Thrain paused, gripping his hammer. "Hear what? All I can hear is your whining."
Kael ignored him, his muscles coiling. "Something’s wrong. It’s too quiet."
James adjusted his goggles, his sharp eyes scanning the horizon. The scanner in his hand emitted a faint hum, the light on its surface flickering erratically. "I’m picking up... something. It’s faint, but it feels like a distortion."
Sylvia’s luminous wings flared slightly, casting a soft glow around them. "Stay close. If there’s an attack coming, I’ll protect us."
They pressed forward cautiously, the volcanic terrain growing more jagged with every step. The ground beneath their feet cracked and hissed, steam rising from unseen vents. Shadows danced along the edges of their vision, unnatural and fleeting.
Then came the growl.
Low and guttural, it reverberated through the air, freezing them in place. Kael’s claws extended instinctively, and even Thrain gripped his hammer tighter.
"What in the bloody hells was that?" Thrain muttered, his eyes darting around.
Another growl followed, deeper this time, accompanied by the faint sound of claws scraping against stone. Sylvia’s light dimmed momentarily as the air grew heavier, a strange sense of unease settling over them.
"We’re not alone," Kael said, his voice a low snarl.
Suddenly, a massive shadow darted across the rocky outcrop ahead. Then another. And another. They moved with impossible speed, circling the group, their forms too large to belong to anything natural. The guttural growls grew louder, closer, as if the creatures were mere feet away.
James’s heart pounded in his chest. His scanner was going haywire, its readings jumping erratically. "This isn’t right. These things… they’re not real."
As if in response, a phantom claw raked across his shoulder, cold and sharp despite leaving no physical wound. He stumbled back, gasping.
"They feel real enough!" Kael shouted, slashing at the air as another shadow lunged toward him. His claws passed through it, but the sensation of resistance made his hackles rise. "Damn it, they’re toying with us!"
Sylvia extended her hands, her voice steady despite the rising tension. "Enough of this." A radiant pulse of light erupted from her palms, cutting through the darkness. The shadows recoiled, their growls turning into distorted screeches before vanishing into the heat haze.
For a moment, the group stood still, catching their breath. But Kael wasn’t finished. He rounded on Thrain, his claws glinting. "You nearly hit me with that hammer back there, dwarf!"
Thrain’s eyes flared, molten veins pulsing along his arms as he raised his weapon. "Maybe if you weren’t flailing around like a frightened pup, I wouldn’t have to worry about you getting in my way!"
"Enough!" Sylvia’s voice rang out, her light intensifying. "Both of you, stand down. This is exactly what Elyndor wants—us fighting each other."
Kael growled but lowered his claws, while Thrain let out a gruff snort, muttering something under his breath. James stepped between them, his hands raised.
"She’s right," he said, his voice firm despite the tremor in his hands. "Whatever that was, it wasn’t natural. It was a trap, and we need to stay focused if we’re going to make it out of here alive."
The tension lingered, but they moved on, their steps heavier and their breaths more labored.
The rocky terrain became increasingly treacherous, the group forced to climb over jagged outcrops and navigate narrow ledges. The ground below glowed faintly, molten veins pulsing like the lifeblood of the Badlands. James’s scanner beeped periodically, its readings steady but ominous.
Thrain grumbled as he hauled himself up a particularly steep incline, his hammer strapped to his back. "Who designed this bloody place? Feels like the gods themselves wanted to keep us out."
James followed behind him, his smaller frame allowing him to move more easily. As Thrain reached for a handhold, the rock crumbled beneath his grip. He let out a startled shout, his weight pulling him backward.
James acted without thinking. He lunged forward, grabbing Thrain’s arm with both hands. "Got you!" he grunted, his legs braced against the rocks.
Thrain looked up, his eyes wide with surprise. "Don’t let go, lad!"
"I wasn’t planning on it," James muttered, his muscles straining as he pulled the dwarf upward. With a final heave, Thrain scrambled onto the ledge, panting heavily.
The dwarf sat back, his chest heaving as he looked at James. "Didn’t think you had it in you," he said gruffly, though there was a hint of gratitude in his tone. "Guess you’re more useful than you look."
James managed a tired smile. "Glad to prove you wrong."
Kael, watching from above, rolled his eyes. "If you’re done bonding, we’ve got a job to do."
As they pressed on, the oppressive heat began to shift, the air growing heavier with a strange, electric charge. Sylvia’s wings twitched, the faint light around her flickering. She paused, her gaze narrowing as she scanned the horizon.
"Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kael sniffed the air, his ears flattening. "Something’s… wrong. It feels… dangerous."
James adjusted his scanner, his heart sinking as the device pinged softly. "There’s something ahead. Big."
They rounded a bend, and the sight before them froze them in their tracks. Etched into the ground was a massive claw mark, its grooves deep enough to suggest a creature of unimaginable size. The earth around it was scorched, the edges of the mark glowing faintly with residual heat.
Sylvia stepped forward, her light revealing the sheer scale of the mark. It was twice the size of Kael’s body, its shape jagged and primal.
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"This…" she began, her voice trembling. "This isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen."
Kael’s claws flexed, his body coiled like a spring. "Whatever made that… we’re not ready for it."
James stared at the mark, his mind racing. The faint whispers he had been hearing grew louder, more insistent, as if the very ground was trying to warn him.
"We have to keep going," he said finally, his voice steady despite the fear curling in his chest. "This is what we came for."
The group exchanged uneasy glances but nodded. Together, they pressed on, the shadows of the Scorching Badlands growing darker around them.