Ambush

Karyan sought shelter under a large rock as heavy rain poured down around him. 

He couldn't shake off the cold that seeped into his bones. 

As he huddled there, he noticed a dark person with brown hair wielding a staff, searching for something in the dim light. 

Suddenly, a black shadow appeared on the figure's shoulder.

The shadow was a chilling sight. 

It exuded a chilling coldness, sending shivers down Karyan's spine. 

Its presence felt heavy and unsettling, casting a dark cloud over the clearing. 

The most disturbing part was its face, with a twisted smile revealing rotten yellow teeth. The sight made Karyan's blood run cold, and he could feel his breath catching in his throat.

The shadow's eyes were stitched with dark thread, giving the impression that they had been crudely sewn shut. 

Despite this, it seemed to fix its gaze upon Karyan with an unsettling intensity, as if it could see right through him. 

The mere sight of those eyes made Karyan feel as if he had stumbled into a realm of pure darkness and despair.

'Lanta…' he called for her through his gritted teeth.

As the figure continued its search, the shadow remained perched on its shoulder, showing off an aura of its creepiness that tainted the air.

 It felt like the shadow was a harbinger of all things more evil and unholy, like a specter from the depths of the underworld.

Karyan couldn't tear his gaze away from the haunting sight before him. 

"Who the hell is this?"

"Ssshh…" Sera opened her eyes.

Karyan knew that he had stumbled upon something truly otherworldly and malevolent, something that no mere mortal should have to face.

With his heart pounding and a chill creeping down his spine, Karyan realized that he had to find a way to escape, before it was too late.

As Karyan crouched behind the rock, trying to make himself as small as possible, he heard a voice calling his name. 

"Karyan, where are you? Your grandfather is missing you? We need to find you…" The voice seemed to slither through the air, sending a shiver down Karyan's spine.

The man's words were like a cold, cruel whisper in the wind. 

There was something weird about the way he spoke, as if every word was carefully chosen to instill fear. 

Karyan could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as the voice continued to call out to him.

"Come out, Karyan. Your grandfather is worried. We need to bring you back," each word dripped with some kind of sense of urgency that sent chilling electricity through Karyan's body.

Karyan's instincts told him to stay hidden. 

There was something about the man's voice that didn't sit right with him. The way the man spoke made Karyan feel as if he was being lured into a trap, and he couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger.

'Lanta…' he called her out one more time.

The voice took on a sadistic edge, as if relishing in the fear it was causing. "You can't hide forever, Karyan. We will find you. Your grandfather needs you," the voice taunted.

"Mateo…" he grabbed the stick in front of him and clenched it with his fist. 

Karyan's heart raced as he pressed himself further against the rock, trying to make himself invisible. 

He knew he couldn't trust the voice, no matter how convincing it sounded. 

There was an unmistakable coincidence in the way the man spoke, and Karyan knew better not to fall for whatever trap was being set for him.

As the voice continued its monologue, Karyan steeled himself, to wait it out until the danger passed. 

He knew that he had to trust his instincts and stay hidden, no matter how persuasive the voice of the man was. 

It felt like a lullaby for a child.

 The memory of the demon, the black shadow, and now this unsettling voice calling for him.

"Ssshhh…." 

Sera detached herself from Karyan's neck and slid onto his arm, ready to attack. 

The tension in the air felt suffocating, like a heavy weight pressing down on him. 

The rain continued to pour down, the sound of each droplet hitting the ground like a relentless drumbeat.

As he called out to Lanta, his voice was drowned out by the steady downpour. 

He strained his ears, hoping to hear a response, but all he could hear was the sound of his own erratic breathing and the rain beating against the earth. 

"Please…" he whispered this time.

The footsteps of the man searching for him seemed to echo through the mud, each step sending a jolt of hurting waves through Karyan's body.

With each passing second, Karyan's nerves grew more frayed. 

The sense of urgency and fear gnawed at him, making it hard to think clearly, "what will I do with this stick?" 

He didn't have his powers yet, and Sera wasn't the strongest in the rain.

Karyan felt helpless as he continued to call out to Lanta, desperately hoping for a response that never came. 

The rain soaked through his clothes, adding to the cold that had already settled deep into his bones.

Every moment that passed felt like an eternity, and the weight of the unknown bore down on Karyan like a heavy burden. 

"Please, show yourself," the man spoke again, "save me your time. I know you're somewhere here…" 

The combination of the relentless rain, the distant footsteps, and Lanta's unresponsiveness created a dizzying whirlwind of emotions within him. 

"Why am I like this? Hopeless…"

As he huddled behind the rock, his senses heightened by fear, Karyan knew that he had to stay strong despite the growing tension that surrounded him. 

"Karyan…oh, Karyan…" 

"Sssshhh…" Sera hissed and leaped into action as the man's voice echoed from above the rock, "Gotcha!" 

Sera's fangs bore into the man's hand with a swift and savage intensity, breaking through his skin faster than Karyan could even react. 

The suddenness of the attack caught everyone off guard, "aaah!" the man let out a startled cry as Sera's primal instincts took over, her teeth sinking deep into blood. 

Karyan, in that split second, stabbed the man's right eye with a stick he was holding. 

"Son of a bitch!"