Ian continued along the course of the dried-up riverbed for a while.
The texture of the ground did not change. A layer of gray granules covered a hard base, offering no particularly noticeable feedback beneath his feet.
He took note of the surrounding terrain. The edges remained flat, with only slight rises and falls in certain places, like shallow hills or low slopes left behind by erosion.
But there were no sharp breaks or obvious drops.
However.
More shadows appeared in the corner of Ian's eye.
At first, those shadows were scattered sparsely along the horizon. They were far away, their outlines still indistinct, but whenever he checked a direction, he could always see new silhouettes taking shape.
They did not approach at the same speed. Some had already stopped completely, as though they had finished following their movement instructions and were now waiting in place, while others continued toward him with those heavy steps, each one carrying a clear, irreversible rhythm.
Before long, these things were closer than the previous ones. Their pace did not change despite the distance, as though they were repeatedly executing the same set of commands—
Until the objective was achieved or they were interrupted.
They did not alter their formation or speed as they approached, maintaining neat, even spacing. Ian stopped and looked around. He could now see even more Doomsdays, spread before him and to both sides, forming arrays in three directions.
"Why are there so many of these damn things?" Ian had not yet checked whether new shadows had appeared behind him, but there was no longer any need to turn around—those shadows had already spread out in three directions, as though released from some central point, dispersing evenly across this barren land before converging on the same location once more.
"How