The Eyes Of Death Chronicles: Young Masters

Chapter Nine: Time

Chapter Nine: Time

The air in the tunnel was still heavy, and the creature’s blood pooled on the floor, dark and viscous, reminiscent of its scary aura. My hands trembled slightly, the adrenaline refusing to leave my body.

Danzaki and Paulo stood near me, both silent, their faces grim. We weren’t celebrating. Whatever that thing was, we all knew it was just the first test.

Paulo crouched by the creature, examining it with a mix of curiosity and caution. “This isn’t some random beast,” he muttered, prodding its leathery skin. “Look at these runes on its claws.”

I knelt beside him, squinting at the faint etchings glowing red against the dark flesh. They were the same symbols lining the tunnel walls.

“It’s connected to this place,” I said, my voice low.

“Of course it is,” Danzaki cut in, his tone as sharp as ever. “This whole academy is built to test us. Do you think they’d let us get through this without nearly dying a few times?”

I shot him a glare but said nothing. As much as I hated to admit it, he wasn’t wrong.

Paulo straightened up, brushing his hands off on his pants. “Let’s keep moving. We’ve already lost enough time.”

We continued down the tunnel, the silence between us filled only by the faint hum of the glowing runes. My senses were on high alert, every sound and shadow setting my nerves on edge. The darkness seemed to close in the farther we went, and I could feel the oppressive weight of the place pressing down on me.

“Do you think there are more of those things?” I asked, breaking the silence.

Danzaki chuckled darkly. “What do you think?”

I didn’t respond, my grip tightening on the hilt of my blade.

The tunnel eventually opened up into a larger chamber, the walls carved with intricate patterns that seemed to pulse with a faint energy. In the center of the room stood a massive stone pedestal, and atop it rested a glowing crystal.

“What is that?” I asked, stepping closer.

“A focus point,” Paulo said. “It’s likely tied to the runes and whatever traps this place has set for us.”

Danzaki smirked. “So, let’s grab it and see what happens.”

“Are you insane?” I snapped. “What if it triggers something worse?”

“Worse than the thing we just killed?” he shot back.

I sighed, my patience wearing thin. “Fine. But if this goes south, it’s on you.”

Danzaki stepped forward, his white eyes glowing faintly as he approached the pedestal. His movements were deliberate, almost lazy, as if he didn’t care about the potential danger.

The moment his fingers brushed the crystal, the room shuddered violently.

“I knew it!” I yelled, gripping my blade tightly.

The walls lit up with fiery runes, and a deafening roar echoed through the chamber. From the shadows emerged not one, but three creatures, each larger and more menacing than the one we’d faced before.

Danzaki turned to me, a smug grin on his face. “You were saying?”

“This is your fault!” I shouted, but there was no time to argue.

The creatures charged, their glowing eyes locked on us. I barely had time to react as one of them lunged at me, its massive claws swiping through the air. I ducked, rolling to the side as its claws scraped against the stone floor with a sickening screech. How the hell were they so fast when they’re so big.

Paulo flung a set of shurikens, each one finding its mark in the creature’s thick hide. But they barely slowed it down and his fire didn’t spread this time.

“These things are tougher!” he yelled, dodging another swipe.

“No kidding!” I shouted back, my heart pounding.

Danzaki raised his hand, summoning a gust of wind that slammed into one of the creatures, knocking it off balance. “Focus on one at a time!” he barked.

I nodded, gripping my blade tighter as I faced the nearest creature. Its glowing red eyes bore into mine, and I felt the Eyes of Death stir within me. The world slowed once again, and I could see its every movement, its every weakness.

With a burst of speed, I darted forward, my blade slicing through the air. The creature roared as my strike landed, black blood oozing from the wound. But it didn’t stop.

It swung its massive claw at me, and I barely managed to leap back in time. The force of its attack sent me sprawling, my back hitting the stone floor hard.

“Adelola!” Paulo shouted, his voice filled with panic.

“I’m fine!” I called back, struggling to my feet.

Danzaki’s wind blasts kept another creature at bay, but he was clearly straining. Sweat dripped down his face as he gritted his teeth, his attacks growing weaker with each passing moment.

“We need to end this now!” I yelled.

Paulo nodded, his vermilion eyes glowing brighter as he summoned a wave of shurikens. This time, the shurikens were surrounded by shuriken shaped fire, they were spinning at insane speeds and the fire had massively improved their size.

They flew through the air like a storm, embedding themselves deep into the creature I was fighting. Paulo moved the shurikens around the creature, cutting and cooking it viciously. In a few minutes, it let out a final roar before collapsing to the ground, motionless.

One down.

Danzaki managed to push his creature back with a particularly strong gust of wind, giving me an opening. Without hesitation, I charged forward, my blade aimed at its exposed side. The Eyes of Death guided my strike, and the creature let out a guttural howl as I drove my weapon deep into its flesh.

Two down.

The third creature, seeing its companions fall, turned and fled back into the shadows. The room fell silent once more, save for the sound of our heavy breathing.

I leaned on my blade, my chest heaving. “That… was too close.”

Paulo nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. “If that’s the kind of challenge they’re throwing at us now, what’s next?”

Danzaki, ever the pessimist, smirked. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll make this look like a warm-up.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t argue. He was probably right.

As we caught our breath, the glowing crystal on the pedestal dimmed, and the runes on the walls faded. Whatever test this had been, we’d passed.

For now, at least, we were still standing. But deep down, I knew this was only the beginning. We had barely any control on our powers and we sucked at fighting but we would most certainly get better over TIME………………….