Blaze lay flat on the cold, jagged stone, his lungs burning with every ragged breath. The violet-black fire that had propelled their "steed" had drained him to his marrow, but his constitution was faring better than the others. He could feel the latent heat of his soul slowly knitting his stamina back together.
Beside him, Sunny let out a low moan, rolling onto his stomach before pushing himself up into a crouched position. His eyes were darting around, wide and restless. Nephis, though her face was a mask of stoic exhaustion, turned her head slightly to track his movement.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice a rasping whisper against the howling wind.
Sunny grimaced, his shadow coiling tightly around his ankles. "I don't know yet. Something... something feels wrong. The air is too heavy."
Cassie shivered, her small frame trembling so violently that Blaze reached out, pulling her closer to his side to offer what little warmth his cooling skin provided. She leaned into him, her sightless eyes fixed on nothing, yet her face was tight with terror.
"Check on it, Sunny," Blaze commanded softly.
Sunny didn't need to be told twice. He melted into the darkness, his shadow acting as a sensory tether as he crept toward the edge of their immediate plateau. Blaze watched him go, noting the moment Sunny's silhouette froze. Even from a distance, Blaze could see the sheer, unadulterated terror that washed over Sunny's face.
Blaze tensed, his hand instinctively moving toward the hilt of his blade. "What is it?"
Nephis was already on her feet, her white sword manifesting in a shimmer of pale light. "Sunny?"
The scout slowly turned back toward them, his movements mechanical. He pressed a finger to his lips, his voice barely audible over the rain. "Don't speak. Don't move. Just... stay exactly where you are."
The three of them turned into statues. They waited in the suffocating silence, the only sound being the crashing of the black sea below. Sunny slipped away again, descending into the lower ridges.
Minutes felt like hours before a soft rustle announced his return. "It's me," he whispered from the gloom.
Nephis lowered her blade an inch, though her expression remained grim. "What's the situation?"
Sunny exhaled a long, shaky breath, finally stepping into the center of their small circle. "There are eight scavengers around the bend. But they're all dead. Torn apart like paper."
Nephis's brow furrowed. "What killed them?"
"One of those big monsters we saw earlier," Sunny replied, his voice trembling. "The one with the crimson patterns on its carapace and scythes instead of pincers. It's hiding from the storm beneath a stone ridge not far from here. It's sleeping... or waiting."
Nephis tilted her head, her gaze drifting toward the darkness. "An Awakened Monster," she whispered, almost to herself.
Sunny licked his lips nervously. "Yeah. A real one. So, what's the move? We sneak past? Try to find another ridge?"
"Kill it," Blaze and Nephis said in perfect unison.
Sunny stared at them, his mouth agape. "Are you two nuts? Certifiably insane?" He cleared his throat when he saw their unwavering expressions. "I mean... have you actually thought this through? How are we supposed to kill that monstrosity? It's an Awakened Monster. We are Sleepers!"
Blaze's voice was unnervingly calm as he stood up, his height casting a long shadow over the group. "We have no choice, Sunny. It's sitting right on the path we need to take. If we wait for morning, the sun will reveal us, and it will hunt us down while we're exposed on the cliffs. It's do or die."
Nephis glanced at Cassie, whose face had gone deathly pale. "Blaze is right. We can't leave the cliffs before morning, and neither can the monster. If we wait, we lose our only advantage: the element of surprise. If we have to fight it anyway, it's better to be the ones who strike first."
She looked at the darkening sky. "The light is fading. I can still see, but only barely. Once true night falls, we'll be blind, but it won't be. We have to attack now."
Sunny shook his head frantically. "That still doesn't explain how. That thing just dispatched eight scavengers like they were nothing! We aren't its opponents. We don't even know its weaknesses!"
Nephis stepped closer to Sunny, her grey eyes reflecting the cold light of the storm. "It's just an Awakened Monster."
"Just?!" Sunny hissed, his voice rising in disbelief. "Have you forgotten that we are only Sleepers? Dormant humans aren't supposed to be able to deal with Awakened Beasts, let alone Monsters! The fact that we can kill scavengers at all is a freak occurrence!"
She looked back at him, undisturbed by his outburst. "But we are abnormal."
Sunny stood there, his mouth hanging open, silenced by the sheer arrogance—or perhaps the sheer truth—of her statement.
Nephis sighed, a soft sound in the wind. "You and I both know we aren't ordinary Sleepers, Sunny. Don't try to deny it. An ordinary person wouldn't have survived the first hour in this hell, let alone made it to this cliff."
Blaze stepped forward, placing a heavy hand on Sunny's shoulder. "She's right. We need to fight it. Trust me, Sunny—we're stronger than you think. And we're definitely stronger than that thing expects us to be."
After a long, tense silence, Sunny let out a sharp, annoyed huff. "Fine. Fine! But if we die, I'm going to haunt both of you for eternity."
Sunny slipped away to quickly harvest the soul shards from the dead scavengers—too valuable to leave behind—while Nephis began centered herself, her essence humming.
Blaze turned to Cassie, who was clutching her knees. "This is the plan," he told the group. "Sit tight for now."
Cassie reached out, her hand finding Blaze's sleeve. She squeezed it tight. "Go and kill the thing," she whispered, her voice shaking but determined. "Maybe you'll get some armor out of it. Just... don't die."
Blaze smiled, a flash of white teeth in the gloom. "Sure thing, Cassie. I don't plan on going anywhere just yet."
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It is a short chapter