But thankfully, after a few terrifying moments, Raline's paralyzing fear shifted into quiet, suppressed sobs. She began to cry hard against her brother's chest, who could only hold her tightly, speechless.
Devon's heart twisted painfully in his chest. If only none of this had ever happened...
His mind went back to Anubis's cold, demanding words.
"I will give you my power in stages. You must master the first stage within one week. Only then will I grant you the subsequent level of ability."
One week felt like an eternity. They had only been here for two days, and it felt like they were trapped in a nightmare, one they might never wake up from.
He winced, remembering his sister's excited expression when she first heard he had gained Anubis's power. Now, she was terrified by a single undead monster.
Devon was scared, too, deep down, but he made sure not to show it. He forced himself to appear strong because he had to protect his sister. That was the only thing that mattered.
After she had calmed down a little and her crying started to taper off, Devon gently asked her, "Are you okay, sis?"
Raline didn't lift her face, but she slowly pulled her body back from Devon's embrace, then nodded softly. "I... I am fine..."
He stroked her hair gently, then looked up at Bony. The skeletal horse looked utterly spent, collapsed weakly on the ground from fear, but it seemed physically unharmed.
Now, many of the questions plaguing Devon's mind were starting to make a grim, horrible sense. The reason why the Skeletons hadn't crossed the city limits or entered the mountain area.
And most crucially, why there wasn't a single living creature here. This was the biggest problem because he and his sister would never survive without water and food.
...There's not a single living thing here...
Devon tensed, the realization hitting him hard. He remembered the group of people in the cave on the opposite mountain across from them.
He scrambled toward the cave mouth. From here, he could clearly see the entrance to the other cave where the twenty three people had been.
He focused his Death Sight, trying to find their auras. But he found nothing—not a single human aura, and not a single one of the numerous Revenant auras that had been swarming the area moments ago.
He tried to widen his focus, scanning and searching for any sign of them. But all he could see were the Revenant auras now gathering on the other side of those dark mountains.
"Hhhh..."
Devon let out a long, powerless sigh. He felt helpless, and could only offer a silent prayer for the dead. 'May they find peace in the next world...'
He turned back to his sister, who was still sitting silently, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, holding her own shoulders weakly. She was still terrified, but at least she wasn't panicking anymore.
He scraped out the spot where he had doused the old campfire and decided to build a new one beside it. Maybe the presence of a fire would warm them up and help shake off some of the shock.
Once the fire was going, he made coffee, giving his sister a little to drink while heating up some canned food over the flames.
Raline tried to refuse at first, but Devon gently coaxed her, and she eventually drank and then ate. They ate in silence, both lost in their own heavy thoughts.
Devon was busy trying to figure out how they were going to survive here, even if the half severed neck Revenant had given them permission to stay.
...Still, without water and food...
He suspected that even if they found food or a water source, it would all be contaminated. Then he remembered the Revenants who were now gathering on the far side of the mountains.
'Are there other cities that moved here...?'
While stirring the contents of his can, which was a mashed up potato blend that now resembled a thick stew, he spoke to Raline.
"Tomorrow, we're going over the mountain. Who knows, maybe there's a safer place on the other side..."
Raline looked up, a tiny spark of life returning to her previously lifeless eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah," Devon nodded. "There won't be any clean water or food here, sis. There's no life at all in this place..."
"...except for those damn ghosts," Raline shuddered, then took a bite of her potatoes.
They ate in silence for a moment. But then Raline spoke again, the news of leaving seemed to have lifted her spirits a little.
"Dev... what about those people? You said there were about twenty-three of them...?"
Devon did not look up, not answering immediately.
Seeing her brother's hesitation, Raline asked again, carefully. "Are they... are they all dead...?"
Devon nodded slowly. Raline gasped, then whispered, "...those ghosts must have been the ones who..."
She then asked, "Are you sure they are... all gone?"
He finally raised his head, looking at his sister, who seemed to be feeling immense guilt because they had survived. He let out a long sigh.
"We'll check out that cave tomorrow morning," he answered curtly, then continued eating. "Eat up, then sleep. If you don't, you'll get a fever again."
Raline looked at her brother, unsure how to react to his bluntness, but she eventually fell silent and continued eating.
*******
The next morning, as the sun barely peeked through the gaps of the dark, purplish mountains, they left the cave where they had spent the night.
This time, Raline was willing to ride on Bony's back. Perhaps because of the terrifying events of last night, she finally understood that the skeletal horse was not dangerous—in fact, it could be killed by the Revenants.
Devon walked beside Bony and Raline, his face expressionless. After all his years as a low level thug, he was still not used to massacres, especially the one he was about to witness. This is gonna be so cringe, he thought, steeling himself.
They walked in silence for half an hour, climbing up to the place where the other humans' cave was located. Bony, surprisingly, moved like a mountain goat, its legs nimbly stepping and leaping across the rocky terrain.
They finally reached the mouth of the cave. The sickening smell of dried blood wafted out, causing Raline to wrinkle her nose and immediately cover it.
Without hesitating, Devon strode inside, followed by Raline, who had dismounted from Bony's back.
And the scene they saw inside the cave was far more gruesome than Devon had ever imagined.