The ancient warrior

The Trench 1

Chapter 26

Rey stood at the pack departure milestone. Beside him strutted McCloud and some other high-rank beta. He was sure the journey he was about to embark on was a dangerous one, but what other choice did he have? Examining the beta's face, he could see glimmers of tears in their eyes. But they must emancipate Seer Argon if they need to defeat Virgo. He could remember his discussion with Franni. She had told him that they were now in Medusa Gorgon liars and that Ariel had come out to be a scythe-meister.

"Are you okay Alpha?" McCloud's voice twitched him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I am flawlessly fine." He replied casually.

"You know, if you have changed your mind, we can send troopers," McCloud proposed. "Conceivably, you should take an escort with you."

Rey could see that the man deeply cared for him, but he couldn't let any of his father's betas or any volunteers risk their lives for his own again. Even after he had substantiated the death of Coven, the guilt was still there in his mind. He felt as if he was the one who had killed the boy. After the death of the young boy, Rey had glimpsed that Conor was not the same again. Even though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed in him because he did a good job of concealing it, Rey could still feel the pessimism and melancholy in him.

In what appeared to be perpetuity, he eventually retorted, "It is a journey which I must undertake alone. I believe you can take care of the pack, protect them and make sure no havoc befalls them. Protection is still here to protect you, so don't let your surveillance down. Who knows whether there are still traitors amidst us? "

"I will try my best, Alpha," McCloud replied with a bow.

"Good, now I have to go." He took another stride away from the pack exit and faced the adventure ahead. He took one last glimpse at the pack, and his eyes latched onto Conor's own. He could see traces of tears in the young man's eyes, and he quickly withdrew his eyes as another regretful pang pummeled him. He could feel his anguish and the suffering in his body. He knew how it hurt to lose a loved one. He allows himself to go deeper into his conceivable world and trusts his wolf intuition to lead him on the journey ahead. He was also thankful for one thing: the road to Avalon remained in his mind. Thanks to Thaddeus, the new old man who was used to replace Adrian, The thought of Adrian brings another trauma to his heart. The man had served his father's all his life, not outlawing how he had saved his father and brought honor to the pack. Rey turned back again, and he could now see that the pack was now 100 yards away. He did not even notice that he had covered so much distance within a glimmer of his eyes, all thanks to his wolf. His mind flashes back to the discussion he had with Franni again. He could recollect her explaining that they had an uncle who was now assisting them on the mission. Though they don't have enough time to discuss because of the fight going on between the Scythe-meister and Medusa Gorgon.

"Face where you're going," a voice said, jolting him out of his reverie. It was a voice he never anticipated hearing, Conor. He was now standing in front of him with a sly smile on his face, and Rey could guess that he was using it to cover up his grief. "Did you think I would let you go alone?"

"I thought you should be languishing over your brother's death." Rey inquired.

"Our mates are already doing that," Conor enunciated.

"So you both have a mate?" Rey clamored in surprise. Not because they have a mate, but knowing the suffering of losing a mate can even make a wolf go berserk if heshe has lost a mate.

"Don't worry about her," Conor rumbled again. "She will be fine." The only thing Rey could do was to nod before the duo continued the journey again.

"So, what does this Avalon look like?" Conor raised a discussion so he could break the silence between them.

Avalon is like a desert because of the rumor that rain hasn't dropped there for once," Rey illuminated. The only difference is that Avalon doesn't have a day or night, the weather is the same all year round, and there are rumors of dangerous beasts and everlasting creatures on the way.

"That would be a hazardous path," Conor bellowed.

"But we have no choice."

"I know a path that is faster," Conor bellowed. "But it was a suicide place to try."

"Let's give it a trial," Rey enlightened. "It is for the pack, and Thanatos might bring a war anytime, so what choice do we have?"

"I don't know much about the avenue, but we will go through the Cador river and pass the land of the dead before we can reach Avalon."

"I have heard rumors of the Cador river and dead land, and that is our way," Rey replied, pausing to survey his surroundings. Right in front of him stood 2 different routes, one leading to the south and the second to the north. "The north leads to Avalon, but there are dangerous and immortal creatures on the road that we don't have a chance against." Rey bellowed at Conor. "While the south leads to the Cador river and dead land. If the dead king gives us authorization, then it will lead us straight to Avalon. "

"Perhaps, we should go through the north," Conor recommended. "We didn't have enough coins to bribe the dead king, and we don't even know the price for ascending a boat in the cador river."

"If we go through the north, there is a slight chance that we would withstand, but in the south, we still have hope and I even had a little token here with me. So, we moved to the south." Rey concluded and the duo took the south path.

A few minutes later, the duo arrived at the so-called Cador River, and they noticed the weather there was truly different. It wasn't sunny or raining; it just looked dull and a cool current hit their faces. The river flowed for what seemed like an eternity, with a rough texture.The strange thing is that the river is black, which makes it hard to see beneath it, just like the black sea. Looking around, Rey discovers that there is no sign of any vessel or boat around. He started to think he had made a wrong decision when his father's voice sprang into his head. "Remove a coin and throw it in the river," his father's voice bellowed. "Just imagine where you are going to and picture it in your mind."

"Where have you been since?" Rey inquired instead. He had been trying to summon his father's advice before he proceeded to the south, but he hadn't yielded to his call.

His father again yelled into his hearing: "My spirit is now in the amulet since you have retrieved it." "Don't worry, I will be guiding you when needed. But I must warn you, the dead king wouldn't let you go easily. Till we meet again son, you have to convince him." Rey could feel his spirit leaving him again. Now he imagines that he is now alone. Acting according to what his father told him, he waited for another minute, but there was no sign of any boat. Just when he was about to give up, he caught sight of a vessel coming in their direction. First, it appeared to be so small that it couldn't contain more than the sailor and a single person. But as it came nearer, Rey could see that the boat was big enough to accommodate five people or more. The sailor stops the boat a few feet away from the duo and stares into their eyes as if asking for their destination. Rey concentrates his entire mind on the undead land.Even though he hasn't been there before, he still pictures it in his mind and hopes with all his heart that the so-called sailor will grab what he was thinking.

"Undead land," Rey finally beard the man mumble after what seems like forever. "We have to move now or else the gate will soon be closed."

Without waiting further, the duo hurriedly stepped inside the boat, and the sailor hovered away.

"He doesn't look human," Conor whispered to Rey's hearing. He had been so preoccupied with making the man know their destination that he didn't bother to scrutinize him better. "I am having a bad feeling about this."

Rey surveyed the man well, and he could see that Conor was right. The man looked like a bony skeleton with a coat covering his skull; his hands and feet were filled with maggots, and his body smelt of fish-herbs.

"We have no choice," he elucidated. "He is our only hope." No sooner than he had said it, a whirlwind blew across the whole river. Rey looked back towards the orientation from where they were coming, and he could see that they had covered a lot of distance. If he was right, they were now in the middle of the river. The wind became enthusiastic and started wiggling their boat violently. A strange-looking creature without any flesh or skin on its body jumps out of the chasm of the river. They had sharp teeth, and their hands looked like blades. Rey quickly dodged on instinct and pushed Conor to the other side of the boat as one of the creatures flew at them. "The trench," Rey heard Conor mumble behind him. In your rearview mirror, he yells at Rey as the latter speeds away from him with his wolf speed. A sharp metal landed in his previous position, which could undoubtedly have killed him on the spot. Rey looked towards Conor with a grateful look, but the latter was pointing to the front. Rey swerved back and right in front of him stood the sailor with green-glow eyes that sparkled with evil.