"What creature, sis?" Kaia asked, her face a mix of concern and curiosity.
"Kaia..." Thalia's eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope, her voice shaking as tears welled up.
Everyone around the table blinked, utterly confused.
"There is—" Thalia froze, her gaze snapping to the spot where the eye had been. It wasn't there.
Huh?
She whipped her head around, scanning the room. Where did it go?
A heartbeat later, she spotted it. Right behind Kyros. The eye split in half, twisting into a massive, gaping mouth—ready to swallow his head whole.
"Kyros!"
-Swoop-
The eye shot away, knocked back by a magic blast from Kiaan, who had his hands raised just above Kyros's head.
"Did it hit?" Kiaan asked, eyes darting to Thalia for a response.
Thalia nodded, a quick jerk of her head. "Yes."
A deep voice echoed through the room, almost like a growl.
"Pesky... humans."
Kyros's blood ran cold. That voice. He knew it. The eye monster. It wasn't gone?
Yona's gaze flicked to Kaia, still clutching Thalia's wrist, her face darkening as she sat in eerie silence.
Kaia? Had she… read Thalia's mind?
Worry gnawed at Yona's gut.
Thalia's eyes widened in terror as she stared at the corner of the room, where the eye had slammed into the wall. Its unnatural shape glared back at them with anger.
Kiaan wasn't wasting time. Slash! He summoned his sword and swung at the eye.
But just as the blade neared, a thick black shield snapped into place, blocking his strike.
"The attack was blocked!" Thalia shouted, her voice sharp.
Kiaan gritted his teeth, readying himself for another strike. "It's tough when we can't even see it."
Thalia's breath hitched as the eye started crawling along the ceiling, its massive form sending a shiver down her spine.
The room fell deathly still as everyone braced for what was coming next.
"You humans never... let us live in peace." The eye's voice trembled, dripping with fury.
Its roots began to creep, snaking around the room like dark tendrils. The walls, the ceiling—it was everywhere.
"What's happening?!" Thalia's voice cracked, confusion flashing in her eyes.
The eye pulsed, releasing a blinding light that forced everyone to shield their eyes.
When they dared to open them again, the world had changed.
They were no longer in their house. No longer in the familiar room.
The space was dark. A void. Black and suffocating, but still visible—an eerie, unnatural kind of visibility.
Thalia's eyes shot up as she whipped her head around. There it was. The eye—part of the ceiling. Its pupil twitched, shifting, its gaze jittering wildly like a trapped animal.
"It's right above us!" Thalia shouted, pointing.
Before anyone could react, something dark shot up from the floor—a black tendril—snaking toward her mouth. She tried to scream, but it covered her lips, dragging her toward the floor, slowly sinking her into the black abyss.
The others weren't faring any better. Tentacles shot up from every corner, grabbing their wrists and ankles, pulling them into the floor as the place shook, like the ground itself had a heartbeat.
"Ugh, this is so creepy," Kiaan grunted, struggling as the tendrils latched onto his wrists.
"We have to get out! Tell us a solution, man!" Kyros said urgently, his body almost swallowed by the ground.
"How am I supposed to have a solution?" Kiaan snapped, trying to break free.
"Well, you've got experience, don't you?" Kyros said, a hint of mockery in his voice.
"This isn't the time for jokes!" Kiaan replied, furrowing his brow as he summoned his sword. He slashed at the tendrils, cutting them away. Magic shot from beneath his feet, pushing him up and preventing him from sinking further. He moved toward Kyros, kicking his head—hard. "Just die, Bastard!"
"Hey, at least I helped you!" Kyros dodged a few of Kiaan's strikes, but the ground was still pulling him down.
Kiaan aimed his hand at the ceiling, and bright white light shot from his palm, striking the eye.
"Ugh..." The eye grunted in pain, blood oozing from its center—but nothing changed. They were still sinking.
Kiaan gritted his teeth, trying to pull himself back up, but the floor just kept pulling them down.
"This is so frustrating! What do I do now, Kyros?" Kiaan glanced toward Kyros, but—he was gone.
"Kyros?"
A faint bubbling noise reached his ears. "Blub... glugh..." The sounds came from deep beneath the floor.
"Thank goodness, he's still alive," Kiaan sighed in relief.
"What relief? He can die any second!" Yona shouted, her voice panicked as the tendrils continued to pull her down.
"Kyros and you are the ones who know this stuff better, right?" Kiaan asked, looking at Yona.
Yona hesitated. "I... I—" She bit her lip. Well, yes. But I don't want anyone to know that I can't use magic right now. She paused, and thought, "This place... it's probably not created by the eye. It's most likely it teleported us here."
"So, what is this place then?" Kiaan asked, growing more frustrated.
"Another monster," Kaia's voice cut through, calm and sharp. She had been quiet, but now she was catching on quickly. "We're probably being digested right now."
Yona blinked in surprise. She's quick. She nodded. "Could be true."
Kiaan didn't have time to think things through. "Then I'll take the risk." He swung his sword down with all his might, creating a shockwave of air. The ground beneath them cracked open, revealing a lava-like abyss. They started to fall.
"Not good!" Kiaan exclaimed as they plummeted.
Just when it seemed like they were doomed, black slabs appeared beneath their feet, catching them mid-fall. The slabs rose back up, carrying them safely.
Kiaan spotted Kyros standing on one of the blocks, his magic at work. Kyros's block transformed into a spiked spear, its tip aimed skyward. As they shot upward, the ceiling tore apart, and the world above them broke open. They escaped—just in time.
They landed on solid ground, looking around at the twisted landscape. Red sun. Black sky. Red flowers everywhere. Skulls scattered across the ground, and in the distance, dark silhouettes of monstrous creatures loomed.
"I didn't expect this..." Yona muttered, wide-eyed, glancing at Kyros.
"Why did we get teleported into a Halcyon realm?" Kyros said, looking around at their eerie surroundings.