Chapter 596: Shit island.
The jungle seed to hold its breath. The constant buzzing of insects faded, the birds fell silent, even the wind in the canopy froze.
Xenovia narrowed her eyes, her fists clenched around the black flas that swirled lazily around her hands. Kryssia, for her part, let the cold seep through her pores, turning the dense air into white vapor that rose in gentle waves.
It was at that mont that the ground shook.
First gently, as if a heavy animal were passing nearby. Then stronger, with each step reverberating through the roots and trunks. The earth creaked under the impact, and birds, previously hidden, took flight in frightened flocks.
“This isn’t normal…” Kryssia murmured, her blue gaze searching the trees. “It seems—”
A sharp crack interrupted her words. A huge trunk, thick as a house, was thrown aside, creating a gap in the wall of vegetation. From the shadow that rose behind him, a colossal figure erged.
It was an orc.
But not like the few the two had encountered in other eras of battle. This one was larger, broader, its skin tinged a deep red that seed to pulsate in every grotesque muscle. Its curved tusks glead in the dim light filtering through the canopy, and in its enormous hand it held an axe made of black stone, jagged and massive.
“What the hell is this?” Xenovia spat, taking a step back.
Kryssia’s eyes widened, steam escaping more strongly from her mouth. “Impossible… we’ve already searched this entire island. There was nothing like this here!”
The orc took a deep breath, its nostrils flaring like a bull’s before a charge. Its yellow eyes, glowing with irrational fury, fixed on the two won like prey.
“He doesn’t belong here…” Kryssia whispered, instinctively backing away.
“It doesn’t matter where he ca from,” Xenovia replied firmly, but without taking her eyes off the creature. “The question is: why is he here now?”
The creature let out a deafening roar, so loud it vibrated the leaves, the sound echoing throughout the jungle. Kryssia covered her ears, groaning in pain.
“It’s better to just—”
She couldn’t finish.
A black flash filled the space between them and the orc. A sphere of dense fire, swirling like a mini-devouring sun, flew from Xenovia’s palm straight into the creature’s chest.
The impact was so violent that the orc’s roar died in an instant, replaced by the grotesque crack of charred flesh. Black energy burned through the red skin like dry paper, piercing muscle, bone, and everything else.
In a single second, the orc fell silent. Its yellow eyes lost their glow, and the massive body collapsed sideways, crushing bushes and small trees as it fell.
Silence.
Xenovia slowly lowered her hand, the black smoke dissipating around her fingers. She lifted her chin, observing the smoldering corpse on the ground, and an almost amused smile spread across her dirty lips.
“He’s quite a wimp.”
Kryssia blinked, still in shock. “You… killed him in one blow.”
“You wanted to play drag it out?” Xenovia laughed softly, shrugging. “It’s not worth wasting energy on trash like that.”
But despite her confident tone, Kryssia’s gaze remained fixed on the corpse. Sothing was wrong. Very wrong.
She approached slowly, the cold emanating from her leaving traces of frost on the surrounding leaves. She knelt beside the body, running her hand over the charred red skin.
There was no doubt. It was an orc. But its energy…
“It’s unnatural,” Kryssia muttered. “This body shouldn’t be here. Nor should this kind of energy. It’s like it was… spat onto the island.”
Xenovia raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “Spat? By who?”
Kryssia sighed, stepping away from the body. “This island was already too unstable. The energy flow we felt… maybe it wasn’t just from the forest. Maybe it was a portal. A crack.”
Xenovia was silent for a few seconds, her mind racing. Then she smiled again, this ti with sothing darker in her eyes.
“Even better.”
Kryssia looked at her, confused. “Better? Have you gone mad? That ans anything can appear here! Creatures, demons, I don’t know what!”
“Exactly.” Xenovia stepped closer, the heat of the black flas radiating around her body, drying out even the jungle humidity. “And if this was just the first, it ans we’ll soon have much more to train before hunting the Kraken.”
Kryssia narrowed her eyes in disbelief. “Training… with orcs spitting from another world?”
“Training with anything that appears,” Xenovia countered. “Think about it: if this island is serving as a gateway to other planes, perhaps the Kraken itself is responsible. And if so, every creature that erges here will be just a piece of the war already awaiting us in the ocean.”
Kryssia crossed her arms, still suspicious. “You say that like it’s cause for celebration.”
“Because it is.” Xenovia tilted her head, her sweaty purple hair falling over her shoulders. “We finally have sothing besides survival. We have enemies to crush. A war to wage. And that ans we’re closer to the exit than ever.”
Kryssia felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold emanating from her.
Xenovia’s smile was infectious, frightening, and inspiring all at once.
“You’re crazy,” Kryssia said, repeating the words she’d used before. But this ti, her voice held less conviction.
Xenovia shrugged, still staring at the orc’s corpse. “Maybe. But madness, Kryssia… it’s what keeps us alive.”
Silence fell over the jungle again, heavy, almost oppressive. But this ti it wasn’t just the echo of the forest. It was waiting. The feeling that the next step was already being prepared sowhere.
…Well, Xenovia’s mindset was becoming more and more like a certain person.
Kryssia looked at Xenovia, who was inspecting the body of the large, imnse Orc who had died in a single blow…
“Look…” Xenovia said, drawing Kryssia’s attention, pulling sothing from his chest. “This… Isn’t that a rune?” she asked, seeing a stone engraved with an emblem.
Kryssia looked deeply, then her eyes widened. “Fuck,” she said.
Xenovia understood exactly what she ant… “Yes, I think soone set us up… really… I’m starting to hate her,” Xenovia said before exploding the rune with her hand.
Kryssia stood up. “Let’s go. The kraken will die this week.”
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