Dark Earth (Male Reader)

18: Mountains

You fell asleep afterwards. The huge amount of energy you'd used during the demonstration and to save Dim had drained you. You had gotten far enough away from the town so that they couldn't see you when you passed out in Dim's arms. She carried you along towards a small abandoned shack, hurling down from the wind.

Looking down at you, she admires you for what seems like the thousandth time. Your power is a force to be reckoned with. Even she was a little afraid during your display. She feels herself grow hot as she looks at you. You're resting against the ground, breathing softly. She starts to move in slowly, resting beside you. She looks at the tattered shirt you have on. She starts to lift it when she stops. The first time you two had slept together, you were slightly awake during it, and emotions were particularly strained. Now though, she isn't so sure if it's a good idea. For now, she'd just recover from dying again. There would be time later for each other.

It's the next day when you wake up. You rub your head, feeling an aching pain inside. You guess you had used way to much power yesterday. You were so fueled by anger that you couldn't help but putting on a good show. There was no chance of the townsfolk chancing after you. You rise up off the ground and look around and the rotting wooden cabin. Sighing, you feel a familiar warm hand resting on you. Dim lays beside you on the ground, still asleep. You don't want to wake her up after the whole ordeal yesterday.

You stand up slowly and glance outside, careful not to wake her. The cold wasteland air hits your face as you look around. The town is no where to be seen, making you happy. You never want to go there again, even if they are powerless against you. You walk out a little ways, stretching. Your head still hurts, but not as badly. You think you're able to better manage your powers than you were able to before. You turn and look in the other direction.

You see mountains. You recognize them a little. You remember scorching them after saving Dim from the first Dirt Lurker. There's still a little black left over from the attack. However, you also see something else. Something move behind the peaks. You peer towards it, not really able to see anything. It's too far away for you to sense any monstrous presence.

Suddenly it comes into view. A huge grey form moves over the mountain top. You can see several long arms moving slowly like centipede legs. A huge head with dozens of black eyes sat at the front of its long body. You can hear it's moans as it moves over the rocks. The cries echo around you, shaking the ground slightly. You've seen tons of Lurkers, but this this is different. It's too big. It's more than any of them could hold to be.

"(Y/N)?"

Dim walks out from the cabin, covered in her cloak as it blows in the cold morning air. She goes up and stands beside you, looking to where you are. She sees the beast.

"Yeah... there it is..."

"Dim, what is that?"

"The Mountain Lurker. It's the biggest monster in the world. Or at least the part of the world we know about."

"That's a Lurker? It's too big..."

"I know..."

You and Dim gathered up your supplies, heading out for another days walk. You look over at her face, remembering yesterday that it had been covered in blood.

"How're you doing?" you ask her.

"I'm fine, really," she responds. "It was a little scary, but not like before. I knew you were going to come back for me."

"I can't believe I grabbed the wrong hand."

"There were a lot of people. I don't blame you. But why didn't you kill any of them. All you did was... scare them."

"I don't know," you say. "I was angry at them, but... they weren't monsters like the Lurkers. They were just... confused and hurt."

"And cannibals."

"Right, that too. But I don't think they'll come after us at all after all I did. Was I convincing?"

"Convincing? I was scared and you're on my side."

You blush and look up at the mountain. You can spot the tail end of the Mountain Lurker disappearing over the snowy hills.

"So... why is that thing so big?"

"No one can say for sure. Some people think that is a bunch of people that all committed suicide together and fused. Other people think that it was an old man that lived in the mountain alone and grew to become that. Whatever it is, it never leaves the mountains."

You don't like it either way. You're glad that it only lives in the mountains, but the mountains are between you and the tower. If you're ever going to find out the truth, you're going to have to go through its territory. You're not looking forward to that journey.