HOLY SH*T!

The bone weaver raised its hands above its head as a dense pressure was released from it, which, from circumstantial evidence, seemed to indicate a large amount of mana, more dense than Kasdeya's, was being utilised.

Kasdeya started to crawl away as the brute's attention was drawn towards the bone weaver, who was currently surrounded in a whirlpool of bones, sucking in all of the bone golems around it.

Since she had already gotten rid of the spears in her body and her small stature kept her from being noticed, she quickly arrived at the wall which didn't seem to have any intention of growing any more bone spikes.

The force of the tornado was gradually getting stronger and Kasdeya could feel the strong winds trying to pull her in as she climbed the wall, her tail wildly flapping behind her as she was too tired from the mana expenditure of healing herself to bother correcting it.

Kasdeya reached the top of the wall and spun around to start climbing down, giving her a clear view of the battlefield. Through the tornado, she could see an enormous figure, over 5 metres tall and made of bones, holding a bone sword and swinging it at the brute who only just managed to get away in time, making her very thankful of her decision not to try and fight that thing.

Reaching the ground, Kasdeya could hear the loud noises of the duel as she ran around the bone fort in order to head in the direction of the hunters cliffs.

Heading in what she assumed to be the correct direction, Kasdeya heard a horrible cracking sound and turned around to see the massive bone walls shattering and being drawn into the tornado which had grown considerably.

'HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HECK IS THIS POWER?'

A terrible roar resounded, seeming to pierce Kasdeya's very soul as pain flared within her head and where the camp used to be, Kasdeya could see a bone giant, easily over 40 metres tall attacking what she assumed was still the brute, but she was now to far away to clearly see through all the dust and bone fragments which were still flying around.

Continuing to run, Kasdeya didn't look back anymore, but she assumed that the brute imp lost.

———————

"So you want to call off the exploration of the crater for a while?" Asked John to the expedition leader who had gathered the 4 surviving members the next day.

"Yes, as the expedition team is, how should I put this, lacking in the personnel department?"

"I fully agree with this idea, we need both more manpower and greater strength." Responded John, expressing his acceptance with the decision, which was accompanied with nods from the other three.

"Oh good, you four aren't hot headed idiots hell bent on revenge. It's nice to have competent coworkers for once." Spoke the leader while breathing a sigh of relief, as based on past experience since the apocalypse, people in this situation would be like, 'we can't let them get away with this so let's all rush to our deaths as this would accomplish so much'.

"We aren't about to run to our deaths after all. My being injured, without being able to offer any resistance, is already proof enough that we are no match for that thing." Stated John in a matter of fact voice, clearly displaying the fact that he believes his opinion to be the obvious thought process.

"Ok, in that case, there isn't really anything else to talk about, so if none of you have anything to add, then you can go."

Michael, Joey and Tycheros turned and left the leader's tent, but John stayed behind.

"Actually, there is something I'd like your opinion on." John suddenly spoke after the other 3 left, "On account of you having more experience in the matter, what do you think those things are? The creatures in the fog that is."

"Strange monsters that we've yet to encounter of course. Since the initial gates opened, there have been new monsters appearing every now and then. Plus, with so much of the earth now unknown to us, especially with the mass changes in the geography, it wouldn't be hard to believe that something came through and traveled over here to make itself a home."

"Well, that is a theory, but don't you think it's odd that it appeared when the fog started getting more active? And if it's just a simple creature that came through one of the main gates, then why isn't it affected like us?

"There is a lot that we don't know, so there might be creatures that don't get affected by whatever the fog is. In my various expeditions, I have found a few strange life forms which have adapted to the harsh environments which appeared after the collapse or, more likely, that was their environment to begin with and, after coming to earth, they simply sought out another of the same environment."

"Fair enough. Well, in that case, another question, where is the nearest gate?"

"The nearest known gate is in what was once known as Seattle, but you knew that, after all, that is where most of us fled from."

"Yeah, I was just confirming. Anyway, the reason I ask this is because all of the new creatures came through these gates and, since Seattle is quite a distance away from us, it would've taken a very long time for anything to get here from that location. With that being the case, whatever is here should've already been here when my group came through before. But as far as I'm aware, it wasn't. So now I wish to propose my own theory. What if it wasn't an individual being, but a product of the fog itself? Something directly tied to the existence of the fog. Unless it was already on its way and simply hadn't made it yet, then it would've taken too long to get here."

"...That is definitely something to ponder… You have a point which I'll put down, but on that note, didn't you say that you were stalked by an unknown creature, which came through a personal gate, when you came through here the first time? What makes you think it isn't the same creature?"

"Well, I can't say for certain, but I guess the general feeling I got from it. The first one seemed dangerous, but more inquisitive whereas this just seemed unnatural. Plus the first had glowing red eyes while this one had purple eyes, or at least I assume the glowing orbs were its eyes."

"Fair enough, but keep in mind that we know nothing, so unless you are certain, don't rule out the possibility."

"Ok, well in that case, I'll be going."

"Good bye."

John turned and walked out of the tent, but as soon as he pulled the tent cover out of the way, dense fog blew in and enveloped the entirety of the temporary meeting area.

John raised his arm to protect his face from the sudden appearance, but the strange substance simply flowed around and over him.

Quickly turning around, John went to see the leader's reaction, but the tent had no one in it.

Walking out of the tent, the fog was slowly blowing around the entire camp site, but there was no one around, making the place have a deserted, eerie feeling.

"What the hell is this?" John muttered when he observed the familiar scenery to what appeared in his dream.

John cautiously walked forward, moving towards the workshop area of the tent as that was where the other three people said they'd go after he was finished talking.

Arriving at the correct location, John looked around but still saw no one.

"HELLO?! ANYONE HERE!?" John called out, though, he wasn't expecting an answer.

Walking around aimlessly for a little longer, John suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, every fibre of his being telling him to run and not look back, his very essence screaming that whatever is standing behind him would not be worth observing and would only bring his downfall. But despite feeling all of this, and knowing which option would most benefit him, his curiosity won and John slowly turned his head… Only to see the leader giving him a strange look.

"You okay? You spaced out for a minute there."

It was only at this moment he realised he was still in the tent with one hand gripping the tent flap.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." But, despite giving this affirmative response, John did not feel fine. He couldn't forget the brief glimpse he got of a slight purple glow and a misty black substance radiating off of the thing behind him. Or even more so, the sound that accompanied him even after the world went back to normal.

"Always… Here..."