Sam led the group to the hideout he used during his ti in the Shadowlands, though it wasn't so much as a hideout as just an empty space at the top of a soft hill. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it and if not for his photographic mory he wouldn't have recognized it since that place didn't have a significance to him whatsoever and the only reason why Sam chose that particular spot back then was just because it gave him the advantage of the high ground which allowed him to spot any enemies before they were a threat.
That said, there was a reason why Sam wanted to visit that place again and once the others listened to it they quickly agreed. Back then, Sam was possessed by Water warlock and reached heights of power no hunter could ever dream about. Immortality was just the most morable perk, but there were plenty other reasons why he felt confident enough to venture into a place where even other holy rank hunters couldn't. It was precisely thanks to that power that Sam managed to kill plenty of cryptids of varied levels, hoarding the flux orbs out of nothing but sheer boredom.
After all, just like their current situation, the worst part about the Shadowlands was the sense of stillness and quiet that played with the minds of whoever entered it. Whether or not it was related to a supernatural phenonon or just the fact that humans were not adapted to live in complete darkness was a matter of discussion at the top of the academia circles, but Sam knew the answer as he was able to see just fine and still experienced the sa uncanny feeling everyone else did.
"Can't you just fly over there, grab your stuff and co back? I'm not in the mood for a detour." Nika grumbled.
"No way. I'm only sane right now because I'm keeping earthbound most of the ti. The things I saw back then were not just ugly, it was sothing of a level you've never seen before."
"Then how co you didn't lose your mind then and there?" dusa defiantly crossed her arms and Nika followed suit.
"You're assuming he didn't, but perhaps he did."
"It's because of Water warlock." Sam explained.
"So you're going with 'Water warlock' made do it again. How original." dusa scoffed.
"Co on, I bet Uriel did so stuff too while I wasn't looking."
"Uh... he didn't kill thousands, though." Nika rebuked.
"You can't use madness or possession as an excuse for what you did. Your actions had purpose and you followed a certain logic, albeit flawed. You must be made accountable for his mistakes." Luna sentenced.
"Why are you all piling up on now!?" Sam whined in a shrill voice and silence was made in the vastness of the dark as they all understood what was happening.
Sam quickly rotated his head from side to side, then turned on his heels trying to spot an enemy with a sense of urgency everyone shared. The others, though, would not be able to see the cause of the psychic attack they were suffering even if it was directly in front of them and the only thing they could do was to take a stance and focus on their flux perception.
One minute went by and nothing happened. The sense of relief was palpable despite the enemy remaining unknown since the effect of the psychic attack diminished over ti from the mont they beca aware of it.
"What was that?" Sam asked after sensing as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulder, not that he could heave in relief as the air still felt suffocating and dry.
"I have so theories." Luna said and felt silence just like anyti people actually wanted to listen to what she had to say.
"She's doing it on purpose." dusa huffed annoyed. Thankfully, this ti it was clear her annoyance was not caused by a psychic attack as she always felt the sa whenever Luna did that.
"Uh... right. So, we know it's not a titan and it's also not a god..."
"And how do we know that exactly?" Nika stopped Luna before her explanation beca too difficult for her to follow.
"We can protect ourselves from the presence of a titan with our flux, but it doesn't work on psychic attacks. It also can't be caused by a god because we would feel their flux energy."
"Right, that makes sense. I still rember that mother....," dusa casually said, then corrected her blunder hoping no one noticed. "Uriel's mother had a flux signature similar to hunters, but it was farm more powerful."
"Precisely." Luna nodded in the dark.
"Then what possibilities are there?" dusa insisted and Nika followed.
"Oh god! It's ghosts, isn't it!?" Nika's face paled and Sam smiled to himself in satisfaction. He may not have been the cause, but he still enjoyed the effects of watching Nika suffer.
"I... didn't consider it because ghosts don't exist," Luna shook her head. "I ntioned before I have theories, but they're not that many. It could be so sort of sickness that cos and goes, a sickness that only affects hunters, but In all my attempts I have failed to find any evidence to support that claim. There's also the possibility that it could be caused by an unaccounted factor such as celestial objects."
"Stars! Just say stars or Nika won't get it!" dusa scolded.
"What am I? A six year old, of course I knew what she ant." Nika looked to the side embarrassed which of course Sam didn't miss. He decided to stay silent about it and settle with recording it in his ever lasting mory.
"Can't we skip to the most likely cause?" dusa tapped her foot on the ground with impatience.
"There are two, none of which are good. The first is that the psychic attacks are caused by demons. We know demons can channel flux in a way we cannot perceive which is the cause of the phenona described in the lore as ons and we've already encountered one powerful enough to do it on a massive scale."
"Yup, didn't like that one." Nika flicked her hand to the side as though she was swiping left on a dating app, realizing too late that Luna couldn't see her.
"Then the other one is a dungeon, particularly, a dungeon guardian like the statue in the Alamo."
Prompted by Luna's second theory, dusa fell into a pensive state in which she calculated the chance of each option being correct. Without any data the chance would be 50/50, but dusa took into account everything she knew about the psychic attacks before adding her grain of sand.
"And what if it's not related to the guardian but the dungeon itself? We now know what many structures do, but there are many structures whose purpose and triggers remained a mystery even after Uriel and I studied them... together...," dusa's mind drifted for a second, then continued. "it could be a structure devised to deter strangers from coming in and it could be activated by proximity."
"Unlikely, not everyone becos a target of the psychic attacks. I rember that cow was unaffected." Nika of course referred to Seiren whom Luna had completely forgotten, dusa sowhat rembered and Sam had never forgotten for mainly to reasons.
"Right, I forgot about that." dusa clicked her tongue.
"What if it's the other way around? What if it's not a security asure to deter strangers, but a call for help?" Nika casually proposed sothing none of the two geniuses would have ever thought like it was no big deal.
"Look who can be useful." Sam snickered.
"You're calling useless? Your wings are for decoration only," Nika snarled, then a wicked grin was painted on her lips as she laughed at him. "you're literally a chicken! A bird that can't fly!"
At that mont Luna realized it was happening again and not just because they were fighting, after all bickering wasn't a rare occurrence in the Dungeon Raiders even among mbers who actually liked each other. With so many grievances, holding a grudge against Sam was more than understandable, but Luna felt sothing else.
Although she rarely showed it, she was actually the most affected by the psychic attacks. Her inexpressive face and composed speech disguised her emotions so well people didn't even notice when she was mad and when she was just playing. Whenever she realized they were under an outside influence she would point it out loud for everyone to be aware which would cause the effects to dwindle in ti, but now it was different and Luna just let them air out everything Sam and Nika wanted.
She didn't move even when dusa joined in and it wasn't until right after the fight got physical that Luna was able to sense it. If Nika was correct and it was indeed a distress call, then this one was the loudest she had ever heard even though no sound was emitted.
"I can feel it, I know where we need to go."
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