Cale stood frozen, clutching the lantern as the faint sound of shuffling grew louder. It came from all directions now, an oppressive reminder that he was far from alone in this strange place.
The blue flame in the lantern flickered, casting faint, dancing light against the inky ground. Its glow felt fragile, as though the smallest misstep would snuff it out entirely.
"Okay," he muttered to himself, his voice shaking. "Think, Cale. Think. What do you do?"
His instincts screamed for him to run, but to where? The landscape was endless, barren, and disorienting. The woman—whoever she was—had disappeared without a trace, leaving him alone with more questions than answers.
"Dead," he whispered, the word still foreign on his tongue. Could it really be true? It explained the fractured sky, the cold, the…things that had attacked him. But he didn't feel dead. He felt terrified, confused, and horribly, painfully alive.
The shuffling grew louder. Closer.
He spun toward the sound, his breath hitching as he caught sight of one of the figures emerging from the gloom. Its form was more distinct now, its movements jerky and unnatural, like a puppet pulled by invisible strings.
Cale stumbled back, his grip tightening on the lantern. The flame inside flared slightly, its light pushing against the encroaching shadows. The figure hesitated, recoiling from the glow.
"Stay back!" he shouted, his voice cracking.
The figure didn't respond. Instead, it tilted its head, its empty face somehow conveying an unnatural hunger.
Cale's heart raced. The woman had made it look so easy—she'd dispatched the creature with a single strike, her movements confident and precise. But he had no weapon, no skills, no idea what he was even supposed to do.
Another figure emerged, then another. They were closing in now, surrounding him.
"Damn it," he hissed, backing away until his heel caught on something uneven. He nearly fell again but managed to steady himself, the lantern's flame flickering wildly in his hand.
He couldn't just stand there. They would overwhelm him.
His gaze darted around, searching for anything—anything—that could help. That was when he noticed something strange about the ground beneath his feet.
The glowing veins running through the ground pulsed faintly, their light brighter near certain points. One of those points—a glowing blue node—was only a few paces away.
With no other options, he bolted toward it.
The figures lunged as he moved, their tendrils stretching toward him like grasping hands. He stumbled, nearly dropping the lantern, but the flame flared again, forcing the creatures back just enough for him to reach the node.
As he stepped onto it, a sudden rush of heat surged through his body. The blue veins beneath him glowed brighter, and the lantern in his hand responded, its flame stabilizing and growing stronger.
"Essence detected. Soul Stabilization initiated…"
The voice was sudden and invasive, echoing inside his mind like a distant whisper.
"What?" he gasped, looking around wildly. "Who said that?"
The figures hesitated, their movements sluggish now, as though the light emanating from the node was holding them back.
"Warden protocol initialized. Scanning vessel… Incomplete soul detected. Essence absorption required for survival."
"What the hell does that mean?" he shouted, his voice cracking.
The figures surged forward again, as if spurred on by his panic. One of them broke through the edge of the light, its tendrils snapping toward him.
Before he could react, the lantern in his hand flared violently, a pulse of blue light exploding outward. The creature screeched as the light consumed it, its body dissolving into wisps of smoke.
Cale staggered back, his chest heaving.
"Essence absorbed. Initial capacity: 1%. Continue absorption to strengthen vessel."
The voice's words made no sense to him, but the meaning was clear enough: he needed to survive, and somehow, this lantern and the strange "Essence" it mentioned were the key.
The remaining figures hesitated, their empty faces turned toward the glowing node as if they could feel its power.
Cale didn't wait to see what they would do next. He turned and ran, the lantern's light guiding his path as he moved deeper into the endless expanse.
Every step sent pulses of exhaustion through his body, but he forced himself to keep going, the memory of the woman's warning echoing in his mind: "Stay out of my way."
For what felt like hours, he ran. The shuffling sounds grew fainter, and eventually, the creatures stopped following him altogether, their forms dissolving into the distant shadows.
Cale collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. The ground beneath him was colder here, the glowing veins dimmer and sparser.
"Essence…" he muttered, staring at the lantern. "Is that what that thing was? What it left behind?"
There was no answer. The voice in his mind had gone silent.
He glanced back the way he'd come, his thoughts racing. That woman had known what she was doing. She had answers—answers he desperately needed. But she'd also made it clear she had no interest in helping him.
For now, though, he didn't have much of a choice. If he stayed out here alone, it was only a matter of time before he ran out of luck.
"Great," he muttered, forcing himself to his feet. His legs wobbled, but he managed to stay upright.
The lantern's flame flickered softly, as if urging him onward.
"Guess it's just you and me, huh?" he said, his voice hollow.
The lantern, of course, didn't reply.
With no clear direction, he started walking again, each step heavy with uncertainty. Somewhere in the endless expanse, the woman was out there.
And whether she liked it or not, he was going to find her.