Gunmage-Chapter 21: Shapes in the sand

The question hung in the air like a blade suspended by a thread.

"You still haven't answered my question. Don't I look okay?"

His tone was calm, yet it sent a shiver down their spines. The stillness that followed was suffocating.

"Why aren't you answering?"

His voice barely shifted, but the weight of it crushed the silence.

"Don't I look okay?"

Lyra forced herself to speak, though the words caught in her throat.

"O-of course you do. You've never looked better,"

She spoke, her voice unnaturally high, strained.

Lugh's gaze flickered toward her.

"I do?"

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"...yes, you do,"

She responded, her words barely a whisper.

"Interesting"

He murmured, turning his attention back to the sand, his fingers continuing their strange scribbling.

The five of them retreated, moving cautiously as if any sudden motion might provoke something terrible. Their eyes never left him, but he paid them no mind.

Once they were out of earshot, Ozan exhaled sharply. His voice was low and grim.

"We have to kill him."

"No!"

Lyra interjected, her voice sharp and immediate.

"We're not killing anybody."

Ozan narrowed his eyes.

"You saw him. He's not—he's not right."

"You really think you can kill him?" Emil, the blonde youth whispered. Fear made his voice tremble.

"Did you forget? He's the one who killed that thing."

A heavy silence followed.

"I thought the sergeant killed it,"

Dain muttered.

"I didn't."

Lyra quickly cut in. Seeing their reactions, she added,

"But it's not what you think. The monster itself was pretty weak."

"Weak?" The word dripped with disbelief. Their minds drifted back to their fallen comrades, ripped apart in moments.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Lyra's expression hardened.

"I'm serious. It only looked terrifying. Nobody even tried to fight it. Its screams locked everyone in fear."

Dain let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh, really?"

His voice was hollow.

"And yet somehow, he was the one who stopped to fight it."

A cold silence settled over the group.

"You make a good point"

Lyra admitted, but before she could continue, Dain cut her off.

"Point or not, we're dead. You all know it."

There was no anger in his voice, only resignation. Then, as if the effort of speaking had drained him, he fell silent.

"What? What's the matter with you?"

Lyra snapped

"Nobody is going to die!"

She insisted.

"Then what do you suggest?"

Ozan challenged, arms crossed.

Aldric, the skinny conscript, piped up.

"Well, he hasn't shown any signs of aggression so far, unless we point out his abnormalities."

He spoke like a scientist analyzing a problem.

"So I think we should be OK for now. We could attempt some experiments, probe him with certain questions to see how he reacts. It won't be too late to make any decisions after that."

The group turned to him in unison.

"W-what?"

Aldric stammered.

Ozan blinked.

"Huh. I just assumed you were an idiot."

"I am not an idiot"

Aldric huffed, straightening.

"I was a student at Rougieine University before I was conscripted. I'm nothing like you—"

He caught the glares of his battle-worn companions and wisely shut up.

"I was also conscripted,"

Emil murmured, voice tinged with sadness

For a moment, the weight of their situation settled over them.

"Alright, enough with the sob stories"

Ozan muttered.

"Let's go test skinny's theory."

Aldric opened his mouth to protest the nickname but thought better of it.

Lugh remained indifferent when they returned. It was as if he never even noticed their absence.

"Sooo, Lugh, what are you drawing over there?"

Lyra asked, trying to sound casual.

Lugh's hand stilled.

"Hmm?"

His head tilted slightly.

"I'm not drawing anything."

Lyra blinked.

"You're not?"

"I'm not." His fingers kept tracing the sand.

"Then—"

"Your hand is literally right there! Still moving in the sand!"

Aldric blurted out.

The others turned to him, murder in their eyes.

'Are you an imbecile?!'

But they couldn't say it out loud. Not while Lugh was there.

Lugh paused. Slowly, he raised his head. His red eyes locked onto Aldric.

Aldric paled, a bead of sweat rolling down his neck.

Then Lugh frowned and looked back at the sand.

"It appears it is."

A beat of silence.

"Would you like to take a look?"

He pointed at Aldric.

Aldric took an involuntary step back.

"N-nah, I'm good."

"Come and have a look."

It wasn't a question.

Aldric hesitated and looked to the others for help, but they all avoided his gaze.

Swallowing hard, he stepped forward. His eyes darted over the markings in the sand. They were strange, intricate—but nothing more than patterns.

"What? It's all just random shapes"

He said, his voice unsteady.

"Are you serious?"

Lyra muttered.

Lugh turned to her.

"Would you like to have a look?"

This one was a question.

Lyra hesitated, then nodded.

"Uh, sure."

Lugh waved a hand dismissively at Aldric.

"You can leave now."

The guy practically fled.

Lyra crouched, studying the symbols. They were mesmerizing. Almost... familiar.

How odd, she was on the verge of comprehending some strange meaning behind them when—

Something clicked in Lyra's mind. A whisper of recognition.

Her heart clenched.

The world twisted.

"Interesting"

A scream tore from her throat as her brain felt like it was being pierced by a million needles, all at once.

She collapsed, convulsing, as her body warped grotesquely. Her nails stretched into claws. Her hair slithered down her back, growing to her ankles.

Her legs twisted, bones shifting before snapping back into place.

"Sergeant!"

Someone called out in a panic.

Ozan and the others tensed, ready to pounce when—

"Nobody move."

A deep resonant alien voice tore free from Lugh's throat.

Their bodies froze, as if the words themselves had bound them in place.

Lugh remained seated, watching. His expression was unreadable. Slowly, he extended a hand toward Lyra, but then he stopped midway.

A flicker of surprise passed over his face.

"Interesting,"

He murmured.

"How very interesting."

Lyra shuddered, her body no longer thrashing, but visibly changed. She was as pale as a ghost. Her nails had not retracted and her thick auburn hair remained unnaturally long.

Lugh regarded her with something like fascination.

"How unexpected. How very impressive."

She only stared at him, her eyes hollow, her body spent.

Then, Lugh turned to the rest. They were already shaking, drenched in even more sweat than the sergeant.

The invisible force holding them in place vanished, but none dared to move.

Lugh smiled.

"My body is hungry. 721 meters from here, in that forest, there's food."

Lyra, still lying in the sand, whispered hoarsely

"How do you know?"

Lugh blinked.

"Good question."

Then, he fell silent.

The air was thick with something wrong.

"Let's go,"

Lugh said finally, standing.

Aldric swallowed hard.

"U-um, excuse me?"

Lugh turned to him.

"I... I'm not really hungry."

Silence.

"Who else isn't hungry?"

The lieutenant slowly raised his hand. No one else moved.

Lugh's smile widened.

"I will kill anyone who doesn't follow me."

A simple statement. A blatant threat.

Then, he turned and walked toward the forest.

Everyone followed.