The ridge stretched forward.
---
Uneven.
---
Cracked stone layered over itself—
---
As if the ground had been pressed… and never fully settled.
---
---
The wind moved strangely here.
---
Not steady.
---
Breaking in intervals—
---
Slipping through fractures in the rock.
---
---
Below—
---
The sea expanded endlessly.
---
Dark.
---
Not in color—
---
In weight.
---
---
Thalren stood near the edge.
---
Looking down.
---
---
The water didn't move like before.
---
No chaos.
---
No waves crashing wildly.
---
---
Just… slow motion.
---
Heavy.
---
---
"…This place feels wrong," he said quietly.
---
---
Kaizen stepped closer.
---
His boots scraping lightly against loose stone.
---
"…It's just rock."
---
---
"…No."
---
Alric moved past them.
---
Kneeling near a fracture in the ground.
---
---
"…It's being affected."
---
---
His fingers hovered just above the crack.
---
Not touching.
---
Observing.
---
---
He tapped the ground lightly.
---
---
A dull sound echoed back.
---
---
Not sharp.
---
Not empty.
---
---
Something in between.
---
---
"…That's not normal," Kaizen said.
---
---
Alric shook his head slightly.
---
"…Solid ground answers clearly."
---
A pause.
---
"…This doesn't."
---
---
He tapped it again.
---
Slower this time.
---
---
The sound returned—
---
Muted.
---
Resistant.
---
---
"…It's not hollow," Alric said.
---
"…But it's not stable either."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
"…Something underneath is pushing back."
---
---
The wind passed over them.
---
Colder now.
---
---
Thalren felt it again.
---
---
That pressure.
---
---
Not from above.
---
Not from around.
---
---
From below.
---
---
His fingers tightened slightly.
---
---
Kaizen noticed.
---
Said nothing.
---
---
"…You said layers," Kaizen spoke.
---
"…This is one of them?"
---
---
Alric stood.
---
Dust falling from his coat as he straightened.
---
---
"…Places like this sit close to the boundary."
---
---
"…Boundary of what."
---
---
Alric looked toward the sea.
---
Then back at the ground beneath them.
---
---
"…Where depth starts to reach upward."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
The words settled.
---
Heavy.
---
---
They moved again.
---
Further along the ridge.
---
---
The terrain changed gradually.
---
Stone giving way to patches of dark, compact soil.
---
Dry—
---
But uneven.
---
---
In some places—
---
The ground dipped inward.
---
As if something beneath had shifted—
---
And never fully returned.
---
---
The air carried a faint smell now.
---
Salt—
---
Mixed with something older.
---
---
Decay.
---
---
Scattered bones lay half-buried along the path.
---
Worn smooth by wind and time.
---
---
Not fresh.
---
---
Not hunted.
---
---
Left behind.
---
---
Alric slowed.
---
His eyes moving across the ground.
---
---
"…Creatures don't stay here long," he said.
---
---
Kaizen glanced at the bones.
---
"…Looks like they did."
---
---
Alric shook his head.
---
"…No."
---
A pause.
---
"…They come close."
---
---
His gaze shifted toward the sea below.
---
---
"…Then they leave."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
The wind stopped.
---
Suddenly.
---
---
Too suddenly.
---
---
Thalren's gaze sharpened.
---
---
The world felt—
---
Still.
---
---
Then—
---
A sound.
---
---
Low.
---
---
From below.
---
---
All three turned.
---
---
Near the waterline—
---
Far beneath the ridge—
---
Something moved.
---
---
A shape.
---
Partially submerged.
---
---
Only its upper form visible above the surface.
---
Thin.
---
Still.
---
---
Its eyes were fixed upward.
---
---
On them.
---
---
It didn't climb out.
---
Didn't attack.
---
Didn't move.
---
---
Just watched.
---
---
Silence stretched.
---
---
Then—
---
Slowly—
---
It sank.
---
---
Disappearing beneath the surface.
---
---
Gone.
---
---
The sea returned to stillness.
---
---
The wind resumed.
---
As if nothing had happened.
---
---
"…That's what I meant," Alric said quietly.
---
---
No one replied.
---
---
Thalren kept looking at the water.
---
---
"…It chose not to come closer," he said.
---
---
A pause.
---
---
Alric nodded.
---
"…Because it felt this place."
---
---
Kaizen's gaze remained fixed on the sea.
---
---
"…Or us."
---
---
Silence.
---
---
The words lingered.
---
---
The ridge ahead rose higher.
---
Leading toward a clearer vantage point.
---
---
They moved again.
---
Steps slower now.
---
More aware.
---
---
From the top—
---
The sea stretched endlessly once more.
---
---
Calm.
---
Too calm.
---
---
Then—
---
A shift.
---
---
Not on the surface.
---
---
Below it.
---
---
Something vast—
---
Turning.
---
---
Gone in an instant.
---
---
Alric's eyes narrowed.
---
---
"…It's still there."
---
---
No one asked what he meant.
---
---
They already felt it.
---
---
Thalren stood at the edge.
---
Looking out.
---
---
"…Depth…" he said quietly.
---
---
This time—
---
The word carried weight.
---
---
Not just distance.
---
---
Presence.
---
---
And somewhere far beneath that endless water—
---
Something existed—
---
Pressing upward—
---
Waiting—
---
At a depth they had only begun to touch.