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The forest stretched before them, Xander and Iris stumbled onward, their breaths echoing in the open air.
Iris had come up with a wild but shockingly possible theory that had to do with both of them being abducted and used for some sort of cult ritual, leading to Xander saying that being reincarnated into a video game would be more likely. They began arguing on who's theory was closer to the truth, leading to Iris calling him a nerd for thinking something like some 'anime isekai bullshit' had happened to them.
And then it came-a guttural roar that reverberated through the trees. Xander's heart leaped. "W-what was that?"
Iris's eyes widened. "Something worse than detention and being abducted by cultists, that's for sure."
And then it appeared-a creature from nightmares. Its serpentine body coiled, scales glinting in the faint light. But it wasn't just a serpent; it was a hydra-a monstrous fusion of reptilian heads, each one snapping and hissing.
"What the fuck is that?!" Iris screamed.
Maybe Xander was right, maybe they were in another world...one with magic crystals, glowing tattoos and mythical bloodthirsty creatures.
He drew a deep breath. "We run. And we don't look back." Seeing as Iris was frozen to her core and unresponsive due to the shock of seeing an otherworldly creature, he grabbed her hand and ran.
They sprinted, their footsteps crunching the leaves below coupled with the sounds of their screams. The hydra pursued, its heads snapping at their heels. Xander glimpsed its eyes-yellow and malevolent. How had they gone from getting detention to this?
Xander veered left, and Iris followed. They reached a large boulder. The hydra's roars grew louder, and Xander's legs burned. He glanced at Iris- at her almost scared to death expression.
They got closer to the boulder, big enough for both of them to hide. But the hydra was relentless. It lunged, jaws snapping. Xander grabbed Iris, pulling her behind it as the hydra searched for them.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Iris chanted as she crouched as close to Xander as she could, hiding her face with his chest.
"Shhh!" Xander placed his finger on her lips, watching as tears trailed down her cheeks. "It'll hear us, I think it's partially blind since it hasn't found us yet. So that means its sense of hearing is a lot more better."
Who knew reading his deadbeat father's notes and books on mythical creatures and other supernatural stuff would prove useful one day.
"We can't fight it," he continued. "We need-"
Iris's terrified eyes met his. "The crystal...w-we need to get back to the crystal. Maybe it'll take us back!"
Xander shook his head, "we're too far from the cave! We can't outrun it, or hide for long" he panted. "We need a plan."
Xander's gaze darted around and the hydra's roars grew louder. He spotted a fallen tree branch-a makeshift weapon. He grabbed it, adrenaline surging. "Iris, keep moving. I'll hold it off."
"What? Absolutely not!" She whisper yelled.
"Iris-"
"Are you crazy? If you go up against that thing, you'll die in seconds!"
"It's the only choice we have!" Xander pressed, he grabbed her shoulders, his purple eyes staring deep into hers. "Iris, you gotta run."
She hesitated, then nodded as if something had compelled her to do so. "Be careful."
She got up and ran without looking back. And Xander ran towards the tree branch.
As the hydra lunged as it had heard Xander and smelled him, jaws snapping, Xander swung the branch. It connected with one of the heads, and the monster hissed, recoiling. But another head lunged, teeth gnashing. Xander twisted, narrowly avoiding its bite, but the branch snapped in half.
The hydra's venomous fangs grazed his leg, and pain shot through him. He stumbled, blood soaking his jeans. He was weak, disoriented. Iris screamed as she ran, and Xander's heart clenched. He couldn't let the hydra hurt her.
And then, from the shadows, emerged an old man-a mask covering his face, robes billowing. His eyes glinted with ancient knowledge. In his hand, he held a purple coloured ball of fire.
"Stand back," the old man commanded. His voice carried a weight that silenced the hydra. "This beast is not for mortal hands."
Xander leaned against the a large treel, his leg throbbing. The old man raised the flame. The hydra hissed, its heads recoiling. The the purple flame emitted a brilliant light, blinding Xander.
When he opened his eyes, the hydra was gone, had ran away. The old man stood before him, the flame dissipating in his palm. "You fought...badly, but you're a young Kaelhi...with so much to learn."
'Kaelhi?'
Xander's voice was hoarse. "W-who are you?"
The old man's gaze bore into him. "I am the Crystal Guardian-the keeper of ancient magic. You bear the mark-the spiral. It connects you to realms beyond."
Iris ran towards them and hugged Xander as tight as she could, her fear replaced with relief, still hugging a pained Xander, she questioned. "Oh my god! Are you okay?!"
'We're lost in the middle of nowhere, we just got attacked by a monster, I almost died, Iris is hugging me, and a strange old man is calling me a...Kaelhi?'
There's no way he was okay!
"You idiot!" Iris yelled as she hit him on the chest which made him groan "You could have died!"
The old man's eyes softened. "The hydra guards the gateway. It feeds on fear and chaos. But you-you wounded it. You have courage, young Kaelhi."
Xander released a another groan as he gritted his teeth, Iris cried out. "The hydra, it got him!"
The man knelt down and gently touched the wound. "He has been poisoned." He said.
Iris sobbed and crawled towards the man, "c-can you help him? Is he gonna die? Please tell me you can save him!"
The guardian nodded, "It is a fatal wound but I can help."
Iris released a breathless laugh and turned to Xander who was slowly losing consciousness, the world looked blurry and he could barely feel the pain anymore. "Hear that, Woods?" She said looking at him with watery eyes. "He can help..."
"Great..." He slumped forward and fell into the cushions of her chest, she gasped in shock as she caught him on her arms. "Mister! He's losing consciousness!" She yelled.
The man moved closer to him and ordered Iris to lay him on the ground on his back, as she did so, Xander found himself thinking that maybe being isekaied into a world like this was the worst thing to happen. They hadn't spent a day here and he was already dying.
After that, he no longer had any thoughts. He fell into a deep sleep, the deepest he had ever had.
Scratch that again, he might just be in hell.