NEMO: Into The Depths

Chapter 9: You always remember your first

Elyza emerged into the glade as the sky was turning from orange to black. She had thought that crossing the barrier would become easier the more times she did so. However, even after a week of constant traversal, the persistent grip of anxiety refused to loosen its hold on her. The sight of grass lazily swaying in the wind helped sooth the uneasiness that clung to her.

With dinner slung over her shoulder, a sizable wild boar she had tracked down. She was able to take the boar as he slept, so most of Elyza's hunt was spent skinning and draining the blood. Hunting was a daily ritual for her, a practice she was keen on preserving. When she had voiced this desire, Alex had surprisingly agreed, citing something about 'keeping instincts sharp.' The first week she was there, he had accompanied her hunts, often following their sparring sessions.

However, Elyza yearned for solitary hunting, for it was a time when she could truly relax, and more importantly get some time away from Alex. To her surprise, he readily agreed, much too quickly, with the only condition being that she would be responsible for cooking her catch. Although she suspected that he might be scheming something, a week of seemingly ordinary behaviour persuaded Elyza to dismiss the thought.

Glancing towards the spot where her lecturer had been just an hour earlier, repairing 'Geoffrey', a name Alex had given the training dummy to 'humanise' it. The dummy had endured a fortnight of Elyza's spell experimentation, held together by a precarious combination of rope and nails, barely maintaining a humanoid form. Alex was shooting arrows into Geoffrey's head, a new rope attaching it once again to its body.

The boar on her back was starting to get heavier, prompting Elyza to consider stashing it at the house before reporting back to Alex. He had asked her to keep an eye out for anything strange roaming the forest on her hunts. With the key to the house in hand, she reached for the door handle, only to find it creaking open on its own. Immediately, Elyza knew something was wrong; the door had done so, except for Alex. She knew it was nearly impossible to force open, a memory of an unfortunate night fresh in her memory. And according to Alex, she had the only key to the house.

She should have informed him that something was wrong in the house. But Elyza rationalised her decision to venture in alone, by convincing herself that Alex must have left the door open. Lowering the boar carcass next to the door frame, keeping the meat from touching the ground, she retrieved her spear—now snapped in half from the day's sparring session. Using the broken weapon, she carefully nudged the door further ajar, her senses attuned to any disturbances within.

Stepping into the unusually dark house, its lights yet to flicker on in the early evening, Elyza surveyed the room, closing the door shut. Scanning the room, there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary—her study pile of books scattered across the table, the sofa neatly lined with her spare weapons, and the floor adorned with her attempts to memorize Druidcraft runes. Elyza waited for something to jump out, something that would reveal what was wrong, but the room defied her, remaining still. With a sigh, she tossed the spear onto the sofa, she probably just needed more sleep. But, just as she was about to step outside, a low creak echoed from above.

Elyza thought that somebody was on the roof, attempting to use the falling dust to pinpoint their position. Observing the ceiling, she noticed no dust descending, meaning the intruder had stopped moving. But something looked off. Alex had started teaching her how to spot illusions, mostly so she could distinguish between his and those of others. Her eyes had been trained to spot any imperfections in the foreground, any peculiar alterations in contours, discrepancies in the environment's behaviour, and even anomalies in the way dust particles seemed to float. And she was. Something was clinging on to the ceiling.

Gradually, Elyza began deciphering the monstrous form of the creature. And it noticed, deactivating its camouflage, revealing sandy, scaly skin. Bulging chameleon eyes fixated on her, darting around as it studied her. The monster jumped down from the ceiling, towering above her as it stood on its hind legs, causing Elyza to take a step back, on her guard.