Chapter 38 - Waking Luck
A headache roared through Lucas's head as his vision swayed while he tried to lift himself off the ground. His body felt foreign to him, heavy with exhaustion, yet strangely alive. He groaned, blinking rapidly to clear the fog from his mind. There was something unnatural about this, but despite everything, he couldn't quite grasp what it was.
He glanced around, trying to piece together his scattered thoughts. The air was warm, eerily still, with a gentle breeze brushing against his skin. Beneath him, the ground was soft, as if it had been prepared, as if it were cradling him. It didn't make sense.
Then, he saw them.
Andre and Darlene, their bodies motionless at first, but now starting to stir. Their eyes opened, revealing only lifeless, vacant stares. The cold, mechanical nature of their movements sent a shiver down Lucas's spine.
"Heh." "What's going on? Are you two dead? Who saved us?"
The words came out of him like a broken question, more than anything else. His heart still raced. The last thing he remembered was the Spider Queen's poisonous fingers, the venom spreading through his veins, the life draining from him. But now, here he was, lying on the ground, with Andre and Darlene beside him.
They slowly rose, almost simultaneously, as if they were puppets moved by invisible strings. Their movements were stiff, mechanical, and when they spoke, their voices were void of emotion.
"We don't know, Sir," Andre said in a monotone, his eyes glassy, as though he wasn't truly seeing Lucas, but something beyond him.
Lucas turned his gaze to Darlene, who stood beside Andre, her expression just as vacant. "We don't know, Sir," she repeated, as if the words held no meaning, no life behind them.
"Great," Lucas muttered under his breath, pushing himself fully into a standing position. He took a deep breath, his mind racing with questions, none of which had any answers. Where were they? How had they survived? Was this life after death or, worse, a cruel illusion? The thought made him shiver.
He looked around, trying to assess his surroundings. Vast stretches of green grass lay before him, interrupted only by a single towering tree, its leaves gently swaying in the breeze. The serenity of the scene was almost too perfect. It felt strange, almost too clean, untouched. There should have been chaos. There should have been signs of the Spider Queen's battle. But there was nothing—just this peaceful, unspoiled world.
He stared into the distance, his eyes catching a glimpse of something. A faint image. A village. Its buildings were small, clustered together, with smoke rising slowly from chimneys into the sky. It was a tranquil scene, completely opposite to the horror they had just escaped.
"Wait a minute," Lucas said.
Is the system still with me?
He focused, hoping for a response. Quickly, a window appeared before him. The familiar blue glow illuminated his surroundings. But this time, there was something different.
The words that appeared on the screen...
Mission: Summon Bronze Beasts.
Lucas stared at the words, dumbfounded.
Summon Bronze Beasts?
The absurdity of the task almost made him laugh. What did that even mean? He scrolled through the system message, searching for an explanation, but there was nothing. Just that cryptic line.
His heart began to race. "Great, the system is with me... and this strange mission," he muttered, his voice tinged with confusion. "Summon beasts? What is this?"
He paused for a moment, his thoughts speeding up. He had no answers, no clear direction. All he knew was that he was alive. Somehow. And that meant something. Something had pulled him from the brink of death, something unknown had saved him, and now, here he was. But where was here?
What was this world? Why had they brought him here?
A soft rustling sound drew his attention back to Andre and Darlene. They were standing there, their eyes fixed on him, waiting for his next command. Their eyes still locked onto him with that same vacant expression, devoid of life.
Get your thoughts together, Lucas, he told himself. No time to get lost in confusion. If we're alive, we need to figure out this place and what exactly happened to us.
He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside. "Alright," he said, his voice now calm with a renewed determination. "Let's explore this place. We need to figure out what's going on."
Without waiting for an answer, he started walking toward the dirt path cutting through the grass, heading toward the distant village. He didn't know what awaited them there.
Darlene and Andre followed him silently, their steps mechanical but in sync with his. It was as if they had no will of their own, no life behind their movements.
The journey continued in silence. The air around them was still and quiet, eerily so. Every breath felt pure, refreshing air that felt strange after all the violence and darkness they had witnessed in their battles. The landscape was beautiful in its simplicity rolling hills, birds soaring in the clear blue sky, and a gentle sway in the grass beneath their feet.
Lucas glanced upward, noticing the pigeons that were circling the sky above them, their wings slicing through the air with perfect harmony. They were everywhere, a strange yet comforting presence. Part of him wanted to get lost in the beauty of it all, to let himself forget the chaos and confusion that had brought them here. But he couldn't. Not now. He was still trapped in a web of doubts, unsure of who or what to trust.
They walked for a few more minutes until they reached the edge of the village. The buildings were simple, their wooden frames modest.
As they approached the village gates, Lucas's mind was buzzing with possibilities. Who lived here? What kind of people would inhabit this peaceful place? And most importantly, what connection did this world have to the Spider Queen? To their death?
And the mission?
He had no answers. Not yet.