The pattern of footsteps carried its own distinct rhythm amongst the 5 leading the group, the 1 following was perfectly offbeat as if purposeful. Geoffren walked slowly to create as much distance as possible. His offkey steps annoyed all of the group except for Raygal, who constantly insisted on waiting for him.

 “Wait for a moment.” He said. Ebnus ignored him and kept walking, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

        “What the hell is wrong with him?” Raygal asked. Geoffren caught up just as Ebnus left, it was clear he timed it that way. Bullus laid down on a fallen tree and stretched out for comfort, the other confusedly looked at him.

       “You said to wait for a moment. This is my moment.” He said.

        “Only for a few minutes.” Kelnick said as he joined him. They sat and ate under the dark overbrush of the trees. The melancholic atmosphere of the forest was sight-altering, the light was stripped from their eyes, water had no glisten and reflections were too dark to even recognize. It was like they had entered a darker plain of existence. The atmosphere made it difficult to see facial features as well, Geoffren looked like some kind of ghost, his extremely hooded eyes cowled his face from any light.  The wildlife were non-existent as well, no types of animals or creatures appeared before them, a completely different world. Kelnick looked around the dark area as he chewed his peanuts. 

        “The trees are extremely healthy, never seen them like this.” He said.

        “War hasn’t touched it yet, it’s still intact until man reaches it, I guess.” Raygal responded.

        “We’re in here right now. We could be the harolds of both war and man being brought upon this landscape.” Evanglow said. 

        “Not if we’re quick about it, if we do this clean, I doubt this place will suffer.” Kelnick said as he looked over at Bullus. Bullus was rummaging through the ground as if he were looking for something. The group silently watched him until he found his riches, he shoved his dirt covered hands into his mouth and turned back around to see them watching.

       “He doesn’t seem powerful enough to go off on his own like that though, he was put on a team of 5, clearly he’s not some God. He keeps wandering off; he'll surely end up dead.” Raygal said before stuffing his mouth with peanuts. An alien emotion tuned Geoffren into the conversation, an emotion he had never felt. His heart seemingly skipping a beat when he felt it.

        “Rest is over. Let’s get back on track.” Geoffren said as he came from behind the tree. The others followed behind him and went through the same dark passageway as Ebnus. As they went deeper into the forest the darker it became. They kept walking until Bullus laid down and cartoonishly yawned. Geoffren looked at him and checked his pocket watch, it was 11:34 PM. He himself walked over and prepared for bed, using his cloak as a cot and his hat as a pillow. The others followed suit and scantily laid down around each other in the dark. Geoffren thought about Ebnus as he looked at the dark, the alien emotion re-emerging once more. On his back he could feel his heartbeat skipping.

        “Kelnick, were you able to see any of Ebnus’ footprints with your eyes?” Geoffren asked.

        “No sir, I was looking for them the whole time, saw nothing.” He replied. 

        “Make sure you look harder tomorrow then.” Geoffren said sternly. Impossible to see in this dark, Kelnick made a muddled face at Geoffren’s remark. 

        “With all due respect, I think he may have gone another way, General. I would have definitely seen his trail if we walked it.”

        “My order still stands.” Geoffren said as he turned over to sleep. As if he had blinked, he woke up in what felt like seconds. A calm and soothing sleep that he hadn’t felt in years. He awoke with plenty of energy early in the morning. He got up to smoke and relax before the others woke up. As the cigar lightly lit up his face he watched the others sleep. He looked at Evanglow and remembered the day before, the chaos it ensued. Ephraim’s corpse played around in his head, reminding him, taunting him. The mystery of his killer still loomed over them, who it was, their reason. As he continued to look at Evanglow he decided to wake them up with a strong gust of wind. The gust sent a few rolling off of their cots and was followed with annoyed groans. 

        “Wake up. We have more walking to do.” Geoffren said. The group gathered their things and started their trek in no time. Kelnick was appointed to the front, staring down at the ground, carefully looking for Ebnus’ footprints. He looked as hard as he could but still had no luck.

        “He can’t fly, can he, Bullus?” He asked.

        “Do I seem like an expert on the guy?” Bullus responded.

into the air, blocking out the sun. Multiple enemies noticed as he slammed into the trench, causing an explosion of dirt. The dust cleared, revealing his crazed smile as he began to run through the trenches. Enemy soldiers rang bells, blew whistles, and screamed in panic to raise awareness as Bullus killed them. With incredible speed he crushed heads, punched holes through people, and threw them 100 feet into the air with ease. Their bullets failed to penetrate his skin as he ran through unphased. One of the enemies grabbed a cannon and aimed it down at the distracted Bullus, once he fired it, Raygal activated his ability, igniting the canister inside the cannon, causing the enemy to blow himself up and taking out a large piece of the trench. Geoffren took to the skies and flew towards the castle like a jet. He landed through the window, the air slamming the soldiers against the walls. Just as Geoffren could begin his raid, everything turned pink. His vision was filled with a bright glowing pink and ears with a deafening explosion. Dirt and rubble smashed into his face as the castle began to crumble into itself. Geoffren used air to break his fall and stop anything heavy from crushing him though he was still submerged in dirt. Bullus and Raygal were launched 10’s of feet into the air despite being on the outskirts of the explosion. Raygal landed on his shoulder when he came down, breaking it. Blood, dismembered limbs, and parts of the fortress fell from the peak of the giant crystal that appeared in front of them. The corpses decorating the jagged edges of the giant pink mass poured copious amounts of blood on the ground. Evanglow gawked at the sight before running down to assist the others. He dug Geoffren out of the mud and wiped his face as he pulled him up.

        “General, are y-” He said before Geoffren shrugged him off and ran to see what had happened. He came across Bullus supporting Raygal on his working shoulder heading back towards Kelnick.

        “What just happened?!” Raygal asked in Geoffren’s muffled hearing. Geoffren looked back at Kelnick for an answer, who shrugged in response. They all stared at the gigantic pink crystals reaching 600 feet into the air and encapsulating most of the land. It exploded from the ground, destroying the fortress, and killing 302 men in the process. In an instant all of it was gone, by the hand of one. Geoffren ran around and inspected the area, primarily the crystals, to find out what had happened. His mind drew a blank, years of experience did him no use. He looked around for the offender but failed to ignore the devilish sense he got from the scene. He sensed a baleful energy radiate from the crystals, they leaked it for miles. Its potent energy was like standing idle in front of a rapid moving avalanche, an overwhelming sensation of murderous force. He was too afraid to touch or get any closer to the crystals, assessing them from a “safe” distance. The same pretentious energy appeared from behind him, causing him to quickly turn on instinct. Nothing appeared, the dark surrounding forest began to ooze the same energy. Geoffren moved on a hunch and closed his eyes to focus on it. The energy bathed the forest though he was able to pinpoint the heart of it. His eyes opened and he blasted off to find it.

        “General!!” Raygal screamed as he flew off. Geoffren weaved through the trees at high speeds as he searched, the epicenter becoming clearer as he grew closer. He immediately sensed the crushing force on his left and darted towards it. His stomach warned him to turn back, but he 

was close, it instilled deep fear. He watched Ebnus angrily walk away and over the hill into obscure darkness. Geoffren turned around with a sigh, though the abnormal emotion arose again. Bubbling up from his stomach to his chest, loosening it, warming it. It traveled up his throat and to his head manifesting itself as an irrational thought. That thought spent no time in his head before falling back down into his mouth. Geoffren flew back through the forest as fast as he could, refusing to waste any time. He blasted through the edge of the forest in front of his squad, he stopped on dime, almost knocking them all back with air.. 

        “The hell?! Is something chasing you? Where is Ebnus?” Bullus asked.

       “Yeah! I need to talk with him about trying to kill us! He’s a southern spy! I know he is!” Raygal shouted. After his angered spill, Raygal noticed Geoffren’s mood, he knew him all too well.

        “What’s wrong, General?” He asked. In very few moments of his life, Geoffren has been given options. In this particular moment he was granted 2. Due to his past, he’s very novice at selecting given the fact he hasn’t had many times to select. Before he could answer Raygal with a new order, he began to weigh his odds. At the speed of light his brain evaluated the pros and cons of the options he was given, almost as if he could see the future. After a second had passed his decision was made. As it traveled to his mouth, that not-so-abnormal emotion breached his vocal cords, succeeding any decision made out of logic.

        “We have been given new orders by Zultor. We are to travel to Savannah, Georgia and kill Jetro Morvesson.” He said. The group’s faces varied in expressions, holding looks of surprise, confusion, and fear. 

        “Eh…is Zultor out of his mind?!” Bullus asked.

        “Maybe he is, but we were given an order.” Geoffren responded.

        “General who the hell does he think we are? That’s impossible! That’s the southern golden boy, he’ll flatten us in seconds!” Raygal shouted. The group continued to voice their concerns.

        “Why did Zultor volunteer us?”

        “This is insanity.”

        “He’s unstoppable.”

        “Please liberate us, lord!” They all said over one another. Geoffren raised his hand to silence them all before continuing.

        “An orders an order. You boys should be willing to die for this country and the lord.” He said. They all looked around at each other once again.

       “Kelnick.” Geoffren said as the green glow flicked on in front of him. Kelnick stared down at the ground but still failed to find any sign of Ebnus. It was like Ebnus was suspicious of a possible follower and routinely covered them. Frustrated, Kelnick dropped to his knees and looked for clues but still failed.

        “Dammit.” He said as Geoffren crept up behind him.

        “Didn’t I tell you to look harder?” Geoffren said.

        “He hides his tracks, he’s paranoid as hell!” Kelnick said in anger. Geoffren walked ahead of him and looked for himself, nothing. He exhaled defeat and began to change the group’s course until he caught hints of the same ominous energy from earlier. “Wait.” He closed his eyes and focused on it. It pulsated from afar, each pulse jumping towards them. Geoffren turned to his right, eyes still closed, and walked towards it. Raygal moved him out of the way of trees and branches as he walked. Once they made it the energy was more clear. The presence was akin to that of a hibernating grizzly bear ready to awaken and strike. Geoffren opened his eyes to see Ebnus sleeping on his cloak with a singular pink crystal glowing next to him. He took off his hat and cloak and set up close to Ebnus. He stopped once he noticed the others were staring at him and not doing the same.

        “Come on. Let’s rest.” He said.

        “Don’t you want to wake him up and chastise him for earlier?” Raygal asked.

        “He’s fine, he saved us.”

        “From what? Working eardrums? He almost took my head off.” Bullus said.

        “And he broke my shoulder!” Raygal shouted.

        “Quiet. He’s sleeping.” Geoffren responded. With the growing shouts from the group Geoffren could Ebnus’ energy fluctuate.

        “Listen. I will deal with him in the morning, but for now, we must rest.” He said to calm them. The others prepped for bed as well and Geoffren slowly closed his eyes. In what felt like half a second he re-opened them to angered arguing. He quickly sprung up to see Raygal and Ebnus yelling at one another and the 3 others watching.

        
       “Whining about your shoulder? Guns hurt much worse! You’re welcome for that!” Ebnus yelled at Raygal.

        “I’d rather sustain no damage! You think almost killing us is letting us off easy?!” Raygal responded as he pointed against his chest.