Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 117: Land of the Unseen

Chapter 117: Land of the Unseen

The overall atmosphere within the traveling party of wanderers could only be described as tense. Every one of them was on edge, anxiety simmering just beneath the surface. But none wore it more openly than Klaus.

Some might wonder what had him so rattled. Strangely enough, the answer was far simpler than it seemed.

Klaus had grown used to the obsidian walls of the Labyrinth, with its endless, tangled paths stretching in every direction like a spider’s web. For all the deadly threats the labyrinth concealed, like beasts that could rip a grown man in two, it also offered a peculiar sense of security.

At least, it did for a group of seasoned Awakened like them.

But now, they traversed a terrain ruled by silver sand. It was vast, open, and exposed — offering no shelter, no cover, no place to hide. In simple terms: They were completely, hopelessly vulnerable to anything and everything.

If some forsaken terror decided to burst from beneath the sand, they’d be finished.

For Klaus, whose Awakening had sharpened both his body and, more importantly, his senses, the thought of being ambushed disturbed him greatly. He hated being caught off guard.

Especially after last time.

A Nightmare Carapace had erupted from the ground without warning, tearing open his stomach and exploiting a gap in his Nightmare Armor he hadn’t even known existed. The pain, the shock, the helplessness, it had left a scar deeper than any wound.

Now, every shift of sand beneath his boots felt like a threat.

And, of course, it didn’t help that everything in this cursed world seemed hell-bent on killing them.

’God damn it. Did someone commit blasphemy against some wicked god or something? And why the hell are we the ones paying for someone else’s sins?’ Klaus grumbled inwardly, though deep down, he already knew the answer.

Honestly, it was useless to think about what led to this world’s destruction. They just needed to survive.

At the front, Seraphim led the group with steady strides, Adrian walking beside her in silence. Klaus followed a short distance behind. Bringing up the rear was the Crimson Slayer, trudging forward at a measured pace. Perched atop it like a rider on a beast, Morgan kept a quiet watch over their surroundings.

This was their formation. Their rhythm of survival.

Klaus glanced around warily. After a moment’s hesitation, he muttered under his breath:

"I’ve got a bad feeling about this."

Apparently, his voice had carried farther than intended, because Morgan—no, Briar—shot back from atop the Crimson Slayer,

"If that’s the case, then why waste breath talking?"

Klaus glanced over his shoulder at her but said nothing. He turned his gaze back to the path ahead.

They continued forward in silence, the soft squeak of sand beneath their boots the only sound accompanying them.

A dozen or so minutes passed before Seraphim raised a hand, signaling them to halt. Turning her head, she asked Adrian:

"Notice anything?"

As the group’s scout, Adrian narrowed his eyes and scanned the horizon. After a few tense seconds, he shook his head.

"There are a few irregularities here and there... but nothing’s moving. This place feels as lifeless as it gets."

Seraphim frowned at the response but kept her thoughts to herself. Instead, she glanced back at Klaus.

"Do you hear anything?"

Klaus shook his head.

"What’s there to hear besides our own footsteps?"

In some cases, Klaus could even outdo Adrian when it came to scouting. Not only could he see perfectly in complete darkness, but he had also been the one to alert the group before the crimson tide of blood nearly swept them away.

Unfortunately, this time, he noticed no unusual noise. Just the whisper of wind stirring the sand and the soft crunch of their own footsteps.

Seraphim let out a quiet sigh, her hand rising to rest against her chin in thought. After a moment, her gaze drifted toward the distant crimson spire.

"I see," she murmured. "Let’s keep moving onwards."

Following that short exchange, the group resumed their march across the sea of silver sand. The wind picked up slightly, carrying fine grains that shimmered faintly in the pale light, brushing against their armor and cloaks like an ever-present veil.

Time felt strange here. Each step stretched on longer than it should, dragging their thoughts into quiet introspection or dark imaginings. The horizon never seemed to grow closer, and the crimson spire in the distance remained as far away as it had been hours ago; stationary, yet looming like an unspoken omen.

Klaus kept his senses sharp, but the monotony made it hard to tell if the dread in his chest was real or just paranoia gnawing at him. Even the others began to shift uneasily, though none voiced their discomfort.

Suddenly, Adrian halted.

"Wait," he said, raising a hand.

The party froze.

Everyone turned toward him, alert.

Adrian slowly crouched and touched the sand. His fingers dug into it, sifting through the grains with practiced care. After a beat, he stood back up and looked toward Seraphim.

"There are prints here and of course, it’s not ours. Something moved through here not long ago... and it was big."

"How big," Seraphim asked

Adrian hesitated before he finally answered her question.

"Hard to say exactly, but... it seems larger than the Crimson Slayer."

That earned a collective shift of posture among the group.

Morgan tilted her head.

"So, something’s lurking under this open sky too?"

Klaus gritted his teeth.

"Of course there is. Honestly, it’s foolish to think there was nothing here."

Seraphim turned her gaze toward the spire once more.

"We’re not changing course. Stay alert and make sure to keep your eyes open. And if anything moves beneath the sand... don’t wait to strike."

The air around them grew heavier. No one objected.

Without another word, the party pressed forward. This time, however, Seraphim subtly adjusted their course, guiding them toward one of the shallow pits Adrian had spotted earlier, just in case it could offer some tactical advantage.

By the time they neared the pit, the grey sky above had begun to dim. There was no sun in this world to mark the passage of time; only the slow, creeping shift in ambient glow that signaled the approach of night. Any tools they might have used to track time had long since been damaged beyond repair.

In short, they had no way of knowing how much time they had left.

None of them wanted to find out what the Sea of Silver Ash turned into after dark.

The group came to a halt, exchanging glances with one another. They were waiting — hesitating — for someone to investigate the shallow pit ahead. The problem, of course, was deciding who would be the first to approach it.

Then, almost simultaneously, every head turned toward Adrian.

To be fair, it made sense. He was the only one among them wielding a weapon with decent reach. And one of their members didn’t even have a weapon at all.

Adrian blinked, caught off guard by the sudden attention. He pointed at himself and muttered:

"Me? Are you guys seriously saying I should check it out?"

Klaus shrugged.

"Well, technically, nobody said anything. But... since you’re the one who brought it up, you might as well be the one to check it out."

Adrian groaned,

"Ugh. You know, one of these days, I’m going to stop talking altogether. See how you all like it when we walk into a trap blind!"

"That day is not today," Morgan quipped dryly, then shifted her gaze on the shallow pit. "Unless you want me to throw a stone in and see what bites?"

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

"And risk waking up some oversized worm that eats vibrations? I’ll pass."

Without waiting for more commentary, he stepped forward, spear in hand, the shaft steady in his grip. The others instinctively spread out slightly, maintaining formation while giving him enough space. Even the wind seemed to hush as he approached the edge of the pit.

The sand sloped downward, gentle but deceptive. Up close, the pit wasn’t as shallow as it had looked from a distance. The inner basin was pitted with strange grooves, as though something had dragged itself through.

Narrowing his eyes, Adrian cautiously extended his spear and jabbed it into the sand.

Puok! Puok!

Nothing stirred beneath the surface.

He let out a small breath of relief and turned back to the group.

"There’s nothing here."

Shoulders eased all around as tension began to ebb, if only slightly.

But Klaus didn’t relax.

Instead, his entire body went rigid, then trembled.

It wasn’t the pit that unsettled him.

It was the sudden, unmistakable vibration crawling up his legs — faint at first, but rapidly intensifying.

He heard it next.

A rapid, stabbing rhythm piercing through the sand behind them, like dozens of limbs burrowing toward them with violent purpose.

His heart seized.

And then, driven by instinct alone, Klaus shouted just one word:

"Hide!"

The others barely had a second to react. The first to react instinctively was Morgan who dismissed her mount and sent it into her Soul World. However, she had failed to prepare for her own landing. At that instant, Klaus caught her and carried her like a princess. With nowhere else to hide, the group could hide themselves within the shallow pit.

Both Seraphim and Adrian looked at him with questioning gaze, their expressions practically asking him if there was danger. Klaus only raised one hand up, telling them to wait.

Slowly, he cautiously peeked his head up from the shallow pit and observed the source of the movement.

From where they had come from, some obsidian coral protruded from the silver sand. Moments later, a massive silhouette barreled forward, smashing through the coral like twigs. A storm of glittering sand erupted into the air, veiling the hulking form as it lumbered into the open wasteland.

There was no mistaking it.

They’d seen that shape before. Too many times.

’Damnit.’

Klaus clicked his tongue.

Lowering himself and turning his head back to the group, he whispered:

"It’s a Nightmare Carapace."

Just like that, the expression of the group soured instantly. Seraphim, in particular, was frowning deeply.

Have you ever seen a gorilla frowning. Yes, she would look just like that. Wait, why did he just compare Seraphim to a gorilla just now?

"Where did it come from? And where is it heading?"

Klaus blinked, shaking off the thought.

"It just stepped out of the Labyrinth. Looks like it’s heading toward the Spire. Since we’re off its direct path, we should be able to stay hidden and let it pass."

Morgan frowned.

"Can’t we just kill it? It’s only one, right?"

Before Klaus could answer, Seraphim cut in firmly.

"No. That’s a bad idea."

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