Leah's head throbbed, a dizzying, nauseous haze clouding her thoughts.
One mont, she had been at the rear of the group, her staff's radiance
illuminating the backs of her comrades and the jagged stones beneath their
boots. The next, an irresistible force had seized her. The world warped, sounds
vanished, and reality itself dissolved into a kaleidoscope of spinning colors.
By the ti her mind cleared, she was sowhere entirely alien. There was no
light. Not a flicker. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth mixed with
the cloying stench of rot—a single breath was enough to make her stomach churn.
"Ugh... what is this place...?" Leah leaned against the damp wall, retching,
though nothing ca up.
Judging by the crushing atmosphere, she realized she was deep within the heart
of the mine. Her textbooks at the Evernight Academy had been clear: in places
where wraiths congregate, the deeper you go, the more oppressive the environnt
becos. Only high-tier spirits have the right to claim the darkest, most
central sanctums.
Leah's breath ca in sharp, shallow gasps. She knew she was in deep trouble.
Forcing herself to stay calm, she focused her mind to manifest a light spell. It
was then she realized her staff had slipped from her grip during the transition.
She imdiately dropped to her knees, fumbling blindly across the floor. Her
fingertips brushed against sothing slick and slimy—thick patches of moss that
sent a shiver of visceral disgust through her.
Finally, her hand closed around familiar wood.
Gripping her staff, she whispered, "Primary Luminosity."
It was a basic spell, the only one she dared use. Stronger magic required longer
incantations and more Mana, and in an unknown abyss like this, she had to hoard
every drop of her strength. A soft orb of light rose from the tip of the staff,
hovering above her.
The radiance pushed back the encroaching shadows, revealing a massive
underground cavern. It looked like the hollowed-out belly of a mountain. The
walls were riddled with tunnel entrances—black, yawning maws that led to
God-knows-where.
Then, she saw it.
Standing at the very edge of her light's reach was a silhouette. It was a
wraith, but unlike any she had encountered before. Its body was no longer
translucent; it was nearly solid, its outline sharp and jagged. Its form was
twisted, its visage a mask of rotting spirit-flesh.
It was a High Wraith—at least Tier 4.
Leah's entire body froze. Run. I have to run. The thought repeated like a broken
record, but her feet felt as if they were bolted to the stone.
The wraith moved. It made no sound as it drifted toward her. Its pace was slow,
yet with every inch it gained, the crushing pressure Leah felt intensified.
Finally, she saw what it was holding.
A rag doll. A filthy, tattered, one-eyed rag doll.
The wraith's movents were almost delicate as it clutched the doll, gliding
toward her with singular purpose. Leah didn't understand. What did it want? But
terror overrode reason. With a piercing scream, she spun around and bolted with
every ounce of strength she possessed.
She didn't dare look back. She plunged into the nearest tunnel, praying it led
to an exit. The soundless pressure didn't fade. It was following her. Her heart
hamred against her ribs, her lungs burning as if they might burst.
Just as despair began to settle in, a muffled sound drifted from deeper within
the tunnel.
"LEAH!"
It was Lott's voice! Tears instantly pricked her eyes. He's alive! Lott ca for
!
"LOTT! I'M HERE!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with terror. She abandoned
her aimless flight and sprinted toward the source of the shout.
Lott was in a bad way.
He had just been struck by a Tier 2 wraith hiding in the shadows. If his
reflexes hadn't been sharp enough to reinforce his vitals with Od, he would have
lost his entire arm. Luckily, he had brought a few vials of diluted Erald's
Respite, allowing him to outlast the spirit.
Now, his leather armor was a shredded ss, and his face was a mask of gri and
dried blood. The tunnels around him were a labyrinth, a web of paths where every
fork could lead to a vastly different end. He didn't know how long he had been
walking. He only knew he couldn't stop.
"LEAH!" he bellowed every few minutes. His voice echoed through the shafts, but
only his own lonely reverb returned to him.
Bard and Tim had fled. Lott didn't bla them; in their position, he might have
made the sa choice. The situation was too bizarre. Leah's disappearance had no
warning—a living human, gone from right under their noses. It defied logic.
His mind was a storm of static. "LEAH!!"
Suddenly, a faint response drifted from a side-tunnel ahead.
"Lott! I'm here!"
It was her. Lott froze, almost fearing he was hallucinating. "Leah?" he called
out tentatively.
"I'm here!" The voice was clearer now.
Lott's eyes burned. Ignoring his exhaustion, he gripped his sword and sprinted
toward the sound. He rounded a jagged corner and saw her. She was running toward
him, the light of her staff a beacon in the suffocating dark.
"Leah!" Lott felt the weight on his chest lift—but only for a heartbeat.
His expression twisted. He saw what was behind her. A tall, distorted entity
radiating an aura of pure malice. Its power level was far beyond anything they
had faced—a Tier 4 monster. To Lott, it looked like a nightmare was hunting his
teammate.
"RUN! LEAH, GET OVER HERE!" Lott roared, raising his longsword.
The Od within him surged violently, the blade glowing with a frantic light. He
had to protect her. That was his duty as Captain.
Leah saw him, too. She saw the tattered remains of his gear and the desperate,
suicidal look in his eyes. she wanted to tell him to stop, to tell him that this
wraith felt... different from the others. But she was too breathless, her throat
producing only raspy, choked sounds.
The distance closed rapidly. Fifty ters. Thirty. Ten.
Leah finally reached him, collapsing into his arms from sheer exhaustion. Lott
imdiately moved her behind his back, standing with his legs braced in a
textbook defensive stance.
His arms were trembling. He knew, with terrifying certainty, that he was no
match for the thing before them. The gap in power was a chasm. The energy
rolling off the entity made him feel like he was standing before a collapsing
mountain.
"I don't care what you are!" Lott's voice shook, but he forced a tone of iron
defiance. "Stay the hell away from her!"
The wraith slowed, its twisted body swaying as it approached. The killing intent
it radiated was massive, far more intense than when it had been following Leah
alone.
"Give... it... back..." it rasped, a hollow, soul-chilling sound.
☆☆☆
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