(Hello again! Hope you're all having a fantabulous day! So first things first, I would like to thank @ChaoticBlackCat for following me! Thank-Q so much! So here's the next chapter!)
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(Would suggest listening to Our Future by Peder Helland)
Two Years Later....
The afternoon was bright and the sky was clear, promising another sunny afternoon. Walking down the path deeper into the woods, hearing the gravel crunch beneath his feet, Ingressus looked up at the sky. The sunlight shined down, decorating the ground in scattered shadows. A few white clouds dotted the sky but didn't seem to be an omen of any possible rain for the day. The birds filled the forest with their songs as all the young ardoni walked further down the path. The day was too beautiful not to enjoy. Two years had passed by in a breeze, and Ingressus had learned a lot since then...
Throughout the seasons, Ingressus had become accustomed to his daily routine. Over the weeks and months, Ingressus and Achillean would switch different tasks. Some days they spear fished. Other times they were put on early morning boat trips scheduled for a long day of heavy lifting. Soon after months of doing them, Achillean and Ingressus had started to do boat trips on their own. While Raineus and Tealeon were split off on their own trip as well. It had been difficult at first, but soon they had both grown used to it. Tealeon and Raineus had also made it somewhat competitive, seeing who could bring in more baskets of fish by the end of the day! However, there would still be days when Achillean and Ingressus would fish at the pier like they always did.
Like Serena had said, during the season of fall, traders had come to Nestoria. Ingressus had been fortunate enough to meet Serena's friend: Molly, and her father. Molly was a Felina, with greenish hair, and fluffy gray ears. She was the same age as Ingressus, however, she had been to many places around Ardonia. Always accompanying her father on his trade runs. She and her father had traveled all the way to Nestoria from Meridian. Ingressus had enjoyed hearing the stories she had told of all the places she'd seen. No sooner had they arrived, Molly and her father left with the other traders.
Winters in Nestoria were not as bad as Ingressus remembered his past ones... Snow would cover the ground and decorate the pine trees in the village. The ocean near the shores would freeze and cover the water surface with thick ice. Achillean had shown Ingressus ice fishing. Cutting a hole inside the frozen floor, they would wait for hours on end, in the chilling cold, waiting for the fish to bite. But now it was the season of summer!
Ingressus was stuffed from the afternoon meal. As they walked out of the forest, the gravel beach of the spearfishing shores could be seen. The familiar roaring of the waves hissing against the gravel and sand always seemed to calm Ingressus. Feeling the warmth of the sun against his skin, Ingressus almost wished it was a day off. There would be days when he and his friends would spend hours in the meadow, on a warm sunny day, they would doze off by the pond in the afternoons till the evenings.
"Well those fish aren't going to catch themselves," Leora says. Ingressus walks over to a tree where he had left his spear that morning and retrieves it. Then walked down the shore till he was near the water. Achillean retrieved his spear as well.
Going out a little deeper this time, they all walk into the water until the ocean reaches their waist. Ingressus, Achillean, and Leora had grown slightly taller over the years. All of them were still quite young, being 14, however, when the traders had come to Nestoria the previous fall. Ingressus had noticed that even as young as they were. They were still taller than some of the human adults that had come on the trading run.
Ingressus gets into his stance and holds the spear above his shoulder, and looks down into the water. Having to squint his eyes as the sun reflected off the ocean's surface. Ingressus concentrated. His wide stance giving him perfect balance against the waves. He heard a splash as Leora drove her spear into the water and pulls it out, with a fish on the end.
Ingressus continued to wait while looking down into the water. Suddenly, he spots a fish. Recognizing the rainbow-colored mark on the fish's side, Ingressus knew it was a trout. He tensed slightly as the fish swam near him, like a snake poised to strike, Ingressus tightened his grip on his spear...
Quick as light, he stabbed his spear swiftly into the water before pulling it back out a second later. Looking up at the blade of the spear, Ingressus saw a fish struggling on the end. Walking back towards the shore, he removed the fish from the spear and dropped it into one of the buckets in the sand.
Ingressus walked back into the water, getting into the stance, right as Achillean stabbed his spear into the water and also catches a fish. Ingressus smiled, Achillean had improved on staying still against the waves after Ingressus had shown him how to better his stance. Since then, Achillean had been able to spearfish quite well, even though there were still times all of them missed a fish every now and then.
As Achillean goes back to the shore, Ingressus steadies his stance and focuses on the water...
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Later That Day...
Ingressus removed the fish from his spear and sighed. This was the third bucket he had filled for the afternoon. Looking up at the sky, and judging from the position of the sun, Ingressus could tell they only had a few hours left. Then the day would be done. Leora walked up to the shore, meagerly dumping another fish into one of her buckets.
She stabs the end of her spear into the gravel and stretches her arms out, sighing in relief while the tension in her muscles loosened. Being in the stances for hours on end, having to wait for fish, sometimes gave them painful muscle cramps.
"Well we're almost done with the day," Leora said. "We only have a few buckets left before we'll be forced to go ba-"
Leora stopped talking, quickly looking towards the trees of the forest. Ingressus turned around as well, angling his head in the direction of the noise, wondering who or what had interrupted his friend. He could hear quick footsteps against gravel rocks. While in the water, Achillean also turned towards the noise.
An ardoni comes sprinting out of the trees. Ingressus recognized him as one of Serena's friends, a young pearl diver named Neo. Neo runs down to the beach until he stops in front of Ingressus and Leora, struggling to catch his breath.
Leora gives Neo a concerned gaze. "Neo, what are you doing all the way over here? Don't tell me you got lost trying to find your way to the pearl diving shores?"
Neo stands up straight, having caught his breath. "I need all of you to come with me now, it's urgent!"
Achillean walks out of the water and gives Neo a confused look. "Urgent? You look as if you've just swam with a shark. What's wrong?"
Neo's eyes widened. "We have a problem at the pearl diving shores! Serena went underwater and it has been minutes since she's resurfaced."
All the young ardoni's eyes widened with concern. Leora shoves her way in front of Ingressus. "What do you mean she hasn't resurfaced?! Where is she?!"
Leora walks forward, getting too close, causing Neo to take a few steps back. "The other divers are doing what they can to find her," Neo quickly responded. "However, with each minute that goes by, they are becoming more worried. They are asking for extra help. I was told to get as much help as I could."
Leora looked around worriedly. "We'll come right away! Ingressus, Achillean come on!"
Neo, Leora, Ingressus, and Achillean all sprint into the woods and follow the gravel path back towards the village. The pearl diving shores were on the other side of the village... Ingressus hoped that each minute that passed... would not be Serena's last...
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A Few Minutes Later....
All four young ardoni ran out of the woods, all gasping for breath. They had run as fast as they could through the village. Looking around the shore, Ingressus sees many other Nestoris trying to help. They ran through the crowd till they were near the water. Ingressus looked over at Leora, her expression full of worry, as her eyes skimmed over the ocean surface.
"S-She could be anywhere, a-and it's been a few minutes. And she's still down there!" Leora exclaimed. "What if.... What if-"
Ingressus lays a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Leora, we will find her," he said firmly.
Leora looks over at him and gives him a firm nod. Neo, Achillean, Leora, and Ingressus wade out into the water. Soon they walk far out, and they have to swim to keep their heads above water.
"It'll be better if we all split up. The more eyes we have, the better chance we have at finding her," Achillean said.
All the ardoni swim away from one another. Taking a deep breath, Ingressus dives under the water.
(Would suggest listening to River of the Guardians by After Infinity)
His eyes burned against the saltwater, kicking his legs and doing the best to stroke with his arms, he swam out further. Serena had to be somewhere!? She had been underwater for more than 10 minutes... Ingressus knew she could hold her breath for a while... but not that long.
He blinks his eyes, trying to ignore the stinging pain that threatened to blind him.
Come on Serena, where are you? Ingressus thought.
Looking down, Ingressus' eyes widened in realization. The further out he swam, the harder it was to see the bottom of the ocean. Now the ocean floor was barely visible... and it got darker the deeper it was.
(Would suggest listening to Heartbeat scary music SOUND EFFECTS)
He didn't know what gripped him next. But second by second Ingressus' heart began to quicken, sending nerving waves through his arms that caused them to shake.
Ingressus didn't understand why this was happening. And that thought terrified him even more. This had never happened. But his heart continued pounding hard as if trying to escape from his chest. He was almost tempted to take deep breaths, but he was underwater. And then he realized... he had never been this far out in the ocean, except for when.... after...
The very hint of the thought scared him. Ingressus looked around in shock, hearing familiar voices echo in his head. Screaming at him!
Ingressus run!
Run they're coming!
They're going to kill us!
Ingressus shakes his head, trying to block out the thoughts. He swims deeper down into the water, he had to find Serena! He didn't know long he had been underwater, but a small tension began to grow in his lungs. But he could still hear the voices in his head while he swam.
There are so many of them!
They've found us!
The deeper down Ingressus swam, his ears began to pop. Through the blurriness in his eyes, Ingressus spotted something glowing faintly in the darkness below. He swims towards it.
You stay here! I mean it this time!
Do you not realize I keep you here for your safety?!
Ingressus' heartbeat even quicker to the point where he could hear it pounding in his ears. His body shook even more as he neared the faint glowing lights. Getting closer, Ingressus could see it was Serena!
She was on the ocean floor, and she was tangled in a net! How long had she been down there?!
Serena!
He swam down to her quickly, before grabbing the net and struggling to pull it off her. But it was tangled badly, every time he pulled, it just made the net tighter. Quickly unsheathing a small knife, Ingressus carefully worked on sawing the ropes, cutting them one by one. Looking down at Serena, he could see her eyes were closed and her markings were faint...
Hang on Serena! Ingressus thought.
The voices seemed to get louder while Ingressus cut rope after rope.
Stop it!
What's the point?!
You think you can save her!?
You couldn't even save your family!
Ingressus grew more desperate, he could see the net loosening, he couldn't stop now! Grabbing a large knot, he quickly cuts the rope, feeling a painful sting on his left arm in the process. But he paid no attention to it as he kept cutting at the net. He had been underwater a while...his lungs were screaming for air! Finally cutting the tension from the net, Ingressus grabbed Serena, then quickly began swimming for the surface.
You can't do it!
You couldn't do it then, you can't do it now!
Ingressus shook his head, shaking the thoughts away. His heart was racing quicker than a horse's running hoofs. The darkness was everywhere... like it had been before... trying to swallow him up! He swims up quicker as the light gets brighter. His vision was starting to go dark as his chest tensed with pain due to low oxygen.
The ocean would not drown him! It had tried to then... it wouldn't now! Finally, his head breaks through the water. Ingressus gasps for breath, his breathing panicked as his body shook with fear. He quickly swims towards the shore.
We have to make sure all are defeated!
They're holding them off the best they can!
You can't do it!
Ingressus swims harder towards the shore. Yes, I will!! he thought.
The swim to the shore felt like forever, but his feet finally touch the ocean floor. His legs feeling like jello with each step he took. He had never swam that fast before...
He walks out of the water breathing heavily, leaning over as he carried Serena on his back. Once he's far enough away from the ocean waves, Ingressus gets on his knees and lays Serena in the sand. His heart still racing and his arms shaking like crazy. He looked down at her, her eyes were stilled closed... and she wasn't moving...
"Serena...?" Ingressus says quietly, as he tries to shake her awake. "Serena come on, come on you have to be okay..."
Serena doesn't respond to him... she's as still as a stone...
Ingressus becomes more desperate to wake her up. But everything he tries, her eyes don't open.
Ingressus closes his eyes as he starts to panic. "No... no, not again... Not again... please wake up.."
Ingressus opens his eyes, and gasps when he looks down. He doesn't see Serena... he sees his mother's lifeless body...
You couldn't even save her back then! Your own mother!
Ingressus was becoming annoyed by all these pestering thoughts! "No!" he yells as he tries to wake her up.
Suddenly, he feels something touch his shoulder. Ingressus turns around and quickly shuffles away from what he sees. It was Blazien... as a walking corpse... Ingressus looks down at his mother's lifeless body, then back to Blazien as he slowly shuffles towards Ingressus, growling... Then Ingressus can see many other undead Voltaris moving towards him... Voltaris from his group...
Ingressus couldn't take this! He quickly runs away as more undead Voltaris surround him. As he runs deeper into the trees, Ingressus sees the snowy forest around him.
How did I get here!? How am I back in the Barrier Mountains!? Ingressus wondered while he ran through the bushes feeling the thorns scratch his arms.
Ingressus continues to run through the trails covered in snow. The forest looked familiar to him, but how was it covered in snow!? He breaks through the trees until he sees a familiar sight... the meadow.
Ingressus slides down the hill, running through the clearing, he stumbles to his knees in front of a frozen pond. He could barely hear anything through the pounding in his ears. Ingressus closes his eyes and takes deep breaths as he tries to calm down...
(Would suggest listening to Stay- Forest Stay)
His heart seemed to slow with the more deep breaths he took. Opening his eyes as his pulse slowed, Ingressus could see the lush green forest once again.
He cups his hands and scoops water up from the pond, splashing the water against his face. His body was still shaking with adrenaline, but his heart had finally steadied. Now that he was thinking clearly, Ingressus finally takes notice of the stinging on his left arm.
Looking down, he sees his arm is covered in blood from a cut. Ingressus scoops up more water from the pond and washes the blood off his arm. He had barely been able to control his body with how much it had been shaking... He must have cut himself while cutting the ropes.
Once the blood is washed off, Ingressus sees that the cut was not that severe. He lets out a sigh.
He needed to think...
He had been spearfishing with Achillean and Leora. Then Neo had said they needed help finding Serena. They had run to the pearl diving shores, and they all had split up. Ingressus had gone underwater... then painful memories of the past had resurfaced... Ones that he had not thought of in months... The battle... the deaths... the freezing ocean nearly drowning him...
Looking down, Ingressus sees the large scar on his left leg... a constant reminder of his failure... The song had healed the wound... but it didn't take away the painful memories every time he saw the scar...
But he had found her... Ingressus had found Serena. He had been able to get her to the shore. But then... she hadn't woken up... Guilt clawed away at his heart. As much as he had tried then... to help save his group... none of them had survived...
And now... once again... Ingressus had tried to save another ardoni he had cared about... but in the end... It was futile...
A soft voice echoes in his head.
Too late.
Ingressus tries to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. How was it he was so powerless... so weak...? Everything he tried... it had done nothing in the end...
Ingressus looks down at the pond, whispering quietly to the figure staring back at him with yellow markings...
"You were too late..."