Ultimate Assassin Saga: Woodlands

The Chaos Demon removed his hand from the tree and he looked into the darkness of the Whispering Jungle. There was beauty as well as majesty among the trees of the Jungle, but he knew that there was also mystery and possibly even death among the trees as well. He knew that there was at least one race of people that lived among the trees of the Whispering Jungle, but he didn't know what they were. The only reason he knew there was someone inside was because of the mass reports that had been gathered on the Wilds by their campaign many years ago, judging whether they should expand to include the Wilds. At the time, his answer had been know and his reasons had been many.

The only reason there truly was had been there were too many unknown variants of people and that each individual people were powerful as well as dangerous. He hadn't wanted to take his people into harms way and maybe that was why they felt loyal to him. Many different Clans of Demons had been among his campaign, the Blood and Ice Demon clans only being two. He'd inspired enough loyalty in those two clans to abandon Dalkia and come to his side so there was no telling about the other clans. However, he couldn't concern himself with that now.

What mattered was making allies.

With that thought in mind, Acheron stepped over one berry filled bush and put his foot down inside of the Whispering Jungle. He sensed nothing, and so, he put his other foot within, entering the Whispering Jungle for the first time. He stood there for a moment, looking around and wondering if he would be attacked for just stepping foot into the trees. When nothing came out to greet him with a blade, he nodded his head once and he took a step. Then, he took another step and again another before he was walking slowly, but surely into the Whispering Jungle, the snow of the Tundra being left behind for the seemingly tropical weather of the Jungle.

It was warm and muggy, leaving a sticky feeling to his skin without making him sweat. It was quite uncomfortable - or it would've been if he were any other creature. However, for Demons, what made others uncomfortable were rarely even noticed among their ranks. This just so happened to be one such time because even though he noted the sticky feel to his skin, it didn't bother him.

As he walked, the Chaos Demon listened to everything around him, hearing his own boot steps hear and there, but mostly just listening to the Jungle. There were sounds of insects chirping and generally making noise. Squirrels ran across the ground to trees and scampered up said trees. Snakes slithered across the ground, moving away from him and heading for their dens, hiding away from him. Every predator within the Whispering Jungle seemed to recognize that he wasn't prey for them, but if they got in his way, they might be prey for him.

Also, he took note of the trees. The Command Assassin noticed that the trees seemed to twist even more the deeper he got and the trees were also a deeper color, almost sickly. However, they all had one thing in common. Each of them were marked with those runes, and for some reason, he got the feeling that it was the runes that were making the trees twist and appear to be sick. It wasn't a magic that he was familiar with, and because of that, he didn't intend to do anything to dispel it.

Maybe if he were able to learn who had placed these runes and for what purpose, then he might be able to dispel them. However, until then, he was going to leave them alone and try not to get into too much trouble. He knew the Jungle was bound to have creatures that would love to attack him, and even though he was yet to see anything yet that would challenge him, he knew the longer he pushed his luck, the more likely it was that he would be challenged.

Now whether or not he was challenged by sentient life forms or something bestial was another story.

Acheron wasn't worried about any battle that might come within the Jungle. He was a Demon, and even though it sounded arrogant, he was one of the most powerful Demons on the Mortal Plane. In fact, the only Demon that he knew for fact could challenge him in ways of power was his brother himself. There weren't too many creatures that could challenge a Demon and come out the victor, but beings could get lucky. Lady luck was a fickle being and often sided with someone one day before turning around to stab you in the back the next day.

The Chaos Demon walked slowly across the grassy and leaf covered ground. He noticed a dip in the ground, and even though it didn't really matter to him, he didn't think nothing of it. It could be just about anything to be honest. It could lead into a glen or a valley or much of anything. Hells, it could lead into another dimension. There was just no way for him to know.

The Command Assassin knelt near the dip in the ground and he realized that it was actually a hole in the ground. He frowned and and narrowed his eyes, staring down into the hole. Unfortunately, there was no sign of light, and without even the slightest hint of light within the hole, he wouldn't be able to determine anything. Then, an idea occurred to him and he felt stupid. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before actually.

Acheron aimed his palm at the hole and he began to gather his magic. Suddenly, his hand began to glow with golden energy, and after a second of pulling it into his palm, he released it, the ball of light drifting slowly into the dark hole. To his amazement and dismay, the golden light seemed unable to fight back the darkness. It was like nothing that he'd ever seen and he found himself wondering what he should do about it. Should he leave the hole alone or should he explore it? If he jumped in, he knew that he could get back out. It wouldn't be that hard to transform and fly right out, but he didn't know what he would find on the other end.

That was really what he was worried about.

He wasn't scared or frightened of what he would find on the other end. He simply didn't want to go into this hole and then never come out. For all he knew, it could lead him to a huge danger. Hells, it could transport him back to Dalkia and into his brother's grasp. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had been placed as a trap for curious minds. He found himself debating quickly over what he should do. There were many options, but only one won out in his mind.

Deciding to take a chance, the Chaos Demon stood to his full height and he took a deep breath. He gripped the hilt of his Diamond blade and he drew the weapon. One didn't want to drop right into the midst of a battle and be killed because one wasn't prepared. He was going to make sure he was as prepared as he could be. He held the Diamond blade down by his leg, and with a deep breath, he stepped into the hole.

He fell and fell and fell, seemingly endless in the black. Someone of a lesser degree might've panicked and begin to get scared, but he wasn't worried. He didn't know what would happen, but he had a feeling about this hole and what was going to happen. As he fell, he could sense more and more magic, but it was much older than anything that he'd ever sensed before. He didn't know where the power was coming from. It seemed to be coming from all around him and from nowhere at the same time. Then, he saw it.

In the blackness, there was a little silver light that shimmered and it seemed to be growing larger. Of course, that would have something to do with his falling towards it. He knew there was no way to avoid it, and even if there was, he wouldn't have tried. His curious mind had gotten him into it and he wanted to see this journey through to the end.

Acheron felt the silver light envelop him and swallow him whole. He could feel the ancient magic all around him, filling his being and seemingly making him less substantial in the Mortal Plane. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and allowed whatever it was that was surrounding him to take him to wherever it wished.

Acheron came aware slowly, but he didn't immediately open his eyes. He didn't know why he didn't open his eyes right away, but he had the feeling that it was due to the fact that he didn't know his surroundings. He wanted to hide away in unconsciousness as long as he could and not have to face what he would surely have to face once he opened his eyes. Because once he opened his eyes, it would become real and he would have no choice but to survive in his new environment.

The ground below him was mossy and felt itchy to the skin, but he didn't scratch. He didn't so much as flinch a muscle, but he did reach out with his aura and with his senses. He could smell the dankness of the land around him, and to his surprise, it smelled much like the Whispering Jungle. Had the portal merely transferred him to another part of the Jungle? Was that all it did? It seemed pretty useless if that was all it did, but he had no idea what the people who had made the portal could've been thinking when building it.

Knowing that he couldn't pretend to be unconscious forever, the Chaos Demon blinked open his eyes and he stared across the mossy covered ground. He sat up slowly onto his knees, looking around and taking in the sight of the cavern he was within. Instead of the stone cavern he'd been in when facing the Snow Dragon, this one was different from that. The walls were covered in thick moss and vines that intertwined underneath the moss. The floor was made of pure stone though there were patches of moss all over where it had grown over the path. He had no idea who had constructed these stone floors, but it was obvious that they'd been overgrown or forgotten a long time ago.

The Command Assassin turned to look over his shoulder, but there was no entryway that way. It was closed off as if he was within some sort of fortress, but if this was a fortress, there were no guards. He turned to look all around the room, but there was only one opening in the entire cavern. Seeing that there was no reason to worry over what could be in that hallway, he rose to his feet and he walked towards the opening. The walls even here were covered in thick moss and vines with the stone of the walkway echoing with his boot steps.

Acheron walked down the cavern hall slowly, darting his eyes from side to side to make sure nothing appeared from nowhere. Seeing nothing, he calmed down some, but he didn't let down his guard. If he let down his guard, he could be attacked and he wouldn't get a second chance. He had a feeling that anything that would attack him in this place would go for the kill shot the first time around.

Nearing the end of the hallway, he noted a dip off to the side and walking around in a tight perimeter was a creature that he'd never seen before. It was a ten foot tall saurian type creature with leathery russet flesh. Its legs were long and as thick as tree trunks. Its arms were short and looked useless in fact, but each finger was tipped with a razor sharp claw. Its belly was extended as if it were heavy with child, but he had a feeling that this was the male of the species. It had a long thick tail that could crush a man with a single strike. Its head was lizard like, lengthened in the maw and its mouth was filled with razor sharp fangs. Its eyes were a rounded golden color that glowed out of its head.

The Chaos Demon had never seen a creature like this before in his life, and because of that, he didn't know how strong it was. He didn't know its weakness' or its strengths so he would simply be fighting blind. However, he'd fought blind before and won easily. To make sure that he wasn't underestimating or overestimating his enemy, he reached out with his aura and brushed it across the saurian's own aura, searching its strength.

Its power was aggressive and wild while being tightly controlled at the same time. Its power level was nowhere near his own strength, and because of that, he had confidence in being able to take the creature down. As he was withdrawing his aura, it was as if the saurian sensed the brush against its own aura because its head snapped to the side and its golden eyes settled upon him standing there in the entrance to this little alcove within the cavern. It had stopped walking in its tight perimeter and it turned to face him, staring him down with malice filled eyes.

Knowing there was no way out of it, the Command Assassin wrapped his hand around the hilt of his Diamond blade and he drew the weapon. The sound of metal scraping against wood sounded in the hallway, filling the alcove with noise. However, it was mostly drowned out by the heavy, labored breaths of the russet colored saurian and the look of pure hatred in its golden eyes.

The creature let loose a loud scream of hatred and battle. Then, it began to lumber forward, running as fast as it could which was surprisingly fast for something so fast. With each foot fall of the saurian, the ground shook and he felt like he was being knocked off of his feet, but he held his ground, watching the creature approach him. He knew he had no real choice, but to stand his ground and fight. If he didn't, then he wouldn't get to see what was on the other side of the saurian and he really really wanted to know what lay beyond this creature.

The saurian raced at him, roaring its head off and looking like it was going to trample him. Acheron leaped forward, ducking between the creature's legs and sliding on his knees behind the creature. He knew the saurian was slow and he was betting on its speed being a deciding factor in this battle. He quickly rose to his feet and held his Diamond blade out, staring at the back of the creatures as it searched first to one side before searching the other side, obviously looking for him.

Then, the beast turned its head and looked over its shoulder at him. It snarled and began to turn its body around slowly. With each movement, it caused the ground to shake and vibrate. He took no notice of that and instead rushed forward, his sword trailing down behind him as he raced the creature. The saurian creature saw this and obviously knew that it wouldn't be able to turn in time to strike him down. So, to stop him, the creature lifted its thick tail and swatted it at him, intending to crush him with the strike.

Smirking, the Chaos Demon raised his Diamond Blade and he sliced at the tail. The creature cried out as the blade sliced through the flesh of the tail. Crimson blood flew from the wound as the creature stumbled forward, obviously overbalanced because of the tail being severed. Knowing that the saurian would regain its composure soon enough, he knew that he had to get to the creature and kill it before it could gather itself.

The Command Assassin raced forward even faster and he leaped into the air with his sword held high overhead. The creature had straightened its spine and looked back just in time for the blade to sink through the top of its skull, slicing deep. He used that momentum to drive it deeper and deeper into the skull of the saurian to make sure that the creature didn't merely shake off the strike to return to battle.

He saw bone fly forth from the wound and he blanked his expression. It was over now and he knew it. The creature fell forward onto its stomach, letting out one long breath before growing still. Acheron saw none of this as he flew over the body of the creature and gravity took over, pulling him to the ground below. He landed gently on the moss covered stone and he turned to look at the corpse of the saurian, making sure that it didn't get up.

After several seconds and the creature still hadn't moved, he cleaned the blood from the blade. Then, he sheathed the weapon and he walked past the corpse of the creature, heading for the entryway on the other side of the alcove. This tunnel was much like the last one, covered in moss and vines, but there was a few subtle differences as well. It was as if darkness closed around him, bringing complete and utter darkness to the hallway, but there was a small light up ahead which grew bigger the longer he walked. It wasn't a white light as when he'd jumped into the hole, but a strange color of blue and green, flipping back and forth between one another.

As he got closer to the light, he could make out more and more of the light. It wasn't just a light, it was some sort of barrier that would prevent anyone who wasn't worthy through. He stopped right in front of the barrier and he narrowed his eyes, staring at the large light that seemed to shimmer like a veil, hinting at the other side of the barrier. There were runes shimmering in the barrier, obviously giving the barrier even more power than before, and as he looked closer, he noted that the runes were much the same as those that had been carved into the trees of the Whispering Jungle.

The real question now was how to get past the barrier without getting killed or seriously injured. Whoever had gone about protecting this area had a lot of magic and he wasn't sure that he wanted to meet such a powerful creature. He was strong with magic, but even he wasn't sure that he could do such spells and that was saying something. He knew many spells and had an abundance of magic in his arsenal, but such complex runes were beyond him completely.

To make it short, he was good, but not that good.

Deciding that there was no other way, the Command Assassin reached out and he closed his eyes when his hand touched the shimmering light of the barrier. Much to his surprise, the barrier didn't shock him, didn't light him on fire, didn't do anything to him. Instead, his hand passed right through the barrier and onto the other side, creating a tingling sensation that traveled up his arm all the way to the shoulder.

Surprised by this but not undeterred, Acheron put his other arm through the barrier, wiggling his fingers on the other side. There was no pain at all within him and he found it amazing that a barrier wouldn't even hurt someone that would come across it. Was it possible that he was exempt from the power of the barrier for some reason? That had to be it because a barrier with no power to defend made no sense.

The Chaos Demon drew his hands back, allowing them to fall to his sides. Then, he stepped forward, stepping right through the barrier to the other side. When he'd gone through the barrier, he'd closed his eyes, but now that he was through the barrier, he opened them. He blinked a couple of times, finding it hard to believe that the place that he was now was so different from what he'd just come from, but was also very familiar. He was right back where he started in the Whispering Jungle, surrounded by the rune marked trees.

However, there seemed to be something different about the Jungle. It had a lighter feeling to it, as if it didn't exist in this Plane and had no intention of showing itself. It was a strange feeling that he couldn't remember feeling before or ever reading about. This was something completely new, and for the first time, he found himself questioning his rash decision to leap into a black hole. Had he just trapped himself in an endless loop that he would never escape, to spend the rest of his days repeating the process again and again?

When he turned to look back at the barrier, he saw that it was gone and the Whispering Jungle spread out behind him. Well, there was no going back that direction in the hopes of backtracking. He shook his head and turned his attention back to the forward path, deciding that there was only one thing that he could do. He had to keep moving forward and not look back. It would do him no good to look back now.

The Command Assassin walked swiftly through the trees, ignoring the runes and weaving his way through the trees. There was no real sense to where he was going, but his instincts told him that this was the direction he needed to go in. If there was one thing that he'd learned over the years, it was to trust his instincts. That was what he was doing now and that was what he would do as long as he was in the Whispering Jungle.