On the Road

Whisper walked a little ahead of Syren as he could feel where the other demons were. They just followed ahead on the dirt road in the middle of a quiet forest.

Tyra couldn't see Whisper, and had doubts that he even existed. However, she had to keep an eye on Syren. She was certain that he wasn't human after seeing his unreal strength and agility. She could remember the steam coming out of his body instead of blood. She always kept at least sword's length from him just in case. As soon as she could, she would take him to the other members of the Silver Order. There, they may be able to ascertain what to do with him. But for the meantime, she followed by his side and pretended to trust him until the time was right. The only thing she was certain of was that he was connected with the eclipse in some way after seeing that black choker meld with him and the sun coming back for just a second.

They walked for hours with no end. Night was never going to come. There was only the eclipse.

Syren decided it was time to rest for a moment and so the three of them set up a camp by the side of the road.

"I'll take watch. You rest, Syren," Tyra said. She smiled, but it wasn't difficult for Syren to tell that it was fake. He could see her eyes locked on him like a predator. But it didn't matter to him. He knew that she wouldn't do anything. If she was, she would've done it by now. He only suspected her to be biding her time waiting for other members of her group to decide what to do. She was certainly strong and hard-willed, Syren thought, but she was still very young and inexperienced just like himself.

As Syren touched the choker on his neck, he could feel a pulse coming from it. It was his own. He left it alone and decided it would be beneficial for him to rest. If something happened, he was sure that either Whisper or Tyra would wake him.

And as he slept, there was a darkness. He saw a snake slithering in the shadows. He opened his eyes thinking that he was awake and Tyra asleep. Whisper whispered in his ears as he was frozen in place. His heart beat faster.

"Kill her. She will only slow us down," the snake said in his own voice. Syren tried to move or at least open his mouth, but he couldn't. His heart beat faster and faster. Sweat poured out of his ice-cold body. A large snake began to contrict around Tyra's body. It bit deep into her neck. He tried to scream, but there was nothing.

"She will not help you. She will stand in your way. This is what you want to do. If you won't do it, then let me. I will do it in your stead. Give me permission. Give me permission. Let me out. Let me free of these chains."

In the blink of an eye, he was standing over Tyra with his hands around her neck. Her tongue had been ripped out. His own teeth turned into fangs. His sweat turned to steam. The inside of his body boiled. The skin was being ripped apart revealing scales. His eyes were that of a snake's.

"Give me permission. Give me permission."

Syren screamed louder than anything in the entire forest as he finally awoke from the nightmare. Whisper and Tyra were taken aback. His heart rate was faster than ever. His whole body was covered in sweat. It was only a dream, Syren thought as his breath was uneven.

"A nightmare?" Tyra asked as she still stood guard.

"Sorry."

"You should take some more rest. We'll continue in just a little bit."

"That's alright. You can rest if you'd like. I'm gonna keep moving."

Syren stood up and prepared to keep moving. He still had his black tome by his side. That's all he really needed. He looked at Whisper angrily thinking that he must have suggested all of that in his dream. And it was true.

"You really should just let me take care of her," Whisper said, "When she finds another member of the Silver Order, then we'll be in a lot more trouble."

Syren ignored him and said, "Point us towards the closest monster."

As soon as he said that, the forest began to shake and rumble.

Tyra said, "Seems something heard your scream, Syren."

The trees were uplifted and displaced as a creature was coming towards them. The birds fled to the skies. Tyra readied her blade. Syren took out his tome. A beast just as tall as any other tree came out from under the cover of red shadows. It was similar to a gorilla or an ape. It had hair all over its body. Its whole face was covered with unblinking eyes. Its wide and gaping mouth was right on its stomach. Intestines squirmed out of it like serpents. It was different than any usual monster, but none of them feared it. It looked quite smaller and weaker compared to Gula

"Is this one of the creatures you have to fight, Syren?" Tyra asked as she's never seen this kind of monster before.

Whisper said unimpressed, "No."

Syren repeated, "No."

Whisper was unimpressed by the beast, but curious about it. It wasn't the usual monster. The world had plenty of creatures such as demons, werewolves, a few dragons, vampires, and undead. But this one wasn't really any of that. And he was quite aware of many kinds of monsters in this world. As far as any of them knew, it was just another monster that this eclipse has spawned into existence.