We left the village a few hours ago, and were currently trekking along a path through the forest.

"It's not as cold as it was an hour ago..." Meridia held out her hand, as small snowflakes fell onto it softly. "Because we're entering a different climate." I said, as she nodded.

"By the way, Leon...," She looked up, holding a hand out to catch some of the snow again. "What is this cold stuff falling from the sky?" She asked, as I looked up. "Snow. It's frozen water, basically." I told her.

"Water falls from the sky?" She asked, as I looked ahead. "Yeah." I nodded, as she gained a confused look. "But how?" She asked once more, before I let out a sigh. "It's too much to explain." I said, as she nodded, looking ahead.

"How are those injuries?" I asked, as she raised an eyebrow. "You had frostbite on your arms when I found you." I said, as she took off the cloak temporarily to reveal her arms, which looked like nothing happened to them at all. "I have restorative abilities, Aquarian's recover from injuries quickly because we can regenerate." She smiled, putting the cloak back on.

"Sounds like a useful ability to have." I said as we kept walking. The snow gradually faded as we walked, meaning we were finally out of the cold. "I think I'm enjoying my time on land so far. Though I do miss my home, I never knew that there was a whole other world that i never knew about!" She grinned.

"You didn't know there was land?" I asked, as she shrugged. "We did, but we were told that it was inhabitable and there was lava and monsters everywhere..!" She said, stuffing her hands into the cloak's pockets. "There was even a folktale about humans, and how they'd devour us whole at first sight!" She laughed. "But from what I've seen, it definitely isn't true." She said, looking around.

"Yeah, But not all of us can be nice." I said as she nodded. "Of course. Everyone is different." She said, as I nodded. "...How much longer until we reach the town?" She asked, as I yawned. "Not too far. We've been walking for a few hours now." I replied.

"...Wait a second..." I said, noticing that there was a faint, smoky smell to the air. "What is it?" She asked, as we stopped walking for a moment. "Something smells like smoke, it's a very faint smell, but it's there." I said, narrowing my eyes. "Could it be the village?" She asked, as I nodded, spotting something in the distance. "Yeah, it must be. Look over there." I said, pointing to a smoke plume that was to our left, past a bunch of trees. "I can't see." She said with a sigh. "Follow me then."

I began to run through the forest, towards the smoke. She followed as best she could, nearly tripping a few times.

Once we reached our destination...

Our eyes went wide.

The entire village was ablaze with shadowy crimson flames. The fires devoured the structures, causing them to weaken and collapse into rubble. Shadowy puddles were all over the place, as the shadows let out a disturbing scream. It looked like hell.

"What's the plan, Leon?" Meridia asked, as I grabbed my great sword off of my back, and readied for battle. "We fight, and save anyone we can. Let's go." I said, running into the village. "Alright!" She ran off in a different direction. I took cover behind a wall to scan what was around me. As I had figured from the shadowy spots scattered on the buildings, these are the specters that we were after.

Suddenly, I heard something odd from behind me. I looked back to see a specter climbing out of the shadowy puddle on the wall, letting out a demonic screech as the shadows formed. I jumped back, leaving my cover. "I looked around once more, and one after another, more and more specters were forming, and they were headed my way.

I closed my eyes, stabbing my sword into the ground, as I gripped its handle. The red runes along the blade had began to pulse with dark red light, as red and black markings started spreading along my face.

"Become one with the unending night, let the curse spread through thy veins..." I said, opening my eyes, which were now a bright red. "Your souls will feed us and our unending hunger..." I mumbled, ripping the blade from the ground with ease as I rested it along my shoulder. "...Now perish!" I shouted, as my sword began to emit dark, shadowy energy. They all grouped up around me, and I let out a roar as I swung my blade and knocked all of them back. The ones who got hit directly had a red, glowing gash across their chests, as they crowed and cried in pain. Those Specters began to wither, and crumble to dust. The red markings that were on them were then sucked into the sword through its runes, stealing their life force.

They then seemed to recognize the strength of their opponent, and to my surprise, some merged together to create a larger, stronger creature. It's distorted cry echoed through the area. It looked to be at least 9 feet tall. The rest of the shadows crowded around its legs.

"You really think that will help you?" I mumbled, before getting ready to attack. I gained a devilish grin across my face, as the blade continued pulsing with ominous power.

"Well then, be my guest." I snickered, as the shadows began to charge towards me.