Monsters. No matter where you looked, all you could see were monsters, as if they were within an ocean of living flesh. Trying to swallow them, pulling them down into its depths.
One might have suspected that the tide would lessen after some time, but to Nyx's disappointment it didn't. The narrow path Caelia was cleaving for them was getting smaller and smaller by the minute.
For Nyx's and Avelyne's relief, the beasts didn't attack from behind or try actively to kill them from the sides. They were in a frenzy, their only focus the bloodied pathway, where now only the Broodweave and its spawns remained.
One misstep, just one, and they would get swept away, drowned in this ocean of abominations.
'Just how much longer will this last?'
After opening his perception to the realm of shadows, Nyx found himself unable to close it completely again. So in addition to the stress of not taking the wrong step, his mind was overloaded with information. He could not only see the creatures next to him.
No, Nyx was also able to sense every creature moving through the night within what he estimated to be a hundred meters. Before, this was no problem, but now? With thousands upon thousands of beasts rushing past him and through his perception.
It was overwhelming him. His mind was not strong enough to process so much information at once and definitely not over such a long time.
The headache from it grew unbearable, multiplying until his body betrayed him. Blood dripped from his nose, leaked from his ears, and at last it streamed from his eyes like crimson tears.
'Crying blood now, are we.'
Nyx couldn't help but laugh inwardly along with his pain. He could feel himself losing to it.
At the same time, Caelia was fighting at the front, making sure not a single monster went past her, leaving the narrow path she created free from abominations. But the speed with which they had advanced had slowed down by a lot. Sometimes even pushing her back, forcing the group to a halt.
But she didn't yield, didn't break—like an indestructible fortress. Her sword glowed in a silver light, brighter than anything Nyx had seen so far. Not a single drop of blood had tainted it, as if the blade itself refused to be touched by the filth it cut through.
With the exception of Nyx slowly dying from his own senses, everything was working out, almost the same as they had hoped it would—until Caelia lost her balance for a second.
The floor was littered with broken bodies, spilled organs, and blood. Even in a state of complete tranquility, it was bound to happen at some point.
Caelia's feet slipped.
It wasn't enough to wound or sweep her away, but a few monsters managed to slip past, setting their sights on the defenseless, disoriented, and weakened Nyx, ready to tear him apart.
Nyx didn't realize monsters were rushing at him. He couldn't. The pain devoured everything. Was he still breathing? Still in the onslaught? Still standing? He didn't know.
His body moved forward on instinct, even evading the first monster somehow. However, the same wouldn't work twice—the first beast had been faster and the first to pass, so Nyx had a small gap to slip through. The other three monsters who had managed to get past Caelia were too close to each other, forming a living wall of flesh.
But Nyx was not alone within the narrow path created by Caelia.
Avelyne had been with him all this time. She hadn't paid much attention to her surroundings though; her focus had been solely on Caelia, ready to heal or cast defensive spells the moment something bad happened.
Caelia was their lifeline, and Avelyne was hell-bent on getting out of this situation alive—not just her, all of them. Which was why she had to avert her focus from Caelia the moment Caelia lost her balance and monsters managed to get past her. She knew Nyx would not be strong enough to kill them.
Before turning her attention away from the front, Avelyne cast one defensive spell on Caelia in the hope that it would buy her enough time to deal with the abominations ahead.
She was looking at Nyx for the first time since they had clashed with the monster tide. Her lips trembled. Avelyne had assumed that he would be fine. Caelia was protecting them at the front, and the monsters weren't paying them real attention.
So why—how did he end up like this?
Why was he bleeding from his whole body? Why was his life force draining so rapidly? Her fists clenched at her side. She went with them to help them, to be able to protect Nyx better, but all she had accomplished was being a dead weight.
After the attack on their carriage, she had been unconscious, defenseless, and Nyx—someone so much younger, so much weaker than herself—had to protect her, almost sacrificing himself in the process, the very person she wanted to support, protect.
It gnawed at her. She didn't just feel guilt or gratitude towards him—no, her pride had also taken a hit. He had done so much for her despite being so weak, and she had not even checked on him in a moment of danger, thinking everything would be fine.
Avelyne began healing him. It needed a lot of concentration and essence to heal someone, which could become really dangerous for her with the beasts ahead, but she had to risk it.
If she didn't heal him now, he would die. His life was already dimming. She would heal him. And she would kill the monsters ahead. Doing both was dangerous, deadly even. But she wanted that risk. She craved it. She was ready to repay the debt.
A warm light spread from Avelyne's hand towards Nyx, enveloping him whole, lessening his pain and giving him the strength to continue.
While the warm light wrapped itself around Nyx, Avelyne took her sword in the other hand.
Taking a low stance, Avelyne bent forward, her muscles tensed—she was gone.