Project Rex

Chapter XIV (14): Sparks (I)

The colorful world around them faded as they trod the never-ending fog. Ferno's eyes, once lively, now glowed an eerie crimson. Leva couldn't shake worry for her friend.

Pragmatic as ever, Dhan examined his still injured hand. They knew they couldn't linger.

The thick and dense fog suspended them between worlds, their destination unknown. Uncertainty weighed heavily.

Leva glanced towards Ferno slowly, beginning to converse.

"Ferno.." She began softly, "I'm here for you...please....talk to me..."

His silence is the acknowledgement to her words. Time felt peculiar in the fog, reality bending around them, She continues on, her voice a bit more urgent, "F-Ferno..!"

Finally turning to face her, his response unusually cold, sending a shiver down her spine. It felt odd, out of character for him. "What?"

Hesitated, She searched for words that could bridge the growing divide between them. "I...Uhm..." Taking a deep breath, locking eyes with his unsettling crimson gaze.

However, just at that moment, a sensation of being stalked came upon them, as if unseen eyes observed their every move.

Dhan noticed their surroundings growing even more surreal, the misty plane distorting the passage of time.

Unease began to creep into his usually composed demeanor. "Something doesn't feel right" he murmured.

The feeling of being watched, which had lingered in the background, intensified. Shadows seemed to move at the edge of their vision, and faint whispers brushed against their ears.

Leva gasped, her unease turning to fear. "Did you hear that..? Dhan..?"

His senses on high alert. "Stay close" he urged, his voice low and steady.

As they continued to move through the misty realm, the sense of being watched grew stronger, indistinct shapes darted through the fog.

"Wait...i think i see something" Dhan exclaimed.

Suddenly, the mist parted, revealing a clearing bathed in eerie, otherworldly light. In the center stood a towering, ancient tree with gnarled branches that seemed to reach out like skeletal fingers.

Dhan cautiously approached the tree, sensing that it held some significance. Leva and Ferno followed, their fear temporarily overshadowed by curiosity.

As they drew nearer, the tree's bark began to shift and writhe, as if it were alive. It contorted into grotesque faces, twisted and anguished, before settling back into its natural state.

instincts urged Dhan to maintain their forward momentum. "Let's...go..." he said. "...it's giving me the creeps staying here..."

With that, they pressed onward, the mist closing in around them once more. The sensation of being under scrutiny lingered, an invisible presence haunting their every step.

Though still trapped in his emotional abyss, Ferno didn't shake off the nagging unease that clung to him. His hand involuntarily reached for the empty space where his amulet had once hung, its absence a constant reminder of what had lost.

.

The mist gradually began to thin as they walked, revealing a new landscape before them. They stood at the edge of a dense, ancient jungle. Towering trees with vibrant, oversized leaves stretched far and wide, their trunks gnarled and covered in exotic vines.

Leva gazed around in awe, her fear replaced by wonder. "Look at this place..."

Dhan nodded, his practicality resurfacing. "We...still don't know what's in there. let's figure out where we are, sounds good?"