Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 479: Strange Woods ()

~~~~~~~~

A chilling cold breeze drafted through the forest, rustling the leaves. The quiet whistling sound interrupted the silence of the forest.

It was especially cold on this night, even for winter and that was the first thing Jian found strange about this forest,

If one excluded the fact that the forest itself was extremely strange and unfamiliar and Jian could not tell how exactly he had gotten here or why he was even here at all.

A small frown settled on Jian’s face as he spared another glance around the forest, making another attempt to recognize just exactly where he was.

One moment he had finally found the ever elusive sleep and the very next moment, his eyes opened to this unfamiliar terrain.

The forest Jian found himself in was unlike any forest in the stronghold, it was much different and Jian could tell by the strange, unfamiliar plants and trees that grew here.

As unfamiliar as everything was, there was a strange tugging feeling in Jian’s heart, a feeling that told him there was something about this place... something he should have remembered.

But try as Jian did to sort through his memories, he was not certain what exactly about this place triggered him.

Jian exhaled a heavy sigh as he walked slowly through the forest, he had no destination in mind and just kept walking, hoping he would figure this strange tugging feeling out or at least find a way out of the forest.

Jian was still walking through the forest when a figure dashed past him in a blur, disappearing through the forest before Jian could even fully comprehend that he was not alone in these woods.

This was the second strange thing about this forest, the fact that there was someone else in this vicinity should have been known to Jian a long while ago.

A second presence could not have escaped his notice, except there was something wrong with his senses and he was not as alert as he usually was. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The third strange thing was now obvious to Jian, that there was something wrong with him...or better still, something wrong with his environment that affected him and divested him of his abilities.

Jian blinked in astonishment, whoever had passed by him had been so fast, so fast that Jian could barely make out anything other than the fact that it was certainly a woman.

A woman in a cloak and a beautiful dress.

What was more, the very moment she went by, Jian’s heart thumped loudly and that tugging feeling grew even more intense, as though demanding for Jian to go after her, that all the answers he sought,

All his confusion would be pacified as long as he could catch up with her.

And if there was one thing Jian trusted even in a strange and unfamiliar environment, it was his own instincts.

Jian gave chase without giving another thought, dashing through the woods after the woman.

He ran as fast as his limbs would allow, which was terribly slow compared to Jian’s usual strength but that did not deter him.

A flash of lightening tore through the sky and a furious clap of thunder followed afterwards, the earth trembling furiously as though it would break apart at any moment.

Jian could tell a storm would not be far behind and just as Jian had predicted, not even a short while after, the storm begun.

Rain pelted down heavily, the branches and leaves of the towering trees providing little or no coverage from the pouring rain.

Jian’s hair and clothing were completely drenched in just a short time but he ignored it all and just kept running.

The faster he went and perhaps the closer he got to her, that tugging feeling just kept growing stronger till it became like an urgent pull.

Jian had been running for a short while and it was only then he caught sight of that cloak far off in the distance, he could barely make out the woman’s silhouette but it seemed she had come to a stop... or rather someone had stopped her.

In that moment, another blurry figure tackled the woman down to the ground.

"No! Let go!" The woman screamed desperately, her voice thick with despair that tugged right at Jian’s heart.

A furious snarl rumbled deep in Jian’s throat, and he ran even faster, just when Jian thought he would finally get close enough to make out their features, he ran straight into a solid structure.

Jian was tossed back, managing to land on his feet and he immediately glanced up, finding a barely visible barrier pulsing right in that spot.

Jian stormed up to the barrier and slammed his fist into it, intending to get through by force but all Jian’s attempts were futile, the barrier did not budge.

At this point, Jian could still see the woman struggling against the strange man who was clearly attempting to take advantage of her.

Other than her initial scream, their words were lost to Jian and Jian still could not make out anything other than their silhouettes in the distance.

Just at that moment, the man was tossed off the woman with great force and Jian watched the event play out knowing that strength had come from the woman, in a bid to save her dignity.

A bad feeling settled in the pit of Jian’s stomach and he knew if he did not get through this barrier, something would go terribly wrong.

Jian furiously slammed his fists against the barrier, watching the two get into a heated argument, or at least Jian guessed it was, he still could not make out words or features, he only knew the one in the cloak was the woman who had run by him earlier.

And then, the woman did something that utterly horrified Jian.

She turned around to leave, and Jian immediately knew this would be a grave mistake.

"Do not turn your back to him, you fool! Fight! Fucking kill him!" Jian called out to her, hoping she would sense the murderous intent pouring off of the man just as he did.

But it was already too late, because in the next moment, Jian could only look on in horror as the man struck the woman across her back.

Attacking from behind like the coward he was.

A scream of pain tore out of the woman as her white cloak was immediately dyed red with her blood.

Jian watched in horror as she collapsed to the damp earth, and that was the last thing he saw before pain unlike anything he had ever felt before ripped through him.

And just as the woman’s scream died out, Jian’s own tortured scream echoed through the quiet forest.

~~~~~~~~~~