A Foreboding–

The characters… sorry, the party, lurched forward, falling to the ground on top of one another. Dirt and gravel scraped against Aster’s skin while the rest simply had a few bruises here and there. They each moved their limbs in a daze, trying to fully understand what happened. Well, it was obvious, but actually experiencing it was difficult to comprehend. It was as if the last few minutes were simply a dream. Still, they couldn’t continue to stare blankly; there was a quest to complete.

The area around the crates was completely ordinary. The dense mana that permeated through the air had completely disappeared. Aster’s headache persisted, but it was much more manageable than before. It was a bit concerning that the man had simply vanished, but…

“Mind if I verify the contents of the crates?” the proctor asked, providing a bit of misdirection.

“Go ahead. I’m rather curious myself,” Rufus replied. After all the party had gone through, it would be surprising if any of them weren’t wondering what was stolen. The last three days of trials made it seem like these objects stored something ridiculous and invaluable.

“I don’t mind showing you.”

As soon as those words left the proctor’s mouth, a massive chill ran down Aster’s spine. It was only for a moment, but the dense mana had reappeared. However, Ai didn’t notice at all, nor were any of her vines giving off warning signals. Had she imagined it? But, that foreboding feeling lingered, as though something was behind her, watching, waiting.

Another quick check, and everything was the same as before. The crystals gleaned, bouncing light throughout the chamber. The cliff face remained as imposing as ever. The giant rock was still in its same place. Though, looking closer, there was an oddly shaped hole near the bottom. It almost seemed like–

A giant eyeball stared back.

Aster immediately whipped around, running towards the oblivious party. She wasn’t sure what she had just seen, but her instincts had kicked into high gear. Her headache grew as the amount of mana exploded to unfathomable levels. Ai noticed the spike, moving her vines subconsciously to pull Rufus and Emma away from the crates. She didn’t have the skill to control a third vine to grab the proctor.

Aster made to grab him, but the chill froze her body from taking another step forward, instead tossing her to the side as though her life depended on it. Less than an instant later, a beam of light engulfed everything.

Nothing was left in its wake. Anywhere the light touched had been vaporized: the ground, the proctor, the crates, and even the wall behind them. A new tunnel was made in the blink of an eye. The party’s faces contorted in horror as they nervously looked back.

The giant rock slowly began to move. Four feet broke out of the bottom, each as giant as a boulder. A head slowly slithered out where the eyeball had been. Elephant-like tusks surrounded its mouth, grinding against each other like an ant’s mandible. The pincers scratched against one another, creating a high-pitched sound that could wear away at anyone’s sanity. The cracks in the rocks grew, splitting into evenly-sized plates. It looked like a black tortoise with a dark gray shell, if a tortoise could look as horrifying as a dragon. The beast yelled a harrowing scream, looking down on the party like pests to be disposed of.

The beast wasn’t actually a dragon. Nobody in the party knew what it was. It looked like it came from the stories of nightmares – something that should never exist in this world. Just seeing it was enough to make someone give up hope and accept their death. They had to run, but there was nowhere to run to. Scrambling up the cliff wasn’t an option; they could barely move anyway. The beast’s overwhelming mana kept them frozen in place.

It felt as though the beast had control over every dominion, including time. Each moment played out in slow motion. Whatever happened in these next few minutes…no, next few seconds, would determine whether they lived or died.