Path of Death: Awakening
Chapter 33: To the West

Chapter 33: To the West

The fire had long died.Only the warm stones on damp soil remained—and it almost felt like those stones were still breathing.

The scent of the night was thick.Burnt rubber. Rust. Dust...But above all, abandonment.

Zeyna leaned against the side panel of an old armored vehicle.Her shoulder still wouldn’t fully move—but it wasn’t her body that hurt the most.Her eyes remained locked on Fade’s back.He was crouched some distance away, silently watching the surroundings.

"Someone might still be dreaming," Zeyna said suddenly."But someone said ’city’ to us."

Darin sat beside her. He dropped a flat stone from his hand."He said, ’Did you come from there’... You remember that, right?"

"Yeah," Zeyna nodded."But did he mean a city? Where?"

Arven was poking at the ashes.There was no flame left,yet it was as if he was still trying to keep something alive.

"It could be a trap," he muttered."Enforcers don’t usually talk.And when they do—it means nothing."

Kaela stared at the broken display on her wrist device.The screen still flickered.But between the static lines, her eyes caught something.

"There’s a systemic disturbance to the west," she said."Normally I wouldn’t see this kind of signal interference.It’s like... a data field buried there."

Zeyna frowned. "Buried?"

Kaela didn’t look away."Something the system can’t reach but is still active.Independent... but alive."

Silence fell.

Then—Fade rose.

His back was still wrapped in darkness—but his eyes had stepped out of it, even if just for a moment.

Everyone looked at him.Not for answers—but for direction.

"We’re going," he said."Whatever it is... it starts there."

Zeyna tilted her head. "What are we walking into, then?"

Fade was silent for a moment.Then he whispered a single word:

"Truth."

The night wore on.

Even under moonlight, the earth looked exhausted.Each step reminded them of the weight of the battle.No wind.No animals.Only the distant echoes of a system that never shut up...and the road.

Fade walked in front.His steps were slow—but resolute.The others moved in his rhythm, wordless.Their faces were quiet—but no mind was empty.

Kaela held her bandaged wrist while scanning her device.Her eyes drifted to the sky now and then.That feeling of being watched hadn’t left her since yesterday.

"Fade..." she said, her voice barely more than a whisper."This city... could it be hope?"

Fade didn’t turn, but answered:

"Hope is a word.We’re the ones who fill it."

Kaela lowered her gaze, then slowly nodded.

Arven supported Darin. Their steps were uneven, but stubborn.Arven’s thoughts spun quietly:

"If that place is a refuge...what if it’s already systemized?" "What if it’s full of enemies too?"

But he didn’t say it.Because some thoughts—when spoken—become too real.

Zeyna lagged behind a little.Pain sparked with every step, but her expression showed nothing.Her eyes—again—found Fade.

"He walks alone. Doesn’t even look at us.""And yet... he clears the way for us.""Maybe... he’s still Fade. Maybe..."

For a moment, she wanted to walk up beside him.To feel her shoulder brush against his.A word.A smile.

But she didn’t take that step.

Because she was afraid too.Afraid that one look from Fade would break down all her walls—and leave her with nothing inside.

Fade remained silent.

He felt the ground beneath his feet.Felt the new tendon in his leg—a part of him, yet not his.With every step, it vibrated.But he pushed it down.

He was starting to realize something—To remain human,he had to ignore certain truths.

"The path doesn’t just go outward," he thought."It dives inward. Deeper.Into me."

And on this path—for the first time—he was truly alone.

The soil was still soft.The sky above was gray—not dark, but lightless.Undefined.Just like their path.

Kaela knelt down, trying to restart her device.Her fingers were cold—but steady.The screen glitched—then pulsed with a corrupted frequency.Then—steady blinking.

"Fade," she said, soft but sharp.

The others stopped.Zeyna glanced over.Darin straightened from the stone he was resting on.Arven said nothing.

Kaela held up her screen."Low signal—but stable.Looks like an organized system trail.It’s self-sustaining.There’s only one explanation."

She looked at Fade."A city."

Fade didn’t bend down.But his eyes locked on the flickering screen.The signal’s direction was clear.

"West," he said.

Zeyna raised an eyebrow."That goes into the dark zone, doesn’t it?Even the maps didn’t show it clearly."

Kaela nodded."But this signal...it’s coming from there.And it’s the only stable source we’ve found."

Darin yawned."Got any better ideas?"

Arven murmured,"Looks like the road’s choosing us now."

Fade closed his eyes.Inside him, something stirred—but this time, it wasn’t darkness.

To move toward something.To find a reason—it mattered.Even for him.

When he opened his eyes, he looked at the others.

"We move. to the West."

No one objected.For the first time, they all felt it—a direction.And a direction... meant hope.

The road continued in silence.Gray soil crunched beneath their boots.No signs of life.Only cracked stones, scattered metal shards from old battles,and the skeletal remains of once-powerful energy towers.

Then—

The ground trembled.

So subtly, at first, no one noticed.But Fade’s legs reacted.A foreign tension.An unfamiliar threat.

Arven stopped. "Did you feel that?"

Kaela turned."Echo... but unnatural."

Zeyna slid a blade free."That echo... felt like a heartbeat."

And then—they saw it.

From behind a rock—a crawling shape slithered.

About 2.3 meters long.Its weight seemed heavier than its form.It crawled forward—a nightmare made flesh.

Its body was segmented, like an ancient scroll folded and worn.Its outer shell was translucent bone-like plating.Some plates held jawbones and skeletal fragments—as if it had absorbed other creatures over time.

From its back drooped torn, twitching wings—no longer useful, yet trembling with dread.

But the real terror...was in its head.

Disproportionately large.Split jaws opened like blades—but made no sound.They vibrated.

Empty eye sockets.But Fade saw the black fluid leaking from them.

This eyeless thing—was seeing.Scanning souls.

Kaela whispered,"Eyeless... but it sees..."

The creature turned toward Fade.

And then—

It slammed its rear claw into the ground.

THOUM!

A deep, resonant sound.A threat.A rage.An alarm.

The claw’s ends were forked—but veined with metallic light.It pulsed like living tissue.

[Enemy Detected: ??? – Mutated Dermaptera Hive Drone]

Threat Level: B+

Status: Berserk Mutation / Cognitive-Linked Tracking

Weakness: Unstable Back Segment / Flank Mobility

Fade didn’t move.

But a thought passed cold through his mind:

"This thing... isn’t ours.""This thing doesn’t belong here.""And maybe... neither do we anymore."

Darin raised his weapon."Shit. It’s looking at me.It’s looking into me."

Zeyna narrowed her eyes."This thing’s beyond ugly. What’s the plan, Fade?"

Fade stepped forward.Locked eyes with the creature’s empty sockets.

He whispered:

"Welcome to the hell you crawled out of... Because this is our home now."

"If you see my soul—then I’ll answer with it."—Fade

He closed his eyes. Took a breath. And moved.

First Strike: Phantom Leap

The ground cracked.Fade’s body shimmered—then vanished.

He reappeared like a figure leaping between shadows,blitzing toward the creature’s eyeless sockets.

An elbow strike—straight to the skull.

CRACK!

The creature’s head whipped sideways.But no... it didn’t scream.It didn’t feel pain.

It turned.Opened its jaws.Black fluid spilled into the air like mist.

Darin shouted,"Kaela! It’s scanning—this isn’t system-based, it’s psychic!"

Kaela raised a data-shield."Void scanner! It doesn’t see—it echoes through minds!It’s not hearing—it’s thinking!"

Zeyna slashed."Then stop thinking!"

Arven lunged toward its side.His spear pierced under the leg.

The beast recoiled—not in pain,but in reaction.

Fade leapt again.This time toward its back—between the twitching ruined wings.

Second Strike: Shadow Pulse

Dark energy surged from his chest.The bone plates on the creature’s back began to splinter.

Still no scream.But the claw slammed into the ground again.

TOUM!

The echo this time—was deeper.Fade’s head throbbed.

Zeyna staggered."This... it’s getting inside me..."

Kaela yelled,"The psychic resonance is spiking—Fade, finish it!"

Fade struck again—this time under the wings.

The creature’s back cracked.Dark, tar-like matter poured out.It wasn’t blood.It was... residue.As if something else had been digested.Or fused.

The beast drew back.Raised its claw again.

But this time,Fade caught it.

And drove it into the earth.

"Enough."

Fade didn’t speak it aloud—but the creature heard.

And for a moment...it froze.

Right then,the black fluid in its eye sockets shifted.

A symbol emerged.

Not letters.A pattern.

A map.A signal.

Kaela whispered,"It’s... a direction."

The creature turned slowly.

A rasp—not language.Not sound.A thought.

"There..."

Then the beast collapsed.

Black fluid dripped onto the earth.Spread.Then faded.

No trace remained.

But something had stayed behind—within Fade.

Something... called from inside.

[Dybbuk Lineage Active – Assimilation Available]

[Source: Unknown Mutated Entity – Psychochemical Core Residue]

[Compatible Passive Ability: Chemosense]

Gain instinctive chemical and psychic signal awareness.Detect fear, hormonal shifts, micro-emotions.Sense toxic zones and lies passively.

Fade paused.Kneeled—not from exhaustion.

He inhaled that vibration rising beneath the soil.It was invisible.Silent.But something deep in him recognized the call.

"This isn’t mine...but it’s part of me now."

His vision dimmed briefly.His nose burned—not from a smell.

It was a thought...made physical.An echo transformed into chemistry.

He accepted it.

His muscles didn’t tremble.His skin didn’t shift.

But another layer of his mind opened.

And now—he could hear what others couldn’t.

The chemistry of fear.The vibration of lies.The breath of traps.

Fade opened his eyes again.The system message disappeared into the corner of his mind.

His gaze shifted—Zeyna’s back.Kaela’s fingers.Arven’s jawline.

He could feel their rhythms now.But he didn’t show it.

He simply stood.

And said nothing.

Just then, Kaela crouched a few steps away, staring at her damaged device.

The screen was still cracked—but something... was syncing.

Through the static noise, a wave pattern emerged.

"This..." she whispered, "the signal’s still active."

She rotated the directional graph with her fingertips.

The others were still catching their breath.Zeyna sat on a log, tightening the wrap around her shoulder.Darin stood, barely stable.Arven rubbed his eyes.

But Kaela’s voice broke the tension.

"West," she said softly—but clearly."The signal is coming from the west."

Fade slowly turned his head.On the distant horizon—a gray skyline.Still.Yet waiting.

Kaela added,"There’s something there.Not just a place...a call."

She looked at Fade.

"And maybe... it’s not just calling us.Maybe it’s calling everyone."

No one spoke.

But they had all heard it.

And now... they all knew where to go.

Fade and the remaining group turned their steps—westward.

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