Shadows in the Fog
[MISSION COMPLETE: KARL THE HUNTER – ELIMINATED]
Rewards Unlocked:
+500 XP (LEVEL UP!)
Blood Pact Warhammer (Heavy, +20 Attack, High Durability)
Karl's Cursed Pendant (Effect: ???)
3 Days' Worth of Rations
A cold wind whispered through the trees.
Zane staggered back, wiping the blood from his brow. His vision blurred from exhaustion, and every muscle in his body screamed in protest.
Karl's lifeless body lay sprawled in the dirt, his massive warhammer still clutched in his fingers.
Lyra stood over him, gripping the splintered remains of her spear. Blood dripped from her knuckles, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
DING!
A system notification flickered in Zane's vision.
[LEVEL UP!]
Zane LVL 7 → LVL 8
+5 HP Added
??? (A new skill is awakening…)
Zane's chest tightened. The words on the screen glitched slightly, as if the system itself was uncertain.
He frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
Lyra didn't seem to hear him. Her golden eyes remained fixed on Karl's corpse.
"…He wasn't afraid," she murmured.
Zane followed her gaze.
Karl's face, even in death, was frozen in a smirk. As if he had known something they didn't.
A shiver crawled up Zane's spine.
Then—
The wind shifted.
And the forest went silent.
Not the kind of silence that came with peace.
The kind that came with something watching.
Zane's instincts flared.
Something was wrong.
His fingers tightened around his spiked club, his breath turning shallow.
"Do you feel that?" he whispered.
Lyra's shoulders tensed. "Yes."
The trees didn't sway. The air felt heavier. Even the distant cries of crows had vanished.
It was as if the forest itself was holding its breath.
Then—
(whisper… whisper… whisper…)
Zane's blood ran cold.
That was not the wind.
Lyra took a slow step back, her hand drifting to the dagger at her waist.
The whispering grew louder.
And clearer.
(Zane… Lyra… you cannot run…)
Zane's heart slammed against his ribs.
"MOVE!"
Both of them bolted into the trees.
The fog rolled in thick, swallowing the forest in a ghostly white haze.
Zane's boots pounded against the dirt, his breath ragged. The whispering never stopped.
Lyra kept pace beside him, her movements sharp, controlled.
They needed higher ground. A place to regroup.
Then—
SNAP.
A twig broke.
Zane froze.
Lyra stilled.
The whispering ceased.
The silence pressed down on them.
Then—
A shape shifted in the fog.
Not quite human.
Not quite beast.
Something wrong.
Zane's system remained silent. No enemy alert. No warning.
Which meant whatever was watching them was beyond the game's rules.
A low growl rumbled through the mist.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
THUD.
The impact slammed into Zane's chest, sending him sprawling.
His back hit the ground hard, the breath ripped from his lungs.
Lyra whirled around, blade flashing—
But there was nothing there.
Just the fog.
Zane gasped, scrambling to his feet.
His system flickered violently, the text distorting.
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED]
Classification: ???
Weaknesses: ???
Threat Level: IMMEASURABLE
Zane's hands shook. He had fought goblins, mercenaries, even Karl.
But this?
This was something else.
Then—
A chilling whisper brushed against his ear.
(You don't belong here, Zane…)
A hand—cold, claw-like—grazed his shoulder.
Zane spun.
Nothing.
His breath shuddered.
Lyra grabbed his wrist.
"RUN."
They ran.
Hard.
The forest blurred around them, the mist twisting unnaturally.
The whispers followed, slithering through the air.
(There is no escape…)
Zane's system glitched violently, notifications popping in and out.
Then—
A shadow MOVED.
It wasn't human.
It wasn't beast.
It was something in-between.
It lunged.
Zane and Lyra dove aside, barely avoiding its razor-sharp claws.
The creature flickered, like it wasn't fully in this world.
Zane's hands tightened into fists.
They couldn't keep running forever.
They had to fight.
Even if they didn't know what they were up against.
Lyra met his gaze.
She nodded.
No more running.
They would stand and fight.
Even if it killed them. Shadows in the Fog