Finally, they had arrived at the village.
The settlement was not big it only had thirty houses or so, with one huge mansion in the middle that looked like a building for a village leader. But what was strange was that the entire village was made entirely out of obsidian.
The buildings were built in Victorian style, different from what Nox had seen when he first fell into this realm. The familiar architecture made this place more unsettling somehow. It made Nox feel a sense of déjà vu, like the city that he'd seen when he first awakened.
"This place gives me the creeps," Old Hans said, his chimeras pressing closer to his legs with obvious discomfort.
"Yes, the chilling atmosphere makes me feel like someone's watching," Irene added, her hand unconsciously moving to her sword hilt.
"Henry, can you use your skill to scan the village?" Nox said, his mask's eye lenses adjusting as he surveyed the obsidian structures.
"Sure." Henry crouched down and used his hand to touch the obsidian floor. His eyes glowed with that familiar purple light as his skill scanned the entirety of the village.
After a moment, he stood up with a frown. "There's no sign of life here. It's like the village has long been abandoned."
"But something strange?" Old Hans asked, noting Henry's expression.
"What's strange?"
"I'm feeling something watching us."
Suddenly, the entire village quaked.
"What is happening?" Irene shouted, struggling to keep her balance as the obsidian ground trembled beneath their feet.
Nox deployed his tentacles, the mechanical mask opening with its familiar grinding sound as the writhing appendages burst forth. Henry pulled out his golden bow, nocking an arrow in one fluid motion.
Suddenly, the quake stopped.
"What happened now?" Irene stepped back, sword still drawn, but—
Thud!
"Ouch!"
Her back suddenly hit a wall that hadn't been there before.
"What? There's a wall!" Everyone panicked as Nox scanned the area
"We've been surrounded by obsidian walls," he announced grimly.
Henry shot an arrow up toward the sky, testing their options.
Clank!
The arrow hit something solid and got knocked back down.
"Dodge!" Henry yelled.
The arrow hit right in the middle of the group, forcing everyone to run in opposite directions to avoid the falling projectile.
"What the fuck, Henry? Are you stupid?" Nox shouted, his tentacles weaving protectively around him.
"Sorry! I just wanted to check if we could escape through the sky!"
"Well, then we got our answer. We're blocked and can't escape."
Suddenly, a familiar chime echoed in Nox's mind, but this time it was different. Urgent. The system interface materialized with all the subtlety of a fire alarm, but the usual calm blue was replaced by angry red warnings.
WARNING! WARNING!
The Obsidian God is watching!
Effect of Body of Horror has been weakened!
Host is being observed by Divine Entity!
Combat effectiveness reduced by 50%!
"Huh," Nox muttered, staring at the crimson text floating in his vision. "When it rains, it pours."
"What's wrong?" Henry asked, noticing Nox's sudden stillness.
"We have a problem," Nox said slowly. "A big problem."
The obsidian walls around them began to shift and change, growing taller with each passing second. What had started as a simple enclosure was becoming a prison, and worse than that, Nox could feel his abilities being suppressed by whatever divine presence was focusing its attention on them.
"The village isn't abandoned," he said, his voice carrying a new edge of concern. "Something lives here. Something that doesn't want us to leave."