Dark Divinity

'You're hungry?' Omen nodded slowly in confusion as he took a moment to get a good look at her.

She was ethereal, an apparition in the dim light. Her pale skin seemed to glow faintly, and her long white hair cascaded around her like a silken veil. In the darkness, she looked more like a ghost than a human, and Omen felt a shiver of unease run down his spine.

His eyes darted around, quickly realising he was half inside a tree trunk. He could see the twisted roots and the rough bark that had sheltered them. With a sudden, frantic movement, he crawled out of the trunk to distance himself from the strange girl.

"Wait! Don't leave," she called out, her voice soft but urgent. She turned her head slightly, not quite facing him. "There are nocturnal creatures patrolling the grounds."

Omen paused, noticing how she seemed to be looking past him rather than at him. The realisation dawned on him—she was blind!

His initial terror was replaced with a wary curiosity. "Why did you help me then, and how sure are you about those creatures?" he asked, still keeping his distance. His eyes never left her, trying to discern any hidden danger.

Isolde sighed, her hand still resting on her throbbing forehead. "I can sense exogene signatures; that's how I was able to locate you," she repeated, her voice steady despite the pain.

The ability to sense exogene was a rare gift; Omen was even surprised that someone knew about the true origin of all magic in this weird situation. 'She must have been a royal to be privy to such knowledge,' he mused silently.

"Who are you?" he finally asked, his voice low and cautious.

"My name is Isolde," she replied, then hesitantly asked, "And you?"

"Omen," he said, still hesitant. "You said we needed each other. What are your plans for using me?"

She considered his question for a time before hesitatingly responding with an obviously annoyed look on her face, "You make it sound like I just intend to manipulate you; besides, I'm simply hungry."

Omen blinked, unsure of how to react—this was a death zone full of various monsters, and she was only worried about food.

Well, everyone must, after all... survive. His wariness lowered a tad bit.

"I know where to get a much easier prey," she said, drawing Omen's careful attention as her lips twisted into a spooky, menacing smile.

"If it's that easy, why don't you get it yourself?" he shot back instantly, his wariness leaping once more.

"If you didn't notice before, I'm obviously very blind," she said with a grin. "I'm able to sense the vibrations on the floor and vaguely sense the surrounding exogene signatures informing me of potential predators or prey."

When she was done, she cautiously slid out and approached Omen, facing him. Omen soon realised how beautiful she actually was; her dull, lifeless eyes continued staring at him, and then she pointed to her left. He followed her finger, seeing nothing but thick foliage.

"There are some squirrels down there that have evolved. They are suitable for consumption, but unfortunately, they have evolved to a terrifying speed level that I can't keep up with, and I can't follow their movement when employing weapons".

Omen narrowed his eyes, still suspicious of this strange girl. The forest was dangerous, especially for someone as seemingly defenceless as her. He took a step closer, still keeping his guard up. "Fine. But if you try anything—"

"I won't," Isolde interrupted softly. "We're in this together now. And trust me, the night creatures out there are far worse than anything I could do to you. I'll advise we go at dawn."

Omen nodded slowly, accepting her words for now. He had no choice but to listen to her, at least until he could find a safer place. He returned to the tree trunk, sitting just outside the opening, ready to spring into action if needed.

The forest remained silent, the shadows lengthening as night fully settled in.

Omen felt someone silently shaking him awake the next morning. Not wanting to awaken, he mumbled incoherently and shifted the soft hand on his face away. But the hand returned, and this time he clearly heard the serene words that followed the movement.

"Omen," the voice sang, "If you don't wake up, I'll take off your clothes."

Still doubting the voice and refusing to awaken, he decided to sleep on until he felt the very same soft hands gently pulling off his black trousers.

WHAT!!

Omen woke up with such terrifying speed and scrambled to his feet. He cautiously glared at the smiling blind girl and thought to himself. 'She's incredibly dangerous.'

"That was so unexpected! Weren't you the timid and cautious one I met yesterday?" He nearly screamed at her, but 'come to think of it, she never appeared cautious or timid; after all, she easily healed a stranger.'

He felt glad that the girl was blind, no matter how bad it sounded to his very ears, as she didn't notice his embarrassment. But her next words shocked him.

"Seems like someone's easily excited," she said, completely ignoring all the things he'd said, her smile widening as if she could see right through him. Omen was just about to refute her when she continued, "The squirrels are foraging; now's the best time to hunt them. You're pretty good at containing your hunger, but I'm not so fortunate."

Omen's mind raced as he tried to process her words. How could she possibly know?... Oh, that's right; she could sense them.

He glanced at her, taking in her serene expression, the way she seemed completely at ease despite the tension crackling in the air. She appeared harmless, almost delicate, but Omen knew better. Her blind eyes didn't seem to miss a thing, and her calm demeanour masked a dangerous unpredictability.

She tilted her head, a hint of mischief playing on her lips. "I may be blind, but I'm not useless," she said solemnly, completely ignorant of his thoughts. Omen felt he had made her recall an unpleasant memory. He wasn't the only one who had an awful past after all.

"Well…If you must know, I'm quite famished as well, so I suggest you show me their location or we both starve.

The girl chuckled, a sound that sent a shiver down his spine. Should he have ignored that sad smile of hers? Was she somehow manipulating him after all this while?

"It's alright, Omen," she said. "Let's go hunt some food."

As she turned and began to walk away, Omen felt a surge of conflicting emotions. How could someone so dangerous look so trusting? Maybe that's what even made her dangerous.

….

Now this wasn't the first time Omen had hunted squirrels. When he was much younger and went along with his siblings, they roamed the forest and used the traps at their disposal to capture the sharp-eyed rodents.

'That was a long time ago, though.' He still recalled the disgusted expression his father had on his face when, instead of awakening, he became something so insidious he spent the rest of his childhood in a cell.

"Stay close," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the forest sounds. "They're quick, and we need to be quicker."

Omen nodded; after realising she couldn't see him, he said he understood in reply. Omen crouched low, scanning the underbrush for any sign of movement.

Immediately, one sighted them and took off at an alarming speed, seemingly like a blur before Omen could even register it was previously there. His eyes widened in disbelief. No wonder the blind healer couldn't catch any—he couldn't even follow their movement, and he had extremely sharp vision himself. He sighed solemnly.

'This was going to be a hassle!'