“The Devourer’s Wake”

(The flames burned lazily, casting flickering shadows on the soldiers' faces. No one spoke. No one laughed anymore. Echo had told her story, yet her words lingered—an echo that refused to fade.)

Echo Explains Time on Black Mark

(Echo took her time, her gaze drifting across the group. Her eyes were calm, almost amused—as if she had been waiting for this moment.)

Echo (quietly):

"But there's something else you need to know. Something you must not underestimate."

(Kyro and Rex straightened, as if hoping it wouldn't get any worse. Echo held their gaze for a moment, then leaned in slightly.)

Echo:

"Time on Black Mark flows differently."

(A soft crackle in the fire. No one interrupted her.)

Echo:

"Some say an hour there could be a day here. Others swear it's the opposite.

There are reports of expeditions that thought they had been there for a week—only to return and realize that years had passed.

And then there are those who never came back, yet… still left messages behind. Messages that were never written. Words that only appeared after their deaths.

Some claim Black Mark is not a place. It's a moment in time that never ends.

There's an old story about a man who went there and… returned. But when he looked in the mirror, it wasn't his own face staring back at him.

He didn't age. Yet every morning, he found new cracks in his skin—fine lines that weren't there before.

Until, one day, his face was no longer his own."

(Kyro shook his head slightly, his hands clenched into fists.)

Kyro:

"This is insane."

Zayne (slowly dragging his knife across a splinter of wood):

"That would explain why no one comes back."

(Echo raised an eyebrow slightly.)

Echo:

"Oh, some do return. Sometimes.

But not as the same people who left."

(Silence. Rex ran his tongue over his lips as if they had gone dry.)

Another Story: The Whispering Fog

(Echo closed her eyes for a moment, then continued speaking.)

Echo:

"Let me tell you about the Whispering Fog.

The scientists who created Black Mark eventually discovered something… strange. A mist that came and went—but not like ordinary mist.

It was too still.

No wind moved it. No sound came from within it.

It wasn't just there—it watched.

Reports say that if you stare into it long enough, you see your own reflection. But not as you are.

As you would have been if you had never been born.

The first researchers who studied it said they could hear it.

Soft whispers. Words they couldn't fully understand, yet they stayed in their minds.

They claimed the mist spoke of things that never happened. Past lives, alternate paths.

And eventually… they wanted to know more.

So they walked into it.

And they never came back."

(Zayne paused for a moment. Lynora barely moved. Rioji showed no reaction—but his fingers were tense on his knees.)

The Truth About the Mission

(Echo slowly lifted her head—her gaze was cold and piercing.)

Echo:

"Shade gave us this mission. But he never said why.

He only said: 'Retrieve what lies there. Retrieve it before it's too late.'

He doesn't know what it is. And that worries me."

(She let her gaze drift across the group. Her silver eyes lingered on each of them, as if weighing who was the most afraid.)

'Because if even Shade doesn't know what awaits us…

That only means we have no idea what we're about to face.'

(No one spoke. The fire stretched long shadows across the soldiers' faces.)

Conclusion – The Fear Takes Hold

(The night passed. But no sleep came.)

Kyro and Rex remained silent. Their excitement was gone.

Zayne ran his blade slowly along a whetstone, his expression pensive.

Lynora sat with her eyes closed, but her fingers twitched slightly.

Rioji said nothing, yet his hands rested clenched into fists on his thighs.

Echo? She slept peacefully. As if she had never spoken.

(And on the horizon, hidden deep in the darkness, Black Mark waited.)