Chapter 62: Mangled Corpse
The roar lingered long after it had ended.
Like the wailing of a ghost that refused to be forgotten, it rolled through the ruined temple bouncing from shattered pillars to broken walls before slowly disappearing into silence.
For several heartbeats, none of them moved.
The quartet stood rooted where they were, Soul Essences already in hand, eyes fixed on every shadow and ruined corner of the ancient sanctuary.
Suddenly, the temple no longer felt majestic... Not that it was before anyways. The ancient hall that had fascinated the four moments ago now felt oppressive...
Like a tomb... Or worse, like a death trap.
STOMP!
The entire structure trembled once more. Dust cascaded from the fractured ceiling overhead while tiny rocks skipped across the broken marble floor.
The vibration travelled through their boots and into their bones, sending chills up their spines...
Valmyr’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his Broadsword until his knuckles turned white.
The failed Vanguard swallowed audibly, filling the weird silence that reigned over the four of them.
"Okay... Whatever is making that sound is definitely coming toward this place."
Normally, Vaelorin would have rolled his eyes at such an obvious statement, but this time, he lacked the energy to simply do so.
His grip around his Staff was becoming increasingly tighter with each passing second. In fact, the red-haired Pyromancer could feel sweat sliding down his eyebrows...
"Can somebody please remaind me why we are here again?"
Nobody answered him... And their silence only made Valerion laugh nervously, and somehow that immediately added to his nerves...
The awkward laughter echoed loudly, bouncing through the ruined temple before finally dying away.
"I knew we shouldn’t have opened that door." His voice trembled as he spoke. "I just knew it..."
Then he pointed accusingly at the silver-haired Knight. "You do know that this is exactly how people die in horror stories, don’t you?"
Regaleon didn’t dignify his question with an answer. The Forgotten Knight stood motionless near the statue of the beheaded knight...
His golden eyes gleamed as they scanned the crimson jungle beyond the temple. The roar had sounded close... Too close. And yet he could see nothing...
Outside, crimson leaves continued swaying peacefully as branches rustled vivaciously within the wind; nothing appeared disturbed, nothing appeared frightened, and most of all, nothing appeared to be moving towards them.
And somehow... This only kad everything worse. Visible danger could be fought directly but invisible danger allows imagination to be the enemy.
Another minute passed in a silence that grew heavier with each second...
Then Kaeloris adjusted his glasses... Or attempted to. The failed Gnost’s hands literally slipper twice before he could find the frame...
"Are we absolutely certain it’s nearby?" His voice sounded hopeful and desperate at once. "I mean, what if it is farther away than we think?"
Regaleon calmly answered. "The roar came from outside, and yet it affected the temple greatly..."
He didn’t even have time to complete his statement before Kaeloris interrupted him. "I know, but the acoustics of this place could be strange."
As if to prove his point, he gestured toward the broken walls. "...The echoes could actually be distorting the distance, thereby making the roar sound nearer than it is."
His explanation sounded convincing, at least it did until...
STOMP!
The floor lurched again but this time, it was much harder as a crack spread across one section of the ancient marble.
Feeling this, Kaeloris spoke softly. "You know what, never mind."
Vaelorin immediately clasped his hands together in prayer as he said. "Please let it be far away. I swear on everything sacred, if I live through this and get back to the others, this would be my last expedition..."
After rendering that shirt but solemn prayer, he opened his eyes and that was when something caught his attention suddenly...
At first, he ignored it... The temple was already filled with debris, broken pillars, collapsed masonry, and mound of stones; so he thought that whatever he saw was part of the rubble...
Yet something about this particular heap felt wrong. He frowned, them squinted his fiery red eyes. Slowly, he took a few hesitant steps forward...
The others noticed his movement immediately...
"What are you doing?" Valmyr asked.
Vaelorin didn’t answer as his gaze remained fixed upon a dark corner of the hall. Then slowly... Very slowly... His expression changed.
From confusion... It became recognition... And from that, it turned to horror.
"Guys..." His voice cracked slightly as he called out.
"What is it?" Kaeloris asked.
Vaelorin pointed with trembling fingers. "Please tell me I am imagining things..."
The group turned toward him, then, they followed his line of sight. At first, all they saw was darkness... But later, they saw outlines.
Then there was more details... And after that, realization dawned on them.
A heavy silence settled over the chamber as they looked at that dark corner. Laying amidst the rubble was something unmistakable; infact, it is the object of their expedition...
It was the twisted Drake... Or rather, what remained of it.
The four of them approached slowly and carefully; each step revealed more details... And every new detail was somehow worse than the last.
The creature that had nearly killed them yesterday no longer resembled a predator. Instead, it resembled a refuse.
It’s enormous body had been crushed into a grotesque ruin; it’s once massive frame looked as though some unimaginable force had grabbed it and treated it like wet clay.
Sections of the carcass had collapsed inward while entire portions were simply gone. It’s ribs protruded at unnatural angles, it’s long body was twisted around itself like a broken rope, and black blood stained the surrounding floor...
Fragments of shattered scales lay everywhere; some were embedded within nearby pillars, while others littered the marble floor like pieces of a discarded armour.
Several portions of it’s flesh and been stripped clean; not surgically or precisely, but simply torn away...
Looking at this gore, Valmyr’s throat suddenly ran dry. He could still remember the horror this creature had posed...
Yesterday, they had struggled just to survive against this thing and even with four of them tackling it, they were still forced to escape...
Yesterday, the Drake had felt invincible; and though the Forgotten Knight managed to kill it at last, they all knew how he ended up afterward.
But now, that same twisted Drake looked helpless... And pathetic.
"Aetherium preserve us..." Kaeloris whispered. "Just what sort of creature did this?"
Regaleon was silent as his gaze moved across the carcass. The more he observed the gory sight... The grimmer his expression became.
This wasn’t simply where the Drake had been dragged to, this was where it had been consumed voraciously. In other words, this place belonged to whatever creature had done this to the Drake... And they were literally standing in it’s home...
The realization settled upon all four of them simultaneously but nobody voiced the thought aloud. Then...
STOMP!
Once again, the temple shook violently, bringing them out of their gaze.
STOMP!
Another impact registered and a faint rumble followed. Like a distant thunder... But this thunder was getting nearer...
STOMP! STOMP!! STOMP!!!
Slowly, deliberately, and unstoppably, the impacts accelerated.
Each footfall crashed through the earth with a terrifying weight that made the ruined temple tremble continuously.
Tiny fractures began spreading across the ancient stone, loose rubble bounced across the floor, and even the air seemed to vibrate tensely.
The atmosphere was charged with tension and it almost suffocated them beneath the weight of whatever was coming.
Every of their instincts screamed the same warning... Danger.
Vaelorin’s face had practically turned white.
"Guys, I don’t like this." Then his voice rose slightly as he warned. "I really think that we should leave."
For once... Nobody disagreed but the problem was that they were yet to make a move when...
BOOM!
An entire section of the ruined wall exploded inward. Stone blocks flew across the chamber as fragments of marble became deadly projectiles...
A cloud of dust surged through the temple grounds like a storm, swallowing everything in its path.
Visibility instantly vanished, but the silence lingered, heavier this time.
Then... Something moved.
Deep within the dust cloud, a shape formed. At first, it appeared vague... Then it grew larger... And larger... And larger...
The dust shifted around it and the crimson light pouring through the broken temple walls slowly disappeared; not because the light suddenly dimmed, but because something massive was blocking it.
The silhouette continued advancing; each step was accompanied by a deep vibration that reverberated through the four’s bones while each movement carried a heavy momentum...
Finally, the massive creature stood in the quartet’s line of sight, towering over them.
The four of them started in stunned silence, unable to look away as they examined the creature before them. And for the first time since they arrived in the Nether Lands, they understood that whatever they faced over the past two days paled in comparison to what is standing before them...
