The car roared down the dirt-paved road, its tires kicking up clouds of dust that hung in the air like a heavy fog. Jared gripped the steering wheel, every nerve in his body electrified with tension, feeling the vibrations rush through his fingers. He cast a quick glance at Anne and Joanne, their faces illuminated by the fading light, the hues of orange and purple painting their features with an ethereal glow. Unease gripped him as their laughter echoed behind him, the carefree sound jarring against the palpable danger looming ahead—a stark reminder that their adventure had taken a turn for the sinister.
But as the sun dipped below the horizon, a chill crept into the air, foreshadowing the night to come. Jared felt it—an unsettling sensation that something was wrong, that they were being watched by a shadow lurking just out of sight, waiting for the right moment to pounce. He pushed the accelerator harder, the engine growling in protest, as if it, too, understood the urgency of their escape. In the distance, shadows flickered at the edge of the woods, sending a shiver down his spine and igniting an instinctual fear buried deep within him.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. From the edge of the woods, something emerged—a figure so grotesque it seemed to coalesce from the void itself, distorting the familiar landscape around it. Its frail figure wavered like smoke caught in the breeze, stretching and bending as if the very fabric of reality were losing its grip. The oppressive silence that surrounded them was broken only by the sound of chalk scratching against a slate board—a noise that reverberated between Jared's ears, amplifying the disquiet gnawing at him from the inside.
"Can you see that?" he whispered, glancing at his friends and struggling to control the tremor in his voice as cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Joanne and Anne exchanged uncertain glances, confusion swirling in their eyes. "See what?" Joanne murmured, her brow furrowing with worry as her instincts kicked in, sensing the shift in atmosphere.
"That old man... by the trees." Jared's voice trailed off as he pointed, his heart racing with a blend of dread and disbelief.
The air quivered as the old man transformed before them, morphing into a grotesque form—his once frail figure grotesquely expanding, juxtaposing what was left of his human essence with something far more monstrous. Six spindly arms sprouted from his sides, grotesquely hinged at unnatural angles, moving with an eerily graceful motion that echoed the predatory instincts of a spider ready to strike. The sight was enough to make any sane person recoil in horror; yet, inexplicably, Jared felt a strange compulsion to keep his eyes locked on the creature, as if by observing it, he could discern its intentions.
"Don't look, ladies! Just keep your eyes on me!" Jared shouted, his voice steady, though panic surged through him like wildfire as he stole another glance at Anne and Joanne. They both gasped in unison, their hands instinctively flying to cover their mouths, eyes wide in disbelief.
Joanne leaned over, her vibrant eyes reflecting a blend of fear and determination flickering over her features. "What the hell is that thing?" she cried out, her voice tinged with disbelief and an urgent need for understanding.
"I don't know, but we need to get out of here!" Jared shouted back, pressing down harder on the accelerator. The car surged forward, responding to his frantic energy, but as he glanced back at the creature pursuing them—the old man's features twisted into a grotesque sneer—he felt a chill slide down his spine, a reminder of the danger chasing them relentlessly.
Instinctively, Jared thought of a plan. "Joanne! Anne! Throw anything you can at it! Soap, towels—anything!" His voice echoed in the small space of the car as he rummaged through his mental inventory, recalling the broken armor, shields, and weapons he had stored there—remnants from their previous adventures. "We need to slow it down!"
Joanne rummaged through her bag, her fingers trembling as they found a half-empty bottle of shampoo, a weak weapon in the face of horrific adversity. With a fierce battle cry, she hurled it out of the window. It landed with a loud splat on the old man's belly, the liquid glistening against the creature's grotesque frame—a pitiful attempt at defense.
Meanwhile, Anne held out one of the towels she had brought, her resolve hardening. "Here! Take this!" she cried, her voice ringing with urgency, the towel transforming into a lifeline amid chaos.
The moment the towel left her hand, a vile spittle of venom shot from the old man, melting the right mirror of the car in an instant, leaving behind a bubbling puddle of acid that hissed ominously. Glass shards flew, forcing Jared to swerve sharply, his instincts kicking in as he fought to regain control. The two girls screamed in unison as the car swerved dangerously, their voices harmonizing in terror that resonated like a haunting melody.
Suddenly, a deafening beep blared in Jared's head—a sound reminiscent of an air raid siren that dictated dread and demanded attention.
Emergency Mission: Galactic Criminal Detected
Order of Chystalis Covenant: Defective Prospective Member Xelfor
Crimes Committed:
Planetary Genocide of Own Species
Genocide of Neighboring Planets in Own Star System
Did not Comply with Chystalis Covenant of Non-Aggression Type 2 Civilizations and their Colonies.
Jared's mind raced as he processed the absurdity of the situation. "What the hell? This guy is a genocidal maniac?" he shouted incredulously, his voice almost lost amid the whirlwind of chaos surrounding them. "And there's only one of him? How is that even possible?"
"Maybe it's a cosmic joke?" He uttered to himself while feeling like he was like a magnet of misfortune. "Like, how does one old man manage to screw up whole planets?"
He gritted his teeth, dodging trees, rocks, and bewildered sheep that wandered onto the road, momentarily frozen in shock at the chaos unfurling before them. The car careened left and right as he swerved to avoid a grove, each movement calculated but frantic. "Just hold on!" he shouted, his voice strained beyond measure, resonating like a rallying cry against the encroaching dread.
"I can't believe this is happening!" Anne exclaimed, fear etching deeper lines onto her delicate features—a stark contrast to the vibrant spirit she had shown just moments before.
"Shut your eyes! Look away!" Jared insisted, his chest tightening as he felt the creature gain ground. Heart racing, he focused on the road while attempting to reason with the nightmarish figure that seemed so unnaturally human. "Old man! How did I offend you?" He wasn't expecting an answer, but the desperate need for understanding surged within him, fueled by the absurdity of the situation; a small comfort amid an uncontrollable storm.
The old man halted in his tracks, a look of mockery and curiosity spreading across his warped features as the back of his grotesque form sprouted shimmering wings reminiscent of a dragonfly. The creature hovered for a moment, considering its next move, while Jared could only stare in disbelief, the surrealism of the situation dawning on him like a waking dream.
"Are you kidding me? Wings now?" Joanne exclaimed, her voice cracking as she grappled with the horror unfolding.
Anne tightened her grip on her seat, her eyes darting from Jared to the creature, a mixture of dread and hope swirling within her. "What do we do?" she asked, her voice a whisper tinged with panic.
"We run!" Jared replied, heart hammering in his chest as primal instincts kicked in. If only he had a plan—something tangible he could grasp onto. Then, a flash of inspiration surged through him, igniting a desperate resolve.
Without a second thought, he concentrated, summoning forth his dinosaur mount, a creature that had served him well in past battles, hoping with every fiber of his being for a miracle. Bursting into existence, it stood still, awaiting a rider like a powerful character in an action-packed video game. But as Jared's heart raced with triumph, that very triumph was short-lived.
The old man lunged with unnatural swiftness, landing directly on its head and draining the energetic essence from the creature in mere seconds, its form dissipating into the ether.
"Are you freaking kidding me!" Jared shouted in disbelief as he swerved the car to avoid being splattered with whatever organ was left of his mount. He felt utterly dumbfounded, helpless against the absurdity that reality had thrown their way.
"Jared, summon something else!" Anne screamed, her voice infused with urgency as she frantically looked behind.
In desperation, he summoned three horses—a hasty decision hoping for a spark of luck—but they too fell prey to the insatiable hunger of the old man in an instant. Desperation clawed at his insides as he glanced into the rearview mirror, finding the creature momentarily absent. For a fleeting moment, relief washed over him, a whisper of hope amid the pandemonium.
"Thank goodness, we might—" he began, but the abrupt turn of fate was brutal, smacking him like a cold slap. The car flipped in mid-air, crashing down with a shuddering impact that reverberated through his entire being. Jared barely managed to summon his last mount: a donkey, humorously misshaped and barely useful, which dutifully caught both Anne and Joanne as they landed. Its frail legs buckled under the weight, and Jared felt his heart sink into the pit of despair.
"Of all the mounts, I had to get a bloody donkey?" he muttered under his breath, disbelief oozing from every word. The absurdity of the situation washed over him in waves.
"Seriously? A donkey?" Joanne squeaked, her brows knit together in disbelief, causing Jared to chuckle despite the fear crackling in the air around them.
"Hey, it's all I had left!" Jared retorted, tossing a carrot to Anne, who appeared more sensible compared to her stunned companion. "You need to go to light!"
"Get us moving, then!" Anne shouted, gripping the donkey's fur as they began to take off, the creature's movements awkward yet surprisingly steady under the urgency of the moment. As they galloped forward, Jared could see the flickering light in the distance—promising safety, a glimmer of hope amid the madness.
Suddenly, they reached a clearing, and the otherworldly light flickered in the distance, indicating that this was the place where the portal was located, as the system told. But just as they began to feel the tendrils of hope weaving around them, the old man—who had vanished moments before—reappeared in a blur, snapping one of Jared's arms with unsettling quickness.
"Ah!" Jared winced, his hand instinctively shooting toward the stub of his missing arm as sharp pain surged through him. "Old man, I surrender! The moment I recognized you, I knew you were extraordinary! You're from an ancient clan, aren't you?" Each word dripped with sincerity as if he were copying those cultivation cannon fodder characters, even as the pain throbbed in his missing arm. He composed himself to play it like a veteran actor while talking nonsense.
The old man, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected revelation, paused mid-bite, a glint of approval flickering in his eyes—momentarily caught in the web of Jared's plea. "Where are you from, traverser? You seem new here," he asked, a hint of genuine curiosity lacing his teasing tone, clearly intrigued by the earnestness that radiated from Jared.
Thinking quickly, Jared responded, "I used to be an outer disciple of the Gu Sect. I specialize in bugs and insects." His focus turned to the frantic faces of Anne and Joanne, urging them to stay calm even as the storm raged around them—a desperate anchor amidst the chaos.
"I don't know much about your sect, boy, but it seems you've brought chaos upon yourself," the old man sneered, licking his lips, which still glistened grotesquely with remnants of his last meal. "In a world as dangerous as this, ignorance is an invitation to oblivion."
Memories flashed through Jared's mind—snapshots of his childhood in the orphanage, the bonds he had forged, the dreams he once had. Regret washed over him as he remembered ignoring Aaron's calls, the friendships he had allowed to slip away like grains of sand, even as the world around them had treated them both unfairly. Standing in confrontation with this abomination, he realized he could not let fear dictate his actions any longer.
"Look, I don't want any trouble—no one here does! Just let us go, and I promise you won't regret it!" Jared pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice as the old man studied him with a discerning gaze.
"Very noble of you to seek peace, but I crave something far more delightful," the old man replied, savoring the sound of his words, relishing the fear he saw etched on their faces. He took a lazy step forward, his grotesque form towering over Jared like a nightmare made flesh.
"Then what do you want?" Jared asked, his voice barely a whisper—a fragile vessel of courage.
"Life! The sheer joy of consuming that which exists. It is a delicacy few can comprehend," he crooned, his voice dripping with malice and hunger.
With every word, a dark realization dawned on Jared: they were nothing but prey to this creature. The impulse to run surged within him again, stronger this time. He couldn't let the old man take his friends—not now, not ever.
The old man's laughter echoed around them, chilling and mocking, resonating with a sinister energy. "You really think you can escape me? The light holds no power over the hungry! I am beyond the reach of that which is sacred."
Jared's thoughts raced, internal turmoil clashing with frantic determination. In a moment of reckless desperation born from sheer refusal to succumb, he opened the system one last time, strapping a vest loaded with C4 explosives onto himself as the old man chewed on what remained of his former limbs.
There was no plan—only an unyielding desire to protect his friends. "Here's to a bang!" he thought, remembering the old sayings, the tales of heroes before him embracing chaos—the rebellious spirit of survival manifesting in resolve. And with that last thought echoing in his mind, everything exploded into chaos.
On May 22nd of 1430, an unrecorded blast shook the very foundations of time, resonating like the clap of thunder—a judgment from the heavens or simply the prayers of nearby farmers seeking rain? No one could say for sure. As the smoke billowed into the sky, shattering the tranquility of the ancient lands, the last thing that lingered in Jared's mind was simply this: There ain't no rest for the wicked.
As the world around him faded into darkness, Jared felt a strange peace wash over him. In that final moment, he realized that the bonds they had forged, the laughter they had shared, and the love they had nurtured—none of it would go away. They would carry on. Together. Together, they would float between the lines of worlds, a tapestry woven of vibrant threads pulled through the fabric of adventure and survival.