Episode 2: The Journey Begins

“It’s a long journey ahead of me” I thought to myself as I carefully treaded down the mountain.

(Flashback begins) Ever since I unsheathed the sword, I’ve been feeling a strange aura.

Besides the 5 souls, I felt something else. An aura so sinister, it sent a chill down my spine. (Flashback ends)

I don’t know what lies ahead but yet, I don’t feel the least bit scared.

No emotion, is it because I don’t have a family?

What is a family? What does it mean to live? I think these things often but I shake them off and keep walking forward.

The nearest town is 40 miles down the SouthEast side of the mountain.

Even after living here all this time, that side remains a complete mystery to me.

I only know there’s a town because I can see the lights from my home...but that was my destination.

I’ve tried to to go down the SouthEast side when I was 6 but I was chased away when I got to the strange pillars that surrounded the Southeast path.

I’m not sure what it was. I couldn’t sense anything. I never bothered to turn around because I only thought about my survival.

I didn’t want to die after I’ve pushed for so long...but it never got me. I didn’t realize it only chased me off for a few meters.

Again I can hear my mother’s spirit talking to me. “Not yet Nori..nows not the time to leave.”

So I turned around and went home...when I got there, I tried to unsheathe the sword once more, and when I did, I felt the souls of those 5 men again..and something else...but it was faint..so I didn’t think nothing of it.

After that I decided to train myself. I would spend all day swinging my sword and striking branches off of trees.

I didn’t know much about being a swordsman but I figured it would help. To train my reflexes I would toss some of the thicker branches I cut off into the air and try to deflect each one.

it wasn’t the best training method. A lot of times I ended up getting beaten up from the branches but after awhile I was able to deflect each one.

I would toss more and more into the air. Adding more when I successfully deflected all of them.

By the time I was 10 years old, I decided to try again and explore beyond the pillars.

I barely walked passed the pillars before it happened again..but this time was different.

(Flashback begins)

“Faster! Faster!” That’s all that was running through my mind.

The farther I ran, the faster I went. It still managed to catch up.

I found myself face down on the floor...gasping for air...the weight of what seemed like a ton; slowly sinking deeper and deeper into my back.

Before; what seemed like my back, would snap. I woke up in a cold sweat in front of the strange pillars.

”Was that a dream?” I thought to myself.

”No! That’s impossible. The pain in my back. The sudden fatigue...it’s all too real...

But what was that? And why did I fall asleep here of all places? What are these pillars here for?”

I continued to ask myself these questions but never found an answer. (Flashback ends)

Since then I haven’t went back. I’m not sure what any of that meant. I don’t know if the time is now, but in order to get to town, it’s imperative that I travel beyond the strange pillars. I’m not sure what was back there but I can’t stay here.

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