The light was practically blinding - eyes only picking up subtle hues of color as he stumbled onto the coarse dirt and gravel below his feet.
Slowly did his senses begin to adjust - the crunching of the ground they walked on — sounds of the dead, dry winds lapsing the rocky walls that surrounded them — the oppressive heat barring down upon the cadet group, forcing them to immediately sweat upon entering.
Tall withered walls of stone surrounded them — small edges jutting out into thick, sharp spikes, morphing the landscape into something more akin to a deathtrap.
The two Phantoms began to move forward, progressing through a thin passage between two cliffs and surrounded by endless stalagmites.
"Did a river carve this out?" Nyx could hear Phantom Ryland murmur out just to his side. Much to his surprise, Phantom Thane gave a swift response;
"Couldn't be. There wouldn't be Stalagmites- but..."
Thane didn't even need to finish his sentence before Ryland cut in, his voice rather dark and bleak. "This is more of a cave without a roof than a canyon..."
While Nyx was curious about this environment, he was more focused on examining the two Phantoms he now found himself with — their appearances feeling oddly uncanny compared to what he had expected.
Thane appeared more like a delinquent than an official Phantom - his dark hair nearly going past his chin as it washed over and drooped down his left side and nearly completely covered his eye. His eyes, being similar to Nyx, were a rather cold jade green.
More notable was the sigil placed on his right cheek - Two black bars, one taller than the other, as a thin streak cut through them at an angle.
'A family crest.' Nyx thought, eyes now slowly hovering on Ryland, who wasn't too far away.
His hair was a rather dark brown and sat messily atop his head. His glance of a nearly demonic black could cut into your soul as a deep scar ran through the top of his neck. By all meanings of the word, he had the appearance of a killer — and to support that, dual silver blades were crossed on his back.
What scared Nyx the most, however, was the fact that neither of them looked composed.
They were terrified.
* * *
The group continued to progress through the mysterious canyon as an oppressive silence hung heavy in the thick air.
Nyx glanced his eyes around the other students - nearly all of them sharing the same sense of unease. Even Acher, who before seemed like a resolute figure of calm and ease, seemed to have a frown grow on his face the more they walked.
The only ones among the group who seemed to remain calm were both Rei and Seren.
Much to Nyx's surprise, Thane immediately stopped just before him as Ryland give a swift response: "Did your power sense something?"
Thane didn't respond, his expression completely unreadable. Ryland, picking up on the odd behavior, quickly gestured towards the cadets, shifting himself into a defensive stance.
His eyes grew in preparation for what was to come - trying to mimic Thane's stillness to the point where there was no difference at all.
The cadets, spread out around the dry rock which they walked on, all quickly inhibited the same careful movements as their eyes glanced around anxiously.
Nyx could feel his heart pound. He gripped the leaden spear, his heart pounding in his chest as he slid his glaze across every bit of rock in the distance.
The tension was palpable. His ragged breath seemingly masked every other noise that surrounded him. It was as if time had stopped completely for just a brief moment.
He couldn't help but be flooded with thoughts on what they could encounter. What they'd face. What creature could rip him limb from limb and cover the ground with his blood, everyone he's ever known forgetting he ever existed.
And yet, after what felt like an eternity, nothing ever came.
Thane lowered himself, gently placing his hand against the ground. Silence.
Then, they started falling. The ground below them had caved.
Desperately did he try to hold on to something, though nothing was within reach. Instead of focusing on the terrain above, he shifted his eyes downward and looked for anything that could support him — even if it meant sustaining injuries from the fall.
The last thing he expected to see was a massive beak begin to widen.
Before Nyx could even react, he could feel his own body tug itself back — an invisible force pulling him just enough to escape the hidden beast's mouth.
Others didn't get so lucky.
With a harrowing crunch and endless screams, it clenched its jaw shut. Blood shot out as if it were a fountain, and with a single gulp, it swallowed them whole.
Nyx continued to be pulled out, though his eyes could only be glued to the shrouded creature beneath the rock, slowly descending into the darkness as if it were never there at all.
At long last, he made it back to the surface, eyes peering over towards Ryland, waving his arms in the air and his eyes gleaning a baleful green.
The dust from the ensuing chaos was far too thick to see anything, though the sounds were horrifically audible. Endless screams and roars resounded through the canyon walls, along with the distant echoes of clashing weapons.
Nyx looked around, attempting to grab his bearings. Thane sat beside him, sword drawn as he leered into the clouds, eyes clenched as he twisted his sword before him.
The dark silhouette of their attacker leaped out, its sharp teeth scraping against his blade before a swift kick was delivered into its chest.
The Terror let out a slight whimper of pain as it churned back towards them - Its eyes a menacing, swirling red and teeth appearing sharper than that of obsidian. It was a beast that took the form of a dark wolf and the size of a grown man. Small, shiny protrusions of nearly metal-esc spikes coated the back of the furred creature, seemingly growing and receding in size in an oddly controlled yet abusive power.
"Phantom Thane-!" Nyx shouted out, quickly standing as he reached for his spear.
"Be careful." He could hear him murmur out before the Terror pounced towards him once again. He buckled his arm down, twisting his sword as it once again scratched against the creatures maw, shoving it away with an unparalleled amount of precision.
Just as Nyx was about to run up and help, a quick glance towards Thane's weapon immediately sent shivers down his spine.
'The sword...' he thought, eyes looming over the nearly shattered blade, trying to maintain his footing as he steadied himself, 'The Terror abraded the sword just with its teeth!?'
A looming shadow overhead quickly gripped his attention, head swiveling around only to see the gaping gullet of the beast descend upon him - teeth barely a hair's breadth away from piercing into his eye socket.
Instinctively, Nyx churned his spear and shoved the long wooden handle down its throat. He pulled at the handle, tugging the beast to the side as it rolled back.
Nyx gave a swift glance to the handle — eyes wide in shock as he peered over the damage.
He had already known the handle wouldn't fair well, but the entire lower half was only composed of splinters and shattered bits of wood.
A notable crack snaked it's way up the shaft, and nearly threatened to split the weapon in two of it weren't for the iron head at the top.
Thane ran over, placing himself before Nyx as he spoke; "It's to strong. We need to wear it down first."
The creature had already repositioned itself, glaring down towards the two of them from atop a small boulder.
Still visible were the chips of wood locked in its mouth, small traces of blood leaking from within as it evaporated into steam.
Oddly enough, it wasn't attacking. Instead, it seemed to be waiting for an opportunity.
Nyx took the chance to get a better look at the beast; It's glowing red eyes and dark mane of thorns made it look straight out hell itself.
The afformentioned thorns were indeed moving like he saw before — shuffling side to side as if trying to hypnotize them.
It's teeth were menacing — the canines appearing long and thin, coming to a point so sharp that it clearly could bite straight through a sword.
And it did.
Nyx peered back towards Thane, eyes tracing over his tattered blade. It could still be wielded, though the edges were notably shredded, along with two large streaks cut straight through to the center.
Nyx could feel his gut sink.
Carefully did he peer back towards the beast, and yet to his surprise, it was gone.
Thane made no reaction, only standing completely still as he steadied his breath.
A few seconds passed. Those seconds turned to what felt like hours.
Nyx hastily glanced all around, trying to leave no side open. Thane continued to stand completely still.
Then, Nyx could hear a sudden noise directly from behind.
At first, it was the subtle sound of tumbling rocks. Following after was the ever so intensifying sound of rapid clamoring towards him. When he finally turned around, it was already too late.
His eyes widened as he tried to maneuver himself away, trying to thrust his spear upwards to block the attack. Unfortunately enough, he was far too slow and the Terror far too fast.
With a harrowing crunch, the beast seemingly ripped straight through Nyx's arm — the crack of the bones sounding out as he roared out in pain.
More concerningly, the beast didn't stop. Arm still lodged within its teeth, it bolted through the canyon with terrifying speed, Nyx's blood slowly beginning to slither out from the wound.
'Am I going to die..?' he clenched his teeth, so strong he nearly chipped part of them off. 'I refuse to die here! I won't!'
With every bit of determination he could muster - every instinct and will to live, every last reserve of energy he had left - with all of his force he jolted the metal tip of the spear straight down the throat of the beast as blood began to gush out from its now gaping wound in its side.
It groveled around, struggling to breathe as it attempted to lock its jaw against him. Much to his advantage, the tip had lodged itself and shattered the lower jaw, it swinging loosely as the Terror beat the back of Nyx against a series of rocks in an attempt to shake him off.
Even though a spear was rammed through its lower skull and down part of its throat, it still continued to live.
After the initial attack, Nyx could feel his energy begin to fail him. He could barely grip the pole of the spear anymore - it being the only thing keeping him from getting gored by the Terrors claws.
Even after using every bit of power and strength he had, he was about to die.
It was then did a blinding flash appear above him.