Echoes of the past II

"C–Captain behind you."

Victor spoke fearfully as he pointed behind Jim in horror.

Jim curiously turned his head to look behind him and...

Amidst the echoing screams of his men, in the deep mist, a mysterious silhouette could be seen approaching silently ahead of them.

A dark figure came into view, its body was dark and wavy as if a mixture of water and ink. Its cold hands were sharp as two blade like horns sprouted from the elbows. From its forehead, an eye with a vertical pupil blinked as it looked ahead with its paralyzing gaze. From its back, eight large tentacles wavered in the air creating a scary image in the minds of the hunters. In its gaze was a sinister glint, like the devil that came down straight from hell itself.

As if to show its mighty image, it smirked as it looked at its fearful prey, ready to pounce on them.

"Ge! Ge! Ge!" It snickered as it licked its lips, enjoying the fearful expressions of the hunters before it.

"Run"

No one knew who shouted those words but everyone of them started to escape desperately from the hideous-looking abomination that seemed to come for their precious lives

Someone once said that the time that man is in danger is when his truest potential surfaces. In this case Jim had his potential unlocked at this point.

He had no idea how he evaded the trees or how he jumped from an edge to the other. It was like a temple runner swiftly running unstoppable.

But like real life, he accidentally tripped and tumbled down the ground awkwardly. Swiftly he tried to get back up but when he turned, he saw the monstrosity hovering above him.

A strange glow smeared its face as if mocking his misery and a killing intent surfaced upon finding its prey.

Jim's attention was suddenly attracted by something behind the monster. It looked like a book, the very same book that got him in this situation. In that very moment, the cover opened by itself causing a ripple in the space around him.

In that very moment Jim seemed to have grasped a certain shard from beyond what seemed like a veil, a cloud of white mist mixed with a golden light descended above him and flowed into his body.

The light gave Jim a strange comfort. And in his mind, a mysterious book with a single opened page appeared in it. Golden words that he couldn't read embedded themselves on it word by word with elegant strokes. The moment the words came to an end, time seemed to have stopped as everything stood still.

Jim stood beneath the monster. His heartbeat echoing in the forest as he gazed upon his doom in despair...

As the monster leaned closer to Jim, it brought its claws towards his face and begun to tear it piece by piece.

"Aaaaah"

A shril cry of pain echoed in the forest as the monster teared his face as he roared in pain. His arms struck helplessly against the monster to try to get it off him but it proved to be useless.

Chunk by chunk of flesh fell down on the ground as blood sipped out of his disfigured face.

The monster looking at his painful expression was smiling while it continued to shred his skin apart. It could be seen that it was taking pleasure in his agony and could not wait to hear his heartbeat personally in its hands.

Jim's face oozed with blood as chunks of flesh scattered below him. With an unknown force possessing him, he managed to push back the monster and dive beneath it towards the book. He didn't know why he chose to grab the book instead of running away from the monster, but he had a strange feeling that made him resolute to aim for the book.

Grabbing the book in his hands, he turned to face his tormentor, the black ink-like monster in his field of vision with a vicious snarl replacing its mocking smile.

It roared and rushed towards Jim with a swift claw aiming for his head. Jim seeing the incoming claw dodged to the side by an inch as one claw managed to slice his skin.

As he stood up from the side, a drop of blood from his cheek slid and fell on the open book as it shone with intensity unlike any other.

Right at that instant he heard he voice from beyond.

'In a little world, the harbinger is born. Telling the tales of the arrival of disaster. His mouth an instrument, his voice a tone, his tongue filled with various notes of distruction. In his presence alone, the shadows shall tell the tale of doom. Doom brought forth by mankind's greed.'

Right when the voice ended, the world around could not bear the might of that voice. Everything begun to crumble into dust. The monster's ink-like body begun to dissolve into nothingness, its expression filled with bewilderment and loath towards the presence it felt.

Jim's face too, like a burnt piece of paper, turned into ashes and was blown away by the wind.

The book fell onto the ground as the cover closed its self revealing the glowing words on its coarse back.

Book of Doom...