Manu, not wasting a breathe quickly reached the wall and started climbing, Mattias noticed was still confused by his change in behaviour but then he feels that tremor him beneath like something moving, each thud made the black soil quiver and the air flex as if the whole area itself was being shaken.
Not wanting to just stay behind, begun to climb after Manu, as no matter how much he dislikes Manu, if something could get him this scaried then his just a sitting duck pressing his hands in the cracks of the wall of the hole, Manu was above him, clawing at the edge with frantic hurry, his breathing shallow and quiet, The grin he had was not gone, but now probably just a way to say calm.
"Keep your hands spread to cover more ground" Manu whispered, "And don't let the goo keep moving like that just stay calm"
Mattias glanced at his palm watching the black substance tremble moving as if trying to run away too, "what the hell is going on why are you suddenly not trying to kill me and what is making those tremors"
Manu didn't answer right away, his eyes flicked upward scanning the shadow that stretched across the unseen ground, "because we are absolutely dead now" he said finally.
The word didn't sound like a lie it was filled with genuine fear.
Mattias swallowed, "You mean that thing below us"
Manu let out a laugh dry and too soft to echo, "my aren't you Mr obvious"
He pulled himself up another meter ,the peak looking closer.
Mattias followed, "And don't you just fly up it would be faster then this"
Manu, "because I would get eaten before I could even make it out"
Mattias did not believe him but he could feel that tremor again slower now but heavier it was getting closer.
He climbed faster.
Manu's hand shot out suddenly stopping him mid motion, "Don't move so loudly," he mouthed.
At first, there was nothing just the stillness of a corpse's breath then came from beneath them a motion, one that dragged across the area, something massive scraped against the surface far below, it wasn't the sound of claws or flesh like a mountain shifting under their own weight.
Mattias's chest tightened, his instincts screamed to move but Manu's stare pinned him in place.
Seconds passed maybe minutes.
Finally, Manu moved again whispering just loud enough,
"Are you trying to get both of us killed if you don't value your life don't threaten mine"
Mattias was confused, "you keep saying we are in danger but haven't explained what is this danger that makes you so afraid of that thing that you crawl like a bug"
"you mouthy bastard," Manu annoyed but not acting like he doesn't have a point, just let out a sigh and continued to climb as he was climbing he said, "That thing that makes me so afraid, that choose to hide from it is an ancient horror, Ones that can't be killed, they only exist to consume, and consume they do, they eat land masses, mountains to even pure energy so yes, I will act like a bug if it gets me out of here"
Mattias' throat went dry, "So… even you have some to fear"
"Unfortunately, that thing is a rare sight to see this time of the year as they only, surfacing to consume horrors every so often," Manu muttered, hauling himself over the rim, "and as for why am helping you is back our deal needs you alive"
Mattias followed, gasping as feet hit solid ground, the terrain stretched into endless black plains, split by mountains and valleys which were definitely not there the air carrying an acidic scent far away mountains were moving as that thing beneath them moved.
Manu turned voice clipped, "Keep walking just don't think about it too much it should leave soon if we are lucky,"
Mattias frowned his frustration bleeding through the fear, "Don't think about it, Am in a place I know nothing of an—"
"Shut up," Manu snapped, spinning to look at him with a face twisted not with anger but with sheer panic, "If you can get it through your goo filled skull there is a creature that is feeding on anything in its path if it so much as flinches so your lack of information is the least of my concern"
Mattias froze mid-step in frustration but continued walking
They walked step by step the only sound was the faint squelch of the black soil beneath their feet
Mattias whispered after a while talking to himself aloud,
"When I first came here, I can't see anything, but a black empty place, I guess this is my first time actually seeing what it looks like"
Manu turned a glance at him, "And you came here when"
"I don't know, I can't tell but it felt like thousands years" Mattias muttered
Manu, walking forward, "That's unlikely, you would probably be dead long before meeting me"
Mattias shocked, "what does that mean"
"Simply put it if your still alive right now, then you haven't been here more then a week in AW Time that's about 200 years" Manu answered.
"What does AW Time mean" Mattias asked hopeful for some sort of answer, "this the first time I hear of it"
As a low temor moved beneath the area, Manu continued walking, "AW time translates to Alistain World time but am not surprised that you didn't know about that"
"Alistain World, Is that the name of this please" Mattias asked curiously.
"No, this place is called the Primordial Void, the Alistain World is the place where your originally from," Manu said calmer then before.
Mattias not too suprised just followed Manu after a few minutes he finally spoke, "so there are two worlds, well, usually I guess a normal person would have alot of questions about or even how too get back to the Alistain World or whatever that is,
let me ask something different what are you and these things you call horrors because we are right now running from what you said can devour anything in its path and I seem to be immortal for the most part"
Not stopping at all, Manu just answered without looking back, "okay then I will humour you, horrors are in a sense, beings like any other animal but are made up of something called Primordial Void energy or PVE, it's the same thing I used to make the chains I had you in this PVE can only be recharged by eating other horrors and is what keeps up alive and as for your immortally, it's because your body is not made of PVE so it can't properly die in this shitty place does that answer everything halfbreed"
Mattias, "Yea"
A vibration crawled through the ground again, but closer this time the terrain ahead rippled like ink struck by soundwaves, Manu froze then looked over his shoulder with the expression of a condemned man.
"It's moving closer"he whispered, "We have to get out now"
Mattias felt the tremor in his legs before he saw it, the horizon itself moving towards them a liquid wall of black and bone and flesh sliding under them devouring everything in its path
the air went cold.
Manu screamed, "Run, you idiot"
Mattias didn't hesitate, and begun to run.
They sprinted across the uneven terrain hearing that deafening sub terranean groan as the world behind them collapsed inward, drawn toward the advancing mass.
Mattias shouted between breaths, "How fast can that thing even move"
Manu shouted in response a sound of dread, "Faster than we can hope to get away from"
The ground split open behind them letting out a black smoke, and shards of flesh-like rock the pressure grew so intense, it felt like gravity itself was breaking them.
Mattias yelled, "What happens if it catches us"
Manu shouted back, "It won't matter, you won't even live long enough to feel pain, Your body will get crushed in seconds"
Mattias, almost tripping, replied, "You're joking right"
Manu snapped "DO I LOOK LIKE I'M LAUGHING"
The cliff appeared ahead a jagged line in the darkness, the air was colder there, thinner, beyond it the void opened into nothingness
Manu pointed "There, we can jump off"
Mattias gritted his teeth, "You're insane we wil-"
Manu grinned again, wild and strained, "Told you from the start... just trust me"
The ground shook violently behind them the Eater loomed a wall of pulsing gravity, shifting, forming, dissolving, and reforming anything before it
Mattias felt his chest collapse inward with terror, his mind screamed to stop, but his legs didn't listen
Manu's voice cut through the roar "If you value that short lived immortality yours, Mattias Astoria.. Jump now."
And so he did
The last thing they saw was the cliff side get devoured, before both of them vanished into the darkness below
Then
silence