Fallen Radiance

Elena stood in front of the desolate valley, the sky dark, the wind mixed with fine gravel hit her face. The ground under his feet cracked into a thousand ferocious lines, like a giant mouth that was about to swallow life. However, at the end of this barren landscape, she finally saw it - the legendary statue.

The statue stands in the middle of the wilderness, tall and dilapidated, its surface covered with the traces of age. Its shape is very different from the angel statues of the Empire. There were no outstretched wings, no radiant light, only a shadowy figure holding a split sword in his hand, the other clutching his heart, as if trying to cover some unquenchable wound.

Elena slowly approached, her eyes fixed on the statue. Her heart was beating faster, and everything here matched the stories she had heard. According to legend, the pioneers of the abandoned son camp once gathered here, they refused the salvation of angels and gods, and did not succumb to the temptation of demons, but opened up a field of freedom by their own will. This statue is their symbol.

As she approached, the wind suddenly stopped and there was silence. Elena's footsteps were very clear in the empty valley, and she looked up at the statue's face, which, though obscured by wind erosion, made one feel an ineffable loneliness and struggle.

She reached out her hand and tentatively touched the base of the statue. The tips of her fingers touched the cold stone, and a strange chill spread through them. She jerked her hand away and looked around warily. At that moment, I heard a muffled voice.

"Get out of here... The intruder..."

The voice was husky and vague, as if it came from deep underground. Elena's body tensed for a moment, and she quickly pulled out the short sword at her waist and took a defensive stance in the direction of the sound.

'Who is it? She drank with unmistakable authority in her voice. Although she has now lost her angel's blessing, her instincts on the battlefield and years of accumulated combat experience still keep her calm.

She was answered by a sudden attack. A dark shadow appeared from behind a rock on the left, almost too fast to catch. Elena unconsciously sidestepped, the dark figure carrying the fierce wind brushed against her shoulders, sharp claws in the air to draw harsh broken wind.

She quickly steadied herself and locked her eyes on her attacker. It was a twisted creature, half human, half animal, draped in broken black cloth, with a scarlet glow in its eyes. Its body is covered with deep black lines, and those lines radiate a supernatural force, as if they were some variant of the demon camp.

"The devil's dog?" Elena sneered and raised her short sword with an unyielding warlike look in her eyes, "It seems that you are also eyeing here."

The creature did not answer, but let out a low growl, like some wild animal expressing its anger. He moved with great speed and lunged at Elena again. Elena sees the moment, sidesteps, and sweeps the dagger away. The sharp blade cut through the air and directly into the creature's arm, sending up a black mist of blood.

The creature let out a shrill cry and rolled back, but Elena gave it no chance to breathe. She lunged forward, raised her dagger high, and thrust it straight into its heart. At the last moment, however, the creature suddenly twisted itself and blocked her blade with its sharp claws.

The impact sent a shiver through her wrist, and the creature swung its other claw straight at her stomach. Elena took a hasty step back, but the sharp claw blade tore a gash in her cloak, and blood ran down her dress.

She took a breath and clenched her sword, but there was no fear in her eyes. The pain of the battle awakened the fighting spirit in her body, and the anger in her heart burned more intensely at this moment.

"Come on, let me see how much weight you have!" With a low roar, her figure rushed toward the creature like a gust of wind, and her short sword, with a cold light, struck its throat hard.

This time, she didn't give him a chance to fight back. The sound of the blade piercing flesh was eerie, the screams of the creature stopped abruptly, and the scarlet eyes gradually lost their luster. Its body twitched a few times, and eventually it fell to the ground, turning into a black mist that dissipated with the wind.

Elena stood there, breathing heavily, her eyes scanned warily. It was so quiet, so quiet she felt uneasy. She looked up at the statue and saw that the blurred face seemed to be watching her.

"Here... What is hidden?" She whispered to herself, a wave of mixed emotions welling up in her chest.