Ren's stomach twisted heavily, his muscles tightening with each heartbeat, to the point he had to clench his teeth just to stop the urge to vomit.
A stench like rotting corpses rushed into his nose, stabbing straight through every delicate nerve in his mind.
In front of him… was something the rational mind could never comprehend.
A sensation both familiar and repulsive, like something gnawing at his thoughts from within, creeping in, strangling every coherent idea.
The creature standing there… looked human, but was nothing of the sort.
Its pale skin, smooth like frosted glass, reflected the dim glow of the darkness in warped, unnatural ways.
Long, pointed ears, almost like a Fallen Elf's, yet lacking any grace or nobility. They curved sharply, deformed, twitching with each breath the creature took.
Eyes? There were none. Only a deep, hollow void, pulling Ren's gaze in like an endless grave pit, cold and horrifying.
Its mouth opened, revealing long, curved fangs, razor-sharp like those of a starving beast. When it breathed, a dry rasp escaped, making the surrounding air dense and suffocating.
Instead of standing upright, it crawled on all fours, its body contorted and writhing. Every movement was light yet impossibly fast, giving Ren the sense that his entire body was being dragged along by an invisible tide of fear.
Ren tried to suppress the nausea and terror rising in his throat.
His whole body stiffened, heart hammering, each beat threatening to tear open his chest.
His eyes slid slowly across every detail.
That pale skin twitched, shivering. Beneath the thin layer, shapes writhed like worms, overlapping, shifting… forming distorted faces, like warped memories...familiar, yet bone-chilling.
Ren recognized… one of them.
A face he could never forget: the merchant NPC he had met with Rowa in the market just days earlier.
His heart stopped for a beat. Light from the roof hole cast down on the grotesque visage, turning it into something both living and dead.
Familiarity mixed with horror, creating an aftertaste of dread and fury that made Ren tremble.
The creature shifted, its limbs jerking as it crawled forward, slowly but surely, producing a faint scraping sound like thousands of claws dragging across rotting wood.
Ren drew in a deep breath, forcing his mind to remain steady, though every nerve in his skin bristled, each muscle spasming, warning him of unavoidable danger.
Every breath, every movement of this creature felt like it was seeping into the deepest corners of his mind.
Ren knew… they couldn't escape this place…
They… Yuzu, Lily, and the kids… would not survive once this creature set its sights on them.
He felt the disgusting odor oozing from its skin and breath, a mix of blood, decay, and something foul, raw.
His mind spun, but he had to stay composed. The sword in his hand remained cold, as if reminding him that if there was even one chance… he had to take it.
Ren stood still for a beat, eyes locked onto the creature. Every movement it made felt like a ticking clock counting down to disaster.
A rustle, a sudden twitch… the creature lurched forward.
Ren felt the darkness around it thicken, swallowing the space whole, and in that instant, it reminded him of a single name… The Shadowborn.
The creature's twisted, nail-like fingers halted before the strip of sunlight cutting across the darkness at Ren's feet.
They… looked, and yet didn't.
Those hollow sockets fixed on him, locking every muscle, every heartbeat in a numbing grip.
As if waiting for the final rays to vanish, "it" would lunge, devour its sweet meal, and Ren knew perfectly well, he would be the first bite.
It fears the light…
The thought appeared in Ren's mind, sharp and cold as a blade.
So that's why… Yuzu, Lily, and the kids were trapped in this invisible cage.
It was all an intricate trap, built so none of them could leave… until the darkness swallowed everything.
Ren understood.
He understood the reason Varn stalled… so this was what he wanted.
A finely crafted plan, killing them while amplifying their terror to its peak.
He tightened his grip on the sword, trembling spreading through his hands. Cold, but shaking.
His heart raced, each beat slicing through his chest like a knife.
Sweat trickled, each drop feeling like cold stones clinging to his skin.
Ren glanced at his system clock, 17:58… only a few minutes before the sunlight vanished completely.
Just a few more minutes, and the darkness would devour everything… and the creature… would charge unhindered.
A faint rasp escaped, no longer ferocious...more like a weak reaction, a flicker of fear that Ren knew he had to exploit.
Ren felt it clearly: the light… was the only weapon left.
And if he moved carefully, guiding the group at the right moment, he could keep distance, stall for time… until they found a chance to escape this trap of darkness.
The dense shadow around "it" began to shrink, like a thick black liquid, bubbling, simmering with each pulse.
Those sharp, twisted hands curled inward, slow but certain, reaching toward the group.
A foul stench surged up heavily, stabbing straight into Ren's nose, making his throat churn.
Ren took a deep breath, forcing his mind to stay steady.
Every heartbeat, every breath had to be calculated, measured:
Just a few more minutes and the last sunlight would vanish completely… and then, that creature would charge like an unstoppable nightmare.
He looked at Yuzu, Lily, and the three kids. They stood frozen, shrinking into themselves, eyes wide, blinking in rhythm with the trembling sunlight.
Ren felt each cell shivering, each breath tightening, and knew that if he misstepped even once… it would be too late.
Slowly, he stepped forward, angled his sword so the last sunlight struck the blade.
The light suddenly burst against the creature's body.
It flinched. The pale skin shriveled, the worm-like things writhing beneath it pushed up against the distorted face, as if in pain. The light carved into its flesh like a scorching blade.
The creature recoiled into the darkness.
A shriek tore out, no longer fierce, but sharp, tangled with fear and rage.
He had a way to bring them across now.
A tiny path, thin as a thread… but enough to live.
As long as he kept "it" pinned in place.
Ren raised his sword again, letting the last sunlight explode across the steel. The beam trembled, long and thin, sweeping across the creature's warped face.
It jerked back… accompanied by a scream like bone being sawed apart.
Its hands, like hooked iron, dug into the ground, body crumpling in on itself.
The things… whatever they were… crawling beneath the skin suddenly bulged as if thrashing in agony.
Ren felt his palm drenched in sweat, the tip of the sword trembling.
His arm numbed.
His heartbeat pounded in his throat.
But "it" did not dare move forward.
Not while the light still shone.
"Come… over here." Ren said, voice hoarse, trying to keep his breaths steady.
Yuzu nodded sharply.
He grabbed the smallest child, his back soaked in sweat, taking slow steps.
Lily followed, the other two kids clinging to her clothes, their legs shaking so badly they nearly collapsed.
Ren stepped back slightly, keeping the sword high enough to cast a strip of light as a barrier.
A thin wall made of dusk.
Something that, if it vanished… would see them all swallowed whole.
The creature let out another dry, cracking roar.
It touched the edge of the light, its flesh smoking, the smell of scorching drifting out.
Ren saw every vein tightening beneath its pale skin, as if something inside were trying to rip through and escape.
"Keep going! Faster!" Ren almost shouted, because the light was thinning.
17:59.
Only one minute left.
The day's last sunlight felt like a dying breath.
Each step Yuzu and Lily took felt like tearing seconds out of Ren's hands, and he fought the urge to recoil from the pain shooting through his arm.
They were so close.
Just a few more steps.
The creature lunged toward them, and Ren immediately swept his blade, the light striking its face.
With a shriek that sounded vomited out of what might have been its throat, 'it' slammed backward into the ground like a nailed-down shadow.
A sharp pain pierced Ren's chest.
He gritted his teeth, holding the beam steady, not letting it waver even a fraction.
"Two more steps...go!!"
Yuzu pulled Lily, Lily dragged the two kids, and all four nearly toppled over into Ren's side.
He shifted slightly to the left, opening space for them to slip behind him.
The light… was nearly gone.
Ren felt the sun's warmth fading with the evening wind.
They had to get out. He needed to report this to Gareth and the guards.
Just one more moment… and the darkness would fall. Ren lifted his foot, moving quickly, guiding the group along the last scraps of sunlight.
The darkness clung close, peeling apart in chunks like an invisible beast twitching and reaching for every step they took.
He realized: the light wasn't just a weapon.. it was the only path to survival.
"Follow me… hurry!" Ren gasped, yelling as he moved, each step angled to keep the light on the blade, shining into the creature.
Yuzu and Lily crouched low, clutching the kids, moving in Ren's rhythm, eyes filled with desperation but still carrying a faint hope.
The creature let out a long, tearing scream, then lunged forward, but the light sliced across its body.
The thick, tar-like darkness split apart, convulsing violently.
Ren seized the moment, guiding the group inch by inch out of the dark zone, step by step, heart pounding to the point of bursting, fingers clenching the sword, muscles stretched to their limit.
But… the sunlight thinned like a fragile thread.
Each flicker small, faint, trembling in the wind, ready to disappear at any second. There was no time. They would never outrun this thing, never beat the clock.
Even Ren… he wasn't confident his speed could surpass the creature's.
"Go… I'll hold it off, warn everyone…" after one moment of hesitation, Ren used his step to push the others forward. He needed to hold this thing back.