Chapter 12 - Strange encounter

As night deepened, a thick, white fog began to seep through the jungle, curling around the trees and spilling into the cave like an ethereal tide.

Nex's visibility dropped dramatically, and the world outside became a blurred canvas of shifting shadows.

The fog brought a chilling dampness, clinging to his skin and making every sound seem muffled and distant.

Then, he felt it. A gaze. Something, or someone, was watching him.

He froze, his senses heightened after his strange awakening. The feeling was undeniable, like an icy finger trailing down his spine.

He couldn't see it, couldn't hear it, but he felt it. His instincts told him.

"What could it be? Another Advance-rank creature?" he muttered under his breath, the chill of fear creeping into his voice.

He strained his ears, desperate to hear something, anything, beyond the suffocating fog. But the jungle outside had gone eerily quiet. Whatever was watching him, it was close. Too close.

"Damn it," Nex cursed, gripping his gun tightly, the metal cold against his palm. He fought to keep his breathing steady, suppressing the urge to fire blindly into the fog. Panic wouldn't help him now.

The cave, for all its eerie solitude, offered a semblance of safety. Rushing out would be suicide.

Instead, he waited. He crouched low, his back against the wall, eyes scanning the fog-shrouded cave entrance. His mind raced with possibilities. Could it be a predator? A scout? Or worse, something entirely unknown?

The oppressive silence dragged on, stretching his nerves. But he didn't move. He knew better than to let fear dictate his actions.

For now, he had to rely on patience and his wits. Whatever was out there, it would make its move eventually.

And when it did, he would be ready.

Minutes dragged on, feeling like hours. The stillness of the air pressed down on him, growing heavier with each passing second.

Whatever danger was lurking out there, it was taking its time, and the waiting was unbearable.

His eyelids grew heavier with each slow blink. He could feel his mind beginning to drift, weighed down by exhaustion and the maddening stillness around him.

He clenched his fists and shook his head slightly, fighting the pull of sleep. This wasn't the time to lose focus, not when he didn't even know what he was waiting for.

But the silence, the waiting, it was like a lullaby, trying to coax him into a moment of weakness.

Then, out of nowhere, something moved.

A dark, hulking shape materialized from the fog outside the cave, snapping him out of his daze in an instant.

His eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. What is that?

He dared not ask the Mod.

Instinctively, he stilled himself. He pressed his back tightly against the cool rock wall near the cave's entrance and held his breath, forcing himself to stay silent.

Slowly, he peered out into the fog, careful not to make a sound.

The shape moved sluggishly, gliding through the mist like some specter of nightmares.

At first, it was hard to make out its features, but as it drifted closer, Nex's stomach churned at the sight.

It wasn't just a shadow. It was an eye.

The thing was enormous, its sheer size defying anything he had ever seen before. Its surface was encased in a thick, black leathery membrane that shimmered faintly in the dim light.

Tiny, fidgeting tentacles clung to the outer edges of the eye, twitching and writhing like restless insects poking out of rotten fruit.

They squirmed constantly, as if tasting the air or searching for something unseen. The sight was deeply unsettling, a grotesque.

He froze, his breath caught in his throat. The creature's massive, unblinking eye glided through the fog, its gaze slow and lazy. For a horrifying moment, Nex was certain it would see him, that its awful stare would lock onto him, and whatever came next would be swift and deadly.

But nothing happened.

The eye floated past him, its movements smooth and uninterested. It didn't pause or turn. It simply drifted forward, completely indifferent to his presence.

Nex's heart pounded in his chest as he watched it disappear into the mist, his pulse racing with relief and confusion. It had not noticed him. Not yet.

But his relief was short-lived. As the moments dragged on, more shapes began to emerge from the fog.

First, there were two, then three, then five, all of them massive, floating eyes, each slightly different in texture and color.

Some were a dull, fleshy pink, while others were coated in dark, scaly ridges. Each one bore the same fidgeting tentacles, twitching and probing the air around them like they were searching for something.

He clenched his fists as he watched them, every instinct in his body telling him to stay still.

He quickly realized something strange about the eyes. None of them seemed to notice him, no matter how close they drifted. Their movements were slow and clumsy, and they never focused on anything too far away.

'Nearsighted,' Nex thought, a small flicker of relief creeping into his mind.

It was absurd to find comfort in such a detail, but in this bizarre world, any advantage was worth holding onto. He stayed pressed against the rock, letting the eyes glide through the fog without interference.

...

[A/N: Imagine them more or less like the cover pic]