I didn't think.
I couldn't think.
The moment I locked eyes with that thing—that grinning, shadow-wrapped horror—my body reacted before my mind could.
I bolted straight into the cave.
Every step felt slower than it should have been, as if the very air had thickened, dragging against my limbs. My lungs burned, my vision blurred, and yet, I didn't stop.
'Couldn't.'
Something was crawling beneath my skin, something that wasn't mine.
Shivering. Sweating. Hairs standing on end.
I'd faced monsters before—the manticore, the spider, creatures that could have killed me in an instant. But none of them had made me feel like this.
None of them had made me feel like I didn't exist.
Because that's what it was—an unmaking.
A pure, fundamental terror rooted not in pain or death, but in something far worse.
'Erasure.'
Inside, Blondie was still tending to Ben, his hands hovering over the artifact, steadily pouring aether. Flavia sat in the corner, her expression tight with concentration as she healed herself.
Both of them stopped.
Their gazes snapped to me the second I rushed in—concerned, confused, surprised, and... scared?
'Why are they looking at me like that—'
I had to eat my thoughts.
I was trembling.
Not just a slight shake, not the tension of battle adrenaline.
Full-body, violent convulsions.
Like my body had already accepted something my mind refused to.
I wasn't injured. I wasn't hurt.
But my muscles were locking up, my breath was ragged, and my bones felt like they had been moments away from being turned to dust.
The sensation of something—something wrong—lingering inside me hadn't left. It was still there, slithering beneath my skin, a phantom touch that made my stomach churn.
I let out a small, self-deprecating chuckle.
"Ha…hah… hahahaha."
It wasn't a laugh. Not really. I couldn't even laugh properly.
'Just what the hell happened in the span of a few seconds?'
My knees buckled.
I collapsed before I even realized I was falling.
The weight of sheer, overwhelming fear crushed down on me, heavier than anything I'd ever felt.
I was slipping—losing consciousness—blacking out from pure terror.
But before the darkness swallowed me, I forced out the only words that mattered.
"DON'T… GO… OUTSIDE."
Then, everything went black.
…
"...Should we wake him up?"
"Let him be. Didn't you see his condition when he collapsed?"
"Yeah, you're right about that… but still. For his safety—"
"He's alive. We already checked."
Their voices filtered through the fog of my unconsciousness, distant at first, then growing clearer.
Slowly, I stirred.
My body felt heavy, as if whatever had latched onto me in the night hadn't fully let go.
I rubbed my eyes, yawned, and forced myself up.
The cave was exactly the same—damp, enclosed, cold—but there was a new sense of unease hanging in the air.
And then I noticed it.
Ice.
Thick, jagged sheets of frozen aether completely blocked the entrance.
I blinked.
Ben.
The giant of a man was sitting against the wall, arms crossed, eyes sharp but tired.
'So, he sealed us in.'
I exhaled, still groggy.
"How long have I been sleeping?"
Both Blondie and Flavia tensed slightly.
Flavia was the first to move, quick on her feet, placing a palm against my forehead.
I frowned but let her do it.
A moment later, she sighed in relief. "Yeah… you're alright."
Blondie coughed, stepping forward. "It's morning now. You were out the whole night."
I blinked. Morning?
I shook my head. The memory of that thing was still too fresh.
Struggling slightly, I forced myself to my feet. My legs felt weak, but I steadied myself.
My gaze shifted toward Ben.
I stepped closer and bowed slightly.
"Sorry for escalating things yesterday."
Ben glanced at me, then waved his hand dismissively.
"This much is evident. Both sides escalated things. Especially us, when we used aether."
I offered a small, knowing smile.
His expression softened.
Good.
But I didn't have time to dwell on that.
There were more important things to discuss.
I turned to the others, my voice firm.
"Did you guys go outside?"
Blondie immediately shook his head. "No. The way you acted creeped us out a lot."
He hesitated, then added, "To tell you the truth… we weren't courageous enough to go out after you passed out saying, 'DON'T GO OUTSIDE.'"
I let out a small chuckle.
"Having no fear is a fool's errand. You did the right thing."
My voice dropped slightly.
"Whatever that thing was… it wasn't something we could have faced."
Flavia frowned. "Are you sure you saw something? Maybe it was just a hallucination. This place is eerie enough for that."
I shook my head. "No. It was real."
I swallowed, recalling it again.
Even if I wanted to deny its existence… I couldn't.
Because the moment I did, I was sure it would know.
Ben finally joined the conversation. "You mean… you were within the town yesterday?"
I resisted the urge to smirk smugly. Instead, I simply nodded. "Yeah."
He exhaled. "Can you explain exactly what you saw?"
I took a breath.
"When I saw you two healing awfully steadily, I felt… guilty."
They didn't miss the weight behind those words. Good.
"So, I stepped outside to get some air. While gazing at the pitch-black sky, my eyes drifted toward the town's entrance. That's when I saw it."
I met their gazes.
"A pitch-black figure… staring at me. Grinning. Ear to ear. A row of pure white teeth on a face that shouldn't have been there."
Flavia's breath hitched.
Ben's fingers twitched slightly.
Blondie's brows furrowed.
I continued.
"And the moment I saw it, an extreme level of dread hit me. Which you guys saw for yourselves. But the worst part wasn't the fear. It was what I felt."
I clenched my fist.
"I felt my body… churn. As if something was crawling inside me. Twisting. Shifting. Eating."
I paused, the memory taking a toll.
I shivered.
Like a child.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Their eyes held a mess of emotions—pity, confusion, fear.
Ben's voice was the first to break the tension.
"Do you think… that thing was the reason for the town's abandonment?"
Flavia wanted to deny it. It was clear in her body language.
But Blondie… hesitated.
"It might be…" he muttered, voice laced with uncertainty.
A terrible realization settled over us.
I exhaled, trying to suppress my growing unease.
"How do we reach civilization from here? Any ideas?"
The moment I asked that, their faces changed.
Pity.
Regret.
My stomach sank.
'No… please, don't say it…'
In unison, they spoke.
"Through that town."
A beat of silence.
Then, I blurted out the only natural response.
"Fuck."