Chapter 155: vanity
Chapter 155: vanity
Luna walked with one hand trailing along the wall. Her eyes glowed faintly with her origin ability. "The space here folds in on itself. Multiple overlapping layers. We must choose paths carefully or risk looping forever."Snow suddenly hissed. The cat arched its back and stared into a side passage. Logan turned. Shadows moved there. Not ordinary darkness. They writhed like living smoke.
"Contact," he warned.
Three figures emerged from the passage. They wore tattered remains of hunter uniforms. Their eyes were vacant. Skin pale and stretched tight over bones. They moved with unnatural jerkiness.
"Survivors?" Ethan stepped forward.
One of the figures lunged. Its mouth opened wider than humanly possible. A silent scream. Logan reacted first. He channeled his origin ability. A wave of force rippled outward. It slammed into the attacker and hurled it against the wall. The impact echoed strangely. As if sound itself lagged behind.
The other two charged. Luna raised her hands. Space distorted around them. Their movements slowed to a crawl. Ethan darted in. His dagger flashed. He severed one figure’s arm at the shoulder. Black ichor sprayed instead of blood.
"These are not alive," Luna said through gritted teeth. "Puppets. Hollow shells."
Snow leaped onto the third figure. Claws extended with copied spatial energy. The cat tore through its chest in a burst of light. The puppet dissolved into drifting particles.
The fight ended as quickly as it began. Logan checked the others. No injuries. "Keep moving. Whatever controls them is deeper in."
They pressed onward. The cavern branched multiple times. Each choice tested Luna’s senses. Hours passed. Or what felt like hours. Time itself seemed elastic here. The scanner showed increasing instability.
At one point the tunnel opened into a vast chamber. Pillars of crystalline rock rose from floor to ceiling. In the center floated a sphere of pure darkness. It absorbed all light around it. Tendrils of shadow extended outward like roots.
"This is the heart," Logan said. He felt it calling to him. The same resonance as his upgraded ability.
Ethan whistled low. "Looks like trouble."
Before they could advance further, the ground trembled. More puppets emerged from alcoves in the walls. Dozens this time. Some still wore recognizable faces from the missing teams.
Luna created a spatial barrier. It bought them time. "I can hold them for a few minutes. Reach the sphere."
Logan nodded. He charged forward with Ethan at his side. Snow flanked them. They fought through the horde. Logan’s origin ability unleashed controlled bursts of force. Each one shattered puppets into fragments. Ethan moved with practiced efficiency. His strikes targeted joints and weak points.