CHAPTER 52: REST IN PIECES (52)

After hours of circling near Glimmerfen’s borders, frustration started to boil.

"Fuck, where is it..." Ahrie muttered, kicking a rock that didn’t deserve it.

Min’s voice echoed from above. "Hold on, lemme check again!"

He crouched on a thick branch, scanning the tree line.

The wind brushed through the leaves, carrying faint sounds of the forest—but nothing that screamed domain.

"Anything?" Ahrie shouted.

Min squinted, turned north. "Hmm... nope." He turned west. "Nope again."

He sighed, scratching his head.

He climbed down halfway, still looking around. "Nope again."

They stopped.

"Argh... I’m getting hungryy," Zofia whined.

"Babe, can we take a break?" Alira chimed, puppy eyes and all.

"Of course, sweetie," Xavier cooed, planting a kiss on Alira’s cheek like the whole world was a stage for his romance.

Ahrie and Min exchanged a look—one that said you’ve got to be kidding me.

"Seriously? It’s been an hour," Min hissed.

"If I get the chance I’ll smack them all," Ahrie tightened his fist so hard his knuckles popped.

Charlotte, curled on the carriage seat, snorted a quiet giggle and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The others groaned in relief and followed suit; the search paused for a quick snack.

The group unpacked.

Ahrie and Xavier locked eyes before heading out.

The air between them tightened like two dogs spotting each other across a fence.

"I can hunt more than you," Xavier declared, puffing his chest like some wannabe hero.

"Really?" Ahrie blinked, unimpressed. "You want a medal or somethin?"

He brushed past, not even giving the guy the satisfaction of a glare.

Min led their horse under a big tree nearby.

Charlotte quietly climbed down from the carriage, her boots crunching against the grass. She walked toward the horse and gently ran her hand through its mane.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, almost to herself.

The horse snorted as if saying you’re welcome.

Charlotte smiled faintly, then sat under the shade beside it—calm, detached from the noise of the others.

The petty battle began.

As Min tied their horse to a nearby tree, he patted its neck. "There you go. Rest here." The horse exhaled deeply, finally free from dragging the carriage all day.

Zofia did the same a few steps away, giving her jacked horse a command.

It reared up, spun once, then stood proud.

Min froze.

He glanced at her, then at his horse.

"...Can you do that?" he muttered.

His horse shook its head. Slowly.

Zofia smirked, full of mockery without saying a word.

Min’s jaw flexed, a grin twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, you’re getting shown up now, huh?" he whispered to the horse, voice low and teasing. "Gonna let that beefy bastard flex on you like that?"

Then he turned and walked away.

Behind him, the horse’s eyes narrowed—fixing on the jacked horse like a rival had just been declared.

Ahrie came back—dragging behind him a single adult hopper.

Its legs twitched a little, still half-alive.

Moments later, Xavier strolled in, smug grin plastered across his face, carrying three of them.

He strutted close, letting the carcasses drop right beside Ahrie’s catch.

"Huhu... looks like I was right," Xavier said, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder.

"Yeah, you’ll receive my right..." Ahrie muttered under his breath, "if you keep annoying me."

"Pardon?" Xavier tilted his head.

Ahrie didn’t even blink. Just raised a lazy thumbs-up, deadpan.

Charlotte crouched nearby, gathering dry twigs to start a fire.

Min started chopping the meat.

Zofia and Alira were off to the side, chatting endlessly about gods-know-what—voices like gnats in the background.

Ahrie and Min sat down near the fire.

"Who even are you?" Min said jokingly, half-laughing. "You didn’t pick a fight this time..."

Ahrie looked at him. For a second, the smugness faded.

"Because of that time, huh?" Min asked, voice low.

"Of course. What else?" Ahrie replied.

They both went quiet.

The memory hit—the month of hell with their horse.

Training, dragging, failing.

Hunting so much food the first day that the next day they starved, combing through bushes for anything edible.

Min chuckled softly. "We almost ate bark that one time."

"Almost?" Ahrie snorted. "You did eat bark."

Min grinned. "Taste good though."

The food was ready. Steam rose from the pot, the smell cutting through the damp woods.

Zofia tossed a tiny scrap to her horse. It sniffed, dainty like a spoiled prince. Min grinned wide and unfastened their horse’s rope.

"Go on — hunt your own food," he told it, half-teasing, half-serious.

The horse’s eyes went hard. It stood, shook itself, and bolted.

Zofia laughed, confident. "Pff — it’ll just pick fruit or graze. You should’ve told it to bring back something edible, not hunt for meat."

A minute later she stopped laughing.

The slim horse thundered back, proud as hell, a live hopper dragging behind it, legs kicking. The creature looked less like dinner and more like a trophy.

The horse stared at that jacked ass horse... grinning.

Min turned to Zofia, raised an eyebrow, and mouthed, "Payback, bitch."

Zofia’s smile died. She stomped off, furious and humiliated, while Min fed the horse like it was royalty.

"Here, eat this you twerp... Good Job!" Min Praised their horse.

After eating, Ahrie and Xavier sat across the fire, planning—or trying to.

"We’ll pick a random direction and head straight there," Xavier declared proudly.

Zofia and Alira lit up.

"That’s so smart, babe!"

"I know, right?" he grinned.

Ahrie’s eye twitched. He turned to Min and silently mouthed, can you believe this guy?

Before Ahrie could roast the plan, a red streak rose into the air—smoke, bleeding through the tree line.

Everyone froze.

"...Smoke signal?" Min muttered.

They all turned toward it.

Hours later, they arrived—muddy, tired, and tense.

A circle of carriages surrounded a massive hole in the ground. The entrance to the domain. Tree vines hung from its rim, glowing faintly like living lanterns, pulsing in rhythm with the wind.

Ahrie squinted. "Arghh... If I knew there’d be this many empty carriages here, we could’ve just taken one."

Min frowned. "You mean steal?"

Ahrie smirked. "Technically not stealing if the owner’s dead inside. Mwehe."

They came to a stop. Ahrie and Min, out of breath from walking beside their carriage.

Meanwhile, Xavier and his little entourage looked fresh as daisies.

Zofia looked at Min, giggling. "Aww... tired already?"

Min shot her a look sharp enough to cut rope.

Ahrie and Min parked their carriage far from the main entrance—hidden behind trees, half-buried in leaves and random junk.

"Perfect," Ahrie muttered, brushing his hands.

He turned to the horse. "Oi, guard this shit."

Min leaned in, dead serious. "If this carriage gets even one scratch—you’re fug."

Their horse blinked. Slowly.

Ahrie and Min nodded, satisfied, and walked off.

By the time they reached the domain entrance, Xavier and his crew were already there/

"Ready?" Xavier said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Ahrie muttered.

They entered.

Inside was chaos—burn marks, crushed stone, and carcasses of monsters with three arms and eyeless faces. Their skin shimmered faintly like oil under dim light.

"The hell kind of monsters are these?" Min whispered.

They pressed deeper, through winding tunnels with branching paths.

"There could be traps," Charlotte warned.

Xavier just strutted forward.

Ahrie blinked. "...Why is this guy still alive?"

A few steps later, they found corpses of seekers scattered on the ground. Ahrie and Min froze.

"May you rest in peace..." they bowed.

WHAM!

A massive stone slab slammed down from above—right where they stood.

Both dove aside, barely dodging it.

The bodies they just prayed for? Gone.

Smashed flat.

"...Rest in pieces?" Min shrugged.

Ahrie sighed and crouched down, looting what little was left. "They’d want us to have this."

Then they bolted down the path ahead.

"Oiii! Wait up, assholes!"

A few hours in, they were deep enough that the air felt heavy—thick with rot and dust.

Corpses of seekers scattered along the path, half-eaten or dissolved into the floor.

Ahrie and Min didn’t even flinch anymore. They looted what they could—rings, pouches, anything useful.

Behind them, Alira whispered to Zofia, loud enough for both to hear, "Look at those beggars."

Zofia giggled.

Ahrie’s eyebrow twitched. He didn’t even look back—just walked faster.

Then—

click

Min froze mid-step.

Ahrie turned toward him, but before either could react—

A faint skittering sound crawled through the tunnels.

From the darkness ahead, something emerged.

A creature—tall, bone-thin, skin stretched tight, three arms twitching like broken clock hands.

No eyes.

Its head jerked slightly as it sniffed the air.

Min raised his hand, whispering, "No eyes. No eyes. Can’t see."

Ahrie nodded slowly.

They held still, barely breathing.

Then the others arrived.

Xavier’s group.

And of course—

The two girls immediately started talking.

Ahrie’s expression went blank.

Zofia gasped.

Alira screamed.

And the tunnel erupted with movement—dozens of those same creatures crawling out from cracks and walls, arms flailing.

Xavier panicked, grabbed the girls, and shouted, "I’M OUT, BOIIS!"

Then he bolted.

Ahrie stared for a full second, dumbfounded. "This fucker—"

He spun on his heel and ran too.

"RUN!"

Charlotte followed, staff glowing.

Min covered the rear, kicking away one of the things that lunged for them.

The sound of their footsteps, their shouts, and the monsters’ screeches filled the tunnels.