At Death’s Edge

Ethan instinctively stepped back, his knees trembling. He felt the weight of the creature pressing down on his soul, as though he were being watched by something far beyond his comprehension. The presence of the worm was overwhelming, a force that seemed to distort reality around it.

And then, the massive black pillar was cut in half.

It happened so quickly that Ethan almost didn't see it. A silver flash sliced through the air, cleaving the colossal monster as if it were made of paper. The sound was dry and precise, followed by an oppressive silence. The two halves of the worm began to fall slowly, like towers collapsing in slow motion.

The blade gleamed one last time before returning to its sheath, and Kiyoshi, the samurai, stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The precision was absurd, almost impossible. Ethan couldn't take his eyes off the two halves of the monster, tumbling to the sand and kicking up a storm upon impact.

The sound of the crash echoed like thunder, and the ground trembled beneath their feet. For a moment, all Ethan could do was stare, dumbfounded.

"He cut that… how…?" Ethan muttered to himself, trying to rationalize what had just happened.

He looked around, expecting to see the same stunned expressions that must have been on his own face. But to his surprise, no one seemed impressed. Kiyoshi stood nearby, calmly cleaning his blade with a piece of cloth. It was as if he had done something routine, mundane.

"They… they're insane," Ethan muttered, more to himself than to anyone else.

The group began to approach the fallen worm, the sand still trembling lightly under the weight of the two enormous halves. Zeta 4 was the first to step closer to the corpse, bending down to carve a piece of the charred flesh with surgical precision. After a few moments, his robotic voice echoed through the air.

"Scan complete," he declared. "Genetic composition identified."

The robot turned to the group, his expression as unchanging as ever. "Based on the analysis, this creature is only a juvenile."

The words hit Ethan like a punch to the gut. "Only a juvenile?" he thought, his mind racing. "How is that possible? If this is a juvenile, then the mother of this thing must be… what? Something that wraps around the entire world?" He shook his head, trying to push the thought away. "No, that's an exaggeration… right?"

Lian Xuan, the cultivator, stepped forward, carefully observing the split creature. "This beast exudes corruption," he said, his voice heavy with gravity. "This world… the very environment here is saturated with it. It's like breathing invisible poison."

The group fell into an uneasy silence, the cultivator's words hanging heavily in the air. Seryne, the blind woman, turned toward the Sorcerer. "The threads of fate are fragmented here," she said, her voice firm yet subdued. "I sense you have enough wisdom to tell us what to expect in this place."

Ethan, still trying to process everything, thought to himself: Or madness.

The Sorcerer didn't respond immediately. Instead, his cauldron bubbled beside him, and one of his books emerged, floating in the air. The book began to murmur incoherent words, phrases Ethan couldn't understand. Then, as if it were alive, the book flew toward the worm's body and started devouring a piece of it.

The Sorcerer, watching the scene with curiosity, finally spoke. "What to expect from this world? Well, in my view… it could be fun." He paused, smiling. "But in yours…"

Before he could finish, the little girl, Lenora, interrupted him. "Death."

A single word, spoken with an unsettling calmness, seemed to bury all hope. The girl, still sitting on the monster's shoulder, said it as if it were a casual comment, devoid of weight.

Ethan felt the ground disappear beneath him. "That can't be right, can it?" he asked, his voice trembling, looking at the group. "Look at the absurd feat that Mr. Kiyoshi pulled off. Don't tell me we don't stand a chance."

The Sorcerer looked at him, an ironic smile forming on his lips. "Of course, we have a chance, boy. They're just not very big. But we'll do our best, won't we? After all, we're a rather formidable group, I'd say."

He then turned his gaze to the robot. "And you, what is your designation? There's something about you that makes me associate you with divinity. That's rare."

The robot answered in his metallic voice without hesitation. "My designation is Zeta 4. I am a direct line to the service of the Machine God."

The words echoed in Ethan's mind. "God? Machine God?" He couldn't suppress his reaction. "What kind of madness is that?"

Zeta 4 continued, unfazed. "I am without connection to the collective consciousness of the machines. There is no signal from my Lord in this world. I can only conclude that this place is… cursed."