The journey to the stone pillars was grueling—more than once, Solaire had skirted the jaws of death. The land itself seemed hostile to his existence, the sky a constant dim grey veil, and the air thick with the scent of rot and ash. Every step he took through the barren plains beyond the dark city felt heavier than the last.
"The pull… it's getting stronger," he murmured. The voice that had haunted him ever since the stele had gone silent now tugged faintly from the north, its presence like a whisper brushing the back of his skull.
By the time the colossal shapes appeared on the horizon, Solaire was half-delirious with exhaustion. The towers reached so high that they disappeared into the haze above, dark silhouettes stabbing through the clouds. Standing at their base, he realized how small he truly was.
He dropped his sack to the ground and exhaled sharply. His legs trembled. He was too tired to move another step. With shaking hands, he began setting up his tent beside one of the pillars.
Now up close, he studied it properly for the first time. The "stone" was rough and veined, splintered with long cracks. He frowned and brushed his fingers across it—beneath the char, it was fibrous.
"Wait a minute… this isn't stone," he muttered. He scratched the surface again, revealing the faint texture of grain beneath the soot. "Wood. It's wood. Holy spell… these aren't pillars at all—they're trees."
He stepped back, craning his neck to take in the scale. Each "pillar" was a trunk wide enough to house a fortress, charred and scarred from some ancient fire. The air was unnaturally still. Even the wind seemed to avoid this graveyard of titans.
That night, he barely slept. His hand rested on the hilt of his weapon, and every rustle of fabric or shifting of shadow made him flinch. He dreamt of whispering roots and hollow eyes staring from the cracks in the bark.
When the pale light of dawn—if it could even be called that—broke through, Solaire forced himself to move on. The ground ahead was a tangle of fallen trunks, some half-buried in ash and dust. The air was heavy, dry, almost suffocating.
"They're massive," he muttered. "I have no idea what's inside those things."
He adjusted his cloak, pulled the hood lower, and began trudging into the maze. Each step sank slightly into the soft earth, muffling his sound. For the first hour, nothing stirred. The silence stretched long enough for him to lower his guard. His pace quickened. His breathing steadied.
It was his first mistake.
He found a small clearing surrounded by towering trunks. The light that filtered through was faint, tinted a dull amber from the ash above. Every instinct told him not to step into the open—Teacher Julius's voice echoed in his mind: Never expose yourself where shadows can't hide you.
But the silence dulled his nerves. "I was scared for nothing," he muttered. "This place is even safer than the Dark City."
Halfway across, a screech split the air.
It wasn't human. It wasn't even close. The sound was raw, animalistic—like metal grinding over bone.
Solaire froze. His heartbeat spiked. Then came another screech, closer.
"Shit! No, no, no!"
He ran, instincts kicking in, diving back into the labyrinth of trunks. From behind, shapes leapt from the shadows—four-limbed, long-tailed creatures that moved with jerking, spiderlike speed. Their faces were somewhere between simian and insect, with gaping mouths and dull, lidless eyes that reflected faint light.
As he ran, he summoned his bloodhound. As a dreamer, no way he would be able to evade three ascended beasts.
He ordered his echo to catch the attention of two of the beasts and not engage.
"I'll have to hold off the creature till I find an opening to run away."
Solaire moved to meet it.
The clash was sudden and savage. The creature's claws swept wide — he ducked, countering with a slash aimed at its ribs. The blade cut shallowly; black blood hissed where it fell. The beast screamed and struck again, faster. He was dodging each attack, his aspect shining to its greatest potential, but stamina was running out. He could not just keep dodging.
In the distance, the other two were closing in on his echo.
He didn't have long.
Then the ground trembled.
Solaire froze, eyes widening. The vibration deepened — a rumbling beneath the surface. The creature turned its head, hissing in confusion.
A moment later, the earth split open.
From the fissure rose something massive — a black, glistening body covered in layered armor. Segments moved with mechanical precision, and a forest of hooked legs tore through the soil. Its head was a nightmare of teeth and chitin, its eyes dull and lifeless.
The centipede towered above them, a shadow blotting out what little light remained.
Even the monkey creature hesitated, growling low.
Solaire took a step back. His heart pounded. The air was thick with the scent of rot and burning metal.
The centipede's head lowered. For a moment, everything went silent.
Then it struck.
The beast beside him didn't even have time to react. Jaws closed around it, crushing bone and flesh with a wet crack.
Solaire stumbled back, shielding his face as blood sprayed across the ground.
His instincts screamed to run. He turned, pushing his body to move despite the pain.
But the shockwave from the creature's movement sent him crashing into a trunk. His ears rang. The world spun.
He tried to focus, tried to rise. Everything was shaking — his breath, his vision, even the ground beneath him. He fumbled for the Charm of Silent Oath, clutching it in his palm. A faint warmth spread through his body. The noise dulled, his limbs steadied.
He staggered forward, desperate to get away — but the shadow fell again.
Solaire looked up. The centipede's head loomed overhead, jaws unfolding.
He raised his arm — too slow.
Darkness fell as the creature struck, swallowing him whole.
There was no pain at first. Just pressure. Cold and wet.
Then nothing.
He tried to move but felt nothing below his shoulders. The world flickered.
"I can't…"
His vision blurred. His last thought before the dark took him was not of pain, but of regret — a whisper of disbelief that he had come this far just to vanish into the belly of a nightmare.
The light faded. And Solaire was gone.