"Aegirion!"
Samuel's voice echoed across the lagoon, as he summoned his blade. Instantly, the weapon appeared in his grasp, its hilt solidifying in Samuel's grips, as he shifted into a defensive stance. He scanned the pitch-black, lagoon carefully, his muscles became tense.
"Lira, hold onto something," he ordered, his tone with a sense of urgency.
Lira's eyes widened with fear. She clung tightly to the other sides of the giant's skull-boat, her knuckles turning red. Samuel carefully leaned over the edge of their makeshift boat, staring down into the black waters. For a moment, everything appeared normal.
Then a huge eyeball opened right beneath the water's surface, staring directly up at their skull-boat.
His heart humped. In an instant, he understood the horrifying truth, the entire lagoon was under the face of some massive creature.
"Samuel?" Lira's trembling voice came from behind him. She had seen it too.
Slowly, the massive eye turned towards Samuel, staring directly at him, its pupils narrowing sharply. Then the lagoon creature smiled, a grotesque, enormous grin spreading beneath the lagoon. An intense, overpowering presence surged upwards, freezing Samuel completely. Fear gripped him tightly, leaving him unable to move.
Samuel's breathing quickened rapidly. He knew immediately that in his current state, fighting this creature was impossible. Lira glanced over, panic flooding her face. She had never seen Samuel like this, utterly frozen. In fear, without confidence, helpless.
Suddenly, the water around them began spinning rapidly, creating a whirlpool. The massive force sucked their skull-boat downward toward the creature's enormous mouth. Samuel snapped back to reality, but it was too late, realizing what was happening as their skullboat capsized violently.
"Samuel!" Lira screamed as they were thrown into the lagoon.
The powerful water current ripped Samuel and Lira apart instantly. Samuel struggled, water filling his mouth, choking him. He felt his consciousness slipping away as the lagoon's black waters, filled a different essence, and flooded his system, pulling him deeper into the darkness.
Samuel awoke with a gasp, coughing violently. Black Water spilled from his mouth as he struggled to breathe, his chest burning. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred at first. Gradually, he regained his sight. Looking around, He was no longer in water but on solid ground,
"A cave..."
Surrounded by soft grass and vibrant, glowing flowers.
He stood up slowly, regaining his balance, looking around carefully. Barefooted, his clothes drenched and heavy against his skin. Before him stood an enormous, breathtaking scenery, The Tree of Longevity. It towered at least fifty feet tall, its purple leaves shimmering softly. The branches were heavy with fruits of various colors (green, red, blue, black, and gold).
Samuel stared in awe, momentarily forgetting his predicaments. For a second, His eyes shifted to something else, dark and unsettling at the far end of the corner, a towering, thirty-foot-tall black tree. It felt out of place.
He decided to ignore it for now and approached the Tree of Longevity. As he moved closer, the scent of the fruits filled his senses, rich and sweet. Carefully, he extended his hand toward the massive tree.
The moment his fingers touched the tree, all the beautiful leaves, flowers and fruits shriveled and fell instantly. The tree, once alive and vibrant, became dry and lifeless within seconds.
Samuel stepped back, horrified. A soft rustling sound caught his attention. He turned around sharply, realizing the black tree had silently moved closer, changing direction. It was directly behind him now.
A single feather floated gently past Samuel's face. His heartbeat quickened as he suddenly heard a slow, heavy heartbeat resonating through the cave.
"What is going on?" Samuel muttered.
His heartbeat raced faster. Another strange noise, a flowing, dripping sound. He glanced around to see the black tree leaking a thick, black substance. Samuel reached out, touching the strange fluid. As he lifted his hand, he realized with a chill.
"blood...?"
No it wasn't blood.
"Saliva...."
His eyes widened as the black tree transformed before his eyes. It was never a tree, it stood up revealed as a massive, black-feathered vulture, towering, thirty feet tall. Its sharp, glistening feathers rustled ominously as it stared down at Samuel with a cold and predatory eye.
The vulture opened its massive beak, unleashing a deafening roar. The force of its breath slammed into Samuel, sending him crashing into the cave walls. The impact created a large crater, his body sinking into the rock. Pain surged through him, he felt his bones shatter and his organs rupture.
He dropped to the ground heavily, coughing up blood as his body tried desperately to heal itself. His regenerative abilities immediately activated, racing to repair the catastrophic damage to his internal organs.
Above, the vulture spread its enormous wings, nearly covering the cave's ceiling. It leaped up and perched on top of the dry and lifeless Tree of Longevity, letting out another piercing roar.
Samuel pushed himself back up slowly, his body fully healed but still shaking from the shock of the initial attack. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. His eyes locked onto the vulture, his determination returning.
"Hand of War," Samuel commanded quietly, extending his arm. His hand glowed with a dark red energy, also summoning his blade.
"Aegirion."
His blade appeared instantly, fitting perfectly into his grip. The vulture opened its wings again, this time, shooting dozens of razor-sharp feathers directly at him. Samuel moved swiftly, dodging left, right, and then left again. Each feather sliced through the air, narrowly missing him.
With a powerful gesture from his glowing hand, Samuel reached out with his power "hand of war" and forcefully pulled the vulture down from its perch. The creature screeched in anger, crashing heavily to the ground in front of him.
Samuel stood firm, gripping his blade tightly. His palm was sweaty, as The vulture rose up, its massive form towering over him, its dark red eyes filled with rage and hunger.
Without warning, it launched itself at Samuel at incredible speed. Before he could react, it grabbed him tightly in its powerful claws and soared up toward the cave ceiling. Samuel felt a sharp pain as the vulture dragged his face violently across the cave's stone walls, grinding his skin and flesh.
With a sudden movement, the vulture dropped him from the ceiling. Samuel reacted instinctively, pulling out his blade and plunging it deep into the vulture's wing, the sharp edge slicing through its muscle and feathers.
The vulture shrieked in pain, its grip loosening. Samuel braced himself as they began to fall rapidly toward the cave floor.