CHAPTER 491

TRESPASSERS

An arm stretched from the void, long, sickly-pale, draped in thick, smoldering shadows folding over its long fingers, curling like tiny snakes, dancing about like bolts of lightning. Veins bulged on the surface, black blood clearly visible, flowing like a violent stream.

Following the arm, the skeletal shoulder, lacking flesh, burst through, surface seemingly chewed, rotted. Corporeal shadows emerged from the ever-growing vortex, a pulsating sphere churning out, a vertical, void-black slit rocking back and forth against the bloody-red surface, seemingly peering into the soul of the stone beneath. Another arm came through, the same as the first, wildly tearing through the void, emerging in a single burst.

The creature hovered just slightly off the ransacked stone, moonbeams consciously avoiding it. It was as tall as a two-story building, beholden in the dancing smoke, a singular eye juxtaposed between two behemoth-like arms, long and terrible. It seemed to look about for a moment before pushing itself forth; as it cruised above the stone, the ashen-gray surface turned horribly corrupt, blisters of black exploding into acidic outburst, eroding away the rock.

Right as it moved to the edge of the triangular platform standing erect on top of a ruined tower, surrounding walls cleaved and rotting, the vortex behind it jittered once again, a burst of strange, black liquid spilling over. Thick and light-absorbent, it rolled onto the stone, filling the tiny gaps between the rugged tiles, rising up against the laws, forming a strange drape, like a human child donning a black blanket from head to the toes. It moved unnervingly, strangely, eerily, each one of its steps producing sizzling sounds, each one of its movements causing a jerking reaction of the liquid. Bubbles arose one after another, imploding right after, the traces of thin, black ash scattering into the wind.

It moved up to the first creature, trembling-still, stopping at the edge, bending over and extending, elongating like clay, into a looming shape, bending a full circle until its tip stared through the window a whole floor below.

The vortex shuddered once more, vibrating in the open space, widening all of a sudden. A slithering shade pounced through, reminiscent of a small lizard, yet over five meters in length. Bones stood beneath the dancing shadows, crimson-white in make, a wet-sounding tongue splicing out of its narrow, dislodged maw, dripping black droplets onto the stone, boring deep holes in it. Two long claws stretched from its sides, just beneath what looked like its head, three-fingered, stoked in the silent, black flames.

It flew over and about, seemingly dancing to the tune of freedom, forming cricketing sounds with each one of its movements. Low, unnerving. Its bones seemed to be made out of paper, as though touching one would break the whole, yet still seemed terribly resilient, as though nothing could break them.

The void-slit expanded once more, this time with a resounding weep, as a boulder-like creature broke through. Hundreds of arms jerked on its ever-throbbing surface, blood-red veins popping, the scarlet seeping into its sheered skin. Vertical slits jotted in-between its limbs all opened all of a sudden, revealing hundreds of identical, maroon-red eyes, blinking in the same rhythm. It rolled over, its arms like wheels, coming to a halt at the edge, joining the other three.

One last weep resounded, the space exploding behind the four, causing violent winds to tear through the world around, ripping the dead trees from their roots, flinging them over the edge of the tall cliff into the abyss down below. The entire tower trembled, bits and chunks of rock falling down, rolling into the steep cliff beneath. An ear-bursting scream, yet one that no human ear could pick upon, rived out, causing vibrations to roll into corporeal form, the space for hundreds of miles wiggling like a ripple in the water hit by a rock.

A massive creature, well over a hundred meters tall, boomed through, right leg first. Muscles and tendons lay exposed, wrapped around black-jetted bones, eyes sprinkling about freely, dying and rebirthing with every passing second. Following the leg, thousands upon thousands of macabre tentacles crawled through, exploding like vines into the sky. Some black, some gray, some bone-white, some blood-red, they blanketed the entire surrounding cliff like branches of the world’s tallest tree.

Upper torso came next, a massive slit running from top to bottom, exposing the black void beyond. Wide, trembling, it had no skin, much like the limbs attached to it. Neck sprawled above, over a dozen meters long, full of holes, blending into an oval-shaped, featureless head. No eyes, no lips, to distinct lines; just a smooth surface reflecting the world that was not.

Space trembled ceaselessly, seemingly weeping, begging. The creature appeared indifferent, if it could appear anything, its tentacles thriving about, thrashing, almost as though they were independent of the main body. The lanky arms reached from the shoulder-blades to the creature’s toes, terribly thin, hole-ridden, bleeding profusely.

All the rest of the world grew silent at that moment, the deterrence of the horrid abominations too shocking.

“--summon Others,” a hiss trickled out of the one-eyed creature, its two arms grabbing at the edge of the platform, the slit turning up and glancing at the behemoth-like creature behind it. “Warn of the Changes; adjoin the Cursed. War awaits.”

“War, aaahhahaha--war,” crackling laughter joined right after, the sprawling, lizard-like creature dancing in the air. “Blood, death, pain, agony, terror. Aaahahaaha, war---”

“Calm down,” the giant behemoth spoke out, its voice choral, overbearing, strangely dignified. “Brother fell; we must account Father for this first. If he rejects our pleas, slaughter the boy. Others still asleep need to wake; I’ll endow those who can’t with Chaos. Urath, find the Burrowed,” the creature seemingly turned its featureless head toward the boulder-like one, sporting hundreds of eyes and arms. “Noth-Ythoth, you find the Slumbering,” it said to the lizard-like crawler. “Nosh-Ydheeh,” it turned to the liquid-draped creature which still loomed over the edge. “Infiltrate, report. Ghaggurakh,” it turned to the one-eyed-two-armed creature and said. “Retrieve the Stones. I shall set up a camp here. Go, now. Let us not waste the precious breaths we have.”

**

They--come.

Lino awoke all of a sudden, doused in thick layers of sweat, panting. His black eye darted about the darkness of the room, few beams of moonlight managing to break through the breaks in the curtains on the windows. He was shaking, silently trembling, uncertain as to why. Glancing sideways, he saw Hannah was still fast asleep, her crimson hair spilled over the pillow like bloodied tendrils.

Shaking his head, he got up off the bed and walked over to the balcony, perching over the wall, gazing into the ever-distant horizon. He felt strange, almost nauseous, but couldn’t pinpoint why. He had to consciously prevent his body from shaking, as though trying to answer some distant call he couldn’t hear.

The wind blowing was rather refreshing, caressing his skin, helping him calm down somewhat. His eyes subconsciously moved south-east, staring at the point beyond the rising mountains and looming haze. Something there, he felt, was calling him. Not a voice, but something deeper, far more primordial.

“You alright?” Hannah joined him right then, walking up to him, yawning and stretching before leaning against the rail.

“... hmm.” Lino mumbled a reply, though seemed unfocused.

“... what’s wrong?” she asked with a concerned expression, placing her hand onto his back.

“... I don’t know,” he replied, sighing. “Something... is, though. I can feel it.”

“Well, wow, if you can feel it...”

“Oh, shut up,” he rolled his eyes as she chuckled. “I’m serious. Something is wrong.”

“... maybe you’re just growing old and senile.”

“Oh, I’m definitely growing old and senile,” he said with a smile, glancing at her. “But, this... summon the Council first thing in the morning. Activate all defensive arrays, withdraw our borders, and double the guards. Tell them to look for anything strange and odd.”

"... if you're that rattled," she said after a short silence. "Something must be wrong. I'm gonna go back to sleep. Don't stay too long either."

“Hm.” he nodded absentmindedly as he felt a wet peck on his cheek.

Whatever it was that he felt was now gone, disappeared, as though it was just a fabricated illusion. He knew it wasn’t, however. He felt it. And that voice... the one that woke him up. It was eerily familiar, yet it wasn’t. Different. Way-worn.

He had never stopped trusting his instincts; rather, he trusted them more than he did his conscious senses. It felt as though his very soul had warned him that something has gone awry, that something is not quite right.

He didn’t stay on the balcony for too long, withdrawing into the bed, pulling a blanket over himself as Hannah folded her arm over his chest, snuggling closer. Though he wished it, he was unable to fall asleep. The worries and doubts gnawed away at him, like tiny worms wiggling about in his brain. Something is coming, of that he was certain. The only question that remains is what.