Uriel panickedly looked around him, only to find nothing but darkness. He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Who... are you?" For a second, only silence answered him until he heard that similar chime again.
{ Welcome, witcher Uriel! }
The voice that answered Uriel was undoubtedly female, but rather than a soft, cheerful tone, it was low and gravelly, with a heavy rasp that sounded like it had been scraped out of a sore throat.
Following the mysterious woman's voice came a screen that appeared in front of him. It was a black holographic screen with a bunch of unknown runes, but somehow Uriel could read all of it, despite not knowing the language in the first place.
{ You've been unfortunately banished to the world forgotten by the gods, but do not fret, as I'll pick a suitable region for you to start your adventure. }
The system shifted into a buzzing screen until it stopped, and the runes changed their color to red. Uriel squinted his eyes to read what the words said.
{ Transporting to.....NIHIGLOO }
For a second the window disappeared, but appeared again, this time replacing the black depressing screen with a white angelic one, with a yellow shining border all around it forming an intricate shape.
{ The God of Light has bestowed their gaze upon witcher Uriel }
None of this made sense to the banished blondie. He rubbed his head with a confused expression. He was going to say another word, but the screen that was just in front of him scattered into many light particles. That was the last thing he saw until shadow swallowed him inside the darkness.
---
Uriel felt his body waving from left to right, then in the last second his head popped out of the suppressing water as he gasped for air. He darted his head all around him to find black murky water everywhere. The violent sea he was currently in churned forcefully, throwing him from side to side.
Uriel had to force his whole body just so he could look up, trying his best to avoid the salty sea water. The jet-black sky was packed with tiny white dots of light; it was the only source of light in this vanishing water Uriel currently found himself in.
The unfortunate male blinked his stinging eyes, rubbing the water away from his face. Just as he thought it couldn't get any worse, he felt the already moving sea fiercely shake even more than before, and in the last second a titanic-sized wyrm burst out from the sea, creating a huge wave that escorted Uriel away from the monster.
The sea creature had a long, serpentine body that shimmered like oil on water. Iridescent blues, purples, and greens rippled across its scales with every movement. Patches of bioluminescent light pulsed along its spine, cycling through soft gold, deep magenta, and electric cyan. It was beautiful in the way a wildfire was beautiful.
It was so majestic yet felt so ancient that Uriel could not help but get hypnotized by its beauty. The rainbow serpent roared in the distance, shaking the nearby water and making the mesmerized blondie drift further and further away from the ophidian.
Just after Uriel managed to stay afloat, a pair of legs descended from the sky.
Long, spindly legs covered in coarse grey fur, each one ending in three hooked claws as long as Uriel's fingers. They struck the serpent's back with brutal force, digging deep into the iridescent scales. Above them, a massive bat-like creature unfurled its wings, so wide they blocked out the stars. It had no eyes, just two hollow sockets, but its oversized ears twitched and swiveled, tracking the serpent's every move.
A wave slammed into Uriel's face, and he swallowed saltwater before he could cough it out.
The wyrm screamed and thrashed in the ocean, creating more small waves. The gigantic bat screeched back at the rainbow serpent. It landed on the beast's long slender barbels, gripped them tightly, and flew up to the sky, ripping the creature's whiskers from its maw.
The prismatic naga groaned in pain as white-colored blood spilled from its face and all over the shadowy water.
The bat circled back, wings slicing the air. It dove again, this time raking its hooked claws across the serpent's spine. Iridescent shards scattered across the water like broken glass. The wyrm curled inward, trying to protect its back, but the bat was already turning for another pass.
Before the bat could strike again, the rainbow serpent briskly lunged upward. Its massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of needle-thin teeth. The nocturnal tried to veer away, but the wyrm was faster. Teeth sank into the bat's leathery wing, tearing a crescent-shaped hole. The bat screeched, stumbled mid-air, then beat its wings harder, climbing just out of reach.
The bat wobbled in the air, its torn wing struggling to keep it aloft. It never saw the serpent rise. One moment the wyrm was in the water. The next, its massive head had breached the surface and slammed into the bat's chest. The sheer weight of the serpent crushed the bat against the water's surface, pinning it there. The bat's wings flailed, splashing useless foam.
Just when Uriel thought it was over, the massive tail of the ophidian emerged from the dark water. It directly slammed against the bat and coiled all around it. With nowhere to escape, the bat thrashed, screamed, and hissed violently. But it was no use, as the serpent had had enough and dragged the screaming blind bat along with its iridescent tail.
There was no trace left of the bat, not even a single sound. The only mark left was the glowing rainbow scale of the serpent under the water. It went deeper and deeper into the abyss until there was no more light left.
Uriel just stared at the spot where the two beasts once fought, now remained empty, there was only silence and the small streak of white opalescent blood left by the vicious monster duel.
This was nowhere near Uriel's expectation after getting banished. His chest was rising and falling repeatedly.
What can a teenage boy who just got blamed for the murder of his mother and witnessed two gigantic beasts fighting in the middle of the black sea say?
"What just happened?"