Chapter 56: Chapter 56: A Serpent’s Grip "Come on, Ash! Help!" Iris shouted, her voice sharp as she and Aras faced off with the snarling creature in front of them.
It wasn’t the biggest monster they had seen so far, but it was still large, easily the size of a bear. Its skin was rough and grey, lined with sharp folds like armored bark.
Four limbs, each ending in curved claws, tore into the dirt with every step it took.
Its mouth hung wide, full of uneven teeth and a flicking tongue that made a low hissing sound.
Its eyes were yellow, reptilian, and fixed on Iris.
Ash stood a few paces back, casually holding a smaller monster by the tail. Its body hung limp.
"It’s just a small one. You guys got it," he said, shrugging. "Plus, I just dealt with this guy." He waved the carcass for effect.
Aras didn’t complain. He stepped forward, eyes focused, and raised one hand. The air around the monster thickened immediately.
It growled, legs sinking slightly into the ground as gravity bore down on it. Its movements slowed, its muscles straining against the invisible weight.
"It’s stuck," Aras muttered.
Iris didn’t waste time. She dashed forward, her form shifting mid-step.
Her lower body extended and stretched, thick coils replacing her legs. Her skin shimmered faintly, turning smoother and patterned like scales.
Her long tail whipped across the clearing, coiling around the trapped monster.
She moved fast, slithering past it and wrapping herself tighter around its body. With a sharp twist, she locked her coils in place.
The monster thrashed and roared, but it couldn’t move.
Iris squeezed and soon bones cracked.
Ash and Aras stared. Neither had seen her fight in that form before, they had only seen her use it for travel.
Now, watching her crush a monster like a constrictor, they understood why she rarely had to fight with weapons.
"Remind me not to get on her bad side," Ash muttered, finally tossing the smaller monster aside.
Aras nodded once, watching the last breath leave the monster’s lungs as Iris tightened one more time and then released it.
"Let’s keep moving," she said, shifting back to human form without a word. "We’re getting closer."
They had been moving toward the ravine for a while and had finally arrived.
The terrain ahead was flat, wide, and quiet, but the massive crack that split it made the space feel broken.
The fracture stretched far in both directions. There was no clear start or end, just a long, jagged line carved into the earth.
Ash stood near the edge, looking down. The wind blew his hair slightly as he stared into the dark.
Iris walked up beside him, glancing down once before pulling back. "Are you sure it dropped them here?"
"This is large," she said again. "How are we going to get down? And what if we land in the wrong place?"
Aras didn’t speak. He stood a bit further back, scanning the surroundings, but even his face looked uncertain.
"This is deep..." Iris muttered. "How did they survive?"
No one answered.
They looked again. But the ravine went down too far. Whatever was at the bottom, if anything was even left,bthey couldn’t see it from here.
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Rhian walked through the narrow tunnel, his pace steady. The slope had been rising for a while now, and he could feel the difference in air.
It wasn’t fresh, but it was less heavy than before. He didn’t know how far he was from the surface, but it couldn’t be too far now.
He carried Nia with practiced care, shifting her weight every so often when his arms began to tire.
They’d stopped a few times for him to rest, but he never sat long. Each time he felt the ground sloping upward, his motivation returned.
The path had been easy to follow. A single straight line with no turns, no splits, and no confusion. Just darkness, stone, and quiet steps.
Along the way, he’d been training with his illusion ability. At first, he kept it simple, small things. A floating apple. A falling rock. A flicker of light.
Small illusions barely cost him any energy. The ability seemed efficient as long as the object was small and still.
But that wasn’t what he wanted.
He wanted something usable in a fight. He imagined it clearly. An illusion of himself, thrown ahead like a decoy.
It would move, swing its arm like it was throwing a punch. The enemy would react to that movement—and that’s when the real him would attack from a different angle.
The concept was perfect in theory, but executing it was different. Every time he tried to make himself, the illusion would falter.
The shape was wrong, or the movement was off. And sometimes it just didn’t appear at all.
It frustrated him more than he expected.
He also realized that the bigger the illusion, the more energy it took. Creating a fake apple barely a drain.
Creating a full-body image of himself, even if it didn’t move that was heavy. He could feel the pull on his core each time he pushed the boundary.
So far, the only confirmed limitation was the five-second timer.
Everything else—the shape, movement, energy drain—that seemed to come from him. His inexperience. His lack of control. And maybe, his lack of creativity.
He didn’t stop, though.
As he walked, he kept trying. Not just to test limits—but to understand how far he could take it.
But there was still so much he could learn, even now, while moving for their survival.
Rhian kept practicing the illusion as they moved. Every few steps, he tried again. A clone of himself walking ahead.
A sudden flicker of movement behind him. He had to get used to doing it on the go. If a fight broke out again, he wouldn’t have time to stand still and focus.
He was just beginning to form another projection when he stopped.
The floor beneath him shifted slightly.
He froze, lowering Nia carefully to the ground. He didn’t hear anything, but his body did.
A small tremble passed through the ground, too faint to call a quake, but enough to be noticed.
Then it came again. Stronger this time.
His fingers twitched. His body tensed on instinct. That wasn’t normal movement. It wasn’t random either.
He crouched down and listened. The tunnel ahead was quiet, but the ground kept pulsing under his feet.
A low, repeated thud. Slow and heavy.