"We should move soon," he said, his voice low. "The longer we stay the more likely our scent will linger, catching the attention of the Monsters."
Xin nodded, though his body protested at the thought of more travel. Raven sat up, his movements slow and deliberate, his armor creaking softly. They gathered their meager supplies and prepared to leave, the weight of the unknown pressing heavily upon them.
As they stepped out of the cave, the landscape greeted them with its usual desolation. The jagged crystalline formations glinted in the early light, their sharp edges a constant threat. The air was already warming, the promise of another horrid night looming on the horizon.
Belial took the lead, his steps cautious but determined. Xin followed, his cloak billowing slightly in the faint breeze. Raven brought up the rear, his eyes scanning their surroundings for any sign of danger. They moved in silence, their senses heightened, every sound and movement a potential threat.
The Black Theatre was a place of endless peril, but it was also a place of revelation. Each step brought them closer to their goals, though what those goals were, they could not yet fully comprehend. For now, survival was enough.
And so, they pressed on, their resolve unshaken, their spirits unbroken. The nightmare was far from over, but they would face it together, one step at a time.
The land stretched before them like an abyssal nightmare, a desolate expanse of glass and shadow that seemed to stretch into eternity. The ground beneath their feet was a mirror, cracked and jagged, reflecting their exhausted figures in an endless, distorted panorama. Every step they took echoed into infinity, their reflections twisting and shifting in ways that defied logic. The mirror monsters here were far more menacing than the ones they had encountered in the catacombs—far more harrowing. The air was thick with an oppressive silence, broken only by the occasional distant roar or the faint crunch of glass underfoot.
At some point during the night, Xin swore he saw a mountain move. A great, hulking mass that should have been still, but the reflection betrayed it. The land itself was deceptive, a trick of light and darkness, where threats could be standing right before them, masked by their own images staring back. The thought sent a chill down his spine, but he pushed it aside. They had no time for fear. They had to keep moving.
Despite the constant danger, the reflections served one useful purpose—they could see if something was following them. And something always was. The creatures of this realm were relentless, their forms shifting and changing, always just out of sight, always just out of reach. Xin could feel their presence, a cold, creeping sensation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
They pressed forward, trudging through what Xin estimated to be three miles of this endless nightmare.
Fatigue weighed heavily on their bodies. Every breath was labored, every motion sluggish. The exhaustion gnawed at their bones, a relentless ache that seemed to seep into their very souls. Ether could sustain them, could keep them fighting, but it did not nourish their flesh, nor could it quench the unbearable dryness in their throats.
They needed water.
A normal person would have long since collapsed, their body reduced to dust and bone, left to decay in this cursed land. Even an Emergent—a being with inhuman resilience—would have perished in the catacombs weeks ago. Yet somehow, they endured.
Nearly a month had passed.
The creatures that roamed this reflective wasteland were ferocious, monstrous things birthed from a realm beyond reason. In the distance, the group heard an earth-shaking collision, the guttural roars of titans locked in brutal combat. When they turned, they saw two behemoths the size of two-story buildings, their armored maws ripping into each other, ichor pouring from their wounds in glistening black rivers.
The first of the monsters was a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and metal, its body covered in jagged plates that gleamed like polished obsidian. Its eyes burned with a malevolent light, and its maw was filled with rows of serrated teeth that dripped with venom. The second creature was a towering beast of sinew and bone, its limbs elongated and twisted, ending in razor-sharp claws that tore through the air with deadly precision.
The two titans clashed with a force that shook the ground beneath their feet. The metallic monster lunged forward, its jaws snapping shut with a sound like shattering glass. The bone beast roared in defiance, its claws slashing through the air, leaving deep gouges in the metallic plates of its opponent. Ichor sprayed in all directions, the black liquid sizzling as it hit the ground.
Xin, Belial, and Raven watched in horrified fascination as the battle raged on. The metallic monster slammed its opponent into the ground, the impact sending shockwaves through the glassy terrain. The bone beast retaliated with a vicious swipe of its claws, tearing through the metallic plates and exposing the pulsing, blackened flesh beneath.
The metallic monster let out a deafening roar, its body convulsing as it unleashed a torrent of molten metal from its maw. The bone beast howled in agony as the molten liquid seared its flesh, but it did not relent. With a final, desperate lunge, it drove its claws deep into the metallic monster's chest, piercing its core.
The metallic monster let out a final, guttural roar before collapsing to the ground, its body twitching as the life drained from it. The bone beast stood over its fallen foe, its chest heaving as it let out a triumphant roar. But its victory was short-lived. The wounds it had sustained were too great, and with a final, shuddering breath, it too collapsed, its body crumbling into a heap of bone and sinew.
The trio stood in silence, the echoes of the battle still ringing in their ears. Belial was the first to speak, his voice low and grim. "We should leave. Now."
Xin nodded, his eyes still fixed on the fallen titans. The sight of the two behemoths locked in mortal combat had left him shaken, but there was no time to dwell on it. They had to keep moving.
Hours passed in a haze of exhaustion. The land remained merciless, endless, and unyielding. Their vision swam with hunger and thirst. They needed shade, a cave—anything to shield them from this world that felt like it was pressing in, suffocating them under the weight of its unnatural presence.
Then Xin heard something.
A splurting sound.
His body tensed immediately. His hand hovered near his weapon. The sound was wet, rhythmic, unnervingly organic. It wasn't the crunch of bone or the screech of a mirror beast. It was something else.
His heart pounded against his ribs as he strained his ears. His parched throat tightened.
Blood?
No… this was different. This felt… natural.
A realization struck him like a bolt of lightning, sending a shiver crawling down his spine.
Was it water?
He turned to Belial and Raven, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Do you hear that?"
Belial's eyes narrowed, his head tilting as he listened. Raven stood at the front, his armored fists ready, his eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of danger. The sound grew louder, more distinct. It was the sound of liquid, flowing and splashing, a melody that was both soothing and terrifying in its implications.
Xin moved toward the sound, his steps cautious but determined. The others followed, their weapons at the ready. The reflections around them seemed to warp and twist, the glassy ground giving way to a more uneven, rocky terrain. The sound led them to a small depression in the land, a lake filled with a dark, glistening liquid.
Water.
The sight of it was almost too much to bear. Xin's throat burned with thirst, his body screaming for relief. But he hesitated. In this cursed land, nothing was as it seemed. The water could be a trap, a lure for the unwary.
Belial stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he studied the liquid. "It looks like water," he said, his voice cautious. "But in this place, looks can be deceiving."
Raven knelt by the edge of the lake, his hand hovering over the surface. "It smells... clean," he said, his voice tinged with disbelief. "But we can't be sure."
Xin's mind raced. They needed water, but the risk was great. If the water was tainted, it could kill them. But if it was safe, it could mean the difference between life and death.