'W-what the hell was that?'
The voice elicited within Dean, a wave of fear and terror. However, as he stood in the suffocating silence, an even more pressing question found its way into his mind.
'W-where did it come from?'
His muscles tensed.
The voice. It sounded like it came from his back. Except it was close. Too close.
His heart tightened as he scanned the area.
"Hu, Hu…"
Sweat poured down his face as he made use of the supernatural detector. However, he found nothing.
"...."
Only silence. The kind that presses down on your chest, making it harder to breathe. Harder to think.
Clench!
His hands tightened at his sides, fingers curling into fists. And before he knew it, he licked his dry lips once, and then twice, trying and ultimately failing to maintain his calm.
But he knew he had to stay composed. If he wanted to understand what was going on, he had to calm down. So he forced himself to breathe.
"Hu, Huff…"
In and out. He forced himself to breath through the haze clouding his mind.
'The voice,' Dean frowned. 'It spoke just after he killed the Negéth. And from what "they" said, it seemed that the act of killing the Negéth had made him stronger.'
A deep frown marred his features.
Glancing at his arms and muscles, he noted the subtle difference. He also realized he'd indeed grown stronger. Even if only barely.
Of course, on any normal day, he would have been happy about such a thing. If only it wasn't so unsettling to think about.
'A voice that's heard after one kills another creature. W-What kind of eldritch horror is that?' Dean wondered, dread holding onto his heart.
The more he pondered on it, the more the pieces unsettlingly aligned.
'Was it just him or did it sound rather familiar?' he thought with a frown.
It was then that his eyes widened, the word slipping past his lips:
"The spell."
An entity or perhaps a force responsible for bringing the Arcane Trial and Ascensions to life. Based on how it behaved, no one really knew if it was sentient or not.
Though honestly, he could care less. So far it didn't harm him, whatever the spell did had nothing to do with him. However—
The scowl of Dean's face deepened further.
'If the killing of another creature causes its materialization, then why didn't it do so after he killed the Djinn?'
The question was disturbing and unsettling to say the least, but more so the answer to it.
That was even more dreadful to think about. And honestly, he really didn't want to think about it either.
'Or perhaps he was just overthinking things and the dark mist was responsible for such an anomaly.'
He couldn't really say. So it was better not to think about it. At least, not until he'd gathered enough clues to arrive at a certain conclusion.
"Hah."
Exhaling lightly, he allowed a fleeting smile to creep up his features. For a second there, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest for a while. But unfortunately,
"Hah..."
He knew time was ticking, and since the dark maze was a supernatural echo- which meant the influence of the dark mist could and would certainly stretch its fangs into its confines, he had nothing more than a few hours— seven to eight hours at most— before the dark mist came gushing back once again.
"Ugh!"
A soft groan slipped past his lips.
To be honest, he was anything but willing to take a single step further. But it wasn't as if he had any other choice. Hence he could only grumble and begrudgingly rise to his feet.
'What else could he possibly do?'
Worn out and hurting all over, he was about to leave when he suddenly remembered about the carcass.
'How could he forget? He had fought tooth for tooth for it. He'd be damned if he left it behind!'
But unfortunately, life as always was cruel.
He couldn't find anything that could store the 'meal.' Mostly because the carcass was not only big and enormous, but some parts of its body also couldn't be stored due to their chaotic trait.
And even more importantly, most parts of its body parts were rather useless, and he would do well to discard them. Which he intended to do.
"But first things first."
He had to find something to take the meal along with.
The thought of leaving the meal behind just didn't sit well with me. Not after he had almost died in order to get it.
Gritting his teeth, various thoughts raced through his mind. And just then—
Flick!
It clicked into place.
Dean wiped the sweat off his brow, grinning widely as he stared at the enormous body of the Negéth.
'Since I can't find a makeshift vessel, why don't I just make one. I mean... how hard can it possibly be?' Dean thought with inconceivable confidence.
He already had the theoretical knowledge, hence the reason he didn't believe he wouldn't be able to make one.
Dropping to his knees, he pried loose one of the creature's arms, its edge sharp enough to cut through iron.
With a few swift strikes that sent jarring pain through him, he was able to sever the joints, the sickening crunch echoing through the dark maze.
The sound sent a chill through him. However, he forced himself to ignore them.
"Hu…"
Exhaling sharply, Dean rose to his feet and began to strip vines from nearby trees, twisting them into rough ropes, and knitting them tightly around bundles of crimson flesh.
For smaller cuts, those that required lesser force, he worked quickly, using shards gotten from the Negéth's scale as a makeshift knife.
Before long, the hollowed-out shell of the Negéth became a carrying vessel.
'His very own makeshift vessel.'
Looking at the 'masterpiece,' lying before him, a smile slowly crept up his face.
"Who knew I was this skilled."
Nodding, mostly to himself, he tied the carrying vessel to his back with braided vines. As he hefted the load onto his shoulder, a grim expression darkened his features.
"This had better be worth the trouble."
Letting out a deep exhalation, a smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Well... Guess I'm eating like a knight tonight!"
A light laugh slipped past his lips, and with nothing left to do, he immediately kicked off the ground and proceeded forward.
***
Step! Step!
He hastened his footsteps. He needn't be told to know he had certainly wasted a lot of time on the makeshift vessel.
And with his familiarity with the shadows, he could feel it. He probably only had six more hours at most, before the Dark Mist made its appearance.
"Shit!"
The thought of the Dark Mist sent a chill through him, but he forced himself to focus on the more important task at hand.
'Getting to the nearest dune structure.'
He proceeded forward, his breath growing more ragged with each step. His lungs were hurting and so were his legs, yet he didn't stop running.
On the bright side of things, he guessed he was getting closer to the nearest Dune Structure. With his improved eyesight and strange attunement to the shadows, he could sense its silhouette—A beacon of light in the suffocating darkness.
'So it had to be the one.'
This only further hastened his steps. The thought of surviving. Of living. It was enough to keep him going.
Enough to make him endure.
As he bolted forth, he caught a glimpse of it—
"...!!"
The crimson constellation.
It was retreating. Inch by inch, it receded into the depths of the night. And the more pressing matter?
The azure constellation would soon rise, and he needn't be told to know what it would bring with it.
"Curses!"
Dean cursed under his breath, fists tightening at his sides as he ran even faster.
'And it's all because of that damn Negéth!' He cursed as he ran.
Because of it, he only had four hours at most to make it to the nearest dune structure.
This time around, he was fairly certain even the all-powerful flame wouldn't be able to save him from the clutches of the dark mist.
Just then, Dean suddenly froze, heart hammering against his chest.
"...."
His eyes, they were drawn to a plant:
A haunting mixture of crimson and deep darkness.
"Self-infliction fruit?"
Dean frowned at the sight of the fruit.
In that moment, memories of the self-infliction fruit resurfaced. And the memories were anything but pleasant.
Like how it had made him do things he wouldn't have thought possible. Things like clawing out his intestine, liver, lungs, and so much more that he never wanted to think nor talk about.
Gritting his teeth, he forcefully shove down the memories into the depths of his mind. Into a place where he hoped it would haunt and gnaw at him no more.
He exhaled sharply and stepped towards the plant.
Step! Step!
His steps echoed through the silence, each one growing louder than the last. Ahead, the tree's branches seemed to be shrouded in desolate darkness, casting eerie shadows across the walls.
Shadows that seemed to flicker with each step that he took.
As Dean crept closer, his heart hammered against his chest, breath hitching. Despite knowing there was likely a creature lurking in the shadows, he still moved on.
'To get the fruit, he had no other choice.'
Tak--! Tak--!
Dean moved towards the self-infliction tree, heart pounding with each step.
Just then,
Flick—!
He felt a blur of shadow to the left and then,
Pain!
A searing pain shot through him. However, having expected such a thing, he had raised the broken branch just in time to block the strike. As a result, he hadn't suffered any serious injury, but...
'Crap! It hurts like hell'
He was hurled into the air. Mid-crash, he curled himself into a ball, careening across the ground before finally coming to a stop.
"Ukh!"
A pained groan slipped past his lips as he fell to his knees, blood dripping down the corner of his lips.
Drip! Drip!
The sound echoed through the silence, intensifying its grip on Dean. In that moment, Dean's gaze snapped towards the petite creature.
"..."
The creature looked no different from an ant. Perhaps a little bit taller. But... that was it!
And if not for the pain still rippling through him, tearing through every fiber of his being, he would have laughed his ass off at the prospect of fighting such a creature. No, at the thought of such a creature trying to fight me.
Yes, it was just that ridiculous. But now? Now he dared not have such belittling thoughts.
His expression darkened as he concentrated on the dark creature, heart pounding in his chest.
His muscles tensed as he readied himself for any unsuspected attack. And then—
"...!!"
It moved.
'Faster than he could blink!'
In an instant, the creature had vanished from his line of sight.
'Such speed!'
Dean's eyes widened in sheer terror, and for a second there, he froze- unable to react.
Right about then, he felt it.
"...!!"
A cold, unnatural chill rose behind him.
'Not good!'
As the arms ripped through the air, Dean desperately tried to shift his body. And as the harrowing strikes crept closer, a solemn expression crept up his features.
In that moment, he had no doubt about it, one hit and,
Thump! Thump!
He was as good as dead.