Bound By The Void

The woods seemed to hold its breath as the silence between Arc and Medusa thickened. then her voice rang out again, colder and more resolute this time.

"Leave, human knight." Medusa said in a commanding tone. "I don't care why you came here or how many oaths you swear. you have trespassed in my domain uninvited, and i will not entertain you any longer. turn back while you still can."

Arc stood firmly in his place, his sword planted in the ground, still in its sheath. "I can't do that," he replied, his voice calm and unyielding. "I came here seeking your help, and i am not leaving without it."

a sharp hiss followed by many smaller yet as sharp came from the shadows. " you claim to be different from the others, yet you act the same, thinking you can force your will upon me." her voice turned colder, laced with a hint of disappointment.

Arc tightened his grip on his sword, the blade heavy in his hand as he felt the air suddenly shift around him. a prickling sensation of repulsiveness and rejection came from his air, despite not being able to see, he knew what this meant. she was casting a spell using mana.

Mana. the word rang in his mind like an echo. over a century ago, it spread across the land like wildfire, over turning their understanding of what was possible and what wasn't and reshaping the fabric of reality. it had twisted ordinary beasts into monstrous creatures, creating entities out of nightmares, and granted rare individuals the ability command it. mages rose to prominence, revered and feared by the populace for their ability to heal wounds, shape the elements or destroy with a twist of their wrist.

While Medusa was feared for her Gaze, not many knew that she was also a top tier mage. which was the cause of demise of many who tried to go after her.

Medusa raised her hand, the air around her crackling as the mana ignited and turned into a fireball before she flicked her wrist sending it hurling toward Arc, its scorching heat warming the place. yet, the knight stood in his place not dodging nor defending, he merely unsheathed his blade and held it beside him.

Just as the flames were about to engulf him, the dissipated into harmless embers, fizzling as if repelled by an unseen force. Medusa's eyes widened in surprise as disbelief flickered across her face.

"what.....?" she muttered, her voice a mixture of confusion and astonishment, she thought maybe he used some artifact as a defense but she didn't see one nor did she sense it.

"spells don't work on me." Arc said simply. while most people has some kind of affinity with mana no matter how small, he was an anomaly. mana rejected him and refused to come near him, spells won't interact with him whether to heal or hurt him, mana cease to exist whenever he was near. it was a double edged sword.

he couldn't be cursed, nor could he be healed. Someone once remarked that his affinity was in the negative.

" you can't kill me, so will you listen to my request?"

Medusa's laugh was cold as it echoed through the wood. "kill you? Oh no, 'sir' knight. i will just use your body as a decoration to my forest, maybe people will stop hunting me when they see a 'royal' knight was turned into a stone."

raising her hands, mana crackled around her like a storm. with a flick of her wrist, the ground beneath Arc's feet trembled violently. he leaped to the side just as sharp spikes of earth shot upward narrowly missing him. clicking her tongue, Medusa noticed that the spell took more effort and mana from her more than the usual, it was like she was moving a boulder uphill.

Arc furrowed his forehead as he tried to pinpoint her location, but Medusa movement was abnormally quiet as she readjusted her position, her footsteps silent and deliberate as she circled around him, taking full advantage of his inability to see.

"fighting me blindfolded, i have seen this trick before." she said mockingly. "How long can you keep this up, oh ' royal knight'."

Arc's jaw tightened, as he strained his senses, searching for a clue of how she would strike next, trying to lock on her voice seemed futile as it echoed through the place, so he paid attention to subtle shifts in the air and the feeling of rejection that came from him whenever someone tried using mana.

another attack came in the form of ice shards that was hurled at him, forcing Arc to raise his sword instinctively and gauntlet in front of his face, the metal deflecting few of them and the others grazed his armor, leaving more scratches on its surface. the cold bit at his skin but he endured it.

"Is that all you've got?" Arc called out, hoping to bait her to come closer. since he can't go to her he will force her to come to him.

Medusa smirked from the shadows, her blue eyes gleaming. "Not even close."

she raised her hand again, summoning a boulder from the earth and with a grunt she threw it at him. Arc heard the rumble and jumped to the side, barely avoiding being crushed into mince meat as the boulder fell with a deafening thud.

Medusa didn't relent, conjuring vines from the earth and with thorny tendrils she sent them towards Arc's legs. hearing the slithering coming from the ground and feeling the first of the vines touching his legs, Arc started cutting through the vegetation as quickly as he could.

"You can't keep this up forever," Medusa taunted, her voice shifting locations as she moved to confuse him. "How long before you collapse from exhaustion?"

Arc didn't respond, he couldn't afford the distraction. he steadied his breathing and focused around him, searching for any signs of her next move.

something whistled by his face and he hurriedly put his guard up, as multiple sharped shard of ice struck him, with some lodging in the kinks of his armor and shoulder, causing the biting cold to seep into his body.

"Is that all you can do?" he muttered more to himself than to her.

Medusa's eyes narrowed. she could see the strain in his movement, the slight tremor of his arms as fatigue began to take its toll. most would have dropped down by now becoming an easy prey to her, but despite being exhausted from journey, fighting the beasts that filled the forest and now fighting her, he was still standing, still fighting. and despite herself, she began to feel some admiration to this blindfolded man before her.

"let's end this." she muttered to herself her voice low and dangerous.

gathering all her mana in her hands, she stuck the ground, causing it to rise and roll toward him like an unrelenting tide, while spikes made of earth came hurling down at him. Arc braced himself as he felt the vibrations, planting his feet firmly in the ground. he swung his sword downward with all his might cutting through the earth just enough to disrupt the wave, then by listening to their whistling in the wind and predicting their trajectory, he started to block and deflecting the spikes.

but despite doing his best he wasn't able to come out unscathed, he ended taking the full damage from the ones that slipped past his defense, hitting him squarely in the chest.causing his armor to be dented and injuries to pile on his body and forcing him to step backward to steady himself.

coughing, Arc could feel a metallic taste in his mouth as his breath came in sharp gasps. he could feel the strain on his muscles, the weight of his sword growing heavier with each passing moment.

"I am sorry." a soft voice came from behind him, laced with regret.

Arc eyes widened behind the blindfold and as quick as he could he turned and swung his sword upward, but Medusa was faster. sidestepping, her hand darted out, fingers brushing against the edge of his blindfold. he felt the tug and tried to force her back with his gauntlet but she dodged somehow, blindfold clutched in her hand. and the next thing he knew, her face was merely inches from his own, her mouth opened in a hiss and followed by the multiples hisses of small snakes, her blue eyes glowing brightly.

Medusa took a second to take in his features before he turned into another sculptor of hers, his features were unremarkable but what draw her attention the most was the scar that stretched from the corner of his left eye and crossed the bridge of his nose before ending at the corner of his right eye, across his clouded, unseen eyes.

'Unseen?!' it didn't take more than a second for Medusa to notice something that made her blood run cold.

but a second was more than enough in a life or death situation. Arc didn't hesitate, using her shock to his advantage. he surged forward, tackling her to the ground. the force of his weight pinning her beneath him. his sword was pressed to her throat in an instant, the blade pressed enough to get the message across.

"You are.....blind," she whispered faintly her voice faltering, before she glared at his lifeless dull orbs.

"You...tricked me." she hissed at him, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

"No," Arc responded firmly. "You assumed. and you were wrong."

for a moment, neither of them moved, the tension between palpable to the naked eye. Medusa lay pinned beneath Arc, the weight of his presence pressing her into the forest floor. His sword hovered inches from her neck, its cold steel glinting in the dappled light. Her voice, calm yet edged with icy indifference, cut through the tense silence.

"Do it. What are you waiting for?"

Despite her detached tone, Arc could sense the faint tremor of fear beneath it, a whisper of resignation in her gaze. His grip on the sword tightened, but his voice softened as he met her eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said, his words steady and resolute. "I came to ask for your help, and i believe i can help you too."

her gaze softening, yet suspicion still lingered. "Do you expect me to trust you based on your words alone?"

Arc didn't flinch, he expected as much from her, at least now she seemed willing to listen. "No, based of the fact that you are still talking now." he replied, his lips curling slightly as the choice of his words. "I am asking for a chance, nothing more."

Medusa's gaze bore into him, searching his face for a hint of deceit. "And why should i give you one?" she asked, her voice losing the edge it had before.

Arc stood up, then he took few steps back and sat on the ground, effectively releasing her and giving her the opportunity to kill him if she wanted to. "I have nothing left to lose or gain," he admitted in a quiet voice, his fingers brushing slightly against the blade of his sword. "My sight is gone, i was 'relieved' of my duty, and my belongings were taken from me. the only thing to my name are few coins and the sword in my hand. you can rest assured that i gain nothing from causing you any harm."

Medusa sat up, her gaze never leaving him as she rubbed her neck where that blade had been. she could her the sincerity in his voice and could feel the bitterness and betrayal from his tone.

"Fine," she said finally, her voice soft but firm. "Talk. But don't think for a second that i won't kill you if i suspect that you are lying."

Arc nodded, his face calm despite her words. "Fair enough." he said. "Let's start with why you should help me in the first place."

Medusa's eyes narrowed as she watched Arc reach into the battered chest plate of his armor. his movement slow and deliberate as to not startle her, withdrawing a piece of parchment. the paper was old, its edges frayed and yellowed with age, and as he held it out towards her, her gaze flickered between it and his face.

"what's that?" she asked, her voice cautious. though a spark of curiosity was apparent in her tone.

Arc extended the parchment further, offering it to her. "This," he said evenly. " is a gesture of good faith. apart of what i am offering."

Medusa hesitated for a moment before taking the paper from his hands, careful not to tear it apart. as her eyes scanned the faded ink, her breath caught. two words stood out in bold large letters. Serpens Cor.

her hands shook violently as she looked up at him. "This..."

"If i am not mistaken," Arc pale eyes locked on her blue ones and in a steady voice he continued. "That is a part of the original curse that has plagued your family for generations. now i am offering it to you in exchange for your help."