Slowly, they entered in the destroyed road and reached at the one meter area of the ruins. However, surprisingly then Azrael couldn't feel any fear or any mutations in his body. Instead, he felt very confident at that moment.
So, with that confidence, he with the team finally reached at the entrance of the ruins. Even though the entire destroyed area was filled with numerous horrible murals, alters, and structures, the entrance was filled with more horrible things.
There were multiple broken statues at the entrance which were made of rotten bloods and decaying human fleshes. Seeing those, three people among the team started vomiting. Somehow they passed the entrance.
While passing the entrance, one broken statue tempted Dr. Agni suddenly. He immediately paused and moved forward to that statue. Seeing that, the team also followed him.
That statue was only exception than the others. It was covered with fresh human blood and fresh human flesh, as if someone had done the sacrificial ritual very recently. Noticing that, everyone got surprised. It's head was missing. After inspecting it very deeply, everyone realized that it was the statue of a newborn baby which seemed to just come out from its mother's womb.
At the bottom of the statue, a tiny word was inscripted with blood. It was 'Nyx'. Although that name was utterly unfamiliar to them, upon seeing the inscription, they suddenly felt a sense of terror. So, only Dr. Agni covered that headless statue with a red cloth and took it with him. Then, they continued their journey.
Thus, about so many hours had passed. They reached at the end of the ruins. However, except that headless ruins, they couldn't found any noteworthy discoveries.
When they finally stepped out from the ruins, already sunrise had been occurred.
As nobody hadn't slept at that night, many of them felt very weakened. So, outside of the ruins, they made a camp beside a tall pine tree and took a long nap in the camp. Only Dr. Agni, Azrael, and two more team member remained awake outside the camp.
"Alright. You three chat. I will go and try to find some food in this forest." Dr. Agni told three of them and left.
Only then, Azrael looked at the surroundings and became very surprised. He realized that they reached at the foot of that distant mountain range which he had dreamt about for so many years. His joy knew no bounds.
For the first time after since ten years, he experienced a huge greenaries at the foot of the mountain range. The world felt like it had quietly slipped into a forgotten page of an ancient fairy tale…
The towering silhouettes of the mountains stood like silent guardians, their snow-crowned peaks glowing faintly in the early light. Mist drifted slowly across the valley, curling around pine trees as though the earth itself was breathing. The air was crisp and so pure that every inhale felt like drinking chilled spring water.
The ground was covered with moss-covered stones and damp soil. Each step released the scent of wet earth, pine resin, and distant wildflowers. Prayer flags fluttered gently on thin ropes stretched between wooden poles, their colors faded by time but still vibrant enough to look like fragments of rainbow caught in the wind. They whispered softly, as if carrying ancient wishes across the mountains.
A stream ran nearby... clear, silver, and endlessly playful. Sunlight reflected on its surface like scattered diamonds. The water was icy enough to sting, yet refreshing enough to awaken every sense. Small pebbles beneath the surface shimmered in hues of amber and jade.
The mountains themselves seemed alive... not intimidating, but grand and watchful, like ancient kings wrapped in white cloaks. Their shadows stretched across the valley, while their peaks caught the sunlight long before the land below. It felt as though the heavens were closer there, as if one could whisper a secret and the sky would lean down to listen.
The surroundings were covered with tall pine trees and vast bushes of fern and mosses. The sound of slow rhythm of pine leaves rustling in the gentle breeze echoed across the valley, blending with the distant rumble of shifting glaciers.
Standing there, at the foot of the mountain range, Azrael felt like a small character in a grand fairy tale, invited instead of overwhelmed. Invited to explore, to dream, to believe that somewhere beyond those glowing peaks lied a path meant only for him.
While he was experiencing the scenic beauty of the mountain range, suddenly one touch at his shoulder startled him in surprise. Then he realized that another team member put his hand on Azrael's shoulder.
He turned back at that team member and asked, "What happened?"
"Actually... It's about two hours... since master had left us... Do you know where he has gone?" That member hesitated while saying that.
Upon hearing that, Azrael also became surprised and worried for him. So, he said to him, "Wake everyone up. We'll have to find him as soon as possible, so that, we can all go back to our home."
Hearing that, that member nodded in agreement and left the place. After that, he gazed at the mountain peaks for sometimes and spoke in his mind,
"Why do you seem so alive, despite being so artificial? Wait and see. I'll soon unravel the truth!"
After that, he also reached at the camp. There, he saw everyone was ready to find Dr. Agni. So, they moved into the deeper region of the mountain range to find him.
The deeper they ventured, the denser the greenery became. Gradually, the greenery started to become dense forest with tall huge thorny babul, fern, and eucalyptus trees. Their top branches made such canopies that even prevented the sunlights to spread across the forest. That's why, gradually the ground became even more moisturized.
Thus walking, the day passed and the night came in a blink of an eye. So, they had no way but to stay there for that night.
The night quick fell at the mountain rage... so in the dense forest. It was like a dense black curtain covered with thousands of stars, pulled across the sky. The huge trees seemed like painted in twilight. Their towering shadows seemed like stitched together by darkness. The mountain peaks seemed like lost in bottomless darkness.
At that night, the air grew cold. The silence deepened, until it was broken only by distant rustling and the occasional call of unseen creatures.
They built a camp there. Outside the camp, they gathered dry branches using torch. After that, one of them sparked flame on those branches using matchstick.
After that, everyone sat down beside the campfire. At that moment, one of them raised a concern before the rest of them.
"So much time has passed, yet we still don't know anything about each other. At least, we can introduce ourselves as our alias name, right?"
That question actually struck everyone's brain. Nobody could even think about it. And, this concern influenced everyone. So, everyone nodded in agreement.
Azrael introduced himself as 'Mr. A'. Thus everyone introduced themselves as their alias names. Those were 'Mr. B', 'Mr. C', 'Mr. D', 'Mr. E', 'Mr. F', and 'Mr. G'.
After introducing that way, everyone felt embarrassed and burst into laughter.
"Wow, what an introduction! it looks like we're some kind of brain cells who're too lazy to give efforts in their works! Very funny!" One of them said it and started laughing.
"True true..." Another one said with a big laugh.
At that moment, one member aka Mr. F suddenly spoke to Azrael aka Mr. A,
"Hi, are you depressed right now? I can totally feel looking at your expression..."
Azrael didn't respond. He was gazing fixedly in that campfire. Multiple thoughts were swirling in his mind. He was absent minded during the whole funny conversations.
"My friend, don't be depressed. We all are in the same boat. We all are similarly worried about master. But don't lose hope like this. Otherwise, how we can regain our strength while findling master? So, chill. Everything will be okay..." Mr. F spoke with a soft smile in her face.
Azrael only smiled softly but didn't reply anything. Seeing that, nobody didn't approach him more. On the other side, everyone except Azrael started chatting, making fun, and doing all sorts of thing; so that the mood of them remained calm and chill at that soundless darkness.
After sometimes, their chatting stopped and all of them went into the camp. One person aka Mr. D asked Azrael, "Won't you sleep, tonight?"
"I want to feel this silence for sometimes. I want to be alone, if you don't mind." He replied with a hesitant voice.
"No worries. Then we'll go to sleep. If you need any kinds of help, let me know. Goodnight..." Mr. D replied with a soft smile and then left him here.
Leaning his head against a tree, Azrael began to enjoy the star-filled night sky above. On that star-studded night, the dark sky seemed to dance with a strange rhythm. He was so utterly entranced by that magnificent, exquisite beauty that he did not catch even the faintest inkling when someone quietly came and sat down beside him. Suddenly, a single remark snapped him out of his trance.
"So, you love nature? I didn't know that. However, nature is so beautiful that it is bound to captivate everyone's heart. But don't you think that this beauty is too utterly unrealistic? I strongly suspect that this beauty is some kind of bizarre product of the imagination of some invisible personality."
Hearing those words, Azrael was suddenly quite startled. Then he looked toward the speaker, although nothing could be seen in the darkness. However, judging by the sound of his voice, he was none other than Mr. D himself. Then, smiling gently, he replied,
"In this real world, do not diminish the quality of natural beauty by regarding it as a man-made creation, Mr. D... At least this is the only wonderful thing amidst the dead city that is not controlled by anyone, it is completely unimaginable and majestic. The sensation it evokes is divine, and it can never be ignored. At least let's experience its divinity!"
"So, you don't believe in magic at all?" Mr. D asked with a little surprise in his voice.
"Magic? I am a believer in science, the arts, and literature. To believe in and abide by something that lacks any logic or reality is, truly, a waste of time." Azrael replied in a sarcastic way.
"So how do you prove the sudden emergence of this ruins and its horrific consequences?" Mr. D questioned.
"To be honest, a lot has happened in my life since the rise of the ruins. My presence here is solely to uncover the truth behind it all. However, I cannot reach any definitive conclusion without verifying everything first; and until then, I cannot fully accept the reality of the implausible." Azrael replied calmly.
Hearing that, Mr. D became solemn. "Judging by your demeanor, I think, You have more experience than me and even everyone else. I didn't get a chance to ask you before, so now I'm curious, if you don't mind, how old are you?" He asked in a sharp voice.
"What difference would knowing my age really make? The fact that I am your companion is quite enough. However, I have no desire to stifle your curiosity. I can tell you this much: I have passed the bloom of youth and am on the verge of stepping into middle age." Azrael replied in an indifferent voice.
"Exquisite. Please forgive me if, for any reason, I have breached the bounds of confidentiality. But I'm very surprised that you haven't slept since that morning, it's been midnight. You remain completely engrossed in your own world of imagination; isn't that unrealistic?"
"What an excellent remark on me! However, I won't be able to sleep tonight. On this enchanting night, I wish to drift along in this current of beauty." Azrael spoke with a trance voice.
"Alright. I would just like to say this much that don't judge a book by its cover. I..."
Mr. D's voice got suddenly interrupted by a footsteps coming towards them. They stared in astonishment. Although nothing of that figure could be discerned in the darkness, his red mask glowed vividly, even amidst the gloom.
At that very moment, clouds suddenly began to gather in the sky. The faint rumble of thunder and lightning also started to be heard. From the distance, amidst the darkness, unknown creatures cried out in sharp, raucous voices.
At that very moment, lightning suddenly struck the trunk of a nearby tree. In the flash of that light, they caught sight of Dr. agni standing before them.
Dr. Agni looked as though he had just bathed in a stream of blood. His entire attire was stained with blood, and the imprints of chunks of flesh were clearly visible. He gave off a vibe of Bloodthirsty killer. Looking at him, both became extremely scared.
He slowly began to advance towards them, sword in hand. Drops of blood continued to drip from his body...