CHAPTER 54: HOPE.

The creature erupted from the endless darkness.

"....!"

It was a behemoth the size of a house. Its form was reminiscent of a nightmarish scavenger, if only it wasn’t supported by eight segmented legs, like pillars of obsidian supporting its grotesque form.

However, this was where the similarities between it and a regular nightmarish scavenger ended. Instead of chitin or bleak armor, the monstrosity’s shell seemed to be made out of lustrous dark metal. It was as if, its whole body had once been hardened through some inhuman ritual, and it emerged from it enclosed in an impenetrable suit of dark-crimson armor.

Compared to its counterparts- the scavengers, its armor was covered with long jagged spikes. And each one glimmered in the dark, promising bloodshed and sufferings of untold magnitude.

Its humanoid torso had four pairs of mighty arms. Its metallic face, a nightmarish fusion of beast and man, a visage shaped right out of infernal depths.

The sight sent a chill through me, dread slithering down my spine. Clamping down on my lips, I tried to suppress the rising panic.

However, nothing I did worked.

If anything,

Thump, Thump--!

They only increased the rapid pace at which my heartbeat echoed through the stifling silence. Each beat was akin to a hammering blow, driving fear deeper into me.

And as if to make matters worse,

"Ukh, Ugh."

My breath hitched. It felt like invisible hands were tightening around my neck.

Tak, Tak–!

...The only sound, besides the pounding of my own heart, was the creature’s heavy tread as it closed in on the smaller nightmarish scavenger. And the closer it got, the more I could swear that I saw a constellation pattern of sorts, etched on its chest.

In fact, for a brief moment, I felt I saw six of them. However, I could care less about the patterns.

As the nightmarish aberration inched closer, the suffocating darkness pressing down on me from all sides, I held my breath as a semblance of reasoning crept into my mind.

I was now sure of it, likewise I was certain about it:

The three stars. I had seen them somewhere. But where?

A frown crept up on my features. However, considering the grimness of my current situation, I knew that should be the least of my concerns.

’Right now, survival is paramount,’ I thought, sweat drops dripping down the side of my face.

I knew I had to avoid detection, and at the same time, complete Mia’s quest. Although I had already succeeded. Technically speaking.

However, trapped in such a precarious situation, escape seemed impossible. Hence all I could do was hold my breath, remain unseen, and try to understand what was going on.

...And I had a feeling that I was about to find out about the latter. Or rather, already had an inkling of it.

Nonetheless, I peered outward, gazing upon the towering behemoth.

"..."

Up ahead, the nightmarish aberration walked towards the lesser scavenger, its face holding a certain indifference and contempt that was hard not to notice.

"What a cocky bastard!" I muttered under my breath, teeth tightly clenched together.

I held my breath, my heartbeat echoing through the stifling quiet.

Tak, Tak–!

Each step of the creature sent tremors through the ground, vibrations rippling through my chest.

It was at that moment that I couldn’t take it any longer. Panting heavily, I averted my gaze, desperate to lessen the dread holding onto me.

However, the sickening fear of being killed unaware got the better of me. With a sharp exhalation, a dark expression crept up on my features.

Right about then, I risked a glance once again.

***

Tak, Tak--!

The hulking monstrosity finally reached the nightmarish scavenger. Probably one of a lesser bloodline. Which made me quite curious as to its level of bloodline.

A scowl marred my features. ’And considering the fact that the lesser scavenger was probably an evil. I could only imagine the grade of its bloodline.’

My face paled at the thought.

Ahead, the nightmarish scavenger took away the transcendent shard with one of its arms, and then, without a second thought, it turned back and slowly headed for the top of the hill.

"So it came to give the shard to the bigger nightmarish scavenger." I mused under my breath.

Though I was still confused about a lot of things.

A frown crept up on my features. ’Why did the nightmarish scavenger hand over the shard that could supposedly make it more powerful, instead of making use of it himself?’

...Or perhaps, there’s some sort of strict hierarchy among them. I felt this was very well plausible, or at least, close to the truth. It was just like how a king would demand for tributes from his subjects.

And even if that wasn’t the reason, I could care less. For now, I had much more important tasks to focus on.

Calming my rapidly beating heart, my gaze shifted towards the nightmarish aberration who slowly trudged towards the bleeding gate.

From where I stood, I could see various obsidian-like pillars within the necropolis, along with various crystalline structures. However, even much more than that, I could see...

"...."

Statues?

I frowned. Returning my gaze to the nightmarish aberration, a thought slowly crept into my mind.

’Hmm... I should probably see what it’s up to,’ I muttered under my breath.

And the longer the thought lingered, the more it tempted me.

’...Just one look. It wouldn’t hurt. What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen anyway?’

I knew what I was attempting right now was no different from courting death. Even bordering on plain foolishness. After all, I had already completed the quest given to me by Mia.

But even then, curiosity, along with a strange sense of unease towards the necropolis, got the best of me.

And more importantly, I knew whether we liked it or not, we would still cross paths with this monstrosity. So it was for the best if I were able to learn one or two things about the hulking monstrosity before then.

I exhaled sharply at my strain of thought, swear drops trickling down my forehead.

Drip, Drip--!

I wasn’t sure if I was being stupid, or just... purely insane. It was rather hard to tell.

"Hah..."

I clenched my hands together, fighting hard to control my spiraling thoughts. It was then that I turned to face my open left, if only I wasn’t being obstructed and guarded by a towering dark rock. Five strides away from the stoneikz.

I stood up a little bit, patiently waiting for the lesser monstrosity to disappear into the horizon before I attempted anything.

...Just one of them would be enough to send me to hell. Thinking about garnering both sides’ attention sent cold chills slithering down my spine.

Thump, Thump...!

My heart wouldn’t slow down. ’Calm down Dean. Calm down.’

At such a point, I could only try to comfort myself. Even if it wasn’t really working.

Exhaling in exasperation, I calmly waited for the nightmarish scavenger to vanish into the endless darkness. And I didn’t have to wait for too long.

Before long, the nightmarish scavenger’s footsteps grew farther and farther away, and at the same time, grew more distant.

Making sure that the nightmarish scavenger was truly gone, by making use of the supernatural detector, along with my weird affinity with the endless darkness, I rose to my feet, and scanned my surroundings for a few more seconds.

Realizing I was as safe as the word "safe" could get in this wretched land, I heaved a sigh of relief.

’Now... let’s see what it’s up to.’

Gazing at the bleeding door, based on my knowledge, I knew it would part open if someone got close enough to it. However, I dared not do such.

That was no different from courting death.

My gaze shifted, scanning the surroundings.

There had to be something I could make use of. Especially when considering the fact that some parts of the necropolis were made of pure, transparent crystals of sorts.

With narrowed brows, I scouted the nightmarish terrains- from the abysmal ruined structures, to the towering dark hills that surrounded me.

And slowly, a plan began to form. Slowly, it crept into the walls of my mind.

"There it’s."

A particular hill that was situated at just the right spot. However, it was soon accompanied by a sickening realization.

My heart lurched to my throat, sweat drops dripping down my forehead.

Drip, Drip–!

There was a problem.

’Curses!’

A very big one.

...Ahead of me, I could see it clearly, after numerous minutes of constant plan formulation, I would at some point in time, still appear in the line of sight of anyone standing on a towering structure within the necropolis.

...The one the nightmarish monstrosity just happened to be residing on.

’Dammit!’ I scowled through gritted teeth.

Thump, Thump—!

My heart thundered in my ears, fear clawing at me with each breath that I took.

Clench-!

I clenched my fists, trying to quell the tremors running through me. And even if it wasn’t doing so well as to work out for me— I still continued for reasons unknown to me. Reasons that eluded the grasp of my understanding.

Gritting my teeth, I suppressed the sense of unease and...

"Fuck it all!"

I dashed forward.

Step, Step—!

Each step was a heavy burden against the suffocating darkness pressing down on me from all sides. However,

Tak,Tak--!

I kept going.

’Fool! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!’ I ignored the voices.

Fear, icy and suffocating, seeped into my bones with each step of mine. But I simply gritted my teeth and ran harder. Faster.

...In that moment, I could only hope the monstrosity wasn’t watching. I could only pray so.

But with my bad luck, it probably was. But even then, I could only try to believe it wasn’t, no matter how small the chances were.

To survive, even if it was a lie, I had to believe so.

’You can do it Dean. You always have!’ I roared in my mind.

Pushing myself even harder, the hill loomed closer and closer.

’Ten more seconds.’

"Huff... Huff..."

Just ten more seconds.

I pushed myself beyond my limits, a desperate surge of adrenaline exploding within me.

Tak, Tak--!

Each step echoed through the silence.

Thump, Thump–!

Each step brought me closer to the point of misfortune.

’Two.’

Tak-

’Just one more!’

A fleeting smile touched my lips as my heartbeat thundered in my ears, akin to deafening thunderclaps that echoed through the stifling quiet.

Then... I felt it.

A suffocating presence.

’No! No! No!!!’

I screamed inwardly, every fiber of my being screaming in fear.

The monstrosity was turning.

Thump, Thump--!

I could feel the shadowy presence slowly turning towards me.

A shiver wracked through me, and my hands shook uncontrollably, the fear settling within me slowly giving way to...

Despair.

A great sense of despair that threatened to consume me.

’Just fucking move faster you fucking pile of shit!’ I cursed, pushing myself to the absolute limit.

Scccrh~~!

Right about then, I jumped forward, skidding across the ground. Then with unnatural grace, I ricocheted off the cold sand, disappearing beneath a natural crack in a crumbled large stone.

Thump... Thump...

Not even daring to breathe, I clung to the earth, heart pounding against my ribs.

And then—

Ba- dump, Ba- thump!

The presence descended upon me. And this time around, I could feel the cold malevolence seeping into the air.

’Damnation!’ I closed my eyes, curling into a ball as my body trembled.

All I could do now was hope.

Thump, Thump!

Hope that the gaze would sweep past me.