Damin and a petrified Seonho remained motionless, barely daring to breathe until the Drenos finally scattered, their dark shapes vanishing into the mist.
Seonho still couldn't tear his gaze from the spot where Jinha had fallen, his face pale, his eyes wide with disbelief.
His chest rose and fell erratically, the weight of the loss suffocating him.
Damin crouched beside him, his voice soft yet firm. "Seonho… we have to move."
Seonho didn't respond, his trembling fingers clinging to the edge of the bridge-like structure.
His voice, when he finally spoke, was barely a whisper. "She... she was right there. I couldn't... I couldn't do anything."
A bitter ache tightened in Damin's chest.
He wanted to say something—anything—that would ease Seonho's pain, but he knew that there were no words for this kind of loss.
He steeled himself, fighting the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. He had to be strong for them. For Jinha.
Damin gently grasped Seonho's shoulder, guiding him to his feet. "We can't stay here," he murmured, his voice steady, though his hands trembled slightly. "Jinha bought us a chance to survive. Don't let that go to waste."
Seonho stumbled, his legs unsteady, and Damin's grip tightened on him, supporting him as they moved.
Step by step, they trudged forward, the path ahead feeling as heavy as the world on Damin's shoulders.
With each step, the grief weighed down on him, but he refused to let it swallow him. Not yet. Not when they needed him to lead.
Once they were safely across, Seonho stopped and looked back, tears filling his eyes. "She... she told you she loved you. And I... I just watched. It's my fault."
Damin swallowed hard, his jaw clenched. The grief was a silent storm, brewing beneath his calm exterior, but he couldn't let it consume him—not now.
Not when they still had a chance. He avoided Seonho's gaze, biting back the words that threatened to escape.
He couldn't offer comfort when his own heart was breaking.
"We're going to keep moving," he said quietly, his tone firm, even if it felt hollow to him. "The monsters are still out there, and they won't wait for us to grieve. We move forward. For Jinha."
Seonho nodded, though he didn't seem to hear him. His face was a mask of grief, his body moving mechanically, each step a struggle.
Damin kept his arm on Seonho's shoulder, guiding him with a firm grip, steadying him when his legs threatened to buckle.
The mist thickened, curling around them like ghostly tendrils, and the faint sound of the Drenos' cries echoed in the distance.
The world beyond the narrow path seemed swallowed in darkness, every step into the unknown more dangerous than the last.
They were close to the rendezvous point where the rest of the crew awaited, but safety was still far from guaranteed.
Damin's eyes darted between the shadows, every crevice and rock hiding a potential threat.
His mind raced, constantly searching for an escape route, but there was no time to plan too far ahead.
Every moment could be their last.
Finally, they spotted the crew huddled under a rock overhang, their faces tense with anxiety.
When they saw Damin and Seonho approach, a few rushed forward, relief flashing in their eyes.
"What do we do now?" one of them asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Everyone had a grim expression on their face, their exhaustion and grief evident.
Jaehyung ran a hand through his hair, his voice raw with emotion. "What kind of leader am I? I can't even protect my own crew…" His lips trembled, barely able to hold back the grief in his words.
Damin's jaw tightened, his gaze dropping to the ground.
The weight of the moment settled heavily on them, the air thick with their shared sorrow.
But there was no time to wallow.
They had to keep moving, had to survive.
After a moment, Damin cleared his throat, his voice steady and resolute. "Mr. Han, now isn't the time to falter. You're still our leader. Give an order, and we'll follow."
Jaehyung looked at Damin, his weary eyes searching Damin's face.
He managed a faint, worn smile, the trust in his expression undeniable. "Alright, Damin… what do you think we should do? And how can I help?"
Damin blinked, momentarily taken aback by the weight of the trust Jaehyung placed in him.
Jaehyung was willing to hand over the reins of leadership without hesitation, his broken confidence relying on Damin to lead them through.
"I trust you," Jaehyung continued, his voice steady despite the cracks in it. "You know what to do better than I do right now… I can't even think as clearly as you."
Damin exhaled slowly, nodding.
Jaehyung was placing the crew's fate in his hands, and that was a responsibility he couldn't take lightly.
The crushing weight of it almost made him hesitate. But he couldn't afford that.
"We need to find a place to hide," he said, his voice calm but urgent. "Somewhere we can regroup and contact the outside. The Drenos are still out there, and they won't give us much time."
The group nodded, and they pressed on, moving in tight formation behind Damin.
Damin led them through the twisted landscape, his eyes darting from one shadowed corner to another, searching for a haven from the relentless Drenos.
He scanned every crevice, every rock, every dark corner with a mix of hope and dread.
Speaking was too risky, so he communicated through swift gestures and tense nods, his instincts guiding him through the treacherous terrain.
His thoughts raced, but his body was mechanically efficient, each movement calculated, focused on the next step.
The jagged rock formations around them loomed like silent sentinels, increasing the tension with every step.
Eventually, Damin spotted a narrow crevice between two rocky spires, half-hidden beneath a shadowed overhang.
He signaled for the crew to follow, motioning for silence.
Every second felt like an eternity as they slipped into the recess, breathless, hearts pounding in unison.
Just as they caught their breath, dark shapes flitted above—the Drenos had returned.
Their silent, bat-like forms circled above the rocks, their senses alert and searching. Damin's pulse quickened.
They couldn't stay hidden for long; they needed a plan to escape.
Turning to Jaemin and Jaehyung, Damin assessed their strengths.
Jaemin's hands shook slightly, his nerves still raw from the previous encounter, but Jaehyung's expression was one of grim determination.
"I'll need your help," Damin said, his voice low, focused. He wasn't sure if Jaemin could handle another round, but the situation left no room for hesitation.
Jaemin rummaged through his pack, pulling out a shadow shard—a jagged piece of stone infused with magic.
He handed shards to Damin and Jaehyung, who nodded in silent gratitude.
The weight of the shard in Damin's hand was familiar, but this time, it didn't bring him comfort.
Damin reached into his own pack, finding a small pouch of magic-infused dust. 'This could come in handy. '
His fingers brushed the pouch, remembering the time it had saved him when he'd been trapped in a similar hostile world.
Before they moved, Jaehyung handed Seonho the comm device. "If the signal returns, send a distress call," he whispered. "Even if we don't make it, the rest of you can."
Seonho nodded, holding the device as if it were his last hope.
His fingers clenched around it as if it were the only thing tethering him to any kind of future.
With grim resolve, they edged toward the crevice's opening.
The plan was simple but risky: create multiple points of distraction to lure the Drenos away from the crew.
On Damin's signal, Jaemin hurled his shadow shard at a nearby Dreno, hitting it squarely in the side.
The creature let out a shriek, its voice echoing through the rocks, drawing the attention of the others.
A swarm of Drenos turned, their wings unfurling as they zeroed in on the noise.
Jaemin readied another shard, his movements precise and practiced, revealing a natural skill Damin hadn't noticed before.
But as he took aim, a Dreno swerved suddenly, slashing through Jaemin's side with a talon. The shard slipped from Jaemin's fingers as the pain hit, and his breath came in a strangled gasp.