Echoes of the Lost Elf-Chapter 42 - 41 - Haunted (6)

The distorted space trembled violently. The walls, once shifting and pulsing with eerie life, began to unravel.

The entity screeched, a sound that didn't come from a single direction but from everywhere at once—a formless, shapeless horror realizing its grip had slipped.

Leon clutched his head. "Okay, that's new. I think my ears just gave up."

Zephyr cracked his knuckles, his grin returning. "Looks like you pissed it off, Historias."

Historias exhaled slowly, steadying himself. Now that the entity could no longer leech from him, it was forced to act directly. And that meant it was about to show its true form.

The whispers twisted into something deeper, more guttural. The air thickened, warping as the entity finally manifested.

A mass of shadows erupted before them, shifting erratically—not bound by any single shape. Limbs stretched unnaturally before retracting, faces formed only to dissolve a moment later. A chorus of distorted voices echoed, overlapping like a broken record.

This was no mere cursed spirit.

It was something far older.

Something that had lurked in this pocket of reality since the void first touched this world.

Adriana gritted her teeth, gripping her sword. "Tell me we're fighting that thing and not running."

Kael's sharp gaze flicked between Historias and the entity. "We wouldn't make it far if we ran."

Historias met the entity's gaze—or what passed for a gaze within that swirling abyss. He could feel it now. The thing was hungry. Desperate. It had expected him to fall into its trap, to be drained dry like the countless others it had consumed before.

It never anticipated that the hunter would become the prey.

The entity lunged.

And Historias moved.

With renewed mana coursing through him, he took the offensive.

His sword gleamed with silver light as he stepped forward, cutting through the entity's mass. It shrieked as the blade tore through its essence, dispersing its form like mist. But it didn't fade—it reformed instantly, twisting around him.

The others barely had time to react before the shadows surged.

Leon threw up a wall of fire, trying to burn back the mass. Zephyr tore through tendrils with his claws. Kael loosed arrows that vanished into the writhing dark.

But this thing was different.

It didn't just take damage.

It learned.

Historias narrowed his gaze as the shadows began adapting to their attacks, shifting in patterns that avoided their strikes.

This wasn't going to be a simple battle.

They weren't fighting something with a form.

They were fighting something that was the space itself.

And that meant they needed to break the space to win.

Historias' mind raced. How did this pocket dimension form? How was it still anchored?

Then, realization struck.

"Of course."

He turned sharply. "Nyx!"

The shadowy feline flicked her tail, unbothered despite the chaos. But at his tone, her many eyes locked onto him, waiting.

He pointed at the farthest edge of the space—where the distortions were weakest.

"Find the anchor," he ordered. "Tear it apart."

Nyx didn't hesitate.

In a blur of motion, she vanished into the darkness.

The entity screamed.

It knew.

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And now, it was afraid.

The entity's screech reverberated through the warped space, shaking the very fabric of the dimension.

Tendrils of shadow lashed out in desperation, reaching for Nyx as she blurred through the air.

But she was too fast.

The feline darted between the writhing limbs, her form flickering like a phantom. Each of her many eyes gleamed as she analyzed the space, searching for the anchor that bound this dimension together.

Meanwhile, the others held their ground.

Leon gritted his teeth, hurling more fire into the writhing dark. "Anytime now would be great!"

Adriana stood firm, sword blazing with mana, cutting down the entity's extensions before they could reach them. "Historias, this thing won't let us just stand here!"

Historias wasn't idle.

He raised a hand, tracing a glowing magic circle in the air. The symbols shimmered with intricate complexity—an advanced spatial disruption spell.

"If I can't destroy the entity directly..."

The key was not to fight the creature itself, but the space it controlled.

As Historias completed the spell, the air cracked around them. A pulse of force rippled outward.

The distorted space shuddered violently.

The entity convulsed, its form flickering erratically. For the first time, it looked unstable.

Historias's gaze sharpened. Good.

Zephyr's claws tore through another mass of darkness. "It's getting weaker!"

Kael, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, called out, "No—it's not weaker. It's unraveling!"

At that moment, Nyx found it.

A single point—an unnatural fracture in the air, pulsing faintly.

The anchor.

With a flick of her tail, her shadowy claws raked through it.

A deafening crack split the air.

The entire dimension lurched.

The entity let out a piercing wail—one of fury, fear, and despair. The space it controlled was collapsing.

And it knew there was no escape.

The walls around them began to fracture like shattered glass. Beyond the cracks, the real world flickered into view.

Leon's eyes widened. "It's breaking apart—what do we do?!"

Historias remained calm. He knew what came next.

"Hold on," he said, voice steady despite the chaos.

The next instant—

The world shattered.

As the fractured dimension collapsed, the sensation of falling returned— but this time, it was different.

It wasn't the weightless descent of before.

It was a pull.

A force dragging them back, violently ejecting them from the entity's dying realm.

The transition was brutal.

Their bodies were wrenched through space, the shattered fragments of the collapsing world swirling around them like a vortex.

Then—

Impact.

The ground slammed into them, the real world rushing back all at once.

Dust and debris scattered in the air as they tumbled onto solid stone. The suffocating pressure of the entity's dimension was gone, replaced by the familiar coolness of the cavern floor.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Then—

Leon coughed, groaning. "Okay, that sucked."

Adriana pushed herself up, immediately scanning for threats. "Are we... back?"

Kael wiped dust from his face, his sharp eyes narrowing as he looked around. The cavern walls were still warped—unnatural remnants of what had just happened.

But they were real.

Nyx landed gracefully beside Historias, shaking dust from her fur.

Historias, still composed despite the rough landing, sat up slowly. His mana reserves were dangerously low. The spell had taken more than he would've liked.

But they had escaped.

The entity was gone.

For now.

Zephyr exhaled, cracking his neck. "So, uh... what the hell was that thing?"

Historias didn't answer immediately. He was still thinking.

That entity... It had been waiting.

From the moment he stepped into the rift, it had been drawing him deeper. Feeding off his presence.

Not just his mana—his very existence.

And that meant...

There was something else at work here.

Something worse.

His golden eyes flickered with thought as he finally spoke, voice calm yet edged with certainty.

"This place is not as abandoned as we thought."

Silence settled over the group.

And then—

A deep, resonant sound echoed through the cavern.

Not a growl.

Not a whisper.

But something... else.

Something watching.

And waiting.

The cavern trembled.

A low, guttural vibration ran through the stone, not from an earthquake, but something alive.

Leon tensed, fists clenched. "Tell me that's just the walls settling."

Adriana wasn't listening. Her grip on her sword tightened, and Kael had already drawn an arrow, his gaze scanning the darkness.

Historias remained still.

He listened.

Felt.

The air was wrong—thicker. The presence wasn't just watching anymore.

It was acknowledging them.

Nyx let out a low, almost inaudible growl. Her tails bristled, her many eyes fixated on the void ahead.

Then, a sound cut through the silence.

Clap.

A slow, deliberate clap.

The echoes bounced off the cavern walls, distorting as if the space itself were bending the sound.

And then—a voice.

Smooth. Amused. Familiar.

"Well done."

The shadows ahead shifted. A figure emerged from the darkness, their presence undeniable.

Historias exhaled quietly. His exhaustion lingered, but his gaze was sharp as ever.

Because he knew that voice.

And the moment he saw the figure's face, he confirmed it.

Valak had arrived.

.............