Adventures beyond the void

Chapter 31: What Lies Beneath the Surface

3RD POV

The fog hadn't thinned. If anything, it had grown thicker, almost alive, clinging to their clothes, dampening sound, swallowing color. Even their voices sounded distant, as if muffled behind a wall of snow. The group walked with caution, their boots sinking softly into the moist earth below. Crystal fragments from their broken landing platform still sparkled faintly on the ground behind them, half-swallowed by the mist. Though damaged, the crystal carriage was not dissolved by Zana. The female mage had made the decision to leave it there, in case they had to quickly evacuate the area. Right now however, they were on foot. The trees loomed around them like giants, their trunks ghostlike in the distance. Every direction looked the same.

      Zana: - Don't spread out. Eyes sharp. Stay close together.

Her voice was steady, but her grip on her crystal blade hilt was tight.

      Hunter: - I can't see shit in here!!

Kenju was unusually quiet. He walked beside Nicholas, who kept glancing around nervously.

     Nicholas: - I've got a bad feeling about this...

     Kenju: - It's all fog. Everything's wrong when you can't see the coffee mug in your hand.

Up ahead, Lyra held out her hand, a small pulse of sound magic radiating from her palm every few steps. A soft ping came back to her each time, like echolocation, giving her a faint map of their surroundings. Hunter walked behind her, arms crossed, muttering obscenities under his breath.

      Airos: - We better not be wasting time with this wild goose chase.

Ronan chuckled faintly. Zana didn't. She was listening to the silence too hard. Suddenly, Ronan whispered/shouted.

     Ronan: - Wait. Look. There's someone.

Everyone froze. Through the curtain of fog, a silhouette slowly emerged, a figure, armored. The armor shimmered against the murky light. And then, colors. Light blue, unusually vibrant for a battlefield, with rainbow-colored shoulder plates. A visor up. A smile. Nicholas squinted. The man looked... cheerful. Unsettlingly cheerful.

     Magic warrior: - Hey! You guys lost?

He waved, casual and friendly. His voice was light, calming even. A wave of relief seemed to momentarily wash over the group. Zana stepped forward, scanning him.

     Zana: - You're from the Colorful Beasts.

     Magic warrior: - Sure am! Everything's fine around here. Just fog. Nothing dangerous. Your orders were to regroup back at base. You're not needed out here anymore.

Airos tilted his head, one eye twitching.

     Airos: - Why didn't we hear from our captain?

     Magic warrior: - Simple magic interference! You know how it is in this fog. Nasty mana messes with the channels. You'd better head back before you catch a cold, haha.

      Airos: - And why wasn't your crystal balls affected?

      Magic warrior: - Oh, it's because we've placed them in places where there's no interference. We received the message, so that's why I'm here. To inform you.

The man's laugh echoed strangely in the fog. Nicholas frowned. He stared longer. Something wasn't right. It was the eyes first. The warrior's pupils were massively dilated, swallowing almost the entire iris. Nicholas remembered seeing that look once, when he had helped a homeless man a long time ago after returning from school. The guy was high out of his mind, twitchy and smiling in a way that never moved past his cheeks. This warrior....was smiling like that now. Nicholas took a step back unconsciously. He looked again. The smile hadn't changed. Too wide. Too frozen. The man's jaw moved when he spoke, but the rest of his face... didn't follow. His posture was too upright, like he was standing on invisible strings. Something was wrong with his neck, too. A tiny twitch every few seconds, like something was short-circuiting. Kenju tilted his head, seeing how on guard Nicholas was.