Chapter 20 – We Can Do This

The vibrations intensified, the oppressive air of the Abyss pressing down on us, the rhythmic pulse of the central device echoing in our very bones. The ground beneath our feet trembled, waves of energy radiating outwards, making our hearts pound in unison with the Abyss’s heartbeat.

Then, a sharp cry pierced the silence, a sound that ripped through the oppressive stillness, a harbinger of what was to come.

“They’re here! Get ready!” Yuri shouted, her voice tight with tension, her knuckles white as she gripped her knife.

Movement in the trees. A hulking shape emerged from the shadows, its massive legs and razor-sharp claws disproportionately large for its small, almost vestigial head. Its body was twisted, grotesque, its skin shimmering like molten metal.

“Bigger than the lizard!” Luna whispered, her eyes wide, clutching her spear tightly. “And… uglier!”

“The traps,” I said, my voice calmer than I felt, my own hands trembling as I gripped my spear. “They’ll work. Just stick to the plan. We can do this.”
We have to do this.

The creature lumbered towards us, its movements slow, deliberate, its massive claws tearing at the undergrowth. It stepped onto the pressure plate.

Click.

The trap sprang to life, vines erupting from the ground, wrapping around the creature’s legs, its torso, its grotesque head, constricting, immobilizing.

“Yes!”

Perfect!
The trap held. But this wasn’t just a simple snare; it was designed to incapacitate. As the vines tightened, sharpened thorns, hidden amongst the foliage, sprang out, piercing the creature’s flesh, its joints.

“Noah! You did it!” Luna cheered, her golden eyes shining with excitement.

But our celebration was short-lived. The creature roared in pain and fury, thrashing against the restraints, the vines and thorns straining, creaking.

“Hold them!” I shouted. “Just a little longer!” I raised my spear, ready to strike. If I could just get close enough…

The creature shuddered, and a thick, black liquid oozed from its wounds, sizzling and smoking as it hit the ground, dissolving the vegetation, the very earth beneath it.

“Poison!” Arka shouted, her voice sharp. “Stay back!” Her metallic hand moved swiftly, analyzing the substance, her systems processing the data with cold efficiency.

“The trap will hold!” Yuri shouted. “I’ll take it!”

Yuri was right. She had the range. She notched an arrow, her movements swift and precise, her gaze fixed on the creature’s single, small eye. The arrowhead gleamed, catching the light from the central device, almost as if it were… imbued with its energy.

“Now, Yuri!” I shouted. “Finish it!”

She drew the bowstring taut, her breath held steady, then released.

Thwack!

The arrow struck true, piercing the creature’s eye, a direct hit. It shrieked, a high-pitched, ear-splitting sound, its struggles intensifying, but the vines held, tightening with each movement, just as Arka had designed.

The creature thrashed for a few more moments, its movements growing weaker, then collapsed, the black ooze still seeping from its wounds, the ground around it sizzling and smoking.

“We did it!” Yuri exclaimed, lowering her bow, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

Luna cheered, pumping her small fist in the air. “We did it, Noah!”

I looked at the creature’s remains, a strange mix of pride and… revulsion.
We’d actually done it. The traps… they worked. Even against something that size, something with acidic poison… we could survive this. We could fight.

“You okay, Noah?” Yuri asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Yeah, fine,” I said, grinning. “Nice shot, Yuri.”

Another roar echoed through the forest, deeper, more menacing than the last. Arka’s head snapped up, her sensors scanning the surrounding trees.

“More incoming,” she said, her voice calm, but her blue eyes glowing brightly. “The traps are effective, but… larger creatures… are approaching.”

I tightened my grip on my spear, taking a deep breath.
Larger creatures? So be it. We can handle it. We have to.

The roar echoed again, closer this time, sending shivers down my spine.

The forest grew darker, the air heavier, the light from the central device pulsing with a growing intensity, as if fueling the Resonance, amplifying its effects.

“Noah,” Yuri whispered, her voice tight with apprehension, “I don’t like this. This one… it sounds… bigger.”

“The traps will hold,” I said, trying to sound reassuring. “Trust our preparations.”

“Luna can do it!” Luna chirped, though I saw her small hand trembling as she gripped her spear. “Catch bad things!”

Two shapes emerged from the trees. One was a large, insectoid creature with massive pincers and dozens of legs. The other… it was less a shape, and more a… a shadow, a swirling mass of darkness that seemed to defy the very light of the Abyss.

“What
are
those things?” Yuri muttered, her eyes wide. “The pincer one… that’s one thing. But that… shadow…?”

“The pincers look… vulnerable,” I said, hefting my spear. “But that shadow… I don’t even know where to start.”

“Focus on the physical threat,” Arka said, her voice calm, her gaze fixed on the approaching creatures. “The traps will restrain it. We will deal with the… anomaly… afterwards.” Her confidence was reassuring.

The pincer creature scuttled towards us, its movements surprisingly fast. It stepped onto a pressure plate. The trap sprang, vines wrapping around its legs, its body, but the creature’s massive pincers slashed at the vines, tearing through them with ease.

“Got it! Now, for the…”

Before I could finish the sentence, Arka moved, her movements a blur of metallic grace. One of her arms transformed into a long, razor-sharp blade, and she struck, the blade slicing through the creature’s pincer with a sickening crunch.

Clang!

The creature shrieked, recoiling, its remaining pincer flailing wildly.

“Such arrogance,” Arka said, her voice cold, her blue eyes glowing brightly. “Allow me to… adjust your… perspective.”

She moved again, a whirlwind of motion, her blade flashing, severing several of the creature’s legs. It collapsed, thrashing helplessly, its movements hampered by the remaining vines, its threat neutralized.

“Impressive, Arka!” Yuri exclaimed.

“Now… for the shadow.” I turned my attention to the swirling mass of darkness, trying to discern its weaknesses, its vulnerabilities. It flowed around the traps, the vines and thorns seeming to… dissolve, to corrode as it touched them.

I lunged, thrusting my spear into the shadow, but it passed through harmlessly, the darkness swirling and reforming, as if unaffected. Yuri fired an arrow, but it, too, passed through the shadow, dissolving into nothingness.

“It’s… intangible!” Yuri exclaimed in frustration. “How are we supposed to…?”

“Noah!” Luna shouted, her voice sharp. “Light! It doesn’t like light!”

“Light?” I looked closer. She was right. Where the light from the central device touched the shadow, it flickered, its edges blurring, dissolving.

“Luna, you’re a genius!”

I held my spear towards the device, its tip bathed in the blue light. It shimmered, almost as if it were absorbing the energy.

“Yuri!” I shouted. “Infuse your arrows with the light!”

“Got it!”

Yuri held her arrows towards the device, then notched one, drawing the bowstring taut.

Thwack!

The arrow, imbued with the device’s light, struck the shadow, and a section of the darkness dissipated, dissolving into nothingness.

Luna, seizing the opportunity, darted forward, her light-infused spear flashing, drawing the shadow’s attention.

“Noah! I’ll distract it!”

She moved with a speed and agility that belied her small size, her spear a blur of motion, forcing the shadow to shift and reform, its edges constantly dissolving where the light touched it.
It’s working! We can actually… destroy it!

“Now!” I shouted. “All together!”

Arka, Yuri, and I, our weapons imbued with the device’s light, attacked simultaneously, our combined assault focused on the weakened shadow.

It writhed, its form flickering, shrinking, then, with a final, desperate surge, it collapsed, dissolving into nothingness, consumed by the very light it had tried to escape.

“It’s over… We did it, Noah!” Yuri exclaimed, her voice filled with relief.

I ruffled Luna’s hair. “You were amazing, Luna! We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Luna best!” she chirped, then her smile faded. “But… still scared…”

The device pulsed, the Resonance intensifying, the ground shaking violently, throwing us off balance.

“Whoa! Earthquake!”

“Luna! You okay?” Yuri grabbed her, steadying her. “Stay focused! We’re not done yet!”

But it wasn’t just the physical shaking. The Resonance was affecting our minds, a high-pitched whine piercing our ears, my head swimming, my thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind.

“Noah! Do you hear that?! It’s… it’s…” Yuri cried, clutching her head.

I gritted my teeth, fighting the disorientation, the nausea.
Focus, Noah. You have to focus.

And then, Alice’s voice, a chilling whisper, echoed in my mind.

“Still clinging to hope, oppa? You always were a fool.”

“Go away…” I muttered, clenching my fists, trying to block out her voice, but the Resonance intensified, the pressure building behind my eyes, the humming growing louder.

“Noah! Are you alright? What’s happening?” Yuri asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Fine…” I said, forcing a smile, gripping my spear tighter. “Just… the Resonance… it’s… strong…”

Not yet. It’s not over. I have to… endure.

Then, the humming stopped. The vibrations ceased. The forest fell silent. But it wasn’t the peaceful silence of before. This silence was… heavy, expectant.

A deep, rhythmic thudding echoed through the clearing, growing steadily louder.
Footsteps. Something… big.

Thud… thud… thud…

“What… what is that?” Yuri whispered, her voice trembling, her hand frozen on her bow.

We all stood there, frozen, our gazes fixed on the treeline, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over us.

“Nightcrawler,” Arka said, her voice low, calm, the single word a chilling pronouncement of doom.

It emerged from the trees, a hulking monstrosity, its five massive legs moving slowly, deliberately, each footfall cracking the earth, withering the vegetation around it. Its body was a mass of jagged rocks and thick, gnarled roots, its hide rough, dark, absorbing the light, making its silhouette even more menacing, more… unreal. And then, there were the eyes. Dozens of them, clustered on its grotesque head, each one moving independently, scanning, searching, their gaze cold, unnerving, filled with the ancient, malevolent intelligence of the Abyss itself.

“Big… scary… death…” Luna whimpered, hiding behind me, her small body trembling.

The Nightcrawler raised its head, its many eyes fixing on us, a gaze that seemed to pierce through our very souls, a weight that pressed down on us, stealing our breath, our courage.

And then, it roared, a sound that tore through the silence, a primal scream that echoed through the forest, shaking the very ground beneath our feet.

“Aaaah!” Yuri cried, covering her ears, her body shaking.

Luna screamed and buried her face in my back.

The sound wasn’t just sound; it was a physical force, a wave of energy that slammed into us, shaking our bones, rattling our teeth, scrambling our thoughts.
It’s like… the Abyss itself is screaming.

Thud… thud… thud…

The Nightcrawler advanced, its massive form filling our vision, its presence overwhelming, suffocating.

“How… how are we supposed to fight that?” Yuri whispered, her voice filled with despair. “We can’t… we can’t possibly…”