Destiny: Chosen For Battle

We all walked into the big blue portal that led us outside our city. We were seven in total: June, Kelvin, Camila, Lex, Gold, Nixon, and me. The portal spat us out into an empty, desolate world.

"It's a desert," Nixon said, inspecting the barren environment.

"Dead end," Camila replied with a frown, while I silently watched them, unsure of what to say. My attention was on Lex, whom Master had chosen to be our leader.

"Let's keep going," Lex commanded in his deep, husky voice. Master had given each of us a horse to make the journey easier.

We traveled for an hour, with Lex checking the map given to him by Master.

"It's getting dark; let's rest here for the day," Lex said, and we all agreed. I dismounted my horse, pulled off the bag tied to its side, and dropped it on the ground with a huff. Digging through the bag, I pulled out my tent and started setting it up.

I shared my tent with June. Camila stayed alone; she was so uptight and distant that none of us bothered her.

After setting up, I finally asked June the question that had been bothering me since we began the journey. "What happened to Rachel?"

June cleared her throat and frowned before replying. "She cried a lot. She said it was her dream to save our world from demons."

I sighed, feeling sorry for Rachel. She was the closest thing I had to a friend.

"It must have been really hard for her," I said softly.

"Yeah," June replied. Then, suddenly, she clapped her hands together. "Let's go out and have fun!"

I chuckled as we stepped outside the tent to join the others. I sat next to Kelvin on a log while Lex worked on making a fire to keep us warm.

Camila, surprisingly, helped roast our meat for dinner.

Once we were settled, Lex cleared his throat. His eyes met mine briefly before he looked away. "First thing tomorrow morning, by dawn, we'll leave this place. Nothing is safe here," he said. Almost on cue, the sound of a crow cawing echoed in the distance.

"That's why it's called the underworld—because it's filled with demons," Lex added, and we all nodded in agreement.

Most of us weren't good with our powers yet, except for sword fighting, which we had been trained in.

When Camila finished roasting the meat, we each took a portion and ate in silence.

"So, does anyone know any stories about this place?" Nixon asked, looking at each of us.

"I do," Camila replied quietly, catching my interest. I moved closer to her as she began speaking.

"My dad used to tell me stories about this place," she said, fiddling with her nails.

"Tell us one," June chuckled, and the rest of us nodded.

"There's a dark forest here. The trees take people's souls. If you manage to escape, you'll lose your mind from the evil you've seen in the forest," Camila explained.

"So, you mean if you see the evil, you go mad?" I asked.

"Yes. It depends on the path you take inside the dark forest. There are three paths: one leads to destruction, the second to evil, and the last to your mind, where you won't be yourself anymore," she said.

Fear crept into everyone's faces as her words sank in.

"Can we escape it? The dark forest, I mean," I asked, turning to Lex.

"I'm afraid not," Lex said, and my heart sank.

"But we'll try not to fall into those traps," he added with a shiver.

June was quiet, lost in her thoughts. I tapped her on the shoulder, snapping her out of it.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine," I said with a small smile.

"I'm not scared, Destiny," she replied, standing up and heading to the tent. I watched her retreating figure until she disappeared inside.

"I know she's scared… we all are," I mumbled.

"It'll be fine," Lex assured me.

"I hope so," I replied. "Good night," I added with a sigh before heading to the tent.

Inside, June was already asleep. I laid down beside her, and before I knew it, I drifted off.

"Destiny, wake up! Come on," I heard someone say in my sleep. Groaning, I opened my eyes slowly.

"Sorry, I slept too long," I muttered, sitting up.

"Come on, let's go. Lex is waiting for us," June said.

We walked out of the tent and found everyone else already up.

"You sleep a lot," Kelvin teased, and I glared at him.

I climbed onto my horse as we began the journey again. Lex led the way, holding the map while the rest of us followed behind.

"It's not really bad here," Gold said, and the rest chuckled.

"Yeah, I haven't seen anything scary like demons," Camila laughed, and Gold grumbled in agreement.

"Maybe it's all a lie. It's just sand," Nixon scoffed.

"This isn't a game, guys!" Lex shouted, pulling his horse to a stop and glaring at us. Everyone fell silent.

The desert stretched endlessly, and as the sun began to set, I spoke up. "Our horses need rest, and it's getting late. The sun is going down."

"Let's stay here for the night," Nixon suggested, and everyone agreed.

"Something is off," Kelvin said after dismounting his horse. He walked ahead, inspecting the ground.

"What do you mean?" I asked, joining him.

Kelvin pointed at the sand. "Look at this."

I squatted, my leather pants stretching against my thighs, and squinted at the marks in the sand. My stomach dropped. We had been moving in circles.

"Fuck!" I hissed, kicking the sand under my boots. Everyone stared at me like I had lost my mind.

"Destiny," Lex said softly, walking up to me. "It's okay. We'll get through this."

I nodded, swallowing my frustration, as Lex patted my shoulder and went to set up his tent.

When I was done setting up my tent, I stepped out to find the others already settled around the fire. As usual, I gravitated toward Kelvin and sat beside him. The flickering flames cast long shadows, and the tension in the air was palpable.

Frustration boiled inside me, and I finally voiced the question on everyone's mind. "So, how long is it going to take us to reach Lucifer?"

Lex, calmly tearing into his portion of meat, replied without hesitation, "I'd say a year or more."

"A year?" I echoed, my voice rising in disbelief. The others gasped in unison, their shock mirroring mine.

"Or more," he added with a sly smirk, clearly unfazed by our reaction. "That is—if we're quick about this."

His smug expression only added fuel to my irritation. I glared at his annoyingly handsome face, wishing for a moment that I could wipe that smirk off him with a well-aimed punch.