And you know these steps because?" Dave asked.

"Because the Tengu gave me a compass."

"Alright, that I can accept and understand," Dave said as Grumpy jerked to the right and followed another long forested path then made a U-turn trading the same way back.

"But, what bugs me is, how the heck did the Naaldlo-" Dave’s sentence was cut off abruptly by Ralph hissing, "SKIN WALKER!"

"Oh right, the Skinwalker, how did it find its way into the temple?" Dave asked.

"I don’t know, it had an eternity to roam the wilds, it was probably trapped in this dimensional labyrinth, and it probably acts as the damnned dungeon guardian."

"Yeiks, that’s gonna be a pretty sight."

Just as Grumpy took the last turn, Dave noticed that the area turned dark, he was sur it was bright as day just a second before, and when he looked up, the sky was night.

"The heck?" Dave muttered.

"Yeah, space rules, time is different here, it’s probably hundreds of thousands of years in the past, or in the future, I don’t know, it could even be just a day before."

"Man I’m not a fan of time travel stuff. Too complex. Let’s call the boyz, they’ll help."

Dave said and used his undead summon.

***

The beings you wish to summon have yet to be born into existence.

Undead Call has been canceled.

***

"Welp, that confirms it. We’re in the frigging past." Dave said.

"Yeah, I was sure of it. Look," Ralph said and pointed forward.

Right in front of them, was a temple. An eastern temple. So large that it covered the horizon. The trees around it, what made the Wilds, were not here. The temple dome bore through the sky in Hight comparable to the tallest buildings in New York.

But it was a dead temple.

The building looked ruined, cracked walls, broken windows, crumbling passages and pathways.

"Grumpy, you’ll stay here, if things go ugly, we’ll need you to escape, okay?" Dave said.

The Onyx basilisk usually would have growled and glowered at Dave’s comment. It didn’t eve fear the Ash King when it was chasing after it. But something here made it extremely docile. It didn’t argue or mush as grumble at Dave, it just rigidly sat down, surveying the area with wicked attention. Its instinct was making it fear, no, it was more making the basilisk stand on watch, there was a predator’s scent in the air. A non-intelligent, predator, the kind that didn’t result to treachery, overly complicated intelligent stuff to scheme its way into it’s enemy’s throat. It was simply, a non-natural force that only wanted to kill, and feed. The worst kinds of foe.

Grumpy’s wariness made Dave even more wary. He pulled out Durandal and Ajax.

"Wow, the big guns already?" Blaster mentioned.

"Yeah, if Grumpy is feeling this much pressure. Then that skinwalker or whatever it’s in here is not good news. Let’s move with caution." Dave said.

The two walked up to the front of the temple. The atmosphere was eerie, cold empty night. There was no sound at all. No birds, no critters. Not even the wind moved the trees. The whole temple looked dead, too dead. Nothing should be this silent.

Once they passed the temple gate. Bright light assaulted Dave’s eyes, and he witnessed something that shouldn’t be possible.

Daylight, and people, kids, not more than the age of fifteen were sparring against each other in the large space inside the temple.

The smell of burning incent gave him a woozy feeling. There were shouts and cries of battle and exertion as kids were carrying weight far too heavy for an a.d.u.l.t male and running around in circles.

Others were balancing on top of tall and thin poles. They were upside down, balanced on one finger.

Others ran across a water creek, like the eastern combat movies he had seen before. And mentors and teachers, old and sagacious looked at them, guided them and led them to better perform, to the correct form and posture, and then looked at others helping them also.

This scene only lasted for a few more moments before it evaporated into nothingness and the deathly stillness of the night was back once more.

"Did you see that?" Dave said.

"You mean the kids. Yeah I saw it the first time I came here, I didn’t see it now. I guess it’s a one time thing."

"What could have happened to make that lively temple turned to this?" Dave questioned.

"The Space Law," Blaster replied.

"Right, probably. So where are we going now?" Dave asked.

"There," Ralph pointed at a closed door in the distance. It was a red wooden door, in a perfectly shaped condition, a far cry from the dilapidated form of the buildings and walls surrounding it.

"When I walked up halfway there, the Skinwalker jumped up in front of me," Ralph said.

"Okay, let me go in first. Back me up if things go south."

"Was the plan from the get go."

As soon as Dave made it halfway through the courtyard. A small humming bird flew and dropped in front of him.

The humming bird had beautiful green feathers, a small size, yet its eyes. They were red the color of a demon’s.

Dave swung down Durandal at the creature. He knew it was definitely the Skin Walker and had no time to wander about it.

The humming bird dodged the massive sword with ease and changed form to that of a grizzly bear.

"That’s the best you can do," Dave grinned and slammed the width of Durandal on the bear’s face.

The Skinwalker reared back, more rage in its eyes, it didn’t howl the way a bear did. But a mix of sounds, so guttered, so wicked that they sounded like the death throes of thousands of fallen foes.

The sound was mind bogging, too grating against the ears. Dave had to wince as he heard the bear’s rumbling rage.

The bear grew a size bigger turning to a silverback gorilla. Then it pounded against the ground and ran at Dave on all fours.

Dave poised Ajax forward, receiving the silverback’s impact against the shield then pushed against the gorilla.

"Even if you’re king freaking Kong, you should know!" Dave let go of his sword and shield, grabbed the gorilla’s massive arm and howled "NEVER PIT YOUR STRENGHT AGAINST AN UNDEAD!"

He spun around, using herculean strength, and with the gorilla in arm, he threw the beast in an arcing trajectory right against one of the run down walls of the temple.

Dave pulled Durandal out of the ground and lifted Ajax and ran forward all while the gorilla was still trying to pull itself out of the wall.

He then ran forward, jumped and shoved Ajax right in the middle of the groilla’s chest.

Durandal found purchase and dove until it found exit on the gorilla’s back, breaking a few of its spinal bones in the process.

Dave looked at the numerical damage value above the gorilla.

The gorilla didn’t howl, or cry in pain, it just looked at Dave. With utter, complete contempt.

It was a perfectly shaped, perfectly round, perfectly disturbing zero damage.

Then the creature smiled.

*****

Alright, d.i.c.k move I did here, but it’s important. Cuz many of you guys don’t even read the author note before typing I WANT MORE...

Anyway i won’t do this again and write inside the chapter. but hear me out. I implore you, i beg you, hell i’d fregging offre you human sacrifices. But please! if you had bought a copy of requiem, i’m willing to pay you back the money for the novel, if you leave a good review there. A review has more value to me than buying the actual book. Please review it. thank you.

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