The symbol blinked once.
Like a heartbeat.
Then the ground flinched.
Not cracked,flinched, like the earth itself felt pain.
Kael's head snapped up. "That wasn't from us."
The air collapsed inward.
My ears rang as if something enormous had just passed by without ever touching the ground. Every instinct in my body screamed to run, but my legs wouldn't answer.
Xeno went completely still.
"That…" he said quietly, "is no messenger."
The symbol at my feet dimmed.
And the light strained toward the hills.
Something vast moved beyond the ridge, not running, not walking, but dragging reality with it. The sky above the horizon darkened, sagging under an invisible weight.
Then it appeared.
Not born like the others.
Not unfolding.
It forced itself into the world.
i couldn't even describe what was before me, it's form was twisted, like it was born from a mix of nightmares
Its surface was etched with layer after layer of ancient symbols, jagged, imperfect, furious.
And where its face should have been…
…was smooth.
Blank.
As if it had never needed an identity.
Pressure slammed into my chest and I gasped.
"You don't look at it," Kael snapped. "You don't answer it. You don't let it learn you."
Too late.
The moment it turned toward me, the world tilted.
My thoughts scattered. My memories flickered, faces, voices, moments ,like the Xenophore was dragging its fingers through my mind, searching for something worth breaking.
Bearer.
You were not chosen.
You were left behind.
The voice was everywhere.
In the trees. In the stones. In my breath.
The Xenophore moved.
One step forward.
The ground split all the way from it to me.
Kael charged before I even understood what was happening. His blade ignited with pale light as he leapt, striking high across its body.
The impact sent a shockwave through the valley.
But the creature didn't fall.
It didn't even stumble.
It grabbed Kael out of the air
And threw him.
He hit the ground hard, sliding, not moving.
My heart lurched. "KAEL!"
Kael stood up, coughing out blood.
Xeno was in motion.
He grabbed him shovel and launched straight at the xenophore.
Me on the other hand couldn't take my eyes of the xenophore's face, that emptiness was eating at my mind, I could see myself again falling into an endless pit of darkness, into the abyss.
Kael and Xeno were busy fighting and here I was unable to move an inch, I was scared, so scared. The world in my eyes was starting to blur but I could still see xeno fighting.
Xeno stood tall,his blindfolded eyes staring at the xenophore with determination as he gripped his shovel likra knight grasping a mighty sword. The monstrous xenophore, it's body twisted in amalgamation loomed over him.
The xenophore lunged forward, it's body snapping wildly at Xeno,Xeno dodged to the side,his feet quick and light. He swung his shovel with all his might, aiming for the what seemed to be the xenophore's head,but it barely flinked,the metal blade embedded itself in the xenophore's blank face, releasing a gaut of putrid, greenish goo.
The xenophore howled in pain,but it still tried to attack Xeno but Xeno was just too fast, dancing around it's attacks with a ferocity that belied his small stature. He struck again and again, the shovel becoming an extension of his own body as he hacked and chopped at the xenophore's unholy form.
Gore splattered everywhere,some splattering on my form as I stood there, still frozen in place, entrails and part of the xenophore's body was sent flying through the air as Xeno tore the xenophore with a ferocity that would put even the most seasoned warrior in shame. The xenophore's screams grew louder,it's body beginning to disintegrate, it's very essence unraveling as xeno's shovel struck through time and time again.
A chunk of the xenophore's body flew off, landing with a wet thud on the ground, Xeno took advantage of this distraction, striking a part of the Xenophore's body that seemed to be it's torso. His shovel sank deep, releasing a veritable fountain of gore as the xenophore's innards spilled out onto the ground.
The Xenophore let out a deafening roar, it's body convulsing wildly as it stumbled backwards, it's massive form crashing to the ground with an earth-shattering thud.
Xeno stood victorious,his chest having with exertion and his body covered in goo.
Watching all this scene unfold made me snap out of the daze I was in but still my body trembled,Xeno was the same age as me but look at what he could do, something that kael couldn't even do, was he even human, this wasn't something a normal human could do,I broke down, tears flowing down and my whole body shaking. This was a nightmare.
"X-Xeno, wh-what are you?"