Murim Recurve

Chapter 6 - Eye Cluster

Re'Kha felt weak, her consciousness slipped away as a feeling of chillness seeped into her body, beginning from her feet. Rainwater flowed over her contours, the coldness in them further numbing her muscles.

It was dark all around; she was blind, the sounds of rain were all she heard while it drowned any smell she could perceive. All she felt to her touch was the coldness, the picture of emptiness she perceived washed away her desire for survival.

If only she retained part of her vision, her situation wouldn't have been so despair-inducing.

"Moo," A faint sound jolted her awake, causing her to struggle, resisting the numbness of her body as she placed her hands on the ground. She felt the water moving past her hands, mixed with mud and leaves as she propped herself up.

She walked on all fours, unwilling to risk walking on two with her blindness. The path was uneven, filled with slippery sludge. Re'Kha followed the sound of the three-headed beast, soon arriving to feel a weak gust of air on her hands.

She reached forth with her right hand, touching the face of the three-headed beast that felt a lot smaller now, akin to a calf's. "Sorry I put you through this suffering."

"Moo!" The three-headed beast licked her hand once, nudging at the bag on her left. It bit the ends of the bag, poking its nose on Re'Kha, motioning her to open it. All Re'Kha knew was the bag contained her master's inheritance but knew naught of its contents.

Moreover, in the previous pursuit, despite the violence involved, not once did it come open. Even now, its surface was unblemished, the cover secured. Followed by its nudging, Re'Kha grabbed hold of its sash, untying the knot.

She then pulled at the ends, surprised when it didn't open. She exerted more strength but failed to pry it open. The three-headed beast licked her hands, creating five patterns with its saliva, the same that occurred when she tried to launch an attack before.

Re'Kha was confused, but when she remembered that the three-headed beast before her was the Pranic Avatar of her master, she did as was told, condensing blue radiance on her hand. The moment she did so, the bag absorbed the blue radiance, also pulling out a tinge of green radiance from within her.

It then opened like a normal bag; the three-headed beast fished in with its tongue, pulling out a cylindrical object the size of her finger. It placed the cylindrical object in her hand and motioned for her to unscrew the cap.

Re'Kha did as told, noticing the three-headed beast pour out its contents on her palm. They felt small, spherical in shape, heavy like metal balls, numbering 10 in total. Before she could even get a hint about them, the three-headed beast swiped them up with its tongue and swallowed them whole.

It then motioned for Re'Kha to screw the cap back and put it in the bag. The moment Re'Kha did so, it nudged her to pull the sash. The bag closed and the sash formed a knot by itself. Re'Kha could sense that to open it again, she would have to repeat the previous process.

'So, master placed a safety mechanism in it so that only I can open it.' She sighed in amazement, weakly rubbing her hand on the three-headed beast's head, only to realise it tremble once before getting up.

The three-headed beast seemed fine now, having regrown its legs, also growing a tad larger. It nudged at Re'Kha with its head, motioning for her to climb on its back. Re'Kha hesitated for a moment, worrying that its tiny frame would no longer be able to carry her now.

The larger fact was that she didn't wish to see it overexert itself for her sake, even though it was a being that would disappear forever after some more time had passed. As the three-headed beast continued to nudge it, its nudging getting impatient, she relented and climbed on its back.

She was saddened to find the three-headed beast walk slowly, limping occasionally. Even then, it refused to utter any sounds of struggle, silently treading through the forest habitat. Previously—at the top of the mountain in the Harara forest—the trees were situated farther from each other. It gave it enough moving space to sprint.

But now, the trees were closer to each other. The three-headed beast had to turn after every step to squeeze within the gaps. Thankfully, its now smaller size helped with this fact. Its initial massive frame would have prevented it from passing through the gaps, the only option it possessed would be to mow them down, wasting time and energy in the process.

The three-headed beast treaded with caution, its eyes darting to the cluster of eyes hidden within the crevices of the trees, staring at it while it passed by. The owners of the eyes didn't seem willing to move, for the time being, thanks to the torrential rain.

The three-headed beast gazed up, watching the underside of the entire canopy covered by the eye cluster, emitting faint lustre in the darkened surroundings. They only didn't exist in the places rain dripped through.

The three-headed beast slightly relayed through a shake of its head, motioning for Re'Kha to lean closer to its back. Re'Kha didn't complain, laying flat on its back. It could be said that her blindness helped her in this situation, for if she had seen the eye cluster around her, then she wouldn't have been able to maintain her calm, or even her rationality for the matter.

The rain became further intense as sounds of thunder resounded without gap, with three to four resounding at times in the same instant. The cluster of eyes hidden underneath every crevice shuddered at the thunder, curling in fear as they stared at the passing figure of the three-headed beast.

Some hung from branches like fruits, passing by quite close to Re'Kha. If not for the three-headed beast's consideration and careful pacing, she would have bumped into them by now and mayhem would have ensued forth.