Two days later, they arrived at a village that had been completely abandoned.
Houses stood empty, doors swaying in the wind. Tables were still set with meals long rotted away. It was as if the people had simply disappeared overnight.
Arinn shivered. "This place gives me a bad feeling."
Rey walked cautiously down the empty street, his senses on high alert.
Rhys muttered, "This isn't normal."
Then, suddenly, a whisper echoed through the air.
"Leave this place… before he comes…"
Rey drew his sword. "Who said that?!"
The whispering stopped.
Then, the ground shifted.
A black mist began to rise from the earth, curling around their feet.
Arinn gasped. "Rey—what is this?!"
Rey's grip tightened on his sword. "Something unnatural."
Rhys drew his weapon. "Brace yourselves. We're not alone."
The mist twisted, forming shapes—faces contorted in silent screams, reaching toward them with ghostly hands.
Then, a deep voice rumbled through the air:
"You have come too far… turn back… or be lost in the nightmare."
And from the shadows, something emerged.
The creature towered over them, its form shifting between man and shadow, its eyes glowing a deep, piercing red.
Rey's breath caught. He had heard stories of beings like this—monsters that belonged to no realm, creatures that fed on fear.
But this one felt different.
It felt like Seth.
Rhys took a step forward. "Whatever this thing is, we have to kill it."
The creature laughed, its voice echoing unnaturally.
"Kill me? You are but children playing with steel. I am a fragment of the nightmare, a mere shadow of the one who will consume this world."
Rey's heart pounded. "Seth…"
The creature cocked its head. "Ah… so you know him."
Arinn clutched Rey's arm. "Rey… what do we do?"
Rey's gaze hardened. "We fight."
And with that, the battle began.
The creature lunged, its arms stretching unnaturally as it swiped at them.
Rey dodged, rolling to the side before slashing with his sword. His blade passed through the creature—but it was like cutting through smoke.
Rhys leapt into action, his sword flashing. "We need to find its weak point!"
Arinn, standing behind them, suddenly felt something. A pulse. A pull in his mind.
He turned toward a crumbling well in the center of the village. Something was inside.
"Rey!" he shouted. "The well—there's something there!"
Rey barely dodged another attack before glancing at the well. Then, everything clicked.
This creature wasn't attacking them—it was protecting something.
Rey grabbed Arinn's arm. "Run! Get to the well!"
Rhys provided cover, throwing a barrage of knives to distract the creature.
Arinn ran.
And when he reached the well, he looked down—
—and froze.
Because staring back at him from the darkness…
Was a pair of glowing blue eyes.
Eyes that looked exactly like his own.
And a voice whispered:
"Arinn… my son…"