I hissed at Sion's whispers; while her voice was soothing, on the other hand, the content of her words was anything but not creepy.

A lot of questions spun inside my mind; however, before I could open my mind, a shadow stirred in the background. My skin crawled as I tensed up. I summoned my blade and leaped forward, my feet off the ground and hands pushing through the chilly winds.

The group's eyes widened, but before they could react, I had crossed halfway.

Then in the next instance I swept my blade across the tree.

Swoosh!

My blade sliced through the thick trunk of the tree after a small resistance. It wasn't clean-cut but rather like tearing through wet paper. Splinters flew. My eyes searched for the shadow hiding behind the woods but only saw something dissolve in the darkness. A bitter taste landed on my tongue as I inhaled the dusty air filled with pines and splinters.

A scowl spread across my face as I felt my jaw tighten.

"Where did it go?"

I whispered.

"Something was there but it wasn't."

A sharp voice answered back.

I turned my head back and watched Sion come closer with a grim expression. The group behind her scrambled back, shouting—useless noise. My focus stayed locked on the shifting darkness where the shadow had vanished.

"What do you mean?"

I asked back, regret lashed on my lips.

Sion remained silent; from not far I could hear whispers, Bob's and Sol's voices among the many.

Then their voices seemed to vanish, fading away slowly as I heard a chuckle.

"Huh?" I frowned, shaking my head.

In the next second the chuckle grew louder, pressing against my ears louder and louder.

Sion sighed.

"Ignore them."

Sion finally said in a small voice.

I channeled my will, thinking it was some kind of mind attack. A trickery, an illusion of sorts, but the voices didn't stop.

For a second I thought it was something done by the plague, who has finally started an assault trying to mock me. But it wasn't.

So what was it?

A trap?

Or just something I shouldn't pry into.

"What's happening here?"

A deep voice came as the group parted away, letting Captain Lenz walk closer.

I bit my lips as my gaze met with his. Then, before I could open my mouth to say something, Sion interrupted me.

"Asher and I could feel several gazes on us."

Lenz frowned and said in a dry voice.

"Do you mean…?"

"Yes, I fear it's an Acosador."

Sion nodded and said it back while glancing at me. However, my mind focused on the word she said just now.

Acosador.

I have heard of that name before.

It was one of the many creatures of beyond I have read about in the books Morgana gave me.

It made sense the longer I thought about it.

Ascodar was a beast, a rank-2 monster. But it was special and rare. Its presence in the dark forest was uncanny and unpredictable.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Ascodar… a beast of dreams."

I whispered under my breath as a chill ran down my spine.

Lenz's eyes shot up briefly; however, he again wore a calm expression, like it never happened.

"You know about it."

Sion asked with a smile.

The soldiers around us also leaned in, listening with interest. They had chosen to remain silent and wary of the surroundings. By now I could see many of them kept their gaze on the darkness permeating the forest and their weapons out.

"I do… a little at least. Ascodars are beasts from dreams. Maybe another of those hidden realms like the spirit world, I guess. I have read that they haunt but do not kill… or maybe close to not killing. I can't be sure until it comes for me."

"Hahahahah…"

The laughter—no, more like a child's giggle twisted out of tune—echoed inside my head. It wasn't coming from outside. It was in me, rippling through my skull like something alive. My stomach turned cold. Slowly, I forced my eyes toward the sound.

Between the trees, where the dark was thicker than shadow, something moved.

At first, it was just a ripple—like the night itself had blinked. Then, with a slow, awful grace, it began to stand. The shape that rose was wrong. Its limbs were too long, bending at angles that made my joints ache just to look at them. The thing's arms stretched out and wrapped around the tree, thin and quivering like dead branches.

Then its head tilted into view. Round. Bald. Too smooth. And that grin—spread wide enough to split its face in half. The skin around its mouth cracked as it smiled, revealing rows of small, blunt teeth, like a child's, but too many of them.

Two yellow lights flickered to life in its sockets—eyes, but not human. They didn't just glow; they burned, like coals pressed deep into rotting flesh. They locked onto me, unblinking.

And even though its mouth didn't move, the giggle came again—higher this time, closer—like it was whispering inside my ear.

Ba… thump!

Ba… thump!

My heart sank deeper the longer I stared at the abyssal creature, the nightmarish fiend standing ahead of me.

And then fear consumed me.

No, before it could, it clashed with my will. The roots of fear tried to dig deeper and much louder than they should have. My vision turned drowsy as if I was being pulled into a deeper slumber.

In the end I resisted… and I prevailed as the roots of fear broke, clearing my mind.

"Huff—"

A cold breath escaped my lips as I felt my chest move up and down in relief.

"Don't look."

Suddenly, before I could even react, my head was pulled to the other side by two hands holding my face; they were both cold and dry. I blinked, as my silver pupils reflected two dark eyes this time.

With a voice that sounded unfamiliar, Sion again repeated.

"If you look for too long, the Acosador will take a liking to you as well."

"If that were to happen, it wouldn't go away." Sion added, with a touch of tension slipping through her tongue.

"Ah, I see."

I could only nod as she finally let go of my face and leaned back in her spot. As if embarrassed, I scratched my cheeks, avoiding even the soldiers' gaze as they turned away from me.

"I stared for too long." I whispered, afraid it won't leave now.

Then again, I threw a small glance at the place the Acosador had been standing all this time.

However, to my surprise, it was already gone.

"Are you the type to do what is specifically being told to avoid?" Sion said with a sharp voice.

"Sorry, bad habit." I replied back with my eyes darting around.

Then all of a sudden a tired sigh entered our ears. Captain Lenz, standing at my right came closer and announced with a frightening and chilling voice.

"Avoid making eye contact with any shadows that you see here. Don't look at anything gazing at you, whispering to you. No matter what."

I gulped slightly, still unaware of what dangers this creature posed. However, a slightly small comfort lay in me that it couldn't be worse than the plague, the walking calamity itself.

The soldiers again scattered, covering the area; this time, however, as they walked, they kept their eyes down. No one was speaking; it was as if my actions were enough to scare them.

However, something kept bugging me.

"You also saw it, didn't you?"

I whispered in Sion's ear.

"I did; I can still feel a gaze lingering on my back."

Sion nodded with a thin smile.

"Then why are you not affected? You also seem to know a lot as well."

"I am affected, but rather not as deeply as you. You looked at the Acosdar for too long. So it is likely to gaze at you more…"

Sion's voice suddenly started to fade for a split second as I closed my eyes and sighed heavily before rubbing my temples with my hand.

The laughter…

It came back.

***

At the furthest north, a few kilometers away from Asher's group. There stood five figures, each different from the other. Two of them were sitting on old stones while others stood on guard for any danger to come.

The air was thick and heavy.

Among them a figure stood at the left of the group with his hands crossed above his chest. The man had a black scarf hiding his neck and his black hair, reaching down till his neck was tied in a short tail.

"It's almost time."

When his voice reached the others, their faces turned grim.

"So, we are really doing this?"

Chris asked, his voice too low to be heard. However, everyone did hear him; in fact, the silence was so loud they all could hear the sound of their hearts.

"Yes… that's the only way." Liber muttered, as if telling this to himself.

"To save others and ourselves. We need to be in danger first. How ironic, really."

Summer quietly added as she stood up, followed by Anny.

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