The wall of the cyclone rampaged just within arm's reach, a near-invisible horror that spawned from thin air.
Cain could only discern its edge by the debris being swept up—entire trees with old roots ripped from the frozen earth, massive boulders tossed skyward like mere pebbles, all being swept up before vanishing into the ash-gray heavens. The storm's perimeter howled with the voice of a thousand beasts in agony, a deafening noise that made his ears ring.
He exhaled sharply, watching his breath curl into the frigid air. Cain knew his flaw all too well—if he so much as grazed the cyclone's edge it could mean more than just harm to his physical body. He was lucky... luckier than they had been. One moment, they had stood beside him and the next, a violent gust had howled through, spawning a blinding smokescreen of snow that engulfed them within seconds. And when it cleared—they were simply gone, as if they'd never existed at all.
Cain turned toward Evan, who sat motionless atop a frost-covered boulder—unnaturally still and calm despite what had just occurred.
Ice crystals had formed in Evan's stubble. His mind was rampant, shifting grim, but he grounded himself telling himself that they were fine, they had to be.
"We need to find lower ground," Cain barked, his voice harsh against the storm's roar. "If this cyclone shifts while we're exposed on the surface, we're finished!"
But Evan only shook his head slowly, his expression turning contemplative. "It hasn't moved," he replied, voice barely audible above the wind. "Not even an inch. Look—" He gestured to a thin line scratched into the snow-dusted ground several yards away. "That marker I carved at the edge—still untouched by the storm wall."
Cain narrowed his eyes. The line was indeed precisely where Evan had drawn it an hour ago. "So, what's your grand plan then, huh?" he demanded, brushing accumulated snow from his bare, scarred chest.
"We stay put," Evan replied, his gaze drifting upward to the ash-gray sky that swirled above them like dirty water circling a drain.
"We let them find us." Evan said, peeling his gaze from the churning skies.
Cain's upper lip twitched in contained frustration. He closed his eyes for a moment, collecting himself. "That's where you're wrong," he growled. "There are things in this storm. And they're a real bitch to kill."
Evan turned to him, brow furrowed. His eyes held a hint of doubt. "We can't see ten feet ahead in this fog. You really want to wander around blindly, risk running into whatever monsters you claim are out there?"
Cain scratched the back of his head, fingers scraping against his scalp as he grumbled curses under his breath. Then, with a resigned grunt, he lowered himself beside Evan on the cold stone. "Alright. I'll listen," he conceded. "Seems like you're actually thinking this through."
Evan offered a faint smile and a nod. "Thank you."
Time passed as the two men huddled on their perch of stone. They kept their voices low, just in case, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. For nearly an hour, they waited, exchanging sparse stories, hoping their allies would somehow emerge unscathed.
Then, probing a little deeper, Evan asked, "What about you? Anyone waiting for you back home? Family, friends?"
Cain's eyes drifted to the fog surrounding them, his expression hardening as though trying to glimpse something. The muscles in his jaw worked silently before he spoke. "Nothing," he said. "Absolutely nothing. The closest thing I had to family, I lost in this realm months ago." His fingers absently traced the ridge of his spine at the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry..." Evan murmured, reaching out to rest a hand on Cain's shoulder.
Cain flinched visibly and brushed the hand away. "Don't be," he snapped. "It was his fault. Too weak. Too kind. Too damn heroic for his own good. I hated that bastard with a passion." The words hissed from his mouth like steam.
Evan blinked, startled by the venom in Cain's voice.
But before he could respond, a horrific, guttural roar rolled out from the fog, a sound so primal it froze the breath in their lungs. Both men leapt to their feet, hearts hammering against their ribs.
"Shit..." Cain muttered, a twisted smile slowly spreading across his face. "Looks like they found us after all."
He reached behind his head with fingers stabbing and slipping beneath his flesh at the nape of his neck. With a sickening squelch that made Evan's stomach turn, Cain gripped his own spinal column and pulled it free from his body.
Then, in a fluid flick of his wrist, the vertebrae warped and twisted, rearranging themselves into a jagged bone scythe.
Evan swallowed his revulsion and summoned his heavy Warhammer, the massive head materializing in his grip, humming faintly.
His eyes frantically scanned the impenetrable fog, breath tight in his chest, his academy training kicking in despite his fear. "Where are they?"
Cain didn't answer with words. He simply raised his bone scythe and pointed it into the white fog veil.
And then Evan saw it—a faint blue glow, pulsing through the fog like a heartbeat, growing brighter—closer—with each passing second. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, snow shifting with each impact.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The fog parted like a theater curtain, revealing a grotesque being—massive and lumbering. The creature's flesh was sickly and swollen, with cobalt veins glowing beneath pale skin stretched to its limits. Its distended abdomen had burst open from internal pressure, bulging intestines that were azure in color, with sharp protrusions like barbed wire. Its face was swollen as well, with its head lolled to the side, with eyes that glowed the same eerie blue as its veins.
Another set of heavy footsteps echoed from behind the first monstrosity. A second creature emerged—a female counterpart, equally massive, her form twisted by the same corruption, her face locked in an expression of maddening hunger. Both creatures fixed their glowing eyes on the two sleepers.
Cain's scowl deepened, his grip tightening on his scythe.
"Shit!" Evan's eyes widened as he adjusted his grip on his hammer.
As if responding to his exclamation, the two creatures let out simultaneous roars that ripped through the air, a sound so deep it vibrated the men's bones.
Cain and Evan braced themselves, feet digging into the snow, weapons raised.
"We should retreat," Evan shouted. "Those things don't seem like they can run as fast as we could." He took a cautious step back.
"Oh, now you want to run?" Cain laughed, a manic edge to his voice that completely contrasted his previous reluctance. His eyes had taken on a wild gleam. "Too bad. We can take 'em." His lips pulled back in a feral grin.
Evan grabbed his shoulder, fingers digging into the bare flesh. "This isn't a joke, Cain."
Cain chuckled, the sound light and terrifying in its casualness. "If you don't want to fight, just sit here and be pretty." Without waiting for a response, he tore from Evan's grasp, marching toward the brutes with his scythe held low, its edge scraping a line through the snow behind him.
Evan stood in stasis, watching Cain's suicidal charge. Sprinting blindly at two nightmare creatures was completely foreign to everything he'd learned at the academy. He had been taught to fight with equal or greater numbers, to never engage at a disadvantage until all options were exhausted. Yet here was Cain, mindlessly charging at two monstrosities that dwarfed him completely, his bone scythe looking like a feeble toy in comparison to their massive frames.
'Damn it all!' Evan screamed internally as he hefted his hammer and forced himself to take a step forward. He couldn't let the man die, no matter how insane he might be.
Cain burst forth, closing the distance to the male brute. The creature's massive fist hammered down into the snow where Cain had been an instant before, missing him by inches and creating a crater in the frozen ground.
Instead of retreating or circling for a better angle, Cain did the unthinkable—he sprang onto the brute's swollen arm, his scythe scraping along its flesh as he ran upward. With crazed glee, he swung in a savage arc, the blade hooking hard and burying deep into the creature's neck.
Blue blood erupted from the wound like a fountain, spraying in an azure arc across the white snow. The sight of it seemed to awaken something primal in Cain, his eyes widening with fascination, his grin spreading wider.
"How beautiful is that!" he cackled, kicking off the brute and wrenching his scythe free from its hooked hold in the creature's jugular. He landed squarely in front of the beast as its azure blood rained down upon him.
Evan stood frozen in awe. Had Cain really just slain a nightmare creature of that size without suffering a single wound? Such a feat seemed possible only for someone with extraordinary training—or an Aspect of incredibly high rank.
But Evan's wonder began to fade as the brute took a step forward, still moving despite the grievous wound gushing torrents of its azure blood. The ground trembled beneath its step, defying the expectation of a clean kill.
Even with its massive frame, the creature moved with startling speed. It swung a colossal arm, forcing Cain to block rather than evade. The blow collided with his scythe, the impact hurling Cain, his body tumbling through the snow like a ragdoll.