The Shadow Sepherd's Mark
1362 Words
His fingers graze the shimmering surface, and the window vanishes like a ripple on water. His heart pounds in his chest. Every breath feels heavier than the last.
“Am I dreaming?”
Desperate for answers, Max roams the jungle, circling the base of the towering cliff, hoping to find someone, or something, that can explain this bizarre reality.
Then, he sees it, a narrow gap in the cliff with rocky stairs. Without hesitation, Max ascends, emerging onto the plateau surface.
“Oh, Lord!”
The sight steals his breath. A vast, rocky expanse stretches before him. It feels like standing on the surface of another world.
There’s a pristine, glassy small lake, cradled within the uneven terrain. At the lake’s edge, the water spills over a steep cliff, forming the majestic waterfall he has seen earlier in the jungle below.
And there, standing defiantly near the lake, is the monolith. Strange hieroglyphs are etched into its surface, each symbol radiating a subtle familiarity.
Curious, he approaches the monument, his fingers tracing the grooves of the carvings.
“Wait a second…” Max mutters.
He leans closer. Beneath the hieroglyphs, a faint inscription comes into view, partially worn away by time. Not symbols, but letters.
= The Shadow Shepherd =
Max freezes.
“No way…”
His voice is barely a whisper.
“There’s no way!”
That name, The Shadow Shepherd, belongs to a fictional character from the bedtime stories his father used to tell him, tales of a brave and resourceful hunter who explored mystical lands.
“This can’t be real,” Max says, shaking his head as if trying to wake himself from a vivid dream.
But as he studies the hieroglyphs more closely, the symbols begin to connect.
Slowly, his father’s voice echoes in his mind, guiding him like a map drawn from memory.
“Welcome to Arcantherion, X. Welcome to the fantasy world you’ve dreamed about for so long.”
“X?”
Yes, there’s a lone cross symbol in the hieroglyph. And he remembers that his father told him that the cross represents something so distance, a sign for territorial border, limit or maximum.
Or, it can also be referred to his nickname, Max.
“It’s for me,” Max stumbles back, his voice trembling with equal parts awe and dread, his pulse racing. “This message… it’s meant for me.”
His hands shake as he steps away from the monument. The truth barrels into him like a tidal wave.
“This is it. This is the mesa he was talking about. The Titan’s Crown…”
***
Titan's Crown - Rising from the heart of the vast jungle like a monument to ancient myths, the plateau loomed over the horizon, a colossal stone formation resembling the stump of a long-dead tree carved by gods.
Yet, it was no tree. Its composition unmistakably of stone, its form is more hauntingly deliberate than anything nature could create. At the center of this rocky giant lies an immense crater, sunken deep as though a divine axe had cleaved the heart of the plateau.
***
Max’s panic melts into a surreal mixture of excitement and disbelief.
He doesn’t know how long he spends exploring the plateau, but eventually, his footsteps bring him to another monument near the stairs on the northwestern outer edge of the plateau.
More hieroglyphs are carved here, a chilling message in symbols that Max quiet familiar with:
“Always check your inventories. Always be prepared. And trust your instincts. This world is unforgiving, but you are my son. Never forget that.”
Max’s heart skips a beat.
“It’s him…” he whispers. “It’s really him.”
However, anger flashes in his eyes. He clenches his fists so tightly as if his knuckles could just explode anytime.
“Your son, you said? After all the trouble you caused?”
Max’s voice rises into a shout, raw with pain and fury.
“JUST f*****g DIE!”
“No, I’ll find you and kill you myself!”
“Pray that God gives you enough time until I catch up to you!”
He storms toward the edge of the plateau, determined to descend the stairs and start his journey.
But just before he takes the first step, his gaze catches something else, another message, carved into the stone at his feet:
“If this is your first time reading this, go back to the portal chamber. Never leave this mesa until the Hunting System gives you a specific class.”
"As long as you’re inside the Titan’s Crown territory, the system will keep you alive. Outside it, you face the full wrath of Arcantherion.”
Max’s stomach churns. A shiver crawls up his spine. His fury urges him forward, but his instincts scream at him to turn back.
He glances back at the monolith, its warnings weighing heavily on his mind.
And then…
Srasssh!!!
The sound of cracking branches shatters the silence.
His eyes snap to the jungle far below, where trees sway unnaturally, parting as though a great beast is moving through them.
The canopy quakes, leaves falling like rain, but whatever lurks beneath is too large to be human.
Max’s breath quickens. His fingers twitch at his sides.
“What’s that?”
His mind races, piecing together the warning from his father’s message.
“Hold on… What did he say? A specific class?”
[!]
[A specific class will be granted after reaching Level 5. This will unlock your growth path as a hunter, enabling unique skills and abilities.]
The system’s notification glows faintly before him. Max stares at it, the realization dawning on him like a rising storm.
“This system… Is this the Hunting System he talked about?”
Far below, the movement stops, and silence blankets the forest. For a fleeting moment, it feels like the world is holding its breath.
And then…
“Groooo!!!”
A deep, guttural roar echoes through the jungle, reverberating against the cliffs like a warning from the abyss.
Max takes a step back, his hands trembling. His heart pounds in his chest.
But his anger burns hotter, his eyes narrowed, and his fists clench.
“Just you wait,” he mutters, his voice low but full of hatred. “I’ll find you… and kill you with my own two hands.”
***
Back a little, right before Max found the water fall...
Inside the dim cave, Daniella stirs awake, her head pounding. A faint glow from the cave mouth offers just enough light to paint her surroundings in eerie shadows.
“Where am I?”
Before she can make sense of it, a soft blue glow emerges from the hieroglyphs scrawled across the cave walls.
Her gaze darts to a neglected fireplace in the corner. A worn pot hangs over the ashes, a relic Max had completely overlooked before.
But Daniella barely registers it, her focus locked on the circle beneath her feet. The light intensifies, and shadows flicker violently against the walls.
Then, with an unnatural hum, ghostly figures begin rising from the glowing circle.
“Waa.. what’s going on here?”
The translucent forms take shape. One by one, the phantoms solidify into real bodies sprawled on the rocky floor.
Daniella rushes to the fireplace, picking up a log for safety. Panic seizes her when one of the mysterious figures stirs.
A groan echoes through the cave as a man struggles to push himself up.
But then…
Dug!
Daniella reacts on pure instinct, swinging the wooden log onto the back of his neck. The man crumples with a sickening thud.
Panting, she clutches the log tighter. But then, her eyes widened as she starts recognizing the motionless bodies.
“Alex… Pablo… and… Kevin?” she whispers, her voice trembling.
Soon, her gaze falls on the fourth figure, the fake suicide bomber. Her breath hitches as the blood drains from her face.
“No…”
Even though he’s lying still, each subtle twitch of his fingers sends fresh waves of terror through her.
Desperate for an ally, she crawls toward Kevin and gently pats his face, her voice shaking.
“Kevin! Wake up!”
- Writer
