Immortal Mythos: Bound by Void-Chapter 51 - 67 – The Lantern That Shouldn’t Burn

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The next day came slowly, with the sun struggling to pierce through a thick fog that clung unnaturally to the ground.

They had barely slept. Something about Yuki's vision—and the ancient words he spoke—had left them all on edge.

Kai had tried to lighten the mood with breakfast, even shaping Haru's pancakes into vaguely demonic shapes. It worked for a moment... until Himari found it.

"I don't remember this being here yesterday," she said, kneeling in the grass.

The group gathered around her.

A single lantern, tall and rusted, stood in the clearing. It hadn't been lit, yet a cold blue flame flickered inside it—dancing without smoke or heat.

Aiko felt her heart sink. "That's... not normal."

Ren's eyes narrowed. "This is void energy. Pure. Distilled. But... how?"

Yuki reached out to it. The flame flared for a moment—and he saw a hand reach back, faint and translucent. It vanished before the others could notice.

Nogitsune stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Yuki's wrist. "Don't. Not yet."

"You saw it too?" Yuki whispered.

Nogitsune's eyes didn't waver. "This is a message... or a trap. Maybe both. But it's connected to the Eighth Flame you keep dreaming about."

Haru grunted. "So what, are we supposed to follow ghost lanterns now?"

No one answered. But the wind did.

A voice—soft, fragmented, almost childlike—drifted through the fog.

> "Come find me... beneath the ash... where the sky never breathes..."

Everyone froze.

Kai was the first to speak. "Nope. I'm out. I'm gonna go find a normal rice ball and cry in a tree."

But despite the fear, Yuki took a step toward the lantern.

"Let's go," he said quietly. "If someone—or something—is waiting for me... then I need to know why."

Nogitsune nodded, though his jaw tightened.

Himari pulled her scarf tighter. "Then we go together."

And with that, the lantern flickered once more—casting their shadows longer than they should have been—as if something else was following just behind them.

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Further down the trail, as the group began to move, the fog thickened. Trees warped in shape the deeper they walked—no longer the ones they remembered passing the night before. Some bent toward them, others leaned away, like the forest itself was breathing.

Aiko touched a low-hanging branch. "It's not just fog... it's memory. It's like we're walking through something's thoughts."

Ren drew his weapon but didn't unsheathe it. "We need to tread carefully. If the void is awake, it may try to rewrite the path behind us."

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Kai mumbled, "Why is it always reality-breaking existential horror before lunch?"

Yuki kept his eyes forward. "Because we're close to something we're not supposed to find."

Nogitsune exhaled slowly, his voice low. "Or something that's been waiting for us to get close."

The lantern ahead burned brighter.

Its flame was no longer just blue—it pulsed faintly violet, as if absorbing their presence.

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