Luna placed her right hand over her heart, bowing just low enough, as if every motion followed an ancient ritual etched into her very blood and bones.
"Yes, my lord."
Without needing a signal, he stepped toward the carriage door. His pale hand touched the latch gently — the door opened in perfect silence, without a single unnecessary sound, without a wasted movement.
Elarith only gave it a passing glance before stepping inside. No fluttering of dresses, no sound, just a figure slipping into the darkness — as if she had never touched the ground, or as if this place had never been heavy enough to hold her.
Luna stood there for a moment, a nameless glimmer flickering in her crimson eyes, then quietly closed the door behind her.
He then walked to the front, laid a hand on the jet-black reins — no whip, no command. The carriage began to move, wheels gliding over the forest floor like they had belonged here for centuries.
It trembled once.
Then shot forward.
So fast that even the shadows in the woods didn't have time to react. No sound of wheels, no hoofbeats, not a single scratch on the ground. Only a blurred void moving through the night — as if the world itself refused to remember it.
And then… silence.
The carriage vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving behind only trembling branches and the breathless hush of the night.
---
Mira was still running.
I panted, each heartbeat pounding like it might tear through my chest. My hand clutched the horn — a crude weapon reeking of blood — like it was the only belief I had left.
And then I saw them.
Kai was thrown back, his body crashing into a row of stone pillars, triggering a chain collapse.
Ashen — still holding on — had his arms wrapped tight around the monster's neck from behind.
Once again, the flames burst forth, engulfing both him and the creature.
Light flickered — then Ashen flipped back, landing in a perfect roll — leaving the monster screaming in fire, writhing like a beast burning alive in its own madness.
Kai leapt up. No hesitation.
He ran, jumped — inhumanly high.
His heel struck a broken stone, launching him higher.
A punch.
Not one of a mere human — but a warrior who had surpassed his limits.
The creature's face twisted. It fell backward. But it wasn't dead.
A sickening sound.
It raised its head — and spat a thick, acid-like liquid at Kai.
Kai dodged. The liquid struck stone — sizzling, corroding, leaving a blotchy burn.
Ashen didn't waste a second.
He raised his arms.
From them — glowing blue chains shot out like lightning.
They wrapped around the creature's limbs, its body, tightening fast.
I knew this was it.
"KAI!!!"
I screamed — putting everything I had into that one cry — and threw the horn.
Kai turned.
Saw it.
A brief flicker of surprise — then a smile.
"Thanks, Mira."
He caught it mid-air. No wasted motion.
One step.
Two steps.
Final leap — higher than before.
A spin midair. More force, more speed.
The horn drove straight into the creature's head.
No scream.
No struggle.
Only silence — deadly and final.
Then it collapsed, dragged down by the chains.
I stood there, gasping, sweat mixing with blood and dust.
My palm still felt the horn's grip.
My body trembled — not with fear — but because, for the first time…
I had done something to help them.
I thought it was dead.
Thought it was over.
I ran toward Kai and Ashen, barely letting myself feel relief when —
—it moved again.
The monster's body began to bloat like a grotesque balloon. Its skin cracked and sagged. A wet crunching sound came from inside, like something thrashing, ripping through guts and bones.
"Get back!" — Ashen yelled.
No need to be told twice — we dashed behind a massive stone column.
Kai and Ashen grabbed me, pressing me against the cold rock.
Then — BOOM!
It exploded, like a bomb of flesh and blood.
Meat, bones, and slime flew everywhere. The liquid hissed on the ground, melting stone, leaving pits and cracks like acid had been splashed.
Only when the noise died down did we step out.
The creature was now just a puddle of melted flesh, steaming and motionless.
"It was weak," Kai panted, wiping sweat. "Didn't expect it to fall so fast."
I glanced at him — the same guy who got slammed into a column earlier — now acting like he hadn't been hurt.
But Ashen said nothing.
He stared at the pile of flesh… then turned toward the massive lump of meat that had covered part of the ruins.
"Something's not right," he muttered.
Then looked at me.
"It came out of that thing, didn't it?"
I nodded, a chill crawling down my spine. "Yes."
Ashen narrowed his eyes, watching the grotesque mass like he could sense something.
And then —
—it moved again.
One beat… then another.
The flesh began to twitch, as if it was breathing.
Then —
RIP!!
The surface burst from within.
And out of it — dozens of other creatures began to crawl.
They weren't identical to the first.
Their heads… had changed. More twisted. More horrifying.
— One had the face of an old man, skin sagging in folds, with scraggly hair growing at odd angles like it had been torn out and reattached with fingernails.
— Another wore the melted features of a middle-aged man, like a wax statue left near fire, bulging eyes still looking as if they felt pain.
— Some didn't even resemble heads — just lumps of twisted meat, deformed and split open, full of scars and mouths, like crafted by a madman.
And it wasn't just their main heads —
The heads dangling beneath their bellies were mutating too.
They crawled out of the meat like a swarm of human maggots, step by step, without a sound, without a groan — only reeking breath and lifeless, fogged eyes.
"RUN!!" — Ashen snapped.
We didn't wait.
Kai picked me up again and bolted.
"Again!? I can run, you know!"
He kept running, laughing like nothing was wrong. "Sorry, Mira. But you won't keep up."
I froze — not from anger — but because I knew he was right.
They were human like me, but… their strength wasn't.
Especially Ashen.
I couldn't forget how he moved, or the flames, or the blue chains that burst from his arms like they were part of his own flesh.
Then Kai suddenly spoke, his tone serious:
"Where are we even running to? There's almost no exit here!"
I searched my memory — and saw it.
"When I ran to you two — I saw a path! Looked like a way down — like a basement!"
Ashen nodded instantly. "That's our only shot. Lead us, Mira!"
"To the left — past that big stone!" I pointed.
Kai didn't need to hear it twice.
He turned immediately.
Behind us, the dragging limbs of those creatures scraped against stone, wet and relentless, like a curse that wouldn't let go.
We saw the opening — a break in the fallen stones, revealing a dark pit below.
Kai set me down, turned around, and slammed into a stone pillar. "CRACK!"
It toppled — rubble crashing down to block the path, buying us precious seconds.
We slipped into the hole.
Ashen and Kai pushed rocks behind us, sealing the entrance.
Then the three of us turned — and ahead of us was a pitch-black tunnel, like the gaping mouth of a beast waiting to swallow every last bit of light.
Ashen raised his hand.
A small flame, soft orange, flickered in his palm — just enough to light our way, but not enough to push the darkness back. The light danced along the walls, casting twisted shadows that whispered of things forgotten.
"Let's go," Kai said, trying to sound calm — but I still heard the tension in his breath.
We walked along the narrow path.
No corpses.
No blood.
No signs of a struggle.
Only Ashen's flickering fire and cold stone walls covered in mold and moss.
Finally, the path opened up.
A massive hall spread out before us.