Chapter 6 The Old Man
874 Words
After the North Forest incident...
St. Solaris Academy slowly started returning to normal.
Students attended classes again.
Sports activities restarted.
But...
Sam still could not remove the strange feeling inside him.
Especially after Serena returned.
Even though she acted normal...
Sometimes there was a strange darkness in her eyes.
Meanwhile...
A new person started appearing around Silverwood City.
An old man.
Long white hair...
White beard...
Simple brown clothes...
He looked calm and peaceful.
Most people in the city believed he was just a harmless traveler.
But...
Sam noticed something strange.
Almost every day...
The old man secretly observed him and Team Eclipse.
Outside the school...
Near the market...
Beside the training grounds...
Wherever they went...
The old man watched them from a distance.
One afternoon during lunch break...
Sam looked outside the academy corridor.
The same old man stood near the school gate.
He silently watched Team Eclipse for a few moments.
Then he slowly smiled.
And quietly walked away.
Sam’s expression became serious.
Storm immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Sam answered slowly.
“Did any of you notice that old man?”
Selena looked confused.
“What old man?”
“The one with white hair and brown clothes...”
Shadow immediately became serious.
“I saw him too.”
Sylor looked slightly nervous.
“Maybe he’s just a traveler?”
But Sam shook his head.
“No...”
“He’s watching us.”
For several more days...
The same thing continued.
Wherever Team Eclipse went...
The old man appeared nearby.
But he never approached them.
He only watched silently.
Meanwhile...
Strange incidents started happening again near the North Forest.
Animals disappeared.
Strange sounds echoed through the forest at night.
Some villagers claimed they saw glowing red eyes inside the darkness.
But the police ignored everything as rumors.
One afternoon...
Sports practice was taking place at St. Solaris Academy.
Students trained across the large field.
Storm practiced racing.
Stone trained with heavy weights.
Selena walked out from the medical room.
Sam quietly stood near the edge of the training ground looking toward the sky.
Suddenly...
BOOOOOOM!!
The outer wall of the academy exploded.
Students screamed in panic.
Dust and broken stones flew everywhere.
Teachers immediately rushed students backward.
From inside the smoke...
A giant creature slowly emerged.
Its body looked similar to a wolf.
But it was not a normal animal.
Black skin...
Long claws...
Glowing red eyes...
And massive sharp teeth.
Students ran in fear.
“MONSTER!!”
One teacher tried attacking it.
But the creature knocked him away with a single claw strike.
Chaos spread throughout the school.
The monster jumped toward the students.
At that moment...
“MOVE!!”
Sam shouted loudly.
Team Eclipse immediately rushed into action.
Storm used his speed to rescue students.
Stone distracted the creature.
Selena helped injured students.
Shadow guided everyone toward safer areas.
Sam stood directly in front of the monster.
The creature released a terrifying roar.
Its glowing red eyes locked onto Sam.
Suddenly it attacked him.
Sam quickly released a blast of fire.
BOOM!!
The flames pushed the creature backward.
But...
The monster barely took damage.
Storm attacked with lightning.
Selena created ice.
Stone attacked using earth powers.
But nothing worked.
The monster became even angrier.
Suddenly it leaped directly toward Sam.
Sam tried to dodge.
But he was too late.
At that exact moment...
WHOOOSHH!!
A silver light flashed across the battlefield.
The monster suddenly froze in midair.
Next second...
SLASH!!
Its body was cut into two pieces instantly.
The entire school became silent.
The monster’s body slowly turned into black smoke and disappeared.
Sam looked forward in shock.
The old man stood there calmly.
In his hand was a strange silver staff.
Blue symbols glowed across its surface.
Students and teachers stared at him in complete shock.
Storm slowly whispered...
“What... just happened?”
The old man smiled calmly.
“It was only a simple monster.”
Sam immediately walked toward him.
“How did you do that?”
The old man stared into Sam’s eyes for several seconds.
Then he softly answered...
“You can do the same thing.”
Sam froze.
“What?”
The old man slowly looked at every member of Team Eclipse.
“All of you possess power.”
“But you lack training.”
Shadow spoke seriously.
“Who are you?”
The old man smiled slightly.
“You will know when the right time comes.”
After a few moments of silence, he spoke again.
“More monsters will come.”
“The gate inside the North Forest is slowly opening.”
Team Eclipse immediately became serious.
Gate...
That was the same word written inside the library book.
The old man slowly turned away.
“Prepare yourselves for training.”
“I will return soon.”
“And when I do...”
“I will show you what true power really means.”
After saying that, the old man quietly walked away.
Sam silently watched him disappear into the distance.
For some strange reason...
Whenever he looked at that old man...
He felt something familiar.
Far away...
Deep inside the darkness of the North Forest...
Two giant glowing red eyes slowly opened.
And a terrifying roar echoed throughout the forest.
- Writer
