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Zamora
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Sand. Sand was the only view he could see around himself as he walked the dunes of the desert. His feet sunk to his ankle each step as he trailed the tops and ridges of the mountains of sand. His face and body protected behind a layer of cloth, prevent both sand and sun from hitting his skin as he wandered off into nothingness of the endless desert. His eyes were narrow as the sun started to settle and give away to the darkness of night, making the desert change completely from a scorching hell to a cool and refreshing abyss.
By midnight, he reached a small oasis, which to his surprise had ruins around it, indicating that this was holy ground for someone. His eyes scanned the area as he walked through a portal, which also were used as a entrance. On the other side of the large stone arch, he found himself on a small altar, which was facing the water. Not knowing the place or the writing that covered every stone of the altar, he guessed that it had to be an old, forgotten religion or cult, and thus lowered his shoulders as the fear of a unknown god slowly dissipated from his mind.
Kneeling down to the water to drink, a voice could be heard from the darkness of the pillars. The language of the voice was unknown for him and made him suspicious of the place, which he had decided to rest. “Show yourself!” his voice echoed of the stone and palm trees around him as he scouted the dark corners for a person, which the voice could have come from.
“You should not be here!” the voice said again, this time in a understandable language for the young male, which flicked around to face the direction of the voice. “Only a worshipper of Acheron can enter this place” it said again, this time being so close to him that he could feel how the voice and breath flowed down onto his neck.
“What are you?” he shouted out as he turned around again, hoping to get a glimpse of the thing speaking. Moreover, as all the other times, nothing was there to be seen. Looking up to the sky, before looking to his feet, he spoke to himself as all humans tend to do when being clueless. “I must be hearing illusions.” But before he could close his mouth, the mysterious voice spoke to him once more. “Oh no my young ignorant human. I am very much present. In addition, what I am is not important to you at this time, as it is what I am capable to do which is of concern. ”
The voice seemed to be so close that it could well be inside his head as he looked over his shoulder, hoping, but still knowing, that he wouldn’t be able to see anything, other than darkness. It was then the feeling of being touched shot through his body, as the feeling of a hand grasped around his neck. “It’s been years upon years since I have touched or tasted a human and you my ignorant friend, shall be the one that keep me alive for another thousand years!” Natural reaction to someone having their through grasped is to punched out and so he did and immediately the hold of his neck released itself.
“Who or what are you?!” he shouted as he took a few steps backwards, holding his hands to the side as he awaited a second assault. “Havent you figured it out yet?” the thing said as it slowly started to materialize into the shape of a human body with the head of a jackal. “I am, or should I say, was the high priest of desert temple of Acheron. I was one of the mightiest sorcerers of my time and had been given the blessing of Acheron for my devotion, which resulted in eternal life of the soul. And what you see before you now, is my soul”
“H-how?” the male stuttered as he took a step forward, his eyes looking at the hybrid with wide eyes. “How you say? Your soul can be eternal, but your body will continue to age and decay which in the end will start to fall apart and leave your soul the only thing left standing.” The man’s eyes could not break from the ice-cold gaze of the jackal eyes that pierced him. “Then why would you want eternal life? If you knew that only your soul would live forever?” “Your questions reflect a interesting piece of mind, child. And you are correct, why would I want eternal life for my soul and not my body? The reason is quiet simple. I was the last Acheron worshipper, and by having my soul live forever, I could bestow knowledge of Acheron onto the world. But, when my soul detached itself from my body, the powerful empire of Acheron had fallen and I was forced to live within these ruins in hope that someone like you would pass through.” “Why would a spirit like you wait for someone like me?” the man asked as he took another step forward, letting his curiosity and admiration show to the spirit. “So I would be able to leave this place forever and atone my sins by helping that person that would grant me my last wish of finally be laid to rest”
“Then I’ll shall grant you your wish in exchange for one thing.” “And what would that thing be?” “Power to take revenge of something dearly that was taken away from me, power to strike down the ones that forced my people to go through hell just to make themselves more powerful.” “Repeat after me; In the name of the divine gods of heaven, I call you Acheron. The bringer of darkness and power to unite the spirits and bodies that lay before you and make them able to bring your name into history and back to its former glory. For I am a true servant of thy power and for thy, I will always sacrifice so that you may prosper and become almighty!”
By these words, the two of them merged. As the spirit slowly merged with the flesh and bones of the man, black tattoos started to appear on the man’s skin, slowly swirling around to find its pattern of Acheron.
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Words: 1069
TEXP: 1
Quest: Artifact Activation - Hitorinji
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