"Anomaly?" the commander's voice rang in his helm and through the hallway, accompanied by the tap of his boots and the slight clank of his black armour. "Where?"
"The Dark Territory," answered a female voice behind him.
"The Dark Territory? Haven't heard from that place for almost three years."
"Most of the information given by the scouts was unsure, but they were certain about one thing… the energy level they detected was two decades off the record."
The commander halted in his footsteps, and in an instant, so did she.
"It's almost similar to that incident, Commander."
"We made a mistake once by letting our guard down. Repeating it would be a big disgrace, even to me."
"With your permission, Commander Seylas," she said as she straightened her posture, "I can go and investigate."
The commander went silent for a few seconds before answering "No."
"Commander—"
"We haven't learned much about this anomaly. We don't know what to expect. Sending one of our top warriors might not be a wise idea, and besides… today is the welcoming. It'll be good to have you there, at least this one time." The commander turned, then stepped toward her. "I know how you feel about this—not fully, but enough."
Slightly lowering her head, she replied, "Understood… sir."
The commander stood silent for a moment before slowly turning back to the direction he was headed.
"I'll have this matter heard by the council, and in the meantime, send someone else to investigate."
Meanwhile, deep within the Dark Territory, beyond the mountains and into a vast valley of trees, the goblin and the man wandered through untraveled woods.
"Why are we here?" asked the man as he struggled to step over rocks and tree roots.
"To find answers," replied the goblin ahead of him.
"In this place?"
"Or at least until I find the way through here."
"What do you mean, 'find the way'?"
"Look—a turtle shroom." The goblin pointed to a brown, turtle shell–shaped mushroom.
"Huh? That is a unique mushroo—YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE WE ARE?!"
"It's been years since I've been here, so don't rush me."
Wind brushed against the trees, and small rays of light broke through the leaves. Strange insects flew and crawled onto branches, trunks, rocks, and grass—beetles with various colors and patterns alien to human sight, centipedes with eyes embedded in their heads, butterflies that emitted different gases from their wings, and others just as complex.
All of it before man and he thought
"I need a smoke."
"Found it!" the goblin exclaimed, lowering himself to pick up a beetle.
The man walked toward him as the goblin held the insect in his palm.
"So we were here for a beetle hunt?" the man said, bending slightly to look at it.
"You have no idea how hard it is to find these things!"
"Where I come from, these would be all over the woods," the man said as he gazed at the bug, similar to those from his homeworld.
"Your world is convenient," said the goblin as he tied a string to the beetle. "Beggar's Beetle is what they call them here because of how bland it looks.
There are at least hundreds of them in this forest. Anywhere else—it's almost impossible to find."
"So you're gonna ask it about the mark or something?" the man said as he pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it between his lips.
"It will take us to someone who will," replied the goblin as he released the beetle and held the string with his other hand. "Now, we follow."
And so, with the beetle as their guide, they proceeded on their journey. It led them through woods full of strange insects, past tall trees where strange birds resided, across rocks where serpents slithered, and over a bridge spanning a lake where strange fish swam.
Soon, they reached their destination.
A gigantic stump stood in the middle of nowhere, hidden behind the trees.
"Ah, we finally made it," the goblin sighed in relief.
"This better be worth it," the man said, throwing off a fish biting his thigh and a snake hanging from his sleeve with its fangs, while brushing feathers from his clothes. "Those animals really are crazy over that beetle. Seriously, how is its kin still alive?"
The sun began to sink, painting the sky in shades of orange. The goblin released the beetle, and it fluttered onto the stump. At the base of the massive wood lay a rugged door. Slowly, they approached until they stood before it.
The man, though hesitant, reached for the handle and pulled it open.
And behind the door…
Was a giant eye.