The battle had begun, and while it raged on the surface, Cale's mind was elsewhere.
He fought mechanically, his blade effortlessly cutting through the annoying creatures, and his ice slowing the tide. Not very far from him, Val's fire was a wall of heat, Ethan's walls held the line of defense, and Riker's illusions confused the Fallen creatures. But Cale's attention was split, his thoughts reaching into his shadow.
Revenant stirred. "Something is wrong."
Cale blocked a lunge, driving his sword through a creature's carapace. *I thought so.* "What?"
"The nest. The beast that made it. It's an S-rank Fallen Terror. The S‑rank, it is meant to stay. Given that it created the nest. To guard. To feed the beast to let it grow. But it has left. I feel its absence. This is… not normal."
Cale's heart clenched. An S‑rank nest without its guardian. That meant something had drawn it away, or it had abandoned its territory deliberately. Either way, the situation was worse than anyone knew.
He pulled back from the line, letting Ethan cover the gap. He needed to see for himself.
"Cale!" Val's voice cut through the chaos. *She probably thinks I'm bailing again,* he thought.
He didn't answer. He just moved toward the tear in the earth, his focus narrowing to the intense darkness ahead.
He slipped around the edge of the battle, toward the mouth of the nest. The ground was cracked, and the air was thick with something that made his skin crawl. Fear, maybe. Revenant stirred from inside his shadow, uneasy.
Behind him, footsteps. *Young woman, would you leave me alone?*
"Cale!" Val's voice again, closer now. "What are you doing? The line is… Cale, stop!"
He didn't stop. He reached the edge of the nest, staring into the dark wound on the earth. Revenant's words replayed in his mind. *It has left. This is not supposed to be normal.*
"Cale, talk to me." Val was beside him now, breathless, her Ember Cloak flickering. "What's going on? Why did you leave the line?"
He didn't look at her. His mind was racing. The beast was gone. The nest was collapsing. But before it left, Revenant said it might have gone hunting. Or looking for something.
He needed to know what.
"I have to go in."
Val grabbed his arm. "What? No. The Wardens are coming. Let them handle it."
He pulled free, his eyes still fixed on the darkness. "You need to stay here. I'll be right back."
"Cale..."
"I said stay." His voice was sharper than he intended. He stepped toward the nest.
For a moment, she stood there, frozen. Then her jaw tightened.
He thought his approach had worked. But he was wrong. The girl just wouldn't listen. She followed him.
This girl reminded him a lot of Riana, his sister. He could remember vividly, like it was yesterday, when his sister had messed with him. He had his eye on a golden fruit tart on his birthday cake; he had prepared himself to enjoy its delicious juice. But Riana had other plans; she decided she wanted the fruit too. She took it and savoured it innocently. Enraged and furious, he confronted her, asking her why she took it. She didn't deny it, like Leo would. She never denied anything; in fact, she was the most responsible human he'd ever known.
Back to the narrative, they fought. He pushed her across the room. In turn, she shoved him quite as hard. She wiped his ass off the floor. She awakened on the spot, taking away all the attention from him to her. That was the beginning of the worst birthdays ever since. Everyone forgot it was his birthday; they started giving Riana a lot of attention and looking at her with eyes that said she might be great. His 13th birthday was the worst.
Speaking of birthdays, wasn't his birthday two days ago? He'd totally forgotten. He was to turn seventeen two days ago.
"Well, happy birthday to me. I'm seventeen years and two days older," he muttered.
He snapped back into the harsh reality. The tunnels were creeping him out. The air was thick, heavy, tasting of copper and ozone.
"This is a terrible idea. Come on, Cale, let's head back," she said.
"I remember telling you to wait outside," Cale snapped, not looking at her.
He moved forward. Soul Drinker was already summoned in his hand, and he activated his Death Sense. Behind him, Val's footsteps were soft, her flames casting long shadows that twisted along the curved walls. She didn't speak again, and neither did he.
The tunnel widened into a chamber. The ceiling arched high above; it was lined with spines that glowed faintly. On the walls, there were patterns—not random old patterns, and not natural either. It was deliberate. The beast had probably shaped this place. For a Fallen Terror, it had quite an exquisite taste. It had lived here and decorated it while it had waited.
Fallen Terrors were one of the many ranks of Fallen beasts. There were the general weak beasts known simply as Fallen beasts, then there were demons, there were the Void Lords, then the Terrors, and the most rare and strongest of all: the Wizard King. Cale didn't know why it had the weirdest name, but he knew only one creature from that rank had ever been killed by the Immortal Lord, the Emperor.
Terrors were meant to be aggressive, scary, and sometimes intelligent. But this one was the opposite; it seemed calm, calculating, menacing, and highly intelligent.
But why had it left?