Bruno's grip tightened around the jagged rock in his hand. The air had shifted again. It wasn't like the usual, unsettling presence of the Abyss—this time, the feeling was sharp, precise. Someone was watching them.
He locked eyes with Raine, who had already moved slightly behind cover, muscles tensed. She felt it too.
Then, without a sound, the figure appeared.
Bruno barely had time to react before a force struck him from the side, fast and deliberate, knocking the air from his lungs. He staggered back, his fingers scraping against the stone as he caught himself. Before he could fully regain balance, something cold pressed against his throat.
A weapon. A thin, curved blade.
The man holding it was lean, wrapped in tattered but layered cloth that blended into the shadows. His stance was practiced, controlled—this wasn't some desperate survivor lashing out in panic. This was a man who had survived for a long time.
His eyes, dark and calculating, flickered between Bruno and Raine.
Bruno clenched his jaw, forcing himself to stay still. He had no doubt that if he moved too fast, the blade would cut deep before he could react.
The stranger studied him for a moment longer before exhaling sharply, stepping back and lowering his weapon.
"Not one of them," he muttered.
Bruno flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to rub at his throat. "You always greet people like this?"
The man didn't smile. His face was worn, as if sleep had abandoned him long ago. "You're still human," he said simply. "Had to be sure."
Raine, still partially behind the ruins, narrowed her eyes. "And if we weren't?"
"Then I'd have saved us all some trouble."
Silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken tension. The stranger turned slightly, his head tilting as if listening to something distant. He seemed to be gauging their presence, their intentions—measuring whether they were worth keeping alive.
Then, finally, he spoke.
"Silas," he said, as if the name itself felt foreign on his tongue.
Bruno exchanged a glance with Raine before nodding slightly. "Bruno."
Raine hesitated before answering. "Raine."
Silas exhaled through his nose. "You two are fresh."
"Fresh?" Raine echoed.
"You haven't been here long. You don't carry the weight yet."
Bruno frowned. "How long have you been here?"
Silas looked at him, eyes unreadable. "I don't know."
There was something unsettling about the way he said it—something too casual, like he'd already made peace with the fact that time had abandoned him.
Bruno folded his arms. "You clearly know more than we do. What is this place?"
Silas gave a humorless chuckle. "The Abyss doesn't give answers. It takes, piece by piece. Memories. Time. Sanity. But if you want to survive, you need to understand a few things."
Bruno and Raine exchanged glances before Silas continued.
"The creatures—there are rules to them. Some are drawn to movement. Some react to sound. Others…" He hesitated. "Others don't follow any pattern at all."
Bruno's mind immediately went back to the Nameless Void creature. "Have you seen them all?"
Silas shook his head. "No. No one has. If they tell you otherwise, they're lying." He paused, gaze darkening. "But I know enough to stay alive."
Raine crossed her arms. "How do you know all this?"
Silas tapped his temple. "I listen. I watch. I trade knowledge with others who last long enough to share it." His voice grew quieter. "I remember, even when I wish I didn't."
Bruno didn't miss the way his fingers twitched slightly. He wasn't telling them everything.
"You said the Abyss takes. What has it taken from you?"
Silas's jaw tightened. He didn't answer right away. Then—
"Memories."
Bruno felt a cold weight settle in his stomach.
"I don't forget everything at once," Silas continued. "It's slow. Sometimes I'll wake up and a name, a face—gone. A piece of myself stolen in the night. One day, I might wake up and not remember any of this."
Raine inhaled sharply.
Bruno clenched his fists. "And the powers? The things we can do?"
Silas's gaze sharpened. "You've already felt it, haven't you? The Abyss gives… but it never gives for free."
Bruno thought about the Remnant he absorbed, the way it had answered his will. He still didn't know what he had truly taken into himself.
Silas looked between them. "You don't get to wield its power without consequence. The deeper you reach, the more you let it in, the less of you remains."
Bruno's stomach twisted. "Then why use it at all?"
Silas gave him a hard look. "Because the Abyss doesn't care about fairness. If you don't use what it offers, something else will. And it won't hesitate to devour you."
A tense silence followed.
Raine exhaled, running a hand through her hair. "So what's the plan? You gonna keep wandering alone, or do we work together?"
Silas studied her for a long moment. Then, his lips curled in something that wasn't quite a smile. "I don't trust easily. But three have a better chance than one."
Bruno nodded. "Then it's settled. We move together."
Silas didn't protest.
For now, they had an uneasy alliance.
But Bruno knew one thing—
This was only the beginning.
And something out there was still watching.
Still waiting.
Their presence had not gone unnoticed.