The air thickened, heavy and oppressive, like the world itself was holding its breath.
"Ugh!"
I groaned, feeling an immense, invisible weight pressing down on the space around me, trapping me in place like a lead blanket draped over my shoulders.
Schreee!
The stone maiden shifted for the first time, her chistled robe fluttering as she glided toward me in jagged, unpredictable motions.
I barely had time to react before the floor beneath me began to morph into sharp wooden spikes, shooting straight for my face.
Kreee!
Whooosh!
My body was already moving before my mind could catch up—thanks to the parasite. It lashed out, a slimy tentacle shooting toward the ceiling, and yanked me out of the path of the spike that would've split me in half.
Bang!
I looked down just in time to see the wooden spikes sprouting like flowers where I had been standing.
'Wow. I almost became a human kebab, but this...'
"Would it kill you to give me a heads-up?" I barked at the parasite latched onto my ankle as I dangled from the ceiling.
Kree!
Its answer was a chittering noise, the kind that made my teeth itch. Somehow, it managed to sound smug.
"Got it," I muttered, scrambling to my feet. "I'm the helpless idiot relying on a squeaky cockroach to survive."
Kreee! Krekrekre!
The maiden statue didn't care for our banter. Her arms shot forward instantly, hands wide, ready to crush me. It carried a blast of air so sharp I swear it could've sliced my cheek open.
"To the corner!" I shouted.
The parasite immediately obeyed, pulling me to the opposite side even without the need of pointing. The sudden shift made my stomach churn, leaving me dizzy, struggling to distinguish between sky, ground, and everything in between.
"I'm going to puke..."
Kree!
"Are you telling me to hold it in right now? No, don't come to my face, you're making it worse!"
Kreeee!
The chase continued, and while it might've been a fun game in a different world, here the 'it' was trying to kill me.
Whoosh!
Something flew right between us, nearly separating the parasite's grotesque form from my shoulder as we landed on solid ground.
For a split second, I almost stumbled to death, but the creature always seemed to know when things were about to get too close.
Kreee!
Bam!
A tentacle smashed against a growing wooden spike from behind me. The parasite's instincts were sharper than my own, always keeping me out of harm's way with an ease that felt... unnerving.
'How does it do that? Is it reacting to danger? Super heightened senses like Spider Man?'
But something else struck me, something more unsettling than the fight itself.
The house.
The attacks weren't random. They were strangely coordinated. It wasn't just a weapon; it was alive, responding to the will of that statue like a faithful servant to the final boss of a video game.
'Why isn't it doing anything?'
The walls, the air, the very foundation beneath me—it wasn't interfering. It wasn't trying to trap me, to keep me in place like it had before. It all stopped when the parasite...
'Wait... come to think of it, wasn't I the only one who felt that crushing pressure?'
"Are you only mad at me, even though there are two trespassers? Talk about unfair!"
BANG!
I dodged as another wall tried to collapse over my body. The cloud of dust flew and obscured my figure together with the debris and gave me time to think.
'No. It's not because the house wasn't doing anything.'
'It couldn't!'
I moved through the house, trying to focus on the fight, but my mind kept drifting back to the parasite's strange immunity.
Kreee!
The parasite twitched, its writhing around my ankle a sign I knew too well. It wasn't just reacting—this thing was anticipating the next attack, its sudden movement shielding me out of harm's way before I even registered the danger.
I turned my eyes to the maiden statue standing in the middle of the room as a cold draft filled the air. The house started to groan. Tremors came from somewhere past the walls and little by little, the ground began to crack.
Kreee! Kreeee!
The parasite hissed, its body twitching, its numerous eyes darkening and locking onto mine.
"...Is the attack coming from the back?"
Kre!
"Front?"
Kre!
"...From every direction."
Kree! Kreee!
"Why do you… always know?" I muttered, feeling a another chill that had nothing to do with the draft. "It almost seems as if you…"
Before I could finish, the parasite spasmed again, its tentacles darting to specific areas, reacting to an incoming attack before it even occurred.
Kreeee!
The parasite screeched, a warning that sent my heart racing. It stretched out, pulling me with it to another place.
BAM!
BABABAAAAM!
The walls were bending and the floors broke open. The entire house seemed to shudder as a wave of unnatural energy thrummed and exploded, tearing everything in its path to splinters.
I focused on the parasite, which, with its countless eyes, was already staring at me, confirming my suspicions.
"You're not... just reacting, are you?" My mind raced. "You know what's happening."
Kreee!
The parasite screeched again, its cry a guttural echo that sent a shiver through me.
It wasn't just reacting to the chaos; it was guiding me and anticipating every strike. I was always tugged toward safety as if it knew where the next hit would land.
Kreee?
I reached and patted the little creature's head—if you could even call it that.
"Sorry," Kim Jae muttered. "I thought you're all bite, no brains."
Kreee?!
I ignored the incredulous expression on its face and focused.
'If the parasite has precognitive abilities, and the house knows it, that explains why it hasn't been targeted by physical attacks. The house would waste energy trying to hit something that can simply dodge it.'
'And if the parasite is immune to formless attacks... that would explain why it isn't affected by the pressure from earlier. The house hasn't repeated that attack, because even if it traps me, the parasite can move me out of danger before it hits.'
'Still, the fact that I wasn't dead yet meant the house hadn't messed with the air on an atomic level—something that could've killed me instantly. It was a small mercy, but also a sign of its limits.'
A plan was forming, just a thread, but enough to hang on to.
"I think... I think we can actually beat this thing."
Kree!
Tension thickened the air, the house groaning under stress. The statue moved with that unnatural grace, relentless, unstoppable. But now, as I watched the subtle shifts, the cracks in its control were starting to show. It wasn't invincible. Just terrifying.
BAM!
A sharp, ringing sound broke through the chaos followed by something shifting alongside the walls. It told me that it was time to move.
On one side, a human and a parasite. On the other, a stone statue moving like it weighed nothing, accompanied by a house that follows its every command.
'But if house isn't invincible, then neither is that statue.'
Just when I felt my hopes rising, a flash of movement caught my eye. The maiden statue stomped, and the ground beneath her foot collapsed under its raw strength. It was a painful reminder that she wasn't just a living statue; she was something far beyond, and the only thing keeping this from being over was a parasite that could foresee danger.
"I talked big about surviving earlier, but looking at it now, wasn't this basically hopeless?"
Kree!
The two of us scrambled, focusing on staying one step ahead.
Kree!
Suddenly, the parasite stops me and points to somewhere with its sticky tentacles.
I didn't dare doubt it. No, I didn't have time for that.
"Hey, is that...?"
Kreee!
Another piece flew into my hand and I could see a plan unraveling inside my head in an instant.
It turns out, it really is not completely hopeless.