Eclipse of divinity

The Weapon of Godsbane

After leaving the cave where the first man enlightened me with the knowledge lost to time, we headed to our next destination. This was going to lead us toward the place where we could meet angels and find their sacred fire.

"We will have to take the underworld tunnel route to avoid the preying eyes of the creatures lurking outside in search of you, Parker," Jordan told me as we headed toward finding the fire that would turn the Godsbane weapon into its original powerful and final form.

"He's right. There are all sorts of monsters now, and everywhere is dangerous. All the monsters have been sanctioned to hunt you down before you could turn this sword into a real Godsbane with the celestial fire," Layla added, further agreeing with Jordan's plan.

But I had a feeling the tunnel wasn't going to be an easy ride either. I could sense the monsters lurking beneath the ground, so I agreed to their plan nonetheless, and we moved ahead with our weapons ready and minds sharp.

The journey toward the underground world was relatively calm as we didn't notice any threat, and soon, Alex was able to spot the entrance that would lead us to the underground world.

"Guys here, I can see the entrance. It's bitch-black inside. Light up the fire," Alex said.

I took out the sword and forced it to radiate gleaming light that would help us see inside the dark tunnel that led to an underground world filled with unknown creatures.

"Be vigilant. I can sense something, something peculiar that I haven't really felt before. We don't know what creatures are awaiting us this time," I warned, asking them to prepare their weapons as I could sense a looming sinister presence over us.

As we descended into the meandering tunnels beneath Alaska, we had now entered a realm of darkness and danger, unlike anything we had previously faced. The air grew cold and stale with an unbearable stench, and the oppressive darkness seemed to press in from all sides as we navigated the winding passages.

"What is this stench!" Jordan asked as he tried to cover his nose with a small black fabric that was tied to his bicep before.

"I don't know. It must be coming from a carcass or something nearby," Alex proclaimed.

"If there's a carcass, there might be something that killed that thing. Stay alert. We're probably very close to danger," I told them as I moved my gleaming sword forward to look for any sign of a monster nearby.

"Bats are sleeping on the ceiling. Look at the ceiling of the tunnel," Layla said in a whisper after she inspected the surrounding area.

I could see thousands of bats hanging on the ceiling, and they were larger than the fruit bats I once saw in Africa.

"They're quite big. Make sure not to wake them up, or they'll take your eyes out," Alex joked with Jordan as they looked at them.

I looked ahead, moving forward, my gaze intact, trying to detect the peril ahead. The stench really was unbearable. Even the light emanating from my sword was not enough to help me see afar inside the darkest tunnel. I could feel the sinister presence lurking in the shadows, approaching near us, a dark and malevolent force that seemed to permeate the very air around us four.

"Do you feel it, too?" I murmured to Layla because I could feel something was very wrong in that tunnel.

"Yeah, I can sense them too. Whatever that thing is, I'm sure it can see and is ready to attack," Layla told me as she quickly took her knives out of her back, readying for the imminent attack by the unknown creatures in the darkness.

Before I could notice the silent arrival of those creatures, we were set upon by the vicious Jikininki, cursed and damned beings mostly known in this part of the world as corpse-eating monsters, creatures twisted by darkness and hunger. From each side, the creatures emerged, their eyes gleaming with feral hunger as they launched their attack on us.