The blade of the bone dagger quivered in Iliya's hand. The air around the balete tree was thick not with mist, but breath. Something beneath the roots was awake. Her blood, smeared across the bark in a crude offering, sizzled like boiling rain. The ritual was wrong. The spirit should have answered by now.
Instead, the roots began to move.
Fear grip Ilya's heart " how could the ritual gone wrong?''
Staring at the roots that approach him, a sense of forbading death approaches Ilya. Despite his rigid appearance he barely dodged the roots that approach him, he examines himself, his body shivering from fear, his consciousness is slowly slipping by because of too much blood loss from the ritual but despite all of this, his gaze is still full of resolve.
" I might really die this time " he said to himself fully resolve to survive this crisis
He gripped the bone dagger from his hands and steady his weak body, waiting for the roots to come for him. Just as he wishes the roots waited no time to attack but instead of retreating Ilyas dive to the roots and parry it. He barely succeeded and his arms got a shallow cut by the roots. His hands are trembling because of the impact, his now heavy breath and the movement of the roots are the only thing he could hear.
" Man, I wished I came more prepared for this ritual." he could have prepared a sword or an artifact for this situation but who could have expected that a simple ritual to summon a spirit could lead to this tragic situation.
Instead of regretting such an irreversible outcome he wracked his brain how he could escape his situation with no external help. The roots charged again, slamming Ilya's body into the nearby tree. He groaned in pain and he could hear his heart beating loudly, the roots giving him no time to think charged again, Ilyas rolled to the ground and he struck the roots making a shallow cut.
Despair is slowly creeping in his heart, his surrounding is now darker and gloamier. Maybe the roots are doing it, making the surroundings more eerie than usual. His body now is screaming in pain every movement takes a vast amount of effort to move, gathering his last remaining strength he thrust his body forward hoping he could land a blow to these damned roots but opposite to his expectation it only gives the roots enough time to strike.
He paused looking at the roots that pierce his chest, he laughed and said " so this is how I die, I really want to live and have the opportunity to cultivate enough power to take those bastards head." his consciousness is slowly slipping and a cold wind blowing his face as death awaits him.
He look at the moon above him and said " If I live once more, I…" before he could finish his sentence
Ilya have lost his consciousness
Heat surged through his veins like wildfire, but it didn't burn. Faces he had never seen but somehow remembered swirled in the dark. A woman made of leaves kissed his forehead. A hand of gold pushed the roots away from his chest. Then, silence
When he awoke, it was to the smell of smoke and the creak of wooden wheels. Someone had wrapped his chest in woven banana leaves soaked with oil. He tried to speak, but pain answered first.
"You're lucky," said a voice. "That tree doesn't usually leave survivors."
The older one, with beads in his hair and a carved charm around his neck, didn't meet his eyes. "We found you near the roots. Still breathing. No one touches a balete and lives."
"Except…" the younger one whispered, "as if the spirit claimed him."
"Stop with your childish act, don't scare him like that." said the older one
"So what happened that you ended up like that?" he asked
Ilya looked at his body wrapped with bondage as he looked beneath, his skin had a faint shimmer like gold dust. When he pressed his hand to the wound, he felt… not pain, but something else. A pulse. Like the heartbeat of the tree.
He was shocked by what he felt. He slowly looked to the man in front of him and said " I did some ritual and.." as he tries to recall what happened his head hurts it's like his brain is stopping him to recall what happened.
"I failed,and I can't recall anything else." he said as he touched his chest.
"hmmmmm" the older man said as he looked at Ilya.
"Now let's take a look at the positive side shall we?" he said
" Thats right old man at the very least he survive." said thee younger one
" It seems you can't travel on your own how about joining us there are nearby villages that you can stay and rest." said the older man
" I would be grateful for the offer." Ilya said, accepting to accompany them.
The travelers carried him toward the next village. He closed his eyes again, but the whisper returned.
"You are mine now," said the voice in the roots.