~knock~ knock ~knock~
"Lenny, come out. You need to see this." Perseus knocked harshly on the door.
Lenny opened his eyes a bit, pissed about the interruption.
After all, according to his passive ability, Presence, there was no danger out there.
Nevertheless, a quick peek at what Perseus had to show him was not a crime.
The ship had stopped moving.
Lenny stepped out of his weathered cabin onto the barren deck of the ship.
As his boots crunched on the parched sands of the desert, he cast his gaze across the vast expanse before him. What he beheld left him utterly spellbound.
The ship stopped at the side of a large, deep valley.
A valley because of its length, stretching all the way to the horizon. If not, it was easier to just call it a 'Hole'.
In the midst of this desolate desert, it was a massive, yawning hole, its circumference stretching far beyond the scope of imagination as if to reach the far horizon.
Captain Crimson walked over, standing beside Lenny. He smiled. "A magnificent sight, aye?"
"What is this?" Lenny asked.
"It's a layline. There are a few of them around the world. This one leads to the territory of the Giant Shadow Werewolves. Legend has it that all the land in this area used to be covered in water before the end of the world. I heard they called it an ocean.
The water was so much it filled this hole and most of the earth."
Captain Crimson clicked his tongue. "Sometimes I wonder what really happened during the end of the old world," he clicked his tongue again as he shook his head. "But you know, it doesn't pay me for shit."
He turned and walked away. However, Lenny's eyes were glued to the expanse of nothingness.
His heart raced as he approached the edge of the chasm.
The sight was nothing short of mesmerizing. The walls of the pit were jagged, ancient, and layered with eons of history.
Strange and otherworldly symbols adorned the rock faces, hinting at secrets long buried beneath the sands.
As he drew closer, the sensation of the earth's breath enveloped him—a rhythmic, steady exhalation that resonated deep within his chest.
It was as though the planet itself was alive, inhaling and exhaling with the passage of time. Lenny couldn't help but feel like a mere speck in the grandeur of this primordial phenomenon.
"What is that?" He asked subconsciously.
"Oh, very observant, Mr. Lenny. That's one of nature's most marvelous creatures. It's a primordial beast. It is also the backbone of the giant shadow werewolves. It's why even demons avoid them."
Lenny continued his exploration as Captain Crimson made plans to navigate this place.
The sheer scale of the hole was awe-inspiring. It seemed to reach down into the very bowels of the earth, disappearing into darkness that held untold mysteries. Lenny's mind could not help but imagine hidden realms, forgotten civilizations, and secrets buried in the depths below.
His wonder knew no bounds as he stared into the abyss.
Here, in the heart of the unforgiving desert, he had stumbled upon a natural wonder so magnificent and ancient that it defied comprehension.
It was a reminder of the vastness and mystery of the world, a testament to the wild, untamed beauty of the earth, and for a moment, Lenny felt humbled by the majesty of the hole and the earth's rhythmic breath that echoed through it.
Just then, in the far-off distance, several hundred kilometers deep within the earth, a certain monstrosity of nature opened one of its many eyes.
With a deep, ancient, and melancholic voice, he uttered, "Finally, you are here."
Instantly, Lenny fell to the ground as the image of that eye appeared in his head.
It was like a swarm of bees attacking him, except that it happened inside his head.
His hands scratched his head with such vigor that it was as if he were trying to remove his brain from his skull.
Captain Crimson and Perseus noticed this and rushed to him.
However, the moment Perseus rushed up to him, Lenny waved his hand, and a slap sent Perseus flying a distance, smashing into a rock.
That was enough for Captain Crimson and his crew members to learn, he and the other crew members did not attempt to get closer again.
All they did was watch from a safe distance as Lenny rolled on the ground.
The pain Lenny felt was like nothing he had ever felt.
It was like the roots of a tree were taking their time as they slowly grew within his brain, separating each cell from the other and isolating his neurons from one another.
Lenny suddenly felt as if he were not one person but a fractured multitude, meticulously separated strand by strand.
It was an incredibly painful process.
<Alert! Alert!! Alert!!!>
<Mind attack: Host's mind is under attack>
<Activating Counter measures>
<Because of the strength of the foe, countermeasures may necessitate a fee.>
"FUCKING DO IT!" Lenny screamed.
<Acknowledged>
All of a sudden, Lenny felt the roots in his mind recede.
Steadily, his mind calmed down.
Like a wash of cold water bathing his entire body.
For a few seconds, Lenny could not move in his position, sweat ran down his body like he had just finished a marathon.
His eyes could not help but wonder at the clear sky as his breathing tried hard to steady itself, empty of result for a few seconds.
Slowly, but difficultly, Lenny stood to his feet.
As he did, Captain Crimson and his crew members instinctively took several steps back.
Lenny could see the look on their faces.
"What the fuck are you all looking at?"
Tobi slowly raised a hand as he pointed to Lenny's body and then the wall.
Lenny did not understand, but he looked below him.
There was a pool of blood flowing out of his body.
As if it had a life of its own, it flowed like water as it formed a word on the ground...
(Author's note: So it has come to my attention that my writing quality has dropped. I believe it's because of the constant mass release.
My mind is at a loss for words and the right arch. I even made some mistakes on the recent surveyor statistics.
Also, my other books are suffering badly.
For these reasons, I'll reduce the release rate back to two daily for now.
If you guys would rather have more, please tell me. But even the privilege chapters unlocked were reduced, and I guess I'll just reduce the release rate for now.)
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