While Kael was still shouting at Lina, one of the prisoners finally spoke up. The rest remained quiet or trembled in fear.
A slim boy named Renn, who had been staring deeper into the cave, interrupted sharply.
"Kael, could you shut up for a moment?"
Kael snapped his mouth shut and turned toward Renn, his face still twisted with fear and anger. He stepped closer, standing beside him.
"What did you see, Renn? Is there something inside there?"
Renn shushed him and focused intently on the darkness ahead. His eyes scanned the damp, cold cave floor littered with scattered skeletons and skulls. His voice dropped to a cautious whisper.
"I think we entered the wrong cave… This isn't a safe spot for us to shelter in."
Kael let out a bitter laugh and raised his hands in a mocking quotation gesture.
"Is that so? This wasn't my idea to hide in this damn cave. It was Lina's brilliant suggestion."
Lina flinched at the blame, but she replied in a soft, steady tone, not wanting to make things worse.
"Then what? If I hadn't chosen this cave, we would've all become those beasts' meal. Don't you understand?"
She paused and pointed toward the cave entrance.
"Outside, those Unholy Beings are still fighting each other. I picked this cave because the entrance is too narrow for them to fit through, and—"
Kael cut her off mid-sentence.
"And what? There are dead bodies everywhere! We'll become one of them if we stay here any longer!"
Lina continued calmly despite the interruption.
"Even so… Ishmael wouldn't let us die out there. If we get stuck in this cave, he'll think of what to do next."
As Kael and Lina argued, a soft, guttural growl echoed from deeper within the cave. It sounded like something ancient and hungry had been disturbed.
Renn quickly raised a finger to his lips, signaling everyone to stay silent. His face paled as he realized something was dwelling inside the cave.
A foul, stomach-churning smell slowly filled the air — like rotting flesh mixed with something sickly sweet. Several prisoners gagged violently. Some covered their mouths and noses with their palms, while others bent over and puked onto the cave floor.
It felt like a defense mechanism. Whatever was lurking deeper in the cave was trying to drive them away from its territory.
As the caravan huddled in fearful silence, staring into the darkness of the cave, the roaring and savage growls from outside grew even louder. The brutal fight between the two groups of Awakened Beasts showed no sign of ending.
Then, heavy footsteps echoed from deep within the cave.
A tall figure slowly emerged from the dim, damp gloom. Its head nearly brushed the ceiling of the cave. It wore a sleeveless white shroud-like garment with a deep hood, black hakama pants, and black boots. A skeletal mask covered its face, hiding skin that looked burned and darkened.
The figure looked almost human — yet its towering 7-to-8-foot height made it anything but.
The entire caravan froze in terror. Renn narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The being was adorned in tattered white burial shrouds, its arms exposed, and that eerie skeletal mask gave it a haunting, undead appearance. A strange, oppressive spiritual energy radiated from it, filling the cave with pure intimidation.
All the prisoners backed away until they pressed against the cold stone walls. Some clamped their hands over their mouths to stifle any sound. Others couldn't hold back their tears of pure fear.
The towering figure walked past them without slowing down, as if they were insignificant insects. It didn't attack — it simply didn't care. With heavy, deliberate steps, it strode out of the cave and headed straight toward the warring Unholy Beasts whose noise had disturbed its slumber.
The prisoners crept closer to the entrance and watched in stunned silence. The massive shadow of the figure clashed with the silhouettes of the giant beasts. Shrill shrieks and pained growls erupted as the undead-like being began to brutally overpower the Unholy Creatures.
Time crawled by — an hour, maybe two. The distant sounds of battle had finally died down.
Kael, still visibly shaken, leaned closer to Lina who stood beside him. He struggled to find his voice, whispering hoarsely.
"Lina… W-what… what was that?"
The simple question carried heavy weight. Lina remained silent for a long moment, still paralyzed by the memory of the towering figure. After several tense seconds, she finally whispered back.
"He's an undead… I think he's a Dire Undead. He obliterated those giant Awakened Beasts like they were nothing."
She referred to the figure as male because of its broad, muscular frame and the coarse, adult male hum that had come from beneath the skeletal mask.
While the two whispered, the same tall, intimidating figure walked back into the cave. It passed by the huddled caravan and stopped in the middle of the space, towering over them.
In a deep, coarse voice that carried the weight of centuries, it spoke in ancient English:
"Those beasts have been vanquished. Ye are all free to depart. Return hither nevermore, lest I visit slaughter upon the lot of you."
The warning sent a fresh wave of terror through the prisoners. They had no choice but to obey. With slow, reluctant footsteps and chains clinking softly, they began filing out of the cave. Lina was the last to leave. She paused at the entrance, trembling, and gathered her courage to speak in broken ancient English.
"What is thy name…?"
The figure answered in the same cold, coarse tone.
"The Bounded Shroud."
Lina nodded quickly, the undead's skeletal face burned into her memory like a ghost that would haunt her forever. She hurried out of the cave to rejoin the others.
Outside the cave, the rest of the caravan stood frozen in stunned horror.
The battlefield was a slaughterhouse. Flesh and gore from the Awakened Beasts were splattered across the wasteland ground like a grotesque painting. The stray-dog-like beasts had been smashed into pulpy masses, their bodies reduced to mangled meat. The giant yeti-like creatures lay headless, kneeling lifelessly where they had fallen.
It was a brutal reminder of the danger of disturbing the dead — a being that desired nothing more than peaceful slumber, yet delivered absolute destruction when awakened.
The gruesome sight left the entire group paralyzed. Some prisoners turned away, unable to look. Others bent over and vomited onto the bone-strewn ground. Lina walked past them, but even she couldn't hold it in. She doubled over and puked, the horrific images too much to bear after everything they had endured.
Once she recovered, she turned to Kael, her voice shaky.
"Kael… what do we do now?"
Kael stood silent for a long moment, staring at the carnage while trying to process their next move. After several tense seconds, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse but determined.
"Alright… let's head east. We need to find shelter before night falls. Keep moving no matter how much it hurts. If we stop before we reach safety, we might get caught by more of these creatures."
The prisoners nodded weakly. Though they were deadly tired and every step sent fresh pain through their chained ankles and bleeding feet, they forced themselves to follow Kael eastward into the wasteland.
They had no choice but to endure.
Lina was the last to leave. She paused at the cave entrance, her gaze lingering on the tall figure still standing motionless inside. The Bounded Shroud's imposing silhouette and tattered white shroud sent a deep chill down her spine. She quickly looked away, refusing to make eye contact, and hurried after the others.
She broke into a light run to catch up with the caravan, eventually falling into step beside Kael at the front. Her breathing was ragged as she walked next to him. She glanced down at her right ankle, where the iron chain continued to dig painfully into her skin, drawing fresh blood with every step.
Lina scanned the endless wasteland, searching for any sign of shelter — an abandoned cave, a cluster of dead trees, anything that might offer a moment's rest. Suddenly, a smaller girl near the back let out a sharp yelp of pain and collapsed to the ground, unable to endure the agony any longer.
The entire caravan halted. Kael immediately ran to the back to check on her. Without a word, he grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly to her feet. He didn't ask how she was — her slowing them down was already dangerous enough. His eyes flicked upward to the sky, where the moon was beginning to rise, painting the wasteland in an eerie silver glow. Night was coming fast.
He dragged the small girl along with him as the group continued moving. Renn was the first to help, stepping in to support the girl on her other side. She let out soft, pained cries with every step as the chain continued to bite deeper into her ankle.