Andgiet Scinn: Oneirophobia

X

A chilly breeze blew from outside as it travelled within the dark caverns of the Lavaldows Summit, the calm ambiance within the tunnels were contrasted with the mellow flow of magma on the some side of the cavern. Illuminating the fortified city within the mountain.

 Along with the soft sounds of the calm flow of the lava were the indistinct whispers of a rumour spreading through the walls. Making those who stood guard feel eerie, the dark rocks that border the fortress felt a lot creepier than it usually does. The shadows of casted within the caverns did not help as it played illusions that someone was watching from the distant.

"That's a whole lot of bull." One of them laughed as they patrolled around the fortress.

"What's bull?" Another guard asked as they approached them near the entrance of the cavern.

The first man nudged his finger to the person beside him while rolling his eyes. "He insists that the rumours about what they call the Phantom Eyes is real."

The second man, the one who was listening to the conversation of the two earlier, erupted into laughter at the absurd idea of it being true. 

 "Everyone knows ghosts do not exist nor can it hurt you. It was most probably done by a human. An assassin at most. " He said in between fits of laughter.

"Well, I am sure no ordinary human can do what it did to those people." The man's voice, the one who was trying to convince the two about the rumours being a fact, trembled as his eyes scanned the cavern anxiously. 

The howl of the wind had caused all three to turn their heads to the entrance of the cavern, only being met with the dark shadows of the night. They could feel their hearts beating like a drum against their chest, breath stuck in their throat before they tore their eyes away from the passage to continue their conversation

"No one has seen it or seemed to have survived an encounter with it except one. All the victims were killed in various different ways." The third man argued, trying to convince the two who had simply rolled their eyes at him.

"Which is why it was most probably a human. Probably the resistance or something." The second man countered while waving the other man off, concentrating on convincing his comrade that there is no such thing as a ghost.

"That's what you say. A witness saw from a far how it passed through its victim and they just dropped dead afterwards. The witness only saw a shadowy figure and fiery eyes filled with hatred. That's why they call it the Phantom eyes." The second man was supposed to say something when they heard a rustling sound again coming from the passage that led out of the mountain.

"Who goes there?!" He shouted as he pointed his spear at the passage. 

The other two were also on high alert as they had heard what seemed like the sound of metal scraping stone floor of the mountain. The one who asked could feel cold sweat dripping down his face, looking frantically at the passage. Squinting his eyes as all he could not see anything in the dark.

"It might be the Phantom?" The question of the third man had earned him a glare from one of the other two officers.

"Keep it up and I'll show you something much worse than a phantom." The first one threatened as he glared at the man who asked.

He refused to believe that there was such a thing as a Phantom, and with the talk of ghost stories within the darkness of the mountain was not helping their nerves. They could feel the cold air gushing from the passage, the hairs on the back of their neck's continued to stand in attention. Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads and dampened their palms making them grip their spears tighter.