After sitting for a while with his mind clear of all thoughts, Shad enjoyed the cool, gentle breeze as he silently looked toward the direction of the water. After a while, Fray came over and lay down beside him.
The land ahead appeared to form a valley of trees, with the water situated somewhere near its center. At least, it seemed to be the center. There was a considerable amount of open ground between the water and the trees surrounding it.
These particular trees were not as large as the others Shad Darc had encountered before. In fact, the tallest tree he had seen so far was barely half the size of some of the enormous trees he had passed along the way.
The tree he was resting beneath was one of them. Its leaves were a darker shade of blue rather than the usual dark green, and some of its branches even bore fruits.
The ground was also covered with flowers that looked like a combination of sunflowers and lilies. However, instead of their usual yellow and red colors, these flowers possessed a beautiful combination of sky blue, purple, and white. Some were larger than others.
Most of the flowers seemed to grow toward the eastern and western sides of the water, with a few scattered around the rest of the area.
Shad wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while, but at the same time, the place felt somewhat unsettling.
One of the main reasons was simple.
It was a water source.
And because of that, it was bound to attract creatures—some of which might be far beyond his current ability to handle.
With that thought, he began considering what their next move should be.
"What do you think we should do next?" he asked Fray, without expecting a response. He had simply felt like asking.
Surprisingly, Fray responded in its own way.
First, it lay down completely, relaxing its entire body.
Seeing this, Shad asked for clarification.
"Do you mean we should sleep?"
Fray angrily shook its head in response.
"Oh. Or perhaps you mean we should relax for a little while?"
Fray slowly nodded.
"Yeah. I was also thinking the same thing."
Shad briefly looked toward the bright sky. Judging by the position of the sun, he guessed it was late morning or early afternoon.
But Shad couldn't rest yet.
Not until he found a way to collect enough water, gather some of those beautiful-looking fruits, and wash the blood and dirt from his body.
He immediately stood up and walked toward the small lake.
As he looked at the calm and pristine water, he began thinking about how he could store enough of it and how he could collect the fruits.
There wasn't much he could do, considering how severely he was lacking tools and equipment.
No.
It was more accurate to say that he had no tools or equipment at all.
"What to do, what to do, what to do..." he muttered, scratching the back of his head.
As he stood there thinking, Shad noticed the water ripple slightly.
It was small.
So small that he almost dismissed it.
The disturbance spread outward in a thin circle before disappearing.
The water became completely still again.
Shad remained where he was.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
It could have been a fish.
But he didn't immediately accept that explanation.
He continued watching.
Nothing.
The lake remained calm, reflecting the bright sky above as though nothing had disturbed it.
"Who knows how big or ugly a normal fish would look in a place that enlarges everything?"
He clicked his tongue.
"Tsk."
Shad straightened and turned away from the lake.
He had no reason to investigate every strange occurrence he encountered. Curiosity was useful, but pointless curiosity was simply another way of getting killed.
He took a few steps.
Then stopped.
Something was different.
Shad slowly looked back.
The water was rippling again.
Not across the entire surface.
Just one small section.
A few meters from where he had been standing.
The ripples spread outward.
Then stopped.
Shad stared.
Nothing emerged.
Nothing moved.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
He waited.
Still nothing.
He finally turned away again.
Then he heard it.
Plip.
Something had fallen into the water.
Shad stopped.
He didn't turn around immediately.
Instead, his eyes shifted toward Fray.
The creature had stopped moving.
Its entire body was tense.
Its head was lowered slightly, and its eyes remained fixed on the lake.
Shad's expression changed.
Fray wasn't looking at the water with curiosity.
It was watching it like a predator watching another predator.
"What is it?"
Fray didn't answer.
It simply stared.
Another ripple appeared.
This time, it was larger.
Something beneath the water had moved.
Shad's eyes narrowed.
The surface rose slightly.
Then settled.
Nothing came out.
His instincts began whispering that he should leave.
Shad listened.
He took a step backward.
Fray suddenly bared its fangs.
A deep growl rolled through the valley.
Shad stopped.
The creature moved toward the lake.
Its movements were no longer relaxed.
Every step was deliberate.
Tense.
Ready.
Shad understood immediately.
Fray wasn't coming toward him.
It was going toward whatever was beneath the water.
He slowly backed away.
He didn't look at the lake again.
There was no need.
Whatever was in there, Fray already knew enough about it to be angry.
Shad took another step.
Then another.
He was roughly twenty steps away from the lake when the atmosphere changed.
The breeze disappeared.
The flowers stopped moving.
Even the leaves above him seemed to become unnaturally still.
Shad's footsteps slowed.
A strange cold crawled across his skin.
It wasn't the ordinary cold of the environment.
It felt deeper.
His body reacted before his mind could understand why.
Goosebumps spread across his arms.
His heartbeat quickened.
Then his back became wet.
Sweat.
Shad frowned.
It was cold.
Yet he was sweating.
His instincts were screaming at him.
Danger.
Not the calculated warning that came before a fight.
Not the kind of fear he could suppress through discipline.
This was something much more primitive.
Something that existed beneath thought.
His body was telling him to run.
Now.
Shad clenched his fists.
He tried to suppress it.
The fear only became stronger.
His breathing became heavier.
His skin prickled.
His instincts were no longer suggesting that he leave.
They were demanding it.
"Damn..."
He swallowed.
"What the hell kind of living creep just got out of that water?"
He tried once more to resist.
It became worse.
So he stopped.
There was no point fighting an instinct he didn't understand.
Shad stood still.
Then he looked toward Fray.
The creature had reached the edge of the water.
Its lips were pulled back, exposing every one of its massive fangs.
Its body trembled.
Not from fear.
From rage.
There was madness in its eyes.
Anger.
And something much deeper.
Hatred.
Pure, unfiltered hatred.
Shad had seen hatred before.
He had experienced it himself.
But the hatred radiating from Fray was different.
It was heavy.
So intense that even Shad could feel it from where he stood.
At least twice the intensity of his own.
His eyes narrowed.
What happened between those two?
Fray's reaction made one thing obvious.
This wasn't their first encounter.
Shad's thoughts moved quickly.
Probably that's the reason it didn't want us wasting time here.
He glanced toward the lake.
The surface had gone completely still.
Too still.
No ripples.
No insects touching it.
No movement beneath the surface.
Nothing.
For a moment, Shad wondered if perhaps whatever had been there had disappeared.
Then he noticed something.
The water near the center of the lake was beginning to rise.
Not ripple.
Rise.
A section of the lake slowly bulged upward.
Shad's eyes widened.
The mound of water grew higher.
Higher.
Then the surface broke.
Something white emerged.
First came the tip of a snout.
Then a pair of eyes.
Cold.
Predatory.
Watching.
Shad's body froze.
The creature continued rising.
More of its body emerged from the lake.
And it kept rising.
It was enormous.
A gigantic crocodile stood at a height roughly equivalent to Fray, who was already slightly taller than an adult male African elephant.
Its eyes resembled those of a snow eagle—sharp and predatory.
A long, scorpion-like tail extended behind its massive body, ending in a stinger made of obsidian that seemed to absorb the light touching it.
Its teeth resembled those of a shark, while two long fangs protruded from its jaws like those of a wolf.
Yet none of those features were as distinctive as its body.
It was completely white.
White as snow.
Shad stared.
For a brief moment, his body seemed to forget how to breathe.
The creature slowly stepped out of the water.
Water streamed from its enormous body.
It did not roar.
It did not make any threatening sound.
It simply looked at them.
That silence was somehow worse.
Shad's eyes met its own.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Shad's body reacted before his mind could.
He involuntarily took a step backward.
The creature's eyes remained fixed on him.
Then its tail moved.
Shad barely saw it.
The obsidian stinger shot forward.
It pierced the joint between his left forearm and elbow.
Shad's eyes widened.
Before he could react, the tail lifted him from the ground.
His feet left the earth.
Blood ran down his arm as he was slowly raised toward the creature's eye level.