The deeper Dune and Nely walked into the forest, the more the colors around them shifted, deep green leaves gave way to streaks of gold and orange, as if autumn had begun touching this part of the woods. Birds flitted between branches, their chirping growing louder, and small creatures scurried through the underbrush, unbothered by the two travelers passing through.
As they moved along the narrow, winding path, Nely cast a sidelong glance at Dune. Her gaze lingered on the thin scar running along the side of his neck, barely visible in the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.
"So…" she said, nudging him lightly. "Are you gonna tell me why you aren't healing those scars?"
Dune's fingers instinctively brushed against the mark. "I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I don't know why Neba didn't heal it."
His words lingered in the air, and for a moment, his mind drifted inward. Why didn't Neba heal this? he thought. It's the same with my eye. Back then, when Ned injured me, Neba didn't heal that scar either…
A small frown tugged at Nely's lips as she studied him. "You good?" she asked, suspicion laced in her tone. Dune snapped out of his thoughts and forced a small grin. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." She didn't look convinced, but she let it slide.
"How old are you again?" Nely asked casually.
Dune opened his mouth to answer, sixteen, he almost said. But then he hesitated. A memory surfaced, hazy but certain. 25th December… His birthday had been… days ago? Maybe a week? He hadn't even realized. He'd been too busy trying to survive.
"…Seventeen," he corrected himself.
Nely stopped mid-step, blinking at him. "Wait. What?"
Dune rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away. "Yeah, I, uh… kinda forgot."
"You forgot your own birthday?"
"I was dying. Kind of had other things on my mind."
Nelly groaned, throwing her hands up. "Unbelievable. And here I was, thinking we were friends!"
Dune chuckled. "What, you wanted to throw a party out here? In the middle of a trial where we could literally die at any moment?"
"No? Maybe? You at least could've told me."
He smirked. "Who even cares about that."
"I do!" she shot back, shaking her head. "You should at least get a proper birthday meal or something, it's the most important day in your life Dune, you gotta appreciate it, always."
"I'm not eating anything from you, Nely."
"Ugh. You're hopeless."
They kept walking, the playful banter easing the weight of their journey, at least for a little while. Eventually, the conversation shifted again.
"So," Nely said, "what did you study before all this? You were at the academy, right?"
*Why is she so chatty out of nowhere?*
Dune nodded. "Yeah. Now that my memory's back, I remember, I finished the first Academy stage before all this."
"The first stage? That's the one that teaches you about green Neba, right?"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Basics of how to use it, how to find your own animal core to strengthen it. The second stage goes deeper into it, that's for seventeen to nineteen-year-olds. Then the final stage is from nineteen to twenty, where they teach you even more advanced stuff."
Nely raised a brow. "Huh. Guess we're at the same level, then. I trained in the same aspects. But I still don't know much about the Neba itself… and I'm guessing you don't either?"
"Not really," Dune admitted.
"Great." She rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of amusement in her expression. The conversation faded into comfortable silence as they continued through the shifting forest, unaware of what lay ahead.
But after a while, something unusual broke the rhythm of trees and shifting light. Rising between the dense foliage was a massive structure, its dark stone walls half-covered in moss and vines.
Dune and Nely stopped in their tracks, staring up at it.
"The hell is this?" Dune muttered.
Nely tilted her head, studying the worn-out carvings along the building's edges. "Looks abandoned."
"Yeah, but what's it doing here? In the middle of nowhere?"
Curiosity sparked between them. They exchanged a glance and stepped forward.
The entrance stood wide open, as if inviting them in. Inside, dust hung in the air, disturbed only by their footsteps echoing against cold stone. The deeper they walked, the more details emerged from the shadows, along the walls, dark statues stood in rigid silence.
Monsters.
Some bore sharp fangs and elongated claws, others had too many limbs, too many eyes. Each one was carved with impossible precision, every scale and sinew captured in chilling detail. Time had worn them down, cracks running through their bodies, but their expressions of rage and agony remained untouched.
Nely exhaled sharply. "Creepy as hell."
Dune nodded. He wasn't sure if they were meant to be guards, warnings, or something else entirely. They pushed further in, past rows of monstrous statues, until the corridor widened into a vast chamber.
And there, standing at the center, was the largest statue of them all.
A towering figure cloaked in a long, flowing hood, wings stretching behind it like the remnants of something once divine. Its stone surface was worn and dirty, streaked with time. Grass and moss had begun creeping up its legs, as if nature itself was trying to claim it. In its hands, it held a large, weathered slate, etched with symbols, hieroglyphs in their own language.
Dune and Nely approached cautiously, their eyes tracing the faded carvings.
"Ivory Nomad," Nely read aloud, her voice barely above a whisper. They stood there in silence, staring up at the nameless figure.
"Who is this guy?" Dune murmured. "Some kind of god?" Nely didn't answer. She just kept staring, her mind turning over the possibilities.
Outside, the forest remained still. Inside, the statues watched in silence.
As Dune and Nely ventured deeper into the building, the structure became increasingly confusing. Hallways twisted at odd angles, leading to rooms that didn't quite make sense, some slanted as if the foundation had shifted, others looped back to places they had already been. The air grew colder, heavier, thick with an unshakable stillness.
The deeper they went, the stranger things became. Then they saw them.
Human-shaped statues, standing motionless in the dim light.
Dune and Nely froze, their breath hitching. The figures were the same size as them, frozen in mid-motion, some reaching out, some caught in expressions of horror, others with their arms raised as if to shield themselves from something unseen. Their faces were detailed, lifelike, almost too real.
"What… what happened here?" Nely whispered, stepping closer.
Dune scanned the room, unease creeping up his spine. "They weren't carved like this."
It looked as if these people had been turned into stone.
Before they could make sense of it, footsteps echoed from an adjacent hallway. Slow and deliberate. A moment later, a boy emerged from the shadows, holding a basket filled with fruits and dried food.
Dune and Nely tensed.
He was short and slender, with a sharp, straight nose and dark eyes that held a weary, almost lifeless gaze. His black hair was unkempt, strands falling over his forehead. A hooded battle attire clung to his lean frame, worn and tattered. His wounded fingers gripped the basket tightly, as if it were the only thing grounding him. He looked… exhausted. Like something had drained the life out of him, leaving behind only a hollow shell.
For a moment, silence filled the space between them. "He looks like you but smaller." Nely said to Dune as she stepped forward.
"Hey!" she called out. "Who are you?"
The boy's head snapped up, and his expression darkened.
"Stop," he shouted, his voice quiet but firm. "Don't move any closer."
Nely halted, exchanging a confused glance with Dune. "What? Why?"
The boy's grip on the basket tightened. "Because if you do… you'll be trapped too."
A cold chill ran through the air. Dune's pulse quickened. "Trapped? What do you mean?"
The boy's gaze flickered past them, deeper into the labyrinth of halls and rooms. His shoulders tensed, as if expecting something. someone, to emerge.
"It's here," he muttered, almost to himself. "The thing that lives in this place… if you don't listen, it'll take you too."
Nelly swallowed, her eyes darting back to the frozen statues. Dune clenched his fists. "What is going to take us?"
The boy's tired, haunted eyes met his. Suddenly the air grew heavier.
Dune barely had time to process the boy's warning before a deep, bone-rattling rumble echoed through the halls. The ground beneath them trembled, dust shaking loose from the ceiling.
Then, from the depths of the labyrinth, something emerged.
A massive figure lumbered forward, his footsteps sending vibrations through the stone floor. Dune and Nelly froze.
What the hell…
The thing was huge, easily ten meters tall, its grotesque form looming over them. A thick layer of fat stretched over its monstrous frame, its face twisted into something almost human, yet unmistakably wrong. Long, sagging ears drooped down past its shoulders, and its yellowed teeth gnashed together in a grin that sent a chill down Dune's spine.
It dragged a massive spiked bat behind it, the weapon so heavy that iron chains coiled around its handle scraped against the floor. The spikes glistened with something dark and dried, old blood, from victims who had been too slow, too unlucky.
Its attire was an odd mix of ancient battle gear and filthy rags. A battered metal chest plate covered its bloated torso, dented and rusted from time. Beneath it, tattered cloth draped over its lower body, stained and reeking of filth.
But the most confusing part was its right hand.
Unlike the rest of its grotesque body, the hand was silver. Thick and unnatural, with a rocky texture that looked eerily similar to the frozen statues littering the halls. As if it had been sculpted from the same cursed stone.
And then, to their horror It grinned.
Its sunken eyes gleamed with twisted delight as it stepped forward, stopping right beside the boy with the basket. It didn't even look at him. Instead, its gaze locked onto Dune and Nely.
"Oh…" it rumbled, voice thick with amusement. "You brought me more food."
The boy with the basket remained deathly still. His hands tightened around the handle, but he didn't say a word.
Dune's heart pounded.
Nely swallowed hard. "What… the hell is that?"
The creature chuckled, dragging its monstrous weapon forward with a sickening scrape.
Dune already knew. They were in deep trouble.