CHAPTER 96: TO WATCH ONLY

Jagón had never stopped to realize how tired he was. He hadn’t realized how much the years of following his king’s orders had taken from him, how much sleep it had been costing him. He hadn’t allowed himself to stop long enough to remember such things...

But he could see it clearly then, and wept for that as well. He remembered it all, he recalled every life he had taken, and his tears confessed all such sins to the mysterious figure, almost begging it to simply let him rest, to hate him for such crimes, and to let him fall back into the darkness...

But the silhouette did not hate him, she could never hate him, and so she only kept on singing in that incredibly soothing and magnificent voice as she simply held the panther, caressing him softly as she stayed with him to fight off the darkness.

She stayed with the beast who had taken such great care of her heart for so many years, for that was the only thing still clear to her then.

For just a moment, in this place out of reach of all, she could hold him the way she had always longed to hold the knight since the first moment they had been fated to meet all those years ago.

She could give him the peace she felt he deserved. If nothing more, she could, at least, keep him from following his king into the darkness once again.

___

Cortist was idly poking at his small campfire with a smaller twig, lost in his more depressing thoughts, though it was hard to blame him.

The panther had spent the days since the attack completely alone, per his new "Master’s," orders... Death had given him a single condition to fulfill so far, and that was simply to avoid contact with anyone.

Cortist didn’t think it was too much of a request at first, but after a week had passed, he realized exactly how terrible solitude could get. The panther was always one to strike up a conversation wherever he went, but now found himself with nobody to talk to for the first time in his life.

His mind often wandered to his questions, combing over his family’s condition, his kingdom’s fate, and how badly he was missing his fiancée incessantly.

Cortist wasn’t certain his head was built for this solo existence and wondered how his younger brother had ever handled it the way he had. Still, Cortist had mostly managed to keep his mind busy on small tasks since the demon had escorted him to that forest.

After the deal was made, the young panther suddenly found himself back with his healed father and his brother in the arena tunnel, although both were unconscious at that point. The demon had been resting forward with its sword in the dirt, as if in waiting.

When Cortist looked up to the monster, the creature turned and sliced open a fresh scar into the darkness from before. The mage nearly jumped out of his hide when he heard that same dark voice of death from before speak clearly into his mind.

"He knows where to lead you. Stay hidden until I call my child."

The demon turned to give the mage a wave, gesturing for him to follow. Cortist gave his family one final glance in worry and apology before he faced his fear and stepped into the darkness, the scar closing behind him almost immediately. Cortist couldn’t see a thing, despite darkness usually not hindering him... It was more like...

There WAS nothing to see... The mage stumbled in his uncertainty and felt a terrifyingly cold and stony hand wrap around his wrist. The panther squeaked at the unexpected touch but felt himself simply being lead forward without pause.

The panther had little choice but to follow the demon at this point, but his mind was certainly wondering what fresh nightmare this monster was leading him to. After what felt like only a few short moments, the mage ran right into the demon when he abruptly stopped without notice. The demon didn’t budge, but Cortist lost his balance and fell backward.

When the panther landed firmly on his rear, something finally came into his sights as a new scar was opened before him, one presumably leading to a forest of some kind if the vegetation was any indication.

The mage stared in awe, feeling uneasy at looking upon the world from such a dark window. The demon spoke in his hollow voice this time, giving the mage instruction.

"Go. Seek no one. Talk to no one. Stay put. Do not interfere. You will be called soon." Cortist gave the demon an uncertain look and glanced back to the scar shortly after. The panther rose to his feet and walked towards the light, wondering when the obvious trap would spring.

When the mage reached the tear, he extended a single arm through and felt the humidity of the forest on his fur. He let out a small gasp of disbelief and turned back to the monster once more as he locked his eyes onto the glowing, golden orbs that he assumed were the demon’s own.

The panther saw the orbs bob up and down once, signaling the thing had just nodded at him through the darkness. The mage took a heavy breath in, said a silent prayer, and stepped into the obvious trap.

Cortist found himself standing in the middle of a lush variety of greenery. Streaks of sunlight cascaded through the dense branches above, highlighting random details of the flora as tiny insects danced within the rays. It really did simply lead to a forest, after all.

Cortist turned back to ask something but found the scar was already gone. The panther finally looked around to get his bearings and decided the best thing he could do was simply obey what he had been told.

It was better than being ordered to do something awful, as the panther had half expected to be. Instead, Cortist Venatus spent the entirety of his time since the attack alone, surviving in that forest off of his wits, his skills, and the same magic he had always wielded.

Cortist didn’t feel any different after making the deal, but by the time the demon had returned for him, he certainly felt lonely and bored. The monster abruptly carving a scar right beside his campfire certainly wasn’t the unannounced company he desired, however.

"Come. You should see." Cortist scrambled to his feet as his initial surprise wavered. The mage quickly spoke, admittedly happy to have someone to talk to at last.

"See? Where are we going?" The demon simply held its hand out, not answering the mage. Cortist grumbled a bit, but extinguished his campfire with a quick water spell, and reluctantly took hold of the chilly hand, returning to that total darkness as he felt the demon guide him through the scar once more.

They walked several paces before the creature stopped, Cortist was more prepared this time and stopped as well. The demon made another scar, but this one seemed different to the panther.

For one, it seemed a bit high in the air, a good distance over what looked to be a small village in a more arid landscape. There was a winding river running along the west border of the town, and the sun was just about to start descending past the horizon.

The panther placed a hand against the scar and found he couldn’t pass through this one. The mage gave the glowing orbs another glance and heard that raspy voice answer him.

"To watch only." Cortist frowned a bit and turned back to the scar as he asked a more verbal question.

"Watch what exactly?" Cortist received no answer, so the mage studied the image a bit closer. There appeared to be a small dust cloud approaching the town... There was also something on the other side of the river, something that was moving.

Cortist squinted, trying to make out more details when the demon started slashing open more windows around him, each one offering a different perspective, each one showing a different area of the battlefield.

The panther watched in speculative awe, there was an army of orcs stationed between two great stone walls and an approaching force of fiends headed off by two larger ones, likely demons. There was going to be a battle.

The panther still didn’t understand and was about to express that when the demon turned and sliced open one final scar for the mage to look through. There was a great pillar of stone raised near the river and a bit behind the formation of orcs. Cortist’s breath caught in his throat when he recognized two of the three figures atop that pillar.

’Aster! The prince! They really are alive! They are saf-’ The mage’s blood ran cold at the realization. They were a part of this battle. They were going to fight those numerous fiends. They were anything but safe, and Cortist was helpless here, to watch only.

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