The Dawn of the New World

Eight figures, six sets of footsteps.

No matter how hard Hao Xuan tried to listen there simply was no noise to be heard. He couldn't see their feet without making any conspicuous movements but judging from the figures swaying backs, or lack thereof, it was pretty obvious their feet were not touching the ground.

The first figure was just behind the first guard while the second was right in front of Ma Jiang. None of them had noticed their presence either since they were all extremely calm.

As for the shape of the two figures, all that Hao Xuan could see were shadowy humanoid silhouettes without any definite shapes. It LOOKED like they had two arms and two legs with one head and torso but the darkness congealing and then dissolving on its own every second, it was really hard to tell.

It didn't look like they meant them any harm since they simply followed them in silence.

Hao Xuan lowered his mental barrier in an attempt to listen to other's thoughts and just as he suspected, none of them knew anything. At least no one other than Ma Jiang who was the closest one to him.

Her head was lowered and she kept mumbling something under her breath. The back of her was even more pale than usual and covered in a cold sweat.

As for her thoughts, they were a repeating cycle of the same exact sentence without pause. It didn't even sound like her own thought, just something she was listening to. Hao Xuan listened to it for a minute or so before repeating the words inwardly.

'As you are, so were WE; As we are, so you shall be.'

*whoooosh*

A sudden gust of ice-cold wind came from the left side and impacted the group. The green flame on Hao Xuan's candle flickered to the pint of being put out but was saved at the last second by a pair of dainty hands.

Hao Xuan looked down and saw Ma Jiang covering his candle with one hand and using her own candle to keep his alight with the other.

The green light of the conjoined flames reflected off of her blood-drained countenance as she continued mumbling something under her breath. Hao Xuan raised his hand to protect the flame from the wind that had slowed down considerably but upon coming to contact with Ma Jiang's hand an electric current went through his body.

She was ice cold. It wasn't just a physical drop in temperature but something a lot more spiritual in nature. Hao Xuan's own body that ran like a boiler under normal circumstances felt like it had been doused in ice water.

The chill passed through his entire body before he could even blink and reached his heart.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Hao Xuan asked pulling back his hand.

Ma Jiang nodded weakly and when the wind died down a few seconds later she tried to turn back around but Hao Xuan grabbed her wrist.

Her lips finally stopped as she peered up at his face asking, "What? Let...go," she tried to break free from his grasp but her feeble attempts bore no fruit.

Realizing she couldn't do it of her accord Ma Jiang begged, "Let me go, please!" but all of Hao Xuan's attention was focused on the figure that was being reflected in her black pupils.

Almost like a mirror that showed a different version of the same reality, in the reflection of her eyes there was a towering figure standing behind Hao Xuan.

At first it was the same as the other two with thick swathes of darkness changing from one state of matter to another but when he looked closer its true nature revealed itself.

A disfigured goat head covered in rotten bandages. There were three holes on its skull each of which housed a red-eye that moved independently to the others. From the looks of it most of the flesh had decayed over time leaving a creature that looked like it was stitched together from dead human and animal parts.

The most lively part of the creature was its tongue that stirred animatedly along its sharpened teeth. Various horns decorated its otherwise empty scalp, some of which looked like they were just sprouting while the biggest three were fairly old and full of scars. (Reference image in discord and authors notes)

This one was a few heads taller than even Hao Xuan and walked behind him in complete silence, just like the others. He wouldn't even have known it was there if not for catching a glimpse of its reflection.

Ma Jiang stared into Hao Xuan's eyes for a moment until she was hit with the sudden realization.

"Can...you see them...too?" she asked in a barely audible whisper.

Her eyes opened wide in expectation and more than a little enthusiastic exhilaration. She didn't need to say anything else her eyes did all the talking for her. She had found a comrade! Even he couldn't see them he would have probably told her yes right now seeing as how hopefully she suddenly became.

Hao Xuan nodded once before looking behind casually.

He could see a vague outline of a figure walking behind him but all the details that Ma Jiang's eyes reflected were absent.

"What are they?" he asked loosening the grip around her wrist but instead of pulling back, she stood on her toes and forcefully turned his head back towards her.

She was so cold that he could barely feel anything.

***

Authors Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ

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Reference Image Link: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/63/6a/43/636a43877d1876e3277609e5572099dd.jpg

Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/dgGoH