UnClaimed

A suffocating silence filled the cavern as the figure stepped closer, the dim torchlight catching the unnatural gleam in his pale blue eyes. The group remained frozen, bound by Aldric's artifact, their breathing shallow as they stared at the man—no, the thing—that had once been a soldier of Durnhart.

Aldric's hand instinctively reached for his sword, but he hesitated. "…Varian?" His voice, usually steady, wavered. "Is that you?"

The lifeless eyes flickered, like a dim flame trying to reignite. Varian's head tilted slightly, and for a fleeting moment, recognition flashed across his face. His lips parted, his expression shifting-relief, sorrow, something unreadable. But then his gaze flicked to Aldric's feet. More precisely, to his shadow.

His breath hitched. His body tensed like a coiled spring. Then, with all the grace of a newborn foal, he lurched forward, his steps unsteady, nearly collapsing with each motion. The others flinched. Isla let out a small gasp. Aldric instinctively stepped back, his body caught between battle-honed reflexes and the ghost of a friend.

Varian reached him, his cold hands gripping Aldric's shoulders with surprising strength. "You're still you," he whispered, his voice fractured between relief and despair. "You weren't claimed."

Aldric's stomach twisted. "Claimed? What are you talking about? What happened to the others?"

But Varian only shook his head violently and shoved Aldric back, urgency overtaking his joy. " No! There's no time! We shouldn't have come here. We all belong to The Beast now. There is no escape for us. But you… maybe you still can."

The bound group exchanged uneasy glances. Lumien clenched his fists, frustration rising. "What the hell does that mean? What Is going on here?"

Varian barely seemed to hear him. His lips trembled. His hands twitched at his sides, as though battling some unseen force. "It took them. It takes everyone. No escape." He inhaled sharply, shaking his head again. "But…maybe. Maybe you, Aldric, can escape. Maybe…"

A rich pause settled over them. The group exchanged tense glances, unsettled by Varian's frantic words.

Then Allen's voice cut through the tension, puzzled yet sharp

"…He doesn't have a shadow."

A ripple of realization coursed through the group. Their eyes widened as they turned toward Varian's feet. No silhouette stretched from him, no darkness cast beneath him. Just the cold, barren stone.

Varian's body jolted as though struck by lightning. His face contorted and twisted unnaturally, pain .His body went rigid, as if something else was pulling at his very skin, something deeper, something eldritch, warping his expression into a grotesque picture. His lips parted as he forced out what might have been his final words of his own free will.

"I'm… sorry…" he choked out, his voice distorted. "Ru…n."

Then, the distortion ceased. His features smoothed. The sorrow vanished.

By then, Aldric had already staggered backward, fingers swiftly working on the binding artifact. The bindings on the group shrank to small glowing threads wrapped around their wrists-enough to hold, but not to render them powerless.

A slow, amused chuckle escaped Varian's lips.

His posture straightened. His shoulders rolled back, his limbs suddenly moving with unnatural ease. A smirk curled his lips as he raised a hand, lazily patting his head as though playing with the most adorable sheep.

"Ah," he said, his voice different now-smooth, collected, with an eerie undercurrent of amusement. "Please excuse our dear friend Varian here. He's new to the game. Thought staying unclaimed for a few hours tagged you as spared. Poor thing." He sighed, shaking his head. "Giving false hope and all."

Aldric's expression hardened, his grip tightening on his sword "What did you do to my unit?" he demanded, his voice like steel.

The others shrank back, uncertainty and dread twisting in their chests. Even Elijah, who had seemed unfazed earlier, felt the air shift-something deeper and far more sinister was in control now.

The Beast only tilted its head, the smile never fading. "Now, now, is that really the question you should be asking?"

"What. Did. You. Do to them?" Aldric ground out, his body tense with barely restrained fury.

The Beast hummed as if pondering. "Oh, so many things. They screamed. They fought. Some broke quickly. Others… well, let's just say I learned a lot about the limits of resilience."

Aldric took a step forward, fists clenched, but The Beast only chuckled.

"Now, as much as I enjoy reminiscing, you have more pressing concerns, don't you? That miss outside isn't going to wait for you."

Aldric hesitated. "What happened there… you know what caused it?"

The Beast's smirk widened as he looked at the group behind Aldric. "Probably some idiot acting on his weird logic again."

The cryptic remark sent a ripple of unease through the group.

Until now, Lumien had kept his composure for the sake of his friends, but at this, he stepped forward, his voice steady yet demanding.

"What the hell is going on here?" Lumien demanded, voice laced with tension. "What happened to us?" he asked. "What brought us here?"

The thing wearing Varian's face turned its gaze onto Lumien, eyes alight with some unreadable amusement. Then it chuckled, shaking its head.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" it mused. "Find a way out of this first… and maybe you will."

Varian tilted its head, considering something. Then, with that same smile, it leaned forward slightly, lowering its voice to something almost conspiratorial.

And as it gazed at Lumien and the others it said "As much as I love the talk we're having I'm afraid we must save it for the next time".

Then he slowly brought its gaze back to Aldric "and I must say, you had a really good friend."

It leaned forward slightly, his chilling grin unwavering. "he gave you the best advice anyone could ever give to his friend."

Aldric and the others opened their eyes wide in horror. The darkness behind Varian was no longer just empty space. It had depth now-a yawning abyss filled with shifting, writhing shapes. Dozens of them. No, hundreds. Cold, blue eyes blinked open, one by one, staring unblinking at the group

The Beast's smile widened as the darkness itself seemed to breathe. And with the same amused voice, he whispered: "Run."