The Silent Revelation

A sudden gust of night wind rose, causing the candlelight in Ruby’s hand to flicker wildly. Its dim, yellow glow abruptly plunged into the low-lying area, only to be firmly suppressed by the viscous darkness. The air was no longer merely flowing cold; it had solidified into a thick blanket, saturated with rust and a sweet, cloying stench, pressing heavily into their lungs, each breath laden with potent putrefaction.

Rachel’s stomach lurched violently, her throat constricted by the stench.

Vera fared even worse, clapping a hand over her mouth and letting out a short, choked retch, her entire body swaying precariously, her face ashen as paper.

The candlelight barely managed to tear through the immediate darkness, yet the sight it illuminated caused Ruby’s knuckles, gripping her dagger, to emit a faint ‘click’.

This was no battlefield; it was a slaughterhouse.

Mutilated limbs had been crudely strewn amongst jagged rocks and slag, like discarded rag dolls cast aside by a child. The dark liquid was no longer fresh red, but a viscous, almost black substance, spreading wantonly across the cold ground, solidifying into sickening dark puddles. Several relatively intact bodies lay twisted and piled together, their hollow eye sockets staring blankly at the pitch-black sky, their frozen expressions etched with the ultimate terror of their final moments.

The potent stench of blood, mingled with the peculiar reek of ruptured organs, had almost solidified, assailing them head-on.

“Ugh…” Vera could hold it no longer, bending over abruptly to retch violently.

Rachel suppressed the churning in her stomach, forcing herself to observe calmly. She suddenly noticed a somewhat familiar figure among the fragmented corpses; it was the s*ave trader who had stopped their carriage earlier that day to peddle his wares.

‘It was them?’

‘But why here?’

Just as these questions formed in Rachel’s mind, a faint, almost imperceptible whimper, like that of an injured young animal, suddenly emanated from behind a half-man-high rock nearby.

Ruby instantly spun around, her dagger held horizontally before her, her body lowered into a defensive stance. Rachel’s heart leaped into her throat as she gestured for Vera to keep quiet.

The whimpering was intermittent, filled with an inexpressible fear and pain.

Rachel took a deep breath, cautiously circling the rock. Ruby stayed close to her side, her gaze fixed intently on the source of the sound.

Huddled in the rock’s shadow was a tiny figure. She was so frail that a gust of wind seemed capable of carrying her away, dressed in thin, tattered coarse cloth. Her exposed skin was almost transparently pale under the dismal candlelight. Her shoulder-length black hair clung messily to her cheeks, yet its tips were stained with a strange, dark red. Most conspicuously, her left eye was swathed in layers of old, grey bandages, already soaked through with bloodstains.

It was the little girl from earlier that day!

She hugged her knees tightly, her body curled into a ball, trembling like a kitten terrified by a storm. Her exposed right eye was wide, its pupil a profound void, filled with the pure, utter blankness of someone completely shattered by immense horror. Her body, too, was covered in dark red stains, whether her own or another’s was impossible to tell.

“It’s her…” Vera’s voice held a touch of surprise.

Ruby scrutinized the girl warily, her dagger still held ready.

Rachel gazed into those hollow, desperate eyes and slowly crouched down. She tried to make her voice sound as gentle as possible, though in this bloody hellscape, any softness felt profoundly bizarre.

“Don’t be afraid… we aren’t bad people.”

The little girl’s body jolted, and her intact right eye finally found its focus, slowly turning to rest blankly on Rachel’s face. The gaze remained hollow, yet strangely devoid of fear; instead, it held a faint, almost instinctive dependence, like a drowning person spotting a piece of driftwood.

Rachel hesitated, then tentatively extended a hand.

“Can you stand up?”

The little girl didn’t react, merely staring blankly at her.

Rachel sighed with a hint of helplessness.

‘In this situation, there’s truly no way we can just leave her here.’

“Ruby, Vera.”

Rachel stood up, her tone infused with undeniable resolve.

“Check the surroundings. See if you can find any clues, any traces that might identify the victims or the perpetrators!”

She then looked down at the little girl on the ground, softening her tone as much as possible.

“Do you… have a name?”

The little girl remained silent, her right eye simply fixed on Rachel without blinking.

Rachel, feeling helpless, said, “I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey,’ can I? My name is Rachel. Will you… come with me? Leave this place.”

Upon hearing the word ‘leave,’ the little girl’s body seemed to relax ever so slightly. She still didn’t speak, but her intact right eye, very slowly and firmly, nodded almost imperceptibly in Rachel’s direction.

An almost imperceptible response.

“…Naiya.” A voice, incredibly faint and hoarse as sandpaper, suddenly squeezed from the girl’s chapped lips.

Rachel paused for a moment. “Naiya? Is that your name?”

The little girl—Naiya—nodded again, the movement still almost imperceptibly small, yet the light of dependence in her right eye, fixed on Rachel, seemed to grow clearer.

Just then!

“Watch out!” Ruby’s sharp warning cry tore through the deadly silence!

A shadow, darker than the night itself, shot out like a phantom from behind a taller pile of slag to their side, without any warning! It moved so fast it left only a blurred afterimage, its target unequivocally Rachel, who was still crouched before Naiya! At the same instant, a deep, brutal roar exploded!

Behind the shadow, a colossal beast leaped onto the peak of the slag pile!

The creature resembled a wolf, but its size was unimaginably vast! When all four paws were on the ground, its shoulder height undoubtedly surpassed that of one and a half adult men! Its entire body was covered in dark, glistening scales, reflecting a cold, metallic sheen under the dim moonlight. Its ferocious maw opened, revealing dagger-like, interlocking fangs, with saliva dripping from its jowls. A faint, dark red glow pulsed deep within its throat. A pair of blood-red eyes locked onto Rachel and her companions, brimming with pure bloodlust!

“Roar—!” The giant wolf suddenly opened its mouth, and a scorching, basketball-sized, dark red fireball shot out like a cannonball, carrying a wave of blistering heat as it hurtled towards Rachel and Naiya’s position!

“Vera! Block it!” Ruby roared, her body already rocketing forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging towards the shadow that lunged at Rachel! Her dagger carved a cold arc in her hand, thrusting directly at the assailant’s heart! Her mission was singular: protect Rachel! The giant wolf, she knew, could only be left to Vera!

Vera’s heart pounded wildly as she watched the hurtling fireball and the ferocious beast lunging behind it; immense fear almost paralyzed her. But Rachel was right behind her! Biting down on her tongue, the sharp pain brought a flicker of clarity, and with a roar, she unleashed all her strength, lunging forward to violently shove Rachel and Naiya away!

Boom! The fireball slammed precisely where Rachel had been moments before, sending shattered rock and burning earth exploding outwards, the heat wave and shockwave knocking Vera off balance! Before she could regain her footing, a foul wind assailed her! The giant wolf’s massive body descended with the force of a collapsing mountain, its gleaming claws tearing through the air, lunging viciously for her head!

Vera’s pupils contracted sharply, and in that life-or-death moment, she erupted with astonishing agility! She abruptly rolled to her side and back, narrowly evading a claw strike that would have crushed her skull! The giant wolf’s claws grazed her shoulder, tearing fabric and leaving several bloody gashes! The searing pain made her gasp sharply.

“Roar!” The giant wolf, missing its strike, grew even more enraged, its thick tail sweeping towards her like a steel whip! Vera rolled on the spot, and the tail slammed hard onto the ground where she had just been, sending fragments of rock flying! She had no time to catch her breath before the giant wolf’s gaping maw, reeking of a sickening stench, lunged to bite again! Vera could only tumble and leap frantically, using the slag piles and rocks as cover, desperately trying to evade the giant wolf’s relentless, storm-like assault. The wound on her left arm was violently pulled, and the excruciating pain made cold sweat stream down her face. Her strength, defense, and speed were completely overwhelmed! She was like a small boat in a tempest, liable to capsize at any moment!

On the other side, Ruby’s battle with the shadow was equally perilous.

The shadow’s movements were eerie and elusive, clinging like a maggot to bone, its attack angles cunning and vicious; each clash left Ruby’s arm numb. The assailant was clearly an extremely experienced killer, with a clear objective: to entangle Ruby, the greatest threat! As long as Ruby was tied up, Vera would have no chance against the monster, and Rachel would be meat on the chopping block!

Ruby was burning with anxiety, attempting several times to break free from the shadow’s entanglement to rescue Rachel, but each time she was repelled by its relentless, shadow-like attacks. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Vera barely surviving under the giant wolf’s claws, and Rachel, clutching Naiya, exposed in the open; her heart sank to rock bottom.

And in the split second Ruby’s attention wavered, a flash of ruthless intent gleamed in the shadow’s eyes!

He risked taking a dagger slash from Ruby across his ribs, then suddenly accelerated, like an arrow released, instantly breaking free from Ruby’s entanglement, his target now the unsuspecting Rachel, who held Naiya! A dark, short blade had appeared in his hand at some unknown moment, its tip aimed directly at Rachel’s back!

“No!” Ruby and Vera roared simultaneously, a mix of shock and fury, but it was already too late to intervene!

Rachel felt an icy killing intent instantly envelop her entire body; the shadow of death had never been so stark! Instinctively, she clutched Naiya tighter in her arms, wanting to turn, but it was already too late! The tip of that dark blade rapidly grew larger in her peripheral vision!

In this critical, hair-thin moment! Naiya, held tightly in Rachel’s embrace, suddenly stiffened! An invisible, cold, and tempestuous power erupted from her center!

There was no light, no earth-shattering sound, only a suffocating, terrifying pressure emanating from the depths of the soul! It was as if an ancient, slumbering leviathan had opened its eyes, coldly gazing down upon insignificant ants!

Poof! The fireball forming in the giant wolf’s mouth extinguished instantly, like a pricked bubble! Its massive body seemed to be struck by an invisible, colossal hammer, letting out a pained, mournful howl as its limbs buckled, collapsing heavily to the ground! Its blood-red eyes instantly lost their luster, replaced only by terror and agony, its massive body trembling violently like a sieve, foam spilling from its mouth and nose, all its ferocious might completely gone!

Meanwhile, the shadow lunging at Rachel abruptly froze! It was as if a rapidly moving carriage had crashed into an invisible wall! The ruthlessness in its eyes was instantly replaced by incredulous horror! The cold, tempestuous pressure made it feel as though it had fallen into an ice cavern, its very soul trembling violently! The short blade aimed at Rachel stopped dead in mid-air, unable to advance even an inch!

Immediately after, several unassuming, pigeon-egg-sized grey crystals materialized out of thin air on the ground around Naiya. They were rough in texture, dull, like fragments of the lowest-grade ore, appearing abruptly and without warning, as if condensed from the void.

However, Rachel’s attention was entirely consumed by the immediate life-or-death crisis and the terrifying pressure, so she completely failed to notice these quietly appearing small grey objects.

“A perfect chance!” Ruby, with her vast combat experience, though equally stunned by the sudden pressure, instantly seized the opportunity presented by the opponent’s momentary daze! She closed in like a phantom, her dagger carrying the cold aura of death, ruthlessly thrusting towards the shadow’s throat!

The shadow, utterly terrified, forcibly suppressed the tremor in its soul and abruptly twisted its body to dodge!

Slish! The dagger grazed his shoulder, drawing a spray of blood and tearing fabric! He dared not linger any longer, not even sparing a glance for the withered giant wolf on the ground; using the force of Ruby’s attack, his body recoiled sharply backward, and in a few bounds, he melted into the distant darkness, vanishing without a trace, leaving only a faint scent of blood in the air.

Meanwhile, Naiya, held in Rachel’s arms, collapsed limply as if all her strength had been utterly spent, her small face ashen as paper, her breath faint, completely losing consciousness.

All of this happened too quickly! From the shadow’s ambush to Naiya’s outburst and the enemy’s escape, it was merely a matter of two or three breaths!

Ruby did not pursue, instead instantly flashing to stand before Rachel, scanning her surroundings vigilantly. Vera, clutching her aching shoulder and left arm, staggered to Rachel’s side, still shaken, gazing at the limp Naiya and the giant wolf twitching like a broken puppet on the ground.

“She… what happened to her?” Vera’s voice trembled as she looked at the unconscious Naiya.

“She’s fainted.” Rachel checked Naiya’s breath, her brows furrowed tightly, a tempest raging in her heart. ‘That power just now… cold, tempestuous, filled with the pressure of a superior being… this is definitely not a power a human could possess! Who exactly is this little girl, Naiya?’

Ruby walked over to the giant wolf, which lay limp on the ground as if its bones had been removed. It was still twitching unconsciously, foaming at the mouth, its blood-red eyes completely devoid of ferocity, leaving only the dullness of impending death.

“What do we do with this thing?” Vera asked, looking at the giant wolf with lingering fear.

Ruby didn’t answer. She crouched down, carefully prodding with her dagger at a shallow wound she had previously inflicted on the giant wolf’s neck. The scales near the wound were peeled back, and the flesh was mangled.

At the edge of the disturbed flesh, a faint, unusual spectral glow caught Ruby’s eye. Her brow furrowed, and she carefully pricked it with the tip of her dagger.

A thumb-sized, pitch-black crystal rolled out from the flesh. Its surface was not smooth, bearing natural facets, and its texture somewhat resembled jet, yet it was purer and deeper than jet, as if capable of absorbing all surrounding light. Most eerily, the dark red bloodstains on the crystal’s surface were slowly being ‘absorbed’ into it, as if it were a living thing.

Ruby used the tip of her dagger to push it onto a clean patch of ground nearby.

Rachel, still holding Naiya, walked over. Her gaze fell upon the black crystal lying quietly on the cold ground.

She bent down, carefully wrapping the black crystal in her handkerchief, a thoughtful expression on her face.