Leyland Adventures Chapter Ten: Part Seven

With the attempt to soften his footsteps as much as possible, Tysashi scanned the ground to prevent any branches while keeping his breathing still. Every passing step seemed to result in more powerful laughter. The figure loomed closer, causing his body to completely stop. The sound of crunching leaves grew louder...until it eventually froze. Peeking his head out, he witnessed the gloomy atmosphere of the forest before returning to view a indistinct figure with a devilish grin glued on its sinister face holding that same knife. His body automatically crawled backwards, knocking himself into a convenient tree as the figure stepped forward.

"Stay back!" He yelled with a dangerous glare in his eyes, forming fists.

"I want to play a game..."

"A game? What kind of game?"

"Find out her name...my mother...you have one minute. If you don't answer correctly or run out of time...you'll end up like...her..."

"Wait, but how am I supposed to-"

Just then, he began counting while dragging his knife against the scared trees. Tysashi forced himself up as he ran frantically to find the answer, accompanied by laughter.

With unhealthy amounts of stress, his panicked eyes scattered around without a clear target until a peculiar mark on the bark of a tree was picked up. The letter 'm' was etched on the tree. With a fresh understanding and an improved state of mind, he searched for more letters to complete the riddle.

"Twenty-five...twenty-six..."

As the time pushed forward, so did his legs. Just in case if he failed the task, the young hero would have no other choice but to fight back so if time was up, he would locate himself as far as he could to prepare.

"Thirty-eight..."

The disfigured corpses and marks of blood around the trees failed to distract him, though he felt sorrow for the poor beings, it wasn't enough to shift his attention.

"Fifty...fifty-one..."

Such a paranormal and echoing voice would cause an earthquake of chills to run down many spines though it was just another thought to be ignored. The final letter continued being timid, refusing to be discovered.

"Fifty-nine...sixty. Time...is...up..."

Holding the knife steady, the figure began to hunt for his prey just as Tysashi spotted the last letter before another object was detected, the silver blade. He pulled his side away before shouting, "Mabel!"

The man stood stationary, as if whispers were severely flooding his broken mind.

"That...is...correct...just as I thought. Mabel...why did you have to come with me? Why did I have to see your rotting corpse hanging from a decaying branch?"

Finally being able to breathe, Tysashi clutched his hand close to his chest.

"I know how it feels to have your family taken away, it happened to me but it will get better," The light and forgiving tone of his voice was a definite change from the ordinary cries of insanity.

"Thank you...it is time to join the family...please take this."

Tysashi was handed a key.

"Wait...what do you mean it's time to join the family?"

The man only chuckled before thrusting the knife into his throat, blood rushed down his neck before his body collapsed. His heart jumped as a scream was swallowed. Grabbing leaves and dirt to bury the body, he sighed.

"This...had to be a real person...the body hasn't disappeared and I got a key for something. I wonder why so many people failed this challenge, the letters weren't extremely difficult to find. Well, that should do it, nice and buried. Now he can truly rest in peace."

⊱⋅ ────── ⋆★⋆────── ⋅⊰

With the honorable deed done, he marched forward, entering a new section with much more room to breathe. The trees were less crowded and more light sources colored the area. Once his foot made contact with the ground, a desperate cry for his name was heard. The unique mix of elegance and concern came together to produce a gorgeous sound that was more than familiar to him.

"Nya!" With one leg in front of the other, he tracked down the sound the best he could, greeted with a welcoming sight that never seized to paint a smile on his face.

Her satiny, flawless pale skin that always smelled of cocoa butter, the diverse colors of beads that her lengthy, silver braided locks contained was constantly kept straight and polished, shining like diamond in the light. The azure stars she possesses for an iris matched Tysashi's perfectly. Tender and silky lips paired with an impressive chest and specific curves tied to an incredible, slender figure wrapped within a snow white dress that sat to her feet decorated with golden symbols, it was near impossible to believe any man could contain her.

It was almost too good to believe she would be here, but her appearance brought an album of joyous memories that would never be discarded.

Upon moments of inspecting his build, it was as if her arms had a mind of their own as they wrapped around him with an affectionate grasp.

"Tysashi, thank goodness you're ok! You don't know how difficult it was to find you!"

Her voice was lightened with unutterable relief, nearly crying out of euphoria.

"H- how did you get here? I don't think your magic could extend over multiple galaxies. Is everyone ok?"

There were slight shakes in his voice but only because he could see his lover again.

"I used your Compassion Gem to track you, it wasn't enough so I combined both my and Kustina's magic to increase its range and yes, everyone is fine. You...can't fathom how happy I am to see you still alive..."

Her eyes began to quiver as her warming hands fell down his cheeks.

"I'm happy too," he stated before pressing his lips into hers. Despite what you may have heard, Heaven is indeed real, it was standing right in front of him.

With their lips separated, Nya grabbed his hand with the patience of a child.

"Come on, we have to get you back to Lenovo! It didn't take long before I realized this place is dangerous. You can tell me everything about this planet when we get home."

"Nya, as much as I would love going home, I can't. A very special friend came with me and I have no idea where she is. Before we leave, we have to find her."

"So you made another female companion. What have you been doing with her while you were here, did she seduce you?"

Her arms crossed with a look of resentment.

"What, no no. Nya, she's not like the girls from the island. She's different and totally unique, I just need your help to find her."

Her eyes targeted the necklaces and the ring he wore, therefore asking about them.

"The jewelry grants special abilities, I'll explain everything when we find her."

"Very well, I'll help you, my eternal love. You do believe I'm the real Nya right, that I'm not a clone?"

"Of course."

She extended her arm to which he caught her hand, absorbing him into a tender embrace. Just as warmth washed through his body, a chilling feeling pierced his stomach. He jumped back to see a thorn dripping with blood, suddenly experiencing a burning pain within him.

Indescribable emotions swarmed him as he fell to the ground, sickly groans escaped from his mouth as he glanced at the distorted grin on her face.

"You're going to die alone..."

With that, the image vanished with the poison spreading rapidly throughout his body. The Rose Guard Necklace failed to protect him again. It doesn't protect him against attacks from his loved ones so it was an exploitable weakness. Now he absolutely had to find Aradressa before the growing poison found his heart.

Washing away the shame, he pressed onward at a sluggish pace, clenching his stomach as his thoughts dragged across the grass.