The fog thickened around Broken and the others, making their visibility even more limited—especially now that night was creeping in. But that wasn't the only unsettling thing.
The temperature had plunged unnaturally fast.
Back when they stayed on the ship the previous night, the air had been cool, but nothing like this. This felt unnatural—like sothing was actively pulling the warmth from the atmosphere.
"I don't like this…" SexyBloom muttered under her breath, her arms instinctively wrapping around herself.
Vallrick shuddered beside them, clearly uneasy. "Broken…" he said hesitantly. "Should we… maybe postpone this exploration until tomorrow? Heh… Not that I'm scared or anything, but, uh… for safety reasons, you know."
SexyGrill smirked. "Just admit you're scared, Vallrick. You're totally thinking about Mizuki's ghost stories from the other night. I can see it in your eyes."
"N-no! That's not true! Hahaha…" Vallrick laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Mizuki, having far too much fun with this, chid in with an amused tone. "Well, honestly… This is pretty similar to what happened when I encountered ghosts back then. The sudden fog, the drastic drop in temperature…" she said, laughing lightly.
"Mizuki… don't say things like that, please… You're really making second-guess all of this," SexyBloom mumbled, unconsciously inching closer to Broken.
Broken himself acknowledged that this island was far more dangerous than he had initially assud. Even dealing with a pack of normal monsters had already proven challenging—and now this unnatural phenonon?
But in the end… Did it really matter if it was night or day?
The only difference was the amount of light.
"We'll keep exploring for as long as we can," Broken finally said. "If it gets too risky, we can set up camp and log out nearby."
SexyBloom imdiately grabbed his arm, shaking it lightly. "Brother…? You're seriously considering camping in the middle of this creepy forest?"
Broken raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "Bloom… haven't we done that countless tis in this ga?"
In the end, they decided to push forward, keeping their formation tight. The forest ahead wasn't too dense, and according to Mizuki, there was a wide open clearing not far beyond.
If they were lucky, they'd reach it soon.
The journey was anything but easy.
With their vision severely limited by the thick fog and the surrounding darkness, moving forward beca a slow and tense process. They hadn't used any light sources, aning the only way to navigate was by following the person directly in front of them—while constantly checking the map to make sure no one strayed too far.
But that didn't stop paranoia from creeping in.
"Okay… I swear I just heard sothing," one of the Sexy Killers whispered, their voice barely above a breath.
"Shut up," Vallrick muttered. "Don't start with that—"
"NO, SERIOUSLY. Like… footsteps. But not ours."
SexyBloom imdiately tensed. "Okay, why would you even say that?!" she hissed, gripping Broken's hand tightly.
SexyGrill smirked. "Oh, relax. If sothing was following us… well, you'd probably be the first one it grabs, Bloom."
SexyBloom froze. "WHY ?!"
"Well, you're the one clinging to Broken like a scared little sister," SexyGrill teased.
"I'M COLD, OKAY?!"
"You do realize that if sothing is out there, they can hear us, right?" Mizuki said, amused.
"…NO."
They imdiately went quiet for a few monts—until Vallrick decided to whisper again.
"Wait… what if it's not footsteps?" he muttered.
"…Then what is it?" SexyBloom asked hesitantly.
"…What if it's breathing?"
"OH MY GOD, SHUT UP, VALLRICK!!"
SexyGrill burst out laughing while SexyBloom whacked Vallrick's arm.
Even with the fear hanging in the air, their usual banter refused to die.
The journey felt less like an exploration and more like wandering blindly through an endless void.
The darkness was absolute—not just the usual nightti dimness, but a thick, suffocating blackness that swallowed everything beyond a few steps ahead. The fog made it even worse, twisting and shifting in unnatural ways, as if sothing unseen was lurking within it. The towering trees lood over them, their branches stretching like skeletal hands, creating an eerie maze of shifting shadows.
The only thing guiding them forward was Mizuki. Everyone simply trusted that she knew where she was going, because no one else could see a damn thing.
Then—
A faint glow appeared in the distance.
It flickered through the mist, small at first, but unmistakable. A clearing.
"The open space Mizuki ntioned…" Broken muttered under his breath.
As they moved closer, the biting cold beca even more apparent. Their breath ford visible clouds in the air—sothing that shouldn't have been possible in this kind of climate. The sudden drop in temperature was unnatural, seeping into their bones like an unseen force pressing down on them.
Mizuki exhaled, a small puff of mist forming before her lips. "We're almost there. After this, the walk should be more relaxed."
SexyGrill let out a dry laugh. "More like we'll be completely exposed to whatever the hell is actually living on this island."
"Oh, great, so we go from 'getting lost in creepy fog' to 'becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet in an open field'?" Vallrick snorted. "Yeah, definitely an improvent."
"Hey, at least if sothing cos at us, we'll actually see it coming," SexyBloom said, still clinging to Broken. "Unlike whatever the hell was breathing back there."
Vallrick smirked. "I dunno, Bloom. You sure it wasn't just your own panicked wheezing?"
"VALLRICK, I SWEAR—"
Laughing through their exhaustion, they all instinctively picked up the pace, eager to escape the oppressive weight of the dense forest.
And finally—
They erged into the clearing.
The ground stretched out before them, covered in dry, wild grass that rustled softly in the cool night breeze. The mist clung low to the earth, but up above—the moon was visible, casting an eerie silver glow over the entire field.
It was strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
No signs of life. No creatures. No monsters. Just emptiness.
SexyGrill frowned, scanning the open space. "Okay… is it just , or does this feel way too empty?"
"Yeah… where the hell are the monsters?" Vallrick muttered, rubbing his arms against the cold.
Mizuki smirked. "Maybe they heard Bloom screaming and decided to pack up and leave."
"HEY!!"
SexyGrill chuckled. "Or maybe they're just watching us right now, waiting for the perfect mont to strike."
The group collectively went dead silent for a second.
Then—
"…Not funny," SexyBloom whispered.
SexyGrill grinned. "Oh, but it is."
As they stood in the open clearing, the tension began to fade—just a little.
Their laughter and teasing still lingered in the cold night air, but sothing felt off.
The temperature, which was already freezing, dropped even further.
A slow, creeping chill spread through the field, seeping into their bones. Their breath, once faint mist, now poured out in thick, white clouds.
SexyGrill frowned, rubbing her arms. "Okay… is it just , or is it getting colder?"
Vallrick exhaled sharply, watching the fog of his own breath drift into the air. "No, it's definitely colder. Way colder."
"…What's happening?" SexyBloom whispered.
No one answered.
Because they all felt it.
A deep, unnatural cold.
Not the kind that ca with the night. Not the kind from weather shifts.
This was wrong.
Like the air itself was being drained of life.
Then—
A sound.
Faint at first.
A slow, dragging noise, like sothing heavy scraping against the earth.
And then—
They saw them.
Erging from the depths of the dark forest—
Figures.
Dozens of them.
Skeletal forms, their hollow eye sockets empty yet sohow watching. Their bones were wrapped in tattered remnants of what might have once been clothing, but now hung off their fras like faded whispers of the past.
They did not run.
They walked.
Slow. Steady. Relentless.
And they weren't just coming from one direction.
They were everywhere.
From the left, from the right, from behind—moving in from all sides, silent yet unmistakably there.
The clearing wasn't safe.
It was a trap.
The mont realization hit, everyone froze.
A deep, gut-wrenching terror settled over them, like a suffocating weight pressing down on their chests.
SexyBloom let out a sharp, shaky breath—then, without thinking, pressed herself fully against Broken, her face buried into his arm. Her whole body shook as she clung to him.
"B-Brother… w-what is this…?" she stamred, her voice barely a whisper.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Because in that mont, they weren't just seeing them.
They were trapped among them.
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