Chapter 2: Folklore
Inside the log cabin, the sound of a clicking clock can be heard. With two figures sitting on sofas, Aziue and Joseph stare at the clock. Watching the hands of the clock slowly approach twelve, Joseph started to tap his left forearm impatiently. Sitting next to him was a long metal pipe he stole from a kitchen sink.
Instead of wasting time sitting on a sofa for the entire 25-minute waiting time, Joseph decided to scavenge through the log cabin to find a weapon. Joseph couldn't find any sharp objects such as knives, as if like they were purposely removed from the room. Seeing that there were no knives Joseph decided that the best weapon in the cabin to use would be a sturdy pipe.
The pipe stood there motionless leaning on the arms of the sofa, until Joseph wrapped his hand around the pipe and took a final deep breath as the long hand of the clock hit twelve. The sound of the Winchester chime rippled out followed by the sound of screeching. The log walls of the cabin started to vibrate rapidly.
Joseph glanced over at Aziue as they both stood up from the sofas in unison, while the logs shattered splitting into thousands of splinters. The splinters floated in the air ignoring gravity. Joseph stared at the splinters confused until the sound of a deep roar could be heard. Making the wood floor under him shake rapidly until the floor disappears, Joseph and Aziue are transported into a pure white room.
Joseph looks around while holding onto the pipe tightly, while another thunderous roar can be heard before black ooze starts to leak out of the white floor. A monster starts to climb out of the puddle of black ooze slamming its black claws onto the white floor. Two massive deer antlers emerge out of the puddle while it places its knees on the floor.
The tall monster stands up straight revealing its characteristics. The monster has a pure white deer skull on its face, with a necklace of several small rodents wrapped around his neck. Joseph stared at the creature before he snapped his head over at Aziue and screamed out.
" This thing is a Wendigo. It's a famous folklore monster from Earth. "
Aziue looks over at Joseph confused until a loud footstep resonates through the air. The Wendigo pounces at Joseph swiping its enormous claws at him. The tip of the Wendigo's claw grazes the top of Joseph's head making blood spray out. Blood leaks down Joseph's face as he grits his teeth in pain before rolling, dodging the massive charging body of the Wendigo.
Joseph rolls back onto his feet before looking at the monster, watching him come to a sliding stop before pivoting. Swinging his massive claws once again. The claws soared through the air until they slammed into the metal pipe. Joseph held onto the metal pipe with both hands, his muscles bulging as he fended off the Wendigo's claws.
Joseph twisted his body causing the claws of the Wendigo to slide down the metal pipe making sparks fly out wildly as Joseph dashed back gaining distance from the Wendigo with sweat pouring down his face.
" What are you waiting for? Shoot your electricity at that monster! "
Yelled out Joseph glaring at Aziue. Aziue scoffed while bringing her hands together. She touched her hands' fingertips together until a ball of lightning formed between the palms of her hands. Aziue separated her hands, creating a glowing blue spear made out of electricity floating in front of her.
Aziue grabs the spear by the middle of the hilt before spreading her feet apart. She takes a deep breath before in a swift motion she flings the spear at the monster. The spear leaves a trail of lightning behind it before it violently slams into the Wendigo causing thousands of volts to enter its oozy body.
"AAHGH! "
The Wendigo let out a blood-curdling scream as its oozy body started to fry, making the smell of burning flesh spread through the white room. The Wendigo stumbled back in pure agony as Joseph sprang towards the injured Wendigo. The metal pipe dangled behind the charging Joseph before it was slammed into Wendigo's burnt knee.
The Wendigo's right knee buckled making its large body collapse onto the ground back first before Joseph quickly swung his weapon downward connecting into the deer skull on the Wendigo's face causing several cracks to cover the skull of the monster. The Wendigo let out a low growl before its mouth latched open.
" GRAARRRR!! "
Joseph's hair blew in the wind wildly as his body was pushed back by the monster's thunderous roar. Joseph let out a small chuckle while watching the Wendigo slowly pick itself back up on its feet. The Wendigo locked eyes with Joseph before it suddenly grabbed onto the necklace dangling from its lengthy neck.
The Wendigo snapped the necklace, yanking it off his neck as the sound of several evil howls rippled through the white room. Black spots started to cover the floor of the white room while several black oozy animals leapt out of the floor.
An entire pack of wolves and foxes could be seen glaring at Azuie and Joseph. Aziue glances over at Joseph before she speaks.
" The Wendigo is exclusively concentrating on you. That can only mean it's your main prey. "
Joseph scoffed before speaking.
" That's true. Its pitch-black eyes have been locked onto me this entire time. Looks like this Wendigo is quite prideful. It wants to kill me since I'm the most physically the strongest between the two of us. "
Joseph and Aziue stared at each other until they heard the sound of footsteps. Joseph and Aziue watch as the massive pack of animals lunges towards them. However, the animals don't attack Joseph instead they run past him only focusing on Aziue.
Aziue eyes widen as she extends her palm forward creating lighting in her palm. She fires a barrage of lighting at the charging animals as the Wendigo dashes towards Joseph...
The lightning slammed into the charging animals freezing them in place as the muscles in their bodies twitched wildly. Azuie took a deep breath before glancing to her left and seeing Joseph fending off the Wendigo claw using his metal pipe.
Joseph gritted his teeth barely able to fend off the monster's immense strength until he twisted his body and dashed back making the monster's claw slam into the white floor making a loud bang.
The bang rippled out shaking the white floor as Joseph twirled his body slamming a metal pipe into the Wendigo's skull causing him to stumble. The Wendigo scratched his head in pain as a low growl could be heard until the monster slammed his foot on the ground and roared blowing Joseph through the air.
Joseph flipped coming to a sliding halt while sweat poured down his face. Joseph wiped his face before he glanced over at Aziue and nodded his head. Aziue quickly extended her hand and fired a massive lightning bolt at the monster. The bolt illuminated Wendigo's body blue before violently colliding into its body making it grunt out in misery.
Steam poured off the Wendigo's body until a barrage of attacks slammed into its body making the monster stumble back as Joseph repeatedly slammed a metal pipe into its oozy torso. Ooz started dripping off the Wendigo's frame before it sprung back gaining distance away from Joseph.
Joseph glared at the monster before Aziue walked next to him while speaking.
" It appears that it's about to collapse. "
Joseph nodded before letting out an eerie grin and speaking.
"Let's not get confident, every wild animal is the most dangerous when they're about to die. "
Aziue scoffs as she extends her palms forward and bright lighting forms out of her palm. The Wendigo stares at the blinding light until lightning fires out of her palms reaching the Wendigo in a split second. The lightning is about to collide with the torso of the monster until abruptly the lightning vanishes without a trace.
Aziue's eyes widened in confusion until suddenly she dashed to the right, leaving Joseph bewildered before he winced, as a searing pain rippled through his body. Joseph looked toward the source of the pain before noticing a massive piece of his side was gone.
Blood poured down his leg as he breathed heavily. He glanced over at Aziue before speaking to her.
" Y-You could have warned me about it, you know? "
Aziue glanced over at Mute before sighing and speaking in an elegant manner.
" I realized that I wouldn't be able to dodge the attack if I took time to warn you about it. But what was the source of that energy that sliced your side? "
Before Joseph answered Aziue's question he dropped onto one knee while holding onto his side in agony. The blood seeping through Joseph's fingers wasn't red instead it was bright green. Joseph stared at the color of his blood before he smacked his lips and spoke.
" It was most likely magic or some bullshit like that. Wendigoes are known to be magical creatures that live for thousands of years. But it's up to you. That last attack had some type of poison mixed into it. "
Aziue nodded before she dragged her hand through the air leaving a trail of lightning behind. The line of lightning turned sharp before it flickered in and out reappearing directly in front of the Wendigo. The Wendigo stared at the lightning approaching his neck before he grinned and his body vanished.
Aziue eyes widened as a gust of wind blew past her blowing her blue hair wildly in the wind as a figure appeared next to her throwing a punch, however, the punch wasn't aimed toward her instead a powerful fist slammed into Joseph's face launching him through the air before he violently slammed into a white wall.
Aziue stared at Joseph who was lying face first on the ground unconscious while the massive Wendigo let out a low-pitched laugh before his mouth latched open and it spoke in a deep voice.
"You're lucky to have such a skilled ally. You haven't even realized it yet. But he just gave you the best opportunity to win. "
Aziue stepped back worried until she suddenly stepped onto a metal pipe. Aziue glanced down at the pipe confused. Unbeknownst to Aziue, right before Joseph was launched away. He flung his metal pipe to the side making it roll under her feet.
Aziue stared at the pipe until her brain clicked. She quickly kicked the pipe up into the air before snagging it with her hand. The pipe starts to vibrate as electricity starts to wildly flow through it. The Wendigo stares at Aziue's weapon before it grins and dashes back gaining distance.
The air crackles as Aziue and the Wendigo lock their eyes. Aziue's hands twitch before she dashes toward the monster while extending her left palm forward, firing a bolt of lightning. The bolt soars through the air before suddenly a bright red light slams into it surprising the charging Aziue.
A smoke cloud forms from the two forces colliding together. The smoke cloud engulfs Aziue who came to a sliding stop and is covering her eyes. Aziue glances around before a massive silhouette materializes on her left, throwing a punch. The punch slams into the pipe causing a shockwave to ripple out.
Aziue is only able to fend off the monster's strength for mere seconds before the pipe is pushed back making the powerful punch slam into Aziue's chest launching her through the smoke cloud. Aziue flips in the air before slamming her palm into the white floor leaving a trail of blue lighting on the floor.
The lighting on the floor floats up before materializing into mesmerizing electrified needles that spew out towards the towering Wendigo who is standing in the dense smoke cloud. However, before the needles can make contact the frame of the Wendigo mysteriously vanishes, making Aziue's eyes widen in panic before a kick slams into her side.
Aziue grits her teeth in agony as the powerful kick launches her through the air causing her body to slam into the white wall. Aziue falls out of the wall with black blood oozing out of her mouth. Aziue wipes off the blood while glancing up at the monster as it grins maniacally before snapping its frail fingers, sending a red lightning bolt at Aziue. Aziue's eyes dilated seeing the red lighting until she rolled evading the bolt of lightning. It was too obvious to her now. The Wendigo is mimicking her attacks.
The Wendigo slammed its large foot on the ground making red lighting spew out on the floor before the lightning floated up into the air materializing into needles. Aziue stared at the needles in shock before murmuring to herself
" Looks like I only have one chance. "
As soon as Aziue finished murmuring, needles sprung out towards her. The needles in a split second appeared mere millimeters away from Aziue's pale white skin. Aziue's eyes dilated before a wave of lightning spewed out of the cracks in her body.
The wave of lightning destroyed the needle as the Wendigo stared at Aziue with a bewildered look on its face. The amount of lightning pouring off Aziue's body has reached a new level...
The lightning pouring off Aziue's body became pure as she took a loud breath before springing forward with the metal pipe dangling behind her. In three steps, Aziue appeared directly before the monster slamming the weapon into the Wendigo's burly shoulder.
The Wendigo cried out in pain before it threw a backhand. The power claws slammed into Aziue's robotic body causing sparks to fly out as her body was tossed back into the white wall behind her.
Aziue stumbled out of the wall dazed before ducking under a swipe and dashing to the right gaining space away from the monster. Aziue came to a stop several feet away from the Wendigo before firing a barrage of lightning bolts at the frame of the monster.
The bolts soared through the air at light speeds before abruptly their momentum froze, shocking Aziue who stared at her frozen bolts bewildered. The Wendigo glared at the shocked face before letting out a deep chuckle and reaching over his shoulders. Two red portals formed behind the beast's shoulders as blade hilts slowly emerged out of the portals.
With a swift motion, the Wendigo grabbed onto the hilts, pulling out two large blades. The blades were ancient with runes engraved on them. The Wendigo let out a snarl before speaking in a raspy tone.
" I've lived for thousands of years, and yet. You still believe your puny electric powers will stop me? How truly foolish. "
As soon as the Wendigo finished speaking his body flickered, as a gust of wind blew past Aziue making her hair blow wildly. Aziue's eyes widened seeing a massive shadow cast over hers but before she could react, the enormous blades of the Wendigo had severed her right arm.
Aziue yelled out a cry of misery while sparks flew out of her missing arm. Aziue stumbled to the side before a knee slammed into her stomach launching her back into the white wall. However, this time she didn't stumble instead she collapsed to the ground unconscious.
The Wendigo's heavy footsteps echoed out before it looked toward the unconscious Aziue and grinned. The Wendigo looked up into the sky before shouting out.
" I have defeated them like you have asked. Now, release me! "
The Wendigo's deafening voice bounced off the white walls until an eerie silence emerged. The Wendigo looked around the white room impatiently tightly holding onto the blades in its massive hands. Several seconds of silence passed until a heavenly voice suddenly spoke.
{ You have not completed the task. One of them remains. }
The Wendigo's eyes widened before he snapped his head to the right seeing a bloody and battered Joseph slowly limping towards him with a chaotic grin on his face. The monster looked at the injured Joseph before scoffing and speaking.
" You fought well for an inferior creature but, accept your death like a true warrior. You have no chance of winning. "
Joseph started to chuckle while wiping dried blood off his face. Joseph's eyes dilated as he spoke in a crazed voice.
" Thousands of so? You know? "
Wendigo stared at Joseph confused. He was speaking nothing but nonsense. Growing annoyed the Wendigo slammed its blades together making sparks spew out before in a single powerful step he appeared in front of Joseph swinging the blades.
The blades approached Joseph's head before cleanly slicing his head off...
As Joseph's head was sliced off by the Wendigo's massive blades, inside Aziue's damaged mind hundreds of thoughts ran through her head...
Darkness has engulfed my surroundings. The attack from that entity must have stretched some of the cords inside my frame. My ocular vision has faded, but what was that voice that spoke earlier? It sounded like a god.
Something so omnipotent shouldn't be heard by my ears. If that thing imprisoned that Wendigo it's impossible to fathom the strength of this deity. But it's only a matter of time before the Wendigo kills that man.
He was already critically injured before, so there's no chance. He managed to defeat that monster. The only thing I can do is hope that Joseph stalls for enough time for me to heal my body.
Darkness engulfs my sight, as I gradually heal the cords inside my frame. Several hours pass before I begin to regain my vision. The darkness dissipates as a blinding light engulfs my vision. I stare through the light as a figure enters my vision. This figure makes my eyes widen in pure shock.
The figure in my vision is no other than Joseph who is sitting on the lifeless Wendigo. What happened? There's no way he defeated that thing. I stare at him before he feels my gaze and looks at me. We lock eyes before he politely grins and speaks.
" Looks like you're finally awake. I was waiting hours for you to wake up. "
I stare at him still confused before he scoffs and speaks again.
" While you were out. I learned a few things about this place. Fortunately for us, after I defeated this Wendigo, a system that guides us and gives us new skills appeared in my vision but, we can't access the system until the end of a test. So, I'm guessing our fight with this Wendigo was nothing but a massive test, so we could impress the gods that are watching. "
A system? What is he talking about? I guess Joseph saw my confusion because he re-explained to me what a system is.
" I'm guessing you don't have those shitty novels in your world that make the main character an all-powerful god after a few months with the help of the system. But to explain it to you better, the system will appear in front of us as a blob of text, that will tell us what to do and help us learn new abilities. But unfortunately, it looks like this system doesn't tell us what are our stats or weaknesses. "
I guess I'll understand it better when it appears in front of me. I gingerly stand back up on my feet as Joseph stares at me with a grin on his face. As soon as I stand up on my feet a message rings in my head.
{ Both players can walk. Please proceed through the portal that will form in five seconds}...