Darkness…
First came the darkness.
When I opened my eyes, I saw nothing; only a cold fog. A heavy fog with a damp, metallic smell that filled my throat, my eyes, and the very depths of my lungs. It was as if an invisible hand was trying to pull me out of it while simultaneously pushing me back in.
The ground was hard. Dry. When I felt it with my hand, I felt something gritty, crumbling beneath my fingers. It felt like sand, but it wasn't warm. It wasn't alive.
It was dead.Dead sand.
Harper's trembling breath brushed my ear.
"Jess…? Jess, where are we…?"
The panic in her voice dropped the truth into my stomach like a stone:We had transitioned again.But this time… it wasn't like before.There was no herbal scent, no dim warmth like the healer's room.
This place felt older.Quieter.And hollow—filled with a silence that awakened the oldest instinct for fear.
I tried to stand; the mist rose to my knees.With every breath, the cold seeped deeper, crawling through my bloodstream and weighing down my heart.
"I don't know…" I whispered."But this might be… a part of Orinlafec."
Harper clutched my arm."Can it please not be?"
"I wish," I muttered.
The fog was so thick I could barely see my own hands.Harper's face beside me was just a blurry shadow—like the mist could swallow her whole at any moment.
A tremor rose inside me.For once, fear outweighed curiosity.
"Harper," I said softly, "stay close."
"You stay close to me," she shot back.The tension in her voice tangled with her usual childlike panic.
We clung to each other and took a few steps.
Then…
A sound.
At first just a hum.Then a moan.Then… a shrill, scraping scream, like metal dragged across bone.
Harper whipped around."T—that sound—Jess, someone's there."
"Not someone," I corrected, a shiver stabbing up my spine."Something."
The sound echoed through the mist; my ears rang, my throat tightened.Something unseen was moving. Watching.Sniffing us out.
Harper's voice cracked."Jessica, is it an animal or a person?"
"I'm sure it's not a person."
Then, ahead of us, a light flickered—First a thin line, then widening into a slow-spreading golden glow that seeped through the fog.
With the light came more noises:
Shouts.Clashing metal.Bursts of energy like spell echoes humming in the air.
Harper squeezed my arm."Do we go toward that or run back?"
"There is no 'back,'" I said."There's only mist. And whatever is in the mist—"
A deep growl rose from right behind us.
Both of us jolted violently.
"JESS!"
"RUN!"
Our legs made the decision for us.We didn't run gracefully or strategically—we sprinted like terrified idiots, shoving each other, tripping, screaming.
"Harper, stop yanking my arm!"
"I'm not yanking you—you grabbed me while pushing yourself forward—!"
"I didn't even touch you!"
"Jess, YOU'RE LYING!"
"Harper, I—"
The growl behind us exploded into a full roar.
I grabbed her arm without thinking."Run! Run! JUST RUN!"
We hurtled toward the light—and finally the fog thinned.The world came into focus like a curtain being pulled open.
And my breath stopped.
A battle.A real battle.
Golden light tore through the air like a crack in the sky, pulsing violently.Around it stood a group of elves—tall, slender, their features elegant but eyes sharp with lethal intent.
Beside them stood another group: beings whose hands glowed with elemental power—fire swirling over palms, water spiraling like liquid blades, wind circling an archer like invisible guardians.
And in front of them—
A monster.
Hideous.
Its spine jutted outward in twisted shapes, ribs piercing through skin.Three jagged jaws split open to release a poisonous mist.The ground shook beneath its limbs; even the sand trembled.
Harper's mouth fell open."That thing… that disgusting—thing—"
"Don't describe it," I said. "It won't help."
But our voices died instantly.
Because rising out of the fog…was another mass.
A second monster.Closer.
So close I felt its breath brush my face.
Harper screamed.I did too.I swear I didn't even hear my own scream—hers drowned everything.
And our screams were like a signal flare.
All the elves turned.The elemental wielders turned.And the monster turned.
Harper stared at me."Jess… I think they saw us."
"Brilliant observation, Harper. Please, continue. Maybe the monsters will applaud next."
"ARE YOU SASSING ME RIGHT NOW?!"
"What else do you expect me to do?!"
The monster stepped closer.Its legs were thick, its arms grotesquely long.Its eyes empty—pure hunger.
One elf shouted:"MOVE ASIDE!"
But Harper crashed into me, knocking me to the ground.
"Harper! Get off me!"
"You pushed me!"
"I didn't—"
"Jess, the monster is COMING!"
This was not the time to argue.
The creature leapt toward us.
We screamed in the exact same pitch:
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
I squeezed my eyes shut, curling into myself, bracing for death.
But death didn't come.
Instead—
A heavy impact.A rush of power.Sand scattering.A muffled howl.
Harper's hand clamped onto my arm."Jess… I think we're alive."
"That might be because we're breathing."
"Yeah… that makes sense."
I slowly opened my eyes.
Two elven warriors had intercepted the monster midair.An elemental user thrust a sphere of light into its chest.Another sliced the creature's neck with a blade of wind.
The beast collapsed.
One elf looked directly at us—and his expression was far from friendly.
All focus returned to us.
Harper held her breath.So did I.
Just as I prepared to say something, Harper leaned to my shoulder and whispered:
"Jess… should we maybe… run?"
"Toward the mist?"
"You think the monsters went back there?"
"I doubt it."
"Same."
We took half a step—
But then the mist shuddered.
Like something enormous inhaled nearby.
Cold dread flooded my throat.
Because this roar—this one was bigger.
Much bigger.
Harper's hand found mine.
"Jess…"
"I know."
And when the silhouette of a new monster rose from the darkness—
We both screamed again.
And the dark mist swallowed our voices whole.