The darkness, steeped in malice and heavy with shadows, seemed to swallow something little by little.
Where the light had gone out, silence reigned.
Yet amid that deathly quiet, there seemed to be a hint of... danger.
Kaylaq's keen senses and instincts told him they were not the hunters, but prey that had quietly fallen into a trap!
"Close ranks!" he ordered decisively. "Move east. Don't spread out. Watch out for... the darkness!"
By then, he was certain there was something in the heavy, oppressive darkness.
The True Born Sons obeyed, forcing down their growing fear. With practiced discipline, they formed a defensive formation and moved slowly and cautiously east.
Szzzt!
Suddenly, the sound of metal scraping came from the darkness.
Slow and rhythmic, it sounded like a sharp blade being drawn across a hard surface. It added a strange, terrifying edge to an atmosphere that was already unbearably oppressive.
The sound drew closer and closer. An invisible pressure, mingled with fear of the unknown, bore down on them.
At last, someone couldn't take it anymore.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" he growled, firing a shot toward the sound.
Bang!
A beam of light cut through the darkness.
In the brief flash, the True Born Sons and Kaylaq seemed to see a twisted figure vanish into the darkness.
"Fear..."
A hoarse whisper drifted from the darkness behind Kaylaq.
His heart lurched. He spun around, his Power sword carving an arc of light through the air—but it struck nothing. There was no one there.
He was certain something had just been standing behind him.
But his blade had cut through empty air, contradicting what his senses had told him. An invisible terror seemed to close around Kaylaq.
"Who the hell are you?! Show yourself!" Cold sweat beaded on his brow. He gripped