Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 635: Pain and suffering

Chapter 635: Pain and suffering

Alex awoke to find himself trapped in a small cage with little lighting.

Letting out a sigh, he sat up and attempted to mount an escape only to pause as he heard footsteps approaching.

Moments later, the owner of the footsteps emerged, revealing herself to be a terrifying-looking old lady with a hunched back.

Alex had a thought at that moment. ’Baba Yaga?’

He couldn’t be sure considering she didn’t give off an aura he’d expect from someone that was on the same level as Humphrey and Aiden, but then again, there could be an explanation for that.

What if, just like them, she was also weakened in the fairy tales?

It would make sense as they would play the roles of the protagonists while she played the role of the antagonist.

That way, none would be above the other in this twisted reality, mirroring the essence of balance that was so important on Eventide.

Taking a deep breath, he watched as the old lady took out a loaf of bread from within her cloak before then opening the cage and tossing it inside after which she closed it.

Then, she left in the same way she came, leaving Alex slightly confused.

Furrowing his brows, Alex couldn’t help but ask himself. "Why didn’t I make a move?"

As his gaze fell on the moldy loaf of bread on the ground, he had a frightening thought.

Even with his current self-awareness, he was unable to do anything to change the story, which meant that his survival was up to Nadia.

***

Ana ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, through the forest with a frightening creature chasing closely behind.

As it screamed profanities, it grew even more ferocious, using the trees as springboards to quickly catch up to Ana who was close to exhaustion.

Not daring to look back for even a moment, Ana pushed herself even when it felt like she couldn’t run any longer, unwilling to give up so easily.

Just then, she had a thought and she didn’t hesitate to put it into action.

As she turned a corner, she hurried into the field of flowers the wolf creature had taken her to earlier.

Then, she paused, briefly looking back to see if her plan would work.

Surprisingly, it did as the thing paused, its gaze zeroing on Ana’s form before it disappeared into the dark forest.

Ana let out a sigh of relief, gasping for air as she collapsed into the flowers.

She couldn’t even be bothered to move a muscle as her body was too weak to do so.

However, she knew she couldn’t stay here forever, so she began to ponder on possible ways to deal with the thing chasing her.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching and then, a shadow loomed over her.

***

Victoria didn’t know how, why, or when, only that she had opened the door and was now holding the apple offered by the terrifying old lady.

Her eyes watered as she stared at it, the desire to devour it gnawing at her without mercy.

Her lips quivered as her arm slowly brought the apple upwards until a hair’s breadth remained between her mouth and the fruit.

Then, she took a bite and in that brief moment of bliss, it felt like she was eating something for the first time in ages.

Her body trembled as she took a step back... and then, she collapsed, her eyes widened as she succumbed to whatever spell the apple was exerting on her.

The old lady watched this with a twisted smile before taking a step inside and reaching down to pick up Victoria’s leg, then she left, dragging her along.

***

First, he was stabbed once, then countless times more for added measure.

Then, he was dragged like a dog and now, he was being cooked alive.

Perhaps immortality was a curse as Ulysses felt the pain of each act acutely but yet, was unable to die from it.

Stuck in the fireplace, he had the thought to escape but had a feeling that it would make things worse.

If Baba Yaga figured out that he couldn’t die, she would surely try other means to kill him, or even worse, she would imprison him and then cook someone else.

So for the safety of the others, he had to experience his flesh turning to ash only to regenerate.

Of course, it was a torturous experience made even worse by the whispers currently bombarding his senses.

’Nice timing.’ he cursed inwardly as he gritted his teeth, quite aware that even a slight lapse in coherent thought would cause him to lose his mind permanently.

Just then, the door to the hut flew open with Baba Yaga making her way inside with Victoria’s unmoving body.

Licking her gums with her blackened tongue, she looked at the fireplace only to be disappointed.

She’d expected Ulysses to be cooked by now but it seemed the fire wasn’t strong enough to do so.

"Such a strange bunch." She muttered as she dragged Victoria close to the fireplace and left her there before stepping out, hopeful that by the time she returned, her meal would be ready.

***

Arwen made her way down a winding staircase, quickly arriving at the bottom layer of the Wailing Peaks where a gruesome sight laid itself bare for all to see.

Several Banshees, chained to rocks with their wings clipped, could be seen screaming in terror, half of their body appearing as that of a corpse while the other half was covered in pus with yellowed feathers.

Even a fool could tell that these were suffering greatly, their eyes completely hollowed as their screams echoed throughout the mountain.

It was because of these unfortunate Banshees that the Wailing Peaks got its name, and it was because of those that came before them, and those that would come after them, that Arwen, or rather, Riona along with her sister Grania, had embarked on their journey.

Taking a deep breath, Arwen muttered. "Do not worry sister, I will surely save us all."