Outside the church in Phantom Dream Town, the night wind howled, and the whispers of the rift grew louder, as if the entire town were suffocating. Moonlight was torn away by drifting clouds, and the ground trembled with the wind, broken stones grinding against each other with a harsh screech. The air carried a sour, pungent stench, like a mixture of blood and decayed earth.
Ethan took a deep breath, gripping the Dreamhunter tightly, his fingers trembling slightly from the tension. Standing beside Silas, he felt the rift's chill pierce to his bones. His heart pounded violently, each beat like an iron hammer striking his chest. He swallowed, forcing down the dryness in his throat.
"So… what's our strategy?" His voice quavered slightly in the wind.
Silas cast a cold, sharp glance over the surroundings, moonlight glinting off his eyes like blades. "You draw attention. I solve the problem."
Ethan blinked. "That… sounds a lot like I'm the bait."
"Because you're better suited for it," Silas said, his tone icy, with no hint of humor.
Before he could protest, the church doors shattered with a thunderous crash, as if torn open by an invisible giant hand. Splintered wood flew in all directions. The sleepwalking townspeople swayed forward, their bodies twisted, movements stiff. Their eyes glowed a lifeless gray, and their murmuring voices layered into a bizarre chant, like countless needles pricking at the eardrums.
The air tightened. Energy from the rift began to coalesce into a tangible form, a grotesque creature pressing out from the shadows. Its body seemed folded by innumerable wills, arms intertwining, each lined with eyes shedding black tears, as if they could peer into the deepest fears of the human heart.
Ethan's pupils shrank. He instinctively raised his weapon. "Okay… nightmare company really should hire a new designer for their mascot."
The creature let out a deep, rumbling roar, shaking the air as if the entire town trembled under its fury.
Silas raised his hand, runes igniting in his palm, forming a sharp psychic blade in an instant. With surgical precision, he cut the creature's extended limbs, black blood splattering on the stone floor, releasing a pungent, burnt stench.
"Stop zoning out. Fire!"
"Got it!" Ethan pulled the trigger. A silver beam tore through the night sky, striking the monster's shoulder, punching a smoking hole.
The creature shrieked in pain, lunging toward him, its arms swinging like steel cables, smashing the ground with heavy thuds. Ethan's heart raced. Instinctively, he bolted, shouting, "This isn't teamwork, this is attempted murder!"
Silas moved calmly in pursuit but failed to notice another sleepwalking townsfolk lunging at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan's heart tightened. Without much thought, he fired—his beam grazing Silas's ear and felling the attacking townsperson.
"You should thank me," Ethan panted.
Silas said coldly, "You almost blew me up too."
"But I didn't miss!" Ethan muttered, a fresh wave of fear flooding his chest—he suddenly realized that the power behind these creatures and the rift was far more terrifying than he'd imagined.
The monster closed in, multiple arms striking simultaneously, the air slicing with sharp, tearing sounds like blades cutting skin. Ethan was forced to retreat, his footing on the scattered stones nearly giving way. At the critical moment, Silas flashed forward, blocking the attack. The psychic blade arced, stopping the strike midair.
"Focus!" Silas barked, his voice as piercing as cold steel.
Ethan gritted his teeth, fear forcing him to concentrate. He unleashed three consecutive beams. Each shot thumped in rhythm with his heartbeat; he could almost hear the blood pounding in his ears. The beams converged on the creature's chest, finally piercing its core. With a shriek of agony, the monster shattered into smoke-like fragments. The whispers at the edge of the rift dulled slightly, like mournful echoes lingering in the air.
Silence returned. The sleepwalking townspeople collapsed to the ground. The wind stirred dust, broken bricks, and the faint smell of blood, as if the town itself were weeping softly.
Ethan sank to the ground, gasping. "Phew—next time, can we try a different way of cooperating? Like you charge in and I just document it with photos?"
Silas wiped his blade, indifferent. "If you want to stay alive, follow my pace."
Ethan smirked, looking up at him. "Well, if I hadn't saved you, you'd be a flowerpot by now."
Silas said nothing, just regarded him silently for a moment before turning away. Moonlight cast a cold shadow across his back.
Ethan sat on the ground, staring at the Dreamhunter, muttering to himself: "First cooperation… almost lost my life. Guess this job doesn't lack for heart-stopping moments."
Deep within the rift, the ominous glow still flickered, whispers drifting up as if from the very bowels of the earth.