Siren's Elegy Volume 1: Orphans of Ashen Earth

Chapter 62: Ninteenth Cycle

October 11, 4021 23:54 [Sunken Forest]

“We need to relocate now,” Tengri stated once they had reached the campsite. “If one Yaksha—or whatever that thing was, can do this much damage, then I’d rather not run into more of them.”

The others nodded in agreement, gathering their belongings and preparing for the journey away from the valley.

“Hey, what am I supposed to do? My division’s been wiped out.” Jin said.

Tengri furrowed his brow. “You did that. The Third is gone because you couldn’t control yourself.”

“I couldn’t help it! I had no choice but to defend against those rats. It’s not my problem if the worms I trained couldn’t hack it,” Jin shrugged.

“Your lack of subordinates is most definitely your problem. We’re not lending you any of our soldiers just so you can waste them in another angry tirade. If you want, take charge of the Eidolons. At least those things are already dead,” Tengri replied coldly.

Jin clicked his tongue indignantly, motioning for the Eidolons to follow. Indra observed as the Crow’s shoulders sank with relief. The presence of those things must have weighed heavily upon him.

“I’ll take charge of the Traitless vanguard,” the Crow volunteered.

“Perfect. Their numbers have thinned by a substantial amount, but these guys will get the job done.” Tengri stated. He pondered for a moment, appraising their current situation. “Jin, I want you and the Eidolons at the front. I’d rather have them soak up any damage coming our way. Ce—Crow, I need you to stay at the back and pick off enemies trying to circumnavigate our defenses,” he ordered.

The Crow nodded, herding the remaining Traitless. Tengri looked disturbed, prompting Indra to ask him what was bothering him.

“The Domain, Krodha. Normally we’d be able to detect the onset of a Domain formation and react accordingly. We’ve taken the appropriate measures and gone through enough training to know just by instinct when one is going to show up. We’re not greenhorns, but this one eluded us entirely. Were you able to see something that tipped you off about it?”

Indra shook his head. “The Siren clued me in.” He bit his tongue the moment he had spoken.

Tengri blinked at him. “You spoke to it?”

Indra was mercifully spared an interrogation when Grisha interrupted them. “Tengri, you’ve got to come see this,” she said, dragging him away.

Tengri looked back at Indra as they left. “We’ll talk later.”

Indra gulped, breathing a sigh of relief. He was not off the hook entirely, but he had time to come up with an explanation.

“Did Tengri chew you out?”

Indra jumped as Prasanna appeared behind him. “Can you not?” he huffed, clutching his chest.

Prasanna snickered, holding her stomach. “I wasn’t even trying to scare you!”

“Sorry, I'm a little on edge,” Indra groaned.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Prasanna said with a smirk. She tilted her head, trying to read him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just—I’ve been feeling pretty uneasy since we got here.”

“Tell me about it; this place gives me the creeps.” Prasanna shuddered.

“No, I mean I’ve got this nagging feeling that I’m not supposed to be here. The energy of this forest—”

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but we’re in a strange underground cave that somehow lets us still see the sky. There are strange animals and strange plants here, many of which are irradiated to some degree, and oh—I almost forgot! The forest is actively trying to kill us. I’m pretty sure none of us are supposed to be here.”