Volume 1 – Chapter 5: The Valley Where No Light Reached
The commander did not answer.
He simply stared at Raimer.
His sharp emerald eyes remained fixed on the boy’s face, as if searching for something hidden beneath years of dust and time.
The forest became unnaturally quiet.
Even the wind had stopped.
The soldiers surrounding them tightened their grip on their bows.
Finally, the commander spoke.
“…Take them.”
Within seconds, cold iron shackles were locked around Raimer’s wrists.
Lythria frowned.
“You don’t greet your allies very warmly.”
“We don’t greet strangers at all,” one of the soldiers replied.
The commander turned away.
“If they’re innocent, they’ll leave tomorrow.”
“If they’re spies…”
He never finished the sentence.
He didn’t need to.
The march lasted for hours.
The deeper they traveled, the stranger the forest became.
Towering trees blocked the moonlight, leaving only thin slivers of silver on the ground.
Giant roots twisted like the bodies of sleeping serpents, forcing the group to climb over them one by one.
The air felt heavy.
Almost… cursed.
Raimer noticed that every soldier walked with a hand on their weapon.
None of them spoke.
Even Lythria, usually calm and composed, seemed uneasy.
After another mile, Raimer whispered,
“What’s wrong?”
Without looking at him, she answered,
“This forest wasn’t always like this.”
“What happened?”
“A battle.”
“What kind of battle?”
“The kind no one survived.”
Her voice grew quieter.
“They say thousands of soldiers died here during the War of Fronin.”
“Not by swords.”
“Not by demons.”
“They simply… disappeared.”
Raimer felt a chill crawl down his spine.
An hour later…
One of the scouts suddenly raised his fist.
“Halt.”
The entire group stopped.
Silence.
Then—
Crunch…
A branch snapped somewhere behind them.
Everyone turned.
Nothing.
The commander narrowed his eyes.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Another sound.
Crunch… Crunch…
Closer this time.
One soldier slowly drew his blade.
“I don’t like this.”
Another whispered,
“It followed us.”
Before anyone could react—
A scream echoed through the darkness.
“AAAAAHHHH!!”
Everyone spun around.
One of the soldiers had vanished.
Only his sword remained, standing upright in the dirt.
Fresh blood slowly dripped from its blade.
Panic spread instantly.
“Where is he?!”
“Find him!”
“Stay together!”
Another scream erupted.
Shadows darted between the trees.
Too fast to follow.
Raimer caught only a glimpse—
Two glowing crimson eyes…
Watching.
Waiting.
Smiling.
“Formation!”
The commander roared.
The soldiers formed a defensive circle.
Lythria unsheathed both daggers.
“Whatever this is…”
“It’s hunting us.”
Raimer’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Suddenly—
A black figure lunged from above.
The commander reacted instantly.
CLANG!
Steel collided.
Sparks exploded into the darkness.
The creature landed several meters away.
It stood almost three meters tall.
Its limbs were unnaturally long.
Its skin looked like charred bark stretched over bone.
A mouth split across its face from ear to ear, revealing hundreds of needle-like teeth.
But the worst part…
It had no eyes.
Only two empty sockets leaking black mist.
Several soldiers gasped.
“…A Hollow.”
“No…”
Another veteran shook his head.
“Worse.”
“A Night Devourer.”
The creature tilted its head.
Then…
It laughed.
A horrible sound that echoed through the entire valley.
Without warning…
Five more appeared.
Then ten.
Then dozens.
Their laughter surrounded the group from every direction.
“They’re everywhere!”
“Retreat!”
The commander slashed through the nearest monster, cutting it clean in half.
Its body dissolved into ash.
“Run toward the valley!”
The soldiers sprinted.
The creatures followed.
Their movements were terrifyingly fast, crawling across trees and cliffs like insects.
One leaped toward Raimer.
Lythria shoved him aside.
Her daggers flashed.
The monster’s arm flew through the air.
But another instantly replaced it.
“They regenerate!”
She shouted.
“Don’t stop moving!”
Raimer grabbed a fallen spear and thrust it into one creature’s chest.
It didn’t even slow down.
Instead…
It smiled.
The spear began melting.
Raimer threw it away just before black liquid reached his hands.
“What are these things?!”
“No one knows!”
Lythria answered.
“They’ve existed longer than kingdoms!”
Rain suddenly poured from the heavens.
Thunder shook the valley.
Lightning illuminated dozens…
No…
Hundreds…
It wasn’t a hunt anymore.
It was a massacre.
A soldier slipped.
A monster instantly dragged him into the darkness.
His screams ended almost immediately.
Another lost his footing.
Gone.
Another.
Gone.
Within minutes…
Half the squad had disappeared.
The commander looked back once.
His face remained expressionless.
“We can’t save them.”
His words cut deeper than any blade.
Eventually…
The survivors reached an enormous stone cliff.
At its center stood a gigantic black gate covered in ancient runes.
“This way!”
The commander slammed his palm against one of the symbols.
The ground trembled.
Slowly…
The gate opened.
A hidden fortress revealed itself inside the mountain.
“Move!”
Everyone rushed inside.
Lythria pulled Raimer through just as a Night Devourer lunged toward them.
The massive stone gate slammed shut.
BOOM!
The impact shook the entire mountain.
Silence.
Heavy breathing echoed throughout the chamber.
Only thirty-one soldiers remained.
They had started with nearly seventy.
No one celebrated surviving.
There was nothing to celebrate.
Hours later…
Inside the underground fortress…
Raimer stood alone near a narrow balcony carved into the mountain.
Below him stretched an enormous hidden city illuminated by thousands of blue crystals.
Blacksmiths forged weapons.
Children trained with wooden swords.
Doctors treated wounded soldiers.
Families lived beneath the mountain, hidden from the world above.
“This…”
Raimer whispered.
“…is the Revolutionary Army.”
A voice answered from behind him.
“No.”
He turned.
The commander stood there with folded arms.
“This…”
“…is humanity’s last sanctuary.”
Before Raimer could respond—
A deafening horn echoed through the fortress.
One.
Two.
Three.
Every soldier froze.
The commander’s face darkened.
“Impossible…”
Another officer ran toward them, panic written across his face.
“Commander!”
“The eastern tunnel has been breached!”
“The Night Devourers…”
“They followed us underground.”
From somewhere deep beneath the mountain…
A horrifying roar echoed through the darkness.
The walls trembled.
The blue crystals flickered.
And for the first time since entering the fortress…
Even the commander looked afraid.
To Be Continue…