My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 111: Sylvan

Kace quickly agreed, after all, the weapons that he could already see were plenty good enough. 'Your house, your rules.' He thought with a smile. He would not look a gift horse in the mouth, nor would he kick a hornets' nest.

He eagerly awaited the moment Sonja passed the threshold to the weapons hall. Leaving him alone with all of its glory. His eyes felt restless as he struggled to keep them fixed on any single weapon for any amount of time. He felt as though he had spent a long time browsing, but in reality, barely any amount of time had passed. At most, it had only been ten minutes.

Sonja was not worried though, choosing a weapon was a time-consuming process. It wasn't like she was getting any older, so she was willing to wait for as long as it would take. 'It would be nice if he followed in my footsteps and chooses a blunt weapon. Though judging from his halberd, he probably prefers weapons with a bit of length.' She pondered as she thought through all of the suitable weapons she had stored within.

Kace, on the other hand, had begun to pick up and try some of the weapons. He still did not like how a sword felt in his hands, so he quickly ruled them out. Even though he would be able to change its form with his skill, he could tell that every weapon he had tried so far worked best with its original condition due to its enchantments. 'It has to be something that feels right.' He thought as he quickly walked past the next section.

He held a lot of hope when he came to a section that had halberds and war hammers. However, he soon felt dejected as he realised none of these suited either. He had gotten too used to the way his halberd felt in his hands, that and the memories of the one who had gifted it to him. He got a surprise, though, as he turned his head away from the latest selection he had been browsing.

'I've already reached the end?' he asked in surprise as he looked back the way he came. Spread out before him was the hallway reaching so far that he could no longer see the door he had entered through. Turning his line of sight back to the front, he gave an odd look at the door that blocked his passage.

The door looked to be made of solid silver. It was plain with no adornments except for a single, ordinary handle. 'This must be what Sonja warned me about.' He thought as he eyed it curiously. He was sorely tempted to see what had provoked such a reaction from her. However, there was no point in tempting himself and risking her ire for something that he could never have.

With a heavy sigh, he turned around. Resigning himself to choose one of the ones he felt better about. As he took the first step, though, he felt a heavy pressure within his mind. It made each step that he attempted to take more difficult than the last. 'Something is trying to prevent me from leaving?' He asked himself in surprise as he glanced back at the door.

To him, this did not bode well. He considered calling for Sonja as had no idea what he was dealing with. 'Whatever it is will not let me go easily.' He thought, feeling breathless at that moment. He felt a fog entering his mind clouding his judgement. As he wondered what it was, an image began to play in his mind. 

The image showed the valley where the vampire's city was situated in this world, except for one difference. Instead of the city, there was a forest. The trees stood tall and proud. Their trunks and branches were silver in colour. The leaves sprouting from them were shades of purple and black. The purple leaves were luminous, giving off a faint glow.

It gave the forest a majestic and mystical look. Kace wondered what had happened to it. 'Did the vampires destroy it to build their city?' He wondered. As if in answer to his question, the image changed as though a pebble had been dropped in a still lake. Fires raged, burning everything in sight. Kace was now standing in the centre of the forest he had been looking down on a moment before.

Screams and shouts echoed all around him. Glancing around, he was shocked to see the source. Tall, unclear figures were screaming in grief as their opponents cut them down mercilessly. Kace could tell from a single glance who they were. 'Heroes!' He was in disbelief at this revelation. So far, he had not seen anything to suggest their presence here.

As the fires burned out and all appeared to be destroyed the heroes vanished. In their wake was a clear field filled with the corpses of the unknown figures. Whenever he tried to make out their details, it was as though his vision was being deliberately clouded. Preventing him from discovering what they truly looked like.

The scene flashed forward, showing a solitary figure from the unknown race standing in the field of broken bodies. Wave upon wave of mind-breaking, grief-ridden howls rang out from the creature. It was enough to spark unwanted tears and for his own hatred towards the heroes to be reignited to a greater level than it had been previously. 'They all deserve to die!' He thought as he wiped the tears.

When he looked again, it was as though the figure had heard his thoughts. Kace could not move, but he felt no hostility was being directed towards him. The creature walked over towards him on its shadowy long limbs. Towering over him, it stared deep into his eyes. As if judging him. Kace felt a foreign presence within his own mind. 'Help me!' The unknown voice pleaded within his mind.

The figure before him crumbled and reformed. In its place stood a stave. It was made from the same silver wood that belonged to the trees that had once stood here. The bottom of it was wrapped in deep purple vines that had thorns protruding from it. At its tip the there was a black horn that curled slightly as it stretched out like a spear tip. 

The horn had been fixed to the top of the stave with another purple vine with thorns. Except dangling from all around the horns base were strange feathers. They were black at the closest parts to the horn but then after a third of the way down they turned electric blue. Something tugged at his mind to grab ahold of it. Feeling the pull it was exerting on him he reached out. His hand wrapped around the twisted wood and instantly something clicked. As if this were always meant for him.

'Sylvan. That is my name.' The ancient voice sounded once more within his mind before the vision he had been trapped in was dropped from his mind...