Sasha's exhilaration faded as she and Freya walked through the deep underbrush, the air heavy with the smell of salt and rot. The crashing roar of breaking waves became more audible, blending with the eerie murmur of the woods behind them. Despite the intense light above them, there was an uneasy coolness in the air, the kind that makes the hair on the back of your neck rise up.
Freya, looming over Sasha with her long, nimble legs, paused for a moment. Her acute eyes surveyed the surroundings, observing how the trees appeared to bend away from the coastline, as if reacting to something unseen. "Sasha, are you sure about this?" she enquired, her voice calm but low, with a hint of anxiety threaded into her words.
Sasha, the most cautious of the two, felt an unexplained tug towards the coast. Her instincts screamed at her, a vital sensation of curiosity mixed with fear. "I am sure," she said, her voice betraying a touch of doubt. "Something's out there… something we need to see."
Freya nodded, trusting her partner's instincts. They moved together, with Sasha leading the way, her smaller frame weaving easily between the branches and undergrowth. Freya trailed closely after, her eyes darting around, wary for any movement.
As they got closer to the shore, the smell of rot intensified, an unpleasant stench that burnt their nostrils and made their stomachs turn. Sasha stopped, palm over her mouth, her doe-like eyes narrowing. "It is a carcass," she said quietly, her voice stifled. "But… it's huge."
Freya crouched alongside her, her face twitching in disgust as the stench hit her severely. "What type of creature smells like this?" she said, her gaze scouring the surroundings. The sand beneath their feet was dark as well as damp.
Sasha moved cautiously forward, her foot sliding slowly into the damp mud. She gasped and fell back into Freya's arms after pushing a huge fern aside. "Oh my God," she said softly, her voice shaking.
Freya calmed her, looking over her shoulder to see what had scared her so. Her breath froze in her throat as she saw it: a large, bloated cadaver stretched across the shore, partially submerged in the sand. It was unrecognizable, with bloated and discolored flesh covered in a thick covering of seaweed and sand.
The beast was immense, larger than any creature they had ever encountered. Its body was horrifyingly twisted and mangled Long, jagged cuts crisscrossed its distended hide, leaking a thick, dark fluid that discoloured the surrounding sand.
Freya felt sickness flood over her, but she forced herself to move closer, her gaze fixed on the carcass. "What the heck is that?" she said, to herself rather than to Sasha.
Sasha shook her head but was unable to pull her gaze away from the scene. "I am not sure... but we have to be cautious".
The lifeless body, with its caved-in face, was unsettling enough, but the enormous crab-like monster beside it was a horrific vision from a nightmare. Its carapace was mottled and damaged, the once-glossy carapace now marked by vicious burns and half-melted chunks where some mysterious pressure had scorched through it Long, spindly tentacles grew from the top of its skull, forming human-like hands, each finger twitching and writhing in death. Its two gigantic pincers, each as long as an adult human being, were securely closed, as if the creature was ready to snap at anyone that came close.
Freya's stomach clenched as she saw the spectacle. Her hand tightened around her knife, but it felt like a child's toy against the enormity of what lay before them. "What in the world killed that thing?" she said, her voice buried by the roaring sea. Her gaze was fixed on the distant scope, her face stiff and concentrated, as if she were paying attention to something only she could perceive. "It was not this carcass I saw," she added softly, her tone unusually calm considering the confusion surrounding them. Her gaze remained on the line where the sky met the sea, her body rigid with an almost unnatural stillness. "I smell it beyond the horizon… multiples of it."
Freya's breath was trapped in her throat. An icy shudder ran down her spine, paralysing her for a second. She understood that Sasha's statements were not meant to be regarded casually. As a half-elf, Sasha was acutely sensitive to her surroundings.
At that point, the sea surface began to foam and churn, as if something gigantic was moving beneath it The crashing waves rushed into the coast, drowning everything with cold, salty seawater. Freya's heart sprang into her throat, and the pupils flared as she saw the water start to boil and foam. Sasha took a step back, reaching out impulsively to grab Freya's arm.
Freya's heart raced as she squinted at the churning water. "Something's coming!" she shouted, her voice edged with tension. "Ready yourself, Sasha."
Sasha didn't hesitate. The air around her seemed to crackle as short, sharp black claws sprouted from her fingertips, her body radiating a faint green glow of energy. Her eyes narrowed; every sense heightened as she braced for whatever was approaching. The waves crashed harder against the shore, sending foam sprays high into the air.
Just as Freya was about to ask Sasha if she could sense anything more, the water's surface went eerily still. Time seemed to freeze, the moment hanging in the balance. The thing beneath the water vanished, its shape indiscernible, leaving nothing but an unsettling calm.
The girls exchanged a quick, alarmed glance, their breaths hitching The strange hush was oppressive. Freya's gaze returned to the sea, her heart thumping in her ears. She studied the wide expanse for any indication of motion.
Unexpectedly a gigantic blast of water exploded from the sea, sending a tremendous wave soaring up as if the sea was reaching for the sky. Without a moment's hesitation, Freya reacted. She sprang into the air, driven by a surge of energy, and hovered above the earth. Her hands glowed with a bright, crystalline glow as she immediately created an invisible forcefield around them, a dome of shimmering energy that encased both her and Sasha.
The wave slammed down with great force, but the water poured harmlessly against the dome. Freya's barrier remained strong, with water streaming down its sides in torrents. The sound was thunderous, a boom of water and strength that shook the atmosphere around them. Sasha stood beneath the shield, her claws at the ready, her body tense but protected.
A figure emerged from the dissipating spray as the water finally settled and the streams trickled down the shield. He stood on the wet sand, his presence commanding and unnerving. His curly wavy black hair dripped with water, and his light bronze appearance glistened in the dreary sunlight. His cold, dark eyes penetrated through the swirl of mist and foam, fastening on the girls with an intensity that sent shivers down their spines.
Freya's breath was trapped in her chest. This figure possessed an unsettling firm aura. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were so dark that they threatened to devour everything bright around him. She could feel Sasha's uneasiness alongside her, and her presence around her companion was fraught with doubt.
"It's okay," Freya said, trying to steady her voice. She wanted to appear strong for Sasha, to reassure her despite the dread creeping up her spine. But Sasha, her eyes wide and her breathing shallow saw through the facade. She knew her partner's courage was fraying at the edges, held together only by a thread.
"He can't get past the shield, right?" Sasha asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Fear rippled through her words as her gaze remained locked on the boy standing just outside their protective barrier, his expression blank and unreadable.
Freya nodded, tightening her grip on the dome of energy that surrounded them. "No," she replied, her eyes fixed on the figure. "He "So long as we hold our ground, we'll be safe."
But even as she spoke, Freya felt a sliver of uncertainty creeping into her determination. The young man had not moved, but his presence felt like a physical force weighing down on them. Then, without warning, he took a step and suddenly vanished, leaving their sight in a matter of seconds.
Before they were able to react, an earth-shattering tremor struck the barrier. It seemed as if the entire atmosphere had solidified and been hammered by a massive mallet. The energy was so overwhelming that the entire seashore appeared to shudder, with the ground heaving and breaking beneath them.
Freya's forcefield flashed erratically in response to the bombardment, the shimmering energy struggling to maintain its shape against the massive blow. She could feel the unrestrained strength of the attack, a never-ending rush that appeared determined to burst through their final line of defense. Her hands were trembling from the effort of holding up the barrier, and her breathing came in ragged gasps.
Sasha staggered, struggling to regain her footing as the ground underneath her collapsed and changed. "Freya!" she shouted out, her voice full of fear as the tremors worsened, each wave greater than the last. She reached out, impulsively grabbing onto anything to keep herself stable.
Freya clenched her teeth, every muscle in her body becoming tense as she pumped more vitality into the barrier, attempting to strengthen it against the constant attack. Her thoughts pounded, urgently seeking a way out of this terrible circumstance.
However, the boy's attack was unwavering, a relentless hammering force that bore down upon them with horrifying ferocity. The Earth fractured and split under the weight of his power, sending shockwaves reverberating across the land. Trees around the beach groaned and tumbled, their roots ripping free from the shattered dirt.
The boy paused for a millisecond and before their very eyes, his hand glowed with surging blue energy...He punched again.
Thankfully, the energy barrier held fast against the sudden assault, its shimmering surface struggling to absorb the brunt of the impact. But Freya could feel the strain of maintaining the shield coursing through her body like wildfire. The force of the punch sent a shockwave through her core, and with a sudden, sharp pain, she felt her control slip.
'what attack is that?' she thought in alarm 'It bypassed the shield and directly attacked me…soul damage?'
Her vision blurred, and the world spun around her as the energy sustaining her flight faltered. Freya plunged to the ground, slamming roughly. A powerful cough ripped through her body, and she vomited blood, the metallic taste overwhelming her mouth. Her vision clouded as she struggled to see through the debris, and an awful terror gripped her very core as her sight fell on the young man, who stood in the same posture he had when he suddenly appeared. Simply staring at her with vacant eyes.