The three of them stood still, staring intently at the shifting mass of dark clouds.
"Potato, what is that thing?" Dou Dou, hiding behind Shen Siyuan, gently tugged at his sleeve.
"Shh, don't make a sound," Shen Siyuan whispered.
The cloud did not have a fixed shape; its edges surged and contracted like a living creature. It moved forward without a hint of wind but carried a nauseating stench of decay, pressing down over them like a storm cloud.
Within a few breaths, the already dim sky was completely obscured, not even the few faint green glows could penetrate through, plunging the surroundings into pitch darkness, with only the slithering murmur of the cloud clearly audible in the deathly silence of the wasteland.
"I'm not afraid of you."
Startled, Dou Dou instantly bristled, jumping out from behind Shen Siyuan. She raised her little hand, and a fiery orange flame condensed in front of her.
"Scared the life out of someone, watch me burn you to ashes."
"Don't be reckless."
