The ground trembled.
Like clockwork, the daytime behemoths emerged from their caves, stepping into the blistering sunlight. Each of them, massive, towering, their forms casting long, twisted shadows across the ruined landscape.
Their movements were unfaltering, a grim procession dictated by something far older than instinct—a law of nature itself.
From their hiding place within the cavern, Belial, Xin, and Raven held their breath.
The monstrous footfalls echoed through the chamber, each step sending a dull vibration through their bones. The weight of these creatures alone was enough to reduce anything in their path to dust.
And now, their own personal nightmare was emerging.
From the farthest depths of the cave, it stepped forward.
Even in the darkness, its silhouette was imposing, its form too large for the space it occupied, the sheer ether it radiated distorting the very air around it.
Belial gritted his teeth, pressing himself further into the shadows. They couldn't fight this thing.
They couldn't even be seen.
The three of them squeezed into a narrow crevice, pressing their backs against the cold stone, barely daring to breathe.
The behemoth's presence suffocated the air, its slow, deliberate movements stirring up dust and loose debris from the cavern floor.
It stopped.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—it lingered.
Xin's breath hitched.
The creature stood mere feet away from their hiding place, its massive head tilting slightly, as if listening.
The silence was unbearable.
Belial felt his muscles burn from holding so still, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. The stench of ether and decay flooded his nostrils, so overwhelming it made his stomach churn.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the behemoth moved on, its heavy footsteps carrying it toward the cave exit.
The group remained frozen, barely daring to believe they were still alive.
Xin exhaled slowly, tension easing from his shoulders. He turned his head slightly toward Belial and Raven, his voice just a whisper.
"...I think it's gone."
Then—
A shadow loomed over them.
Xin froze, his blood running cold.
A single, enormous eye peered into the crevice.
Not just any eye—this one was wet, glistening, a deep shade of crimson, swirling with an unnatural energy that seemed to pierce through them with suffocating clarity.
Blood.
Belial felt a chill crawl up his spine.
The behemoth had caught the scent of his blood.
A fresh trail, still lingering in the air from his wounded arm.
For a moment, no one moved.
No one breathed.
Then—the ether in the air grew thick, suffocating. The sheer power radiating from the behemoth was incomparable, a force of nature beyond comprehension.
It was like standing in the presence of a living Atrocity, a Minor Mirror monster**.
More specifically one in the Prime Class,
Belial clenched his jaw. This thing....
Comparing their strength to this creature was like comparing a An everyday man to a nuclear warhead.
Xin's fingers tightened around the hilt of his weapon, but he knew—they had no chance.
They couldn't fight this.
They couldn't even survive being seen.
For a long moment, the behemoth stared into the crevice, its grotesque eye unblinking, analyzing, its ether pulsing like a storm ready to consume them whole.
Then—
Xin moved first.
His mind snapped back into focus, his survival instincts kicking in with full force.
"Lets get out of here," he whispered, barely audible.
Belial and Raven snapped out of their frozen state, their bodies instantly reacting.
They didn't need to be told twice.
With silent, precise movements, the group slipped deeper into the tunnels, their footsteps barely making a sound against the rocky ground.
They moved fast—but not recklessly.
To run outright would mean death.
Every breath, every movement had to be calculated, every footstep placed with absolute precision.
Behind them, the eye remained, watching, its eerie glow flickering against the cavern walls.
Then—
A low, guttural sound rumbled through the air.
A sound that wasn't a growl, nor a snarl—
But a laugh.
Xin's stomach twisted.
It knows we're still here.
That thought sent a wave of cold terror through him.
But they had no time to dwell on it.
They fled—back into the depths of the tunnels, where the darkness was their only ally.
The presence of the Annihilator loomed behind them, its ether stretching through the cavern like suffocating chains, reaching—searching—waiting.
The tunnels were. Every corner they turned seemed to stretch out into more darkness, more uncertainty. The oppressive weight of their situation pressed down on them harder with every step.
Belial, however, moved forward with unwavering confidence, his instincts sharp as ever. He had no visible hesitation, no faltering in his stride—only the quiet tension in his jaw.
"Stay close," Belial whispered, his voice barely audible. "Something's coming."
Xin felt a chill run down his spine, but it wasn't from the cold. It was the raw, palpable sense of impending danger that swept through the air. He could almost taste the shift in the ether around them, a subtle yet distinct disturbance that set every hair on his body on end.
Raven's fingers curled around his weapon, his stance widening, ready for whatever threat lay ahead. His silence was a reflection of his focus. Despite the constant monster-filled world they found themselves in, he knew better than to let his guard down for even a second.
They moved in sync, barely making a sound as they threaded through the dark, the walls of the tunnel narrowing and closing in as they ventured deeper. The only light came from the faint glow of the occasional crystal embedded in the walls—dull and lifeless, like the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
"Bel, what are we up against?" Xin's voice broke through the silence, tinged with concern. "What kind of creature is it?"
Belial's eyes flicked back toward them. He didn't need to say much; his expression told it all. He knew what was coming. He had faced things like this before.
"It's like the one we fought outside the mountain," he muttered, his voice low, dangerous. "But this one is more...vicious."
As they rounded another bend, Belial stopped, holding a hand out in front of him, signaling for the group to halt. His sharp eyes narrowed, scanning the darkness ahead.
"Get ready," he said again, quieter this time. "It's close."
Xin's breath caught in his throat as he steadied himself. His senses were on high alert, each tiny sound amplified in the stillness. He could hear the faint scraping of claws on stone—slow, deliberate, approaching. The unmistakable sound of something hunting them, closing in.
Then, out of the shadows, the creature emerged.
It was massive, its dark brown skin blending into the earthy tones of the tunnels, making it almost invisible in the dim light. It moved with unnatural grace for such a large creature, its quadrupedal form loping toward them with a predatory fluidity. Its four legs were muscular, each one ending in sharp, clawed feet that scraped against the rocky floor as it closed in.
But it wasn't the legs that drew their attention—it was the creature's arms. Or rather, its scythe-like appendages.
Each of its front limbs ended in a razor-sharp, curved scythe that seemed to gleam with an almost unnatural sheen. The blades were massive, easily the size of Belial's entire torso, and they looked as if they could shear through stone with a single swing. Its body was muscular, its back hunched like a predator ready to strike, but its movements were controlled, calculated.
Its eyes—if they could be called that—were a sickly yellow, glowing in the dark, with a deep, inhuman intelligence behind them. It didn't just move like a beast; it moved with purpose, as if it were aware of its prey's every move, anticipating their next step.
The creature stopped just short of them, its head tilting slightly to the side, assessing the group with cold, calculating eyes. It was waiting for them to make the first move.
Xin's heart pounded in his chest. His instincts screamed at him to run, to flee and never look back. But he knew better. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
Belial stepped forward, his posture tense but steady, his hand moving toward the hilt of his blade. "It's too dangerous to fight head-on," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "We need to outsmart it. Draw it into the narrow parts of the tunnel."
Raven nodded, his jaw clenched. "You lead. We follow."
Belial didn't hesitate. He moved swiftly, leading them down the narrow tunnel to the left, where the walls were closer together, creating a cramped corridor. The scythe beast followed, its massive body slinking forward, the sound of its claws scraping on stone filling the tunnel as it pursued them.
The air around them grew dense with its ether presence, thick and suffocating. The creature's aura pressed down on them like a weight, making it hard to breathe, like a hand gripping their chests. Xin's breath became shallow as the pressure built. His mind screamed at him to release the tension, to fight back, but he knew Belial's plan had to work. They couldn't afford to engage this thing head-on.
But as they reached the narrowing part of the tunnel, something strange happened. The creature suddenly stopped.
It seemed… hesitant.
Belial frowned, realizing something was wrong. "It's not charging..."
The creature's glowing yellow eyes never left them, its scythes swaying in the air as if it were preparing for a strike. It was waiting for them to make a mistake, to give it a weakness to exploit.
The game had changed.