Their wry smiles came in sync, like a practiced motion, like an inside joke only they understood.
I let out a nervous, self-deprecating laugh, one that sounded more like a choked wheeze.
"You guys are joking, right? Ahaha…haa. Of course, you're joking."
Ben's face stayed rigid. Unmoving. He didn't entertain my delusions.
"We already checked the back," he said, voice clipped, rough like gravel. "There's nothing there. Just a black membrane surrounding the realm."
No. No way. That couldn't be true. There had to be another way. A passage, a break in the realm, a hidden route—something. But the town? Only the town? Why?
My heartbeat thumped, steady and slow, before picking up pace, each second ticking by like the swing of a pendulum. I forced myself to think.
I did travel through the town before. Through that place.
And nothing happened—
Until I looked at it.
That thing.
Maybe that was the trigger. Maybe it only worked if you saw it.
It was possible. That would explain how these guys had survived for two days.
Yeah. That's it. That's gotta be it. It doesn't attack unless you acknowledge it.
It was a good thought.
It was a comforting thought.
It was a lie.
A slow, creeping chill slithered up my back like an ice-cold tendril.
'Or so it wants me to think?'
The others started whispering, discussing their next steps.
I moved carefully.
My fingers slid behind my back, clutching the sporb—a small crystal sphere used for teleportation.
I closed my eyes.
I was ready to chant the coordinates—
Until.
Something shifted.
The air became thick, pressing against my skin like unseen hands.
The cold sank into my bones.
It spread.
My lungs squeezed. My heartbeat shuddered.
My legs buckled.
A horrible wrongness crawled up my spine, filling my veins with a toxic chill.
I collapsed.
A dull thud echoed as my body hit the stone floor of the cave.
The moment it happened, the others' heads snapped toward me.
Not out of concern.
Out of fear.
Because they felt it too.
The dread.
The pressure.
That invisible, suffocating weight.
And it wasn't outside.
It was inside.
A realization twisted itself into my gut like a knife.
That thing wasn't waiting for us outside.
It was already in here.
A low, cold breath of wind brushed against my nape.
My lips parted.
I couldn't breathe.
I couldn't think.
I could feel the pull—the demand. The demand to turn my head.
To look.
To acknowledge.
My vision blurred, swimming between reality and something much worse.
But I forced myself to focus.
I shouted.
"RUN…!" My voice cracked, hoarse with raw terror. "DON'T LOOK BACK—JUST RUN!"
They didn't question me.
Which meant—
They felt it too.
Ben. The unshakable wall of a man. Trembling. His hands curled into fists, his breath shallow.
Even raw adrenaline wasn't enough to override the sheer, unrelenting horror.
Blondie reached for me, his eyes closed.
Smart. Smart bastard.
I forced myself up before he could help me, gripping his arm and turning him away so he could move faster.
Flavia, meanwhile, summoned fireballs.
Three—four—five in rapid succession.
With a flick of her wrist, she hurled them at the cave's entrance.
Each orb of flame slammed into the icy barricade, bursting into hissing steam as the ice melted into water.
The second there was enough space—
We ran.
We bolted out into the light.
Morning.
At least, it should have been.
The sun was there—blinding, intense.
But there was no heat.
The air was still cold. Still dead.
Not even a change.
It was like time here didn't move properly.
Like this realm existed in limbo, trapped between day and night.
Between reality and something far worse.
I forced the thought out of my head.
I had bigger problems.
"BEN!" I roared between breaths. "ICE LADDER! NOW!"
Ben's head snapped toward me, momentarily startled.
Then, realization clicked.
His hands clenched. A pale white glow engulfed his fists as he thrust them forward—
And icicle ladders erupted along the mountainside.
Thick. Steady.
Enough to hold his weight.
I slapped his back. "Good work! You go first!"
Ben hesitated, then gave a slight nod.
He stepped onto the first icicle. It gave a slight crack—but held.
Good.
Flavia and Blondie followed next.
Then, finally—me.
We climbed.
One step at a time.
Ben formed new ladders as we ascended, creating a continuous path.
Minutes passed.
We finally reached the top.
None of us had the courage to look back.
Not at the town.
Not at the cave.
Not at the thing.
I turned my gaze toward the other side—
My stomach dropped.
Because Ben was right.
There was nothing.
Nothing except the black membrane that enclosed the entire realm.
My heart pounded.
This world is… different.
I forced myself to stop thinking about it.
Focus.
The mercenaries were collapsed, adrenaline finally leaving their systems.
They were still useful.
But my sporb…
Gone.
Fucking gone.
That bastard must've stolen it.
Which meant—
I needed to find that castle.
And I needed to steal another one.
They had to have some. They had to.
Flavia's voice suddenly snapped me back.
"Hey! Give me a hand!"
I turned, shaking my head.
I reached out—
And mistakenly glanced down.
A single glance.
That's all it took.
And there it was.
Still. Waiting.
Grinning.
Ear to ear.
Its too-white teeth gleamed like pearl daggers in the darkness.
A smile too wide.
A smile that shouldn't exist.
"Eerie bastard."
I barely muttered the words before it hit me.
The dread.
The sheer, suffocating dread.
My spine—
Twisting. Cracking. Readjusting.
A deep, visceral wrongness flooded my body, as if my bones were rearranging against my will.
I clenched my jaw.
Hard.
Too hard.
I had a feeling—no, a premonition.
If I passed out now, something worse would happen.
So I held on.
Barely.
Until Flavia's voice broke through, shaken and terrified.
"Hey—hey, you're bleeding—a lot!"
I exhaled sharply.
Reached for my lips.
Touched them.
And they…
Came off.
Like rotted leaves.
Dried, crumbling, peeling away between my fingers.
For a moment—
I simply stared.
Uncomprehending.
Then, finally—
"What the fuck."