Some time later, the four drifted steadily across the water, their plan unfolding without a single failure for more than half an hour.
Two hours on, they reached a stretch of land after following the glimmer ahead. But upon arrival the light had vanished, as though it had never possessed a source at all.
That mystery, however, was the least of their concerns. They had landed upon an island adrift in the middle of nowhere, within a world rife with unseen threats.
At first glance, the place seemed almost inviting, but on reflection one could only wonder whether it truly was…
***
'Let us take a breath of air... though perhaps not so fresh, for it carries the suffocating weight of dread.'
Kyle trailed after the three who had already begun moving inland, leaving the raft behind without a word. Each held their weapon at the ready, while Orion dispatched his shadow companion to reconnoitre the path ahead.
Deeper within, they encountered nothing but towering trees barren of fruit. At intervals, an insidious sensation crept over them, as though unseen eyes surveyed them from every angle — behind, ahead, and all around.
"This is beginning to feel unsettling. Do you not agree?" Orion whispered, tightening his grip on the golden rope-blade.
The others gave no answer, choosing instead to ignore the disquiet. Abruptly, the young man's shadow flickered in a manner that was plainly unnatural, as if some force were tampering with it. Alarmed, he quickened his pace and motioned for the group to halt.
"I do not believe we should advance any further. For several minutes, there has been no sign of life, which strongly suggests the presence of something far larger."
The beautiful stranger regarded him with a sombre expression.
"We must still find a place to rest before continuing, and we require more provisions. Remaining here is perilous, yet retreating may prove far worse."
Kyle arched an eyebrow and replied with dry amusement, "I admire your reasoning, but let us be frank: if this oppressive sensation is genuine, we may all meet our end regardless."
Looking at the two sceptical boys, Adela burst into laughter.
"Let us simply carry on. It cannot be that dreadful. Come along, boys."
Reluctantly, they exchanged weary glances, exhaled at the same moment, and pressed forward with weapons at the ready. The deeper they ventured, the stranger the forest became.
At intervals, a flicker moved at the edge of their sight, the fleeting image of something tall and thin slipping from tree to tree. Each time they turned to look, there was nothing.
'We cannot truly be walking further into this,' Kyle thought, before the tension dissolved when the handsome youth suddenly broke into laughter at the sight of their anxious expressions.
"Oh, by the gods, you look absurd. That was only my shadow scouting for us. I swear I wish I had a camera to capture your faces. What are you, children wandering through a fairy-tale wood?"
He gave a mocking snort.
Na-Ri's cheeks flushed as frost began to coat her hands. She was on the verge of striking Orion, and it would have been a fitting response, for such antics in this place could easily drive anyone to panic.
Adela, however, seized her arm before she could act.
Orion raised his hand in half-hearted defence, but Adela silenced him with a scornful look and said quietly, "He is not worth the effort."
Kyle shook his head and moved on ahead of them, holding the rib in his hand as though it were a walking cane. The path led them into a small clearing, and once they passed through, an entirely new expanse of terrain opened before them.
The grass was crimson, faintly catching the light from above as though shards of brilliance had been scattered among a bed of roses. At the centre of the clearing stood a broken monument of aged stone, split through its middle by a jagged crack.
'Yes, that certainly does not seem frightening at all… ' Kyle thought with bitter sarcasm as he shifted the rib in his grip.
The group spread out cautiously around the structure.
"Wonderful," Orion said, his voice laden with mockery. "All this for an oversized paperweight. Who remembered the champagne?"
Adela gave a short laugh, Na-Ri allowed herself a smirk, and even Kyle's mouth twitched despite his reluctance.
For a brief instant, the tension lifted, a reminder that they were still together, still human enough to share unease through stiff postures and nervous humour.
Kyle's abiding disdain for human nature remained unshaken, but he found a subtle difference in this company compared with others he had known.
There was nonetheless a fracture within him, a voice that told him this was merely the prelude, a fleeting calm before the inevitable storm.
All this happiness…
Adventurous bonding…
Jokes…
…it surely would not endure. That single conviction threaded itself through his mind with every passing moment. Peace had never been an ally to him.
Kyle stepped forward and crouched beside the monument. His hand moved across the gouges carved into its surface. The cuts were not neat or purposeful; they carried the ragged depth of claws raked across stone. Faint stains clung to the grooves in a dark brown hue, disturbingly fresh in appearance.
"Who wishes to suggest that some mutated creature may dwell here? The island is vast, and perhaps Orion's shadow failed to perceive everything. Besides, you admitted it could not travel far."
Na-Ri lowered herself at his side and brushed the dirt near the base. The soil disintegrated between her fingers like brittle ash.
"The ground is dead, obviously. That alone suggests this may be a mutant's lair."
Before Kyle could reply, Orion staggered backward. His hand clutched at his chest as though struck by an unseen blow. The tether to his shadow snapped violently inward, recoiling against him with brutal force.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he surveyed the clearing, then turned sharply back to the group.
"Something tore it apart," he said through clenched teeth. His complexion drained to the pallor of bleached paper. "It devoured my shadow whole."
The group fell into stunned silence, and Kyle and Na-Ri instinctively straightened, every nerve alert. Such a thing should have been impossible. No creature was known to possess the ability to consume a shadow.
Orion's reflection could, of course, be summoned anew. It was not lost forever. But the very notion that something had not merely destroyed but hunted down a shadow defied the ordinary logic of the world.
Then again, they now found themselves in a place where logic itself seemed nothing more than a fragile play on words…
Unexpectedly, something rose from behind the monument in a searing flash of light.
At first, it appeared no more than smoke thickening into form, yet the substance was far too solid. The figure drew itself into view, taller than any man, with shoulders unnaturally broad and joints grotesquely contorted. Its skin shifted between blackened char and raw exposed flesh, glowing faintly beneath the surface like embers smouldering under ash.
When it moved, its limbs bent far beyond the limits of bone, almost cephalopodic in their reach. Seven claws dragged across the earth as it completed its emergence. Its head tilted with a hideous, unnatural angle, and its dim blue eyes fixed unerringly upon the four of them.
Instinct overtook them as they stepped back with weapons raised, yet terror locked their bodies in place. It was as though their minds had been seized by an unseen grip, a paralysis born of fear.
Adela whispered, her voice strained and trembling:
"...W-what is that?"
No answer came, for the same question had seized them all. It was only when Na-Ri's mind caught hold of some dreadful recognition that she spoke, her voice shaking:
"It is a… a… D-demon…"
'…A what now?'
The creature advanced with slow precision, its head tilting from side to side like a predator studying prey.
Kyle adjusted his grip on the rib and shifted into a stance, the movement alone snapping the mental paralysis. He braced himself to force an escape, every instinct telling him the same immutable truth: to battle a Demon, or a Dragon, was nothing less than folly. It was a contest as hopeless as defying the wind itself.
Even a Tier Six — Paragon would fall at its feet if not careful. What chance did they have against such a creature of doom, a malignant entity belonging to some bastard realm beyond their own?
"Well, I suppose introductions are unnecessary," Kyle remarked, taking another step back.
Na-Ri snapped at him without tearing her gaze from the monster. "Kyle, do not—"
But the warning was never finished.
The demon flickered and closed the distance in an instant. One heartbeat, it stood beside the monument, the next its claw had punched straight through Kyle's chest. Blood burst from his mouth as his eyes contracted in stunned disbelief. The blow lifted him clear from the ground, the talons driven so deep that the creature's arm was drenched in the torrent spilling from his body.
'…What the fuck? I never even moved more than a step… Damn it… I am…'
***
Vitality: 1
Stamina: 0
***
Kyle's mouth filled with crimson until breathing became impossible. His eyes widened for a fleeting instant before settling on the others. He tried to speak, yet every sound drowned beneath the flood of blood.
'...Damn this. I always knew it was the calm before the storm. Fitting, in a way, that the storm chose to strike the one who spent his life running from death, armed with everything that might stave it off… and still, it means nothing now…'
The second claw swept across with merciless speed. It tore through his neck, severing it cleanly. His head toppled to the ground, rolled three times across the dirt, and came to rest with his face still turned towards the group. His mouth had frozen in a half-curve, resembling the ghost of a smirk.
His body dangled limp upon the demon's claw before it was cast aside. The dull thud of flesh striking earth was the only sound that lingered in the clearing.
***
[You have died!]
[Once!]
***
For a moment, none of them moved.
It was Orion who broke the silence with a cracking voice:
"That was… no, that was—
"...Brutal. Then let hell break loose…"
At once, his eyes darkened, consumed by an inky blackness, while rage rippled through his frame. The golden rope in his grasp blackened as shadowed flames writhed along its length, and a suffocating aura expanded outward into the clearing.
"…Who in this world ever claimed that I cannot kill a Demon?"