The fire continued to crackle.
For a few seconds, everything inside the ruined building felt safe.
Elena sat close beside Sam, one hand resting protectively over her stomach while the children quietly argued over who had received the larger piece of bread.
Sam smiled.
Then
Something moved.
Not loudly.
Not even enough for the others to notice.
Just a flicker at the edge of his vision.
Sam's smile disappeared.
His entire body stiffened.
A cold sensation crawled down his spine.
He slowly turned his head toward the nearest window.
He saw Nothing.
Only darkness.
The tall grass outside swayed gently beneath the night breeze.
Beyond it, the distant treeline stood like a wall of black silhouettes.
Sam stared.
His enhanced night vision searched every inch of the darkness.
But Nothing.
He couldn't find anything..
No movement.
No animals.
No people.
Nothing.
Yet the feeling he got a few seconds earlier, remained.
Wrong.
Something was nearby for sure..
His instincts had become difficult to ignore after everything he had experienced since arriving in Ooo.
He had learned that monsters didn't always announce themselves like in normal tropes .
Sometimes they watched and waited.
Sometimes they pretended to be something harmless.
Sam's eyes narrowed remembering some of the adventure time episodes with creepy creatures that operate at night..
"...Something's out there."
Elena's expression immediately changed.
"W-What do you think it is ?" she asked
Before Sam could answer her
Knock.
Everyone froze.
Another knock.
Knock. Knock.
The children stopped eating.
Lilly slowly moved closer to Elena.
Then came a voice.
A woman's voice.
Weak.
Shaky.
Desperate.
"ha.. Hello...?"
Silence.
Then it continued..
"Please..."it said..
More knocks followed..
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"I need help..."
The voice trembled.
"Please open the door..."
Nobody moved.
Sam's eyes remained fixed on the entrance.
His instincts screamed at him that something was off..
He looked toward Elena.
"Stay here."
She nodded slowly.
Sam turned toward the children.
"Daniel."
The boy looked up.
Sam walked over and crouched beside him.
He drew the Demon Eye Sword and carefully placed it in Daniel's hands.
The boy's eyes widened.
"Sam?.. Why are you.. "
"Remember what I told you." I cut him off
Daniel tightened his grip.
"Protect Mom and my sister no matter what ."
Sam nodded.
"Exactly."
The boy swallowed nervously, the swords demon eye glowing slightly in his grip
"I won't fail, I promise ."
Sam ruffles his hair as he stood.
Elena caught his wrist.
"Sam. Wait.. .."
He looked at her.
She didn't need to say anything more.
Her eyes already told him she was frightened.
He gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'll be right outside and don't worry, I won't let anything separate us again.. ."
Then he turned toward the door.
Lightning quietly gathered inside his right hand.
Not enough to illuminate the room.
Just enough.
A faint blue-white glow crawled between his fingers.
At the same time, his body began preparing itself.
His skin thickened.
Stone Skin.
His muscles subtly reorganized.
Intermediate Shapeshifting.
Earth mana flowed beneath his flesh.
His natural durability increased further.
He didn't know what was outside.
So he prepared for everything potentially possible. .
He then approached the door.
The woman's voice came again.
"Please..."
"I'm hurt..."
"Please let me in..."
Sam stopped.
His hand hovered inches from the door.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
The moment his fingers almost touched the wooden surface
The knocking stopped.
Completely.
The voice vanished.
Sam's eyes narrowed.
"...what the.. ."
Outside
Something moved.
Silently.
A grey, impossibly thin figure crouched beside the building.
Its red eyes watched the door.
The creature tilted its head.
It had heard him approaching.
It had sensed the magic lightning.
And it had realized something.
The human inside wasn't frightened enough.
The creature bent its knees.
Then
Whoosh.
It leapt.
Its elongated body rose silently into the darkness, claws catching the edge of the roof.
It pulled itself upward without making a sound.
Sam didn't notice any of this as he opened the door.
Cold night air entered the building and washing over his face..
Sam stepped outside with caution..
The door closed quietly behind him.
He stood still.
Listening with his enhanced senses but he found nothing.
The grassland stretched before him beneath the moonlight.
His enhanced vision revealed every blade of grass.
Every distant tree.
Every broken stone.
Every shadow.
But no person was in sight,h3 couldn't find anything related to person knocking..
No wounded woman.
No footprints.
No blood as he was expecting.. .
Nothing.
Sam slowly turned in a circle.
"...I knew it." he said to himself..
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"There wasn't anyone out here."
He crouched.
The ground around the doorway was mostly undisturbed but no signs of human footprints or even signs of someone crawling.
No indication that anyone had approached the building.
Sam's expression hardened.
The voice had been fake.
Something had deliberately tried to lure him outside.
He slowly straightened.
Then looked toward the surrounding grassland again, more seriously now..
"Okay..."
His lightning brightened slightly.
"If you're trying to scare me..."
A faint grin appeared.
"...you're going to have to try harder."
He took several steps away from the building.
Behind him, the door remained closed.
Inside, Elena held the children close.
Outside, Sam continued scanning the darkness.
He didn't see anything.
Didn't hear anything.
Didn't sense anything obvious.
But above him
On the roof
The grey creature crouched perfectly still.
Its elongated fingers curled over the edge.
Its red eyes remained fixed on Sam.
It had followed him outside.
And now...
It was studying him.
Learning.
Waiting.
Sam slowly turned his head toward the trees.
The creature didn't move yet as it calculated its next move..
Not even slightly.
The night remained silent.
Almost peaceful as Sam moved across the grasslands towards the tree line
Almost.