Prologue : Then They Came (Part 2)

(Albert's POV)

We were still processing what had just happened, how a happy discovery turned into such an ominous chain of events, I started to think that they were signs since the start, anomalies we should have been more wary of, even if it was an unknown planet in an unknown galaxy.

Then, like a nightmare come to life, the animals came. An endless stream of creatures, each more bizarre and terrifying than the last, flooded the village. Their eyes wide with primal fear, they stampeded in a desperate bid to escape an unseen terror.

"We need barriers and distractions!" Noebe barked, her voice cutting through the chaos. We leapt into action amidst the chaos. Gideon, his face set in a grimace, conjured a towering wall of earth, deflecting a rampaging herd of spiked creatures away from a group of huddled villagers.

Aric's spells summoned fierce whirlwinds, lifting several villagers out of harm's way, as a gargantuan beast crashed through the space they had occupied mere moments before.

In the midst of this pandemonium, I caught sight of a group of villagers, ten in total, frozen in terror. They were directly in the path of seven monstrous, six-legged creatures, each on them, as mad as the other, just like the eye-less creature we saw earlier. Time seemed to slow as I realized they had mere seconds before being torn apart.

Adrenaline surged through my veins. I cast the spell for [Galestep], feeling the familiar rush of power as the world around me blurred into streaks of color. In less than a heartbeat, I was a whirlwind, a specter of speed and precision.

First, I reached an elderly villager, scooping her up and depositing her safely to the side, all in the blink of an eye. Next, two young children, huddled together in fear, found themselves gently but swiftly lifted and placed out of harm's way.

The animals lunged, their massive form a blur of teeth and claws. I darted forward, a mere shadow flickering in and out of existence. One by one, I whisked the villagers away from certain death, my movements a blur, each rescue more daring than the last.

In the span of four heartbeats, all ten villagers were safe, their expressions a mix of awe and disbelief as they stared at their newfound sanctuary. I reappeared beside them, my chest heaving, the echo of [Galestep]'s power still humming in my limbs.

As I steadied my breath, relishing the brief moment of respite, a new and more terrifying threat emerged. From the other side of the village, five colossal beasts charged, their eyes wild with an unquenchable fury. Each creature was a nightmarish fusion of fangs, claws, and muscle, embodiments of raw, unstoppable power.

Without a moment's hesitation, I drew my sword, its blade gleaming with an ethereal light, and pulled out two pistols. The air crackled around me, charged with the imminent unleashing of deadly force.

The first beast, a true behemoth with jaws like steel traps, bore down on me. I leaped forward, propelled by [Galestep], closing the gap in an instant. My sword arced through the air, a brilliant streak of silver, and found its mark. The blade cleaved through sinew and bone, a clean cut that silenced the creature's roar abruptly.

Even as the first fell, I spun around, facing the onslaught of the next. My pistols barked in unison, their enchanted bullets whistling through the air. Each shot was precise and purposeful. The bullets tore into the hide of the second beast, erupting in bursts of searing energy, ripping through flesh and leaving gaping, smoldering wounds.

The third beast, larger and more ferocious, charged with a guttural bellow. I met its charge head-on, [Galestep] enhancing my movements to a blur. I slid under its massive frame, my sword slashing upwards, spilling its lifeblood in a dark crimson spray.

I rose to face the fourth, its eyes ablaze with madness. My pistols discharged again, a symphony of gunfire and arcane power. The creature staggered, its body riddled with wounds, before collapsing with a thunderous crash.

The final beast, undeterred by the fate of its kin, lunged with a deafening roar. I stood my ground, channeling my mana into a final, devastating blow. Time seemed to slow as I raised my sword, the air shimmering with its power. With a primal yell, I struck, the blade slicing through the beast's skull as if it were paper. It fell, lifeless, at my feet.

The place fell silent, the echoes of battle fading into a haunting stillness. Around me lay the beasts, testament to the brutal necessity of our struggle for survival. My chest heaved with exertion, my weapons dripping with the remnants of the battle.

In the wake of my blade's works, the Captain stepped forth, her eyes alight with a fierce determination, we had known each other for years, so everyone knew what to do now, The air crackled with raw power as Noebe unleashed her fury. [Thunderbolt!] she roared. The sky above us darkened even more ominously, as if responding to her command. With a deafening boom, lightning, thick and searing, tore through the sky, striking the ground with cataclysmic force. The impact obliterated several of the giant beasts in a flash of incinerated flesh and bone, leaving only the smell of charred death in its wake.

Aric, amidst this storm of destruction, stood like a bastion. His resonance echoed a powerful spell, hands weaving an intricate pattern. A colossal barrier, the [Indomitable Wall], materialized, shimmering with an otherworldly glow. It enveloped the villagers, deflecting the onslaught of terrified creatures. The impact of the beasts against the barrier sent reverberations through the air, a thunderous symphony of desperation and survival.

Meanwhile, Gideon, the dwarf, embraced the chaos. Slamming his gauntlets together, he summoned forth two towering earth golems. With a bellowing war cry, he directed them into the fray. The golems, massive and unyielding, crashed into the largest beasts with the force of an avalanche. Bones shattered under their relentless assault, the ground slick with the blood and innards of the fallen creatures.

Gideon himself was a whirlwind of destruction. His gauntlets, now pulsating with raw, controlled mana, struck with merciless precision. Each blow crushed bone and sinew, his fists sinking into flesh as if it were mud. The sickening crunches of his strikes were punctuated by the roars of pain from the giant creatures. One beast, its skull caved in by Gideon's ferocious onslaught, collapsed in a heap, its life extinguished in a grotesque display of power.

The battle raged on, a maelstrom of elemental fury and primal savagery. We fought with ferocity and the will to live, our spells and strength the only barrier between life and a gruesome death.

The battlefield was a blur of chaos and blood, but among it all, Astragon, the minotaur, was a spectacle of brute force. His massive form towered over the frenzied beasts, each swing of his axe delivering death.

With a roar that shook the very air, he charged into a beast, his axe singing a deadly song. It struck with a revolting crunch, cleaving through flesh and bone. The beast's roar turned into a gurgled whimper as it collapsed, its body cleaved in two, innards spilling onto the blood-soaked ground.

Another creature, all fangs and fury, leapt towards him. Astragon met its charge head-on, his fists pounding into its flesh with thunderous force. Bones snapped under his blows, the beast's life extinguished in a spray of blood and gore.

A third adversary, armored and menacing, tried to flank him. With a swift turn, Astragon's axe swung in a lethal arc, smashing through the natural armor as if it were mere paper. The beast staggered, its body brutally bisected, falling to the ground in a heap of torn flesh and shattered bone.

As the dust settled, Astragon stood amidst the carnage, his breathing heavy, his fur matted with the viscera of his foes. His eyes, fierce and unyielding, scanned for more threats, his body ready to unleash more devastation

As the last creature fell, and the rest disapeared into the forest, the village lay eerily silent, save for the heavy breathing of the survivors. The ground was a macabre tapestry of blood and carcasses. The villagers, their faces pale and eyes wide with shock, could only stare in horrified silence at the carnage that surrounded them.

We stood among the destruction, our bodies and spirits wearied by the intensity of the battle. The realization of our victory was overshadowed by the gruesome reality of what was coming, without a doubt something much more challenging. Noebe's gaze was steely as she surveyed the aftermath, her expression grim. "This is only the beginning," she said, her voice resolute. "Whatever is coming for us, it's far from over. We must be ready."

The snow, now a relentless cascade, on a planet that had a tropical environment just a few moments ago, swirled around us in the desolate space, each flake twirling in the eerie luminescence of the foreign world. The villagers' cries, steeped in terror and confusion, pierced the cold air as they scrambled in all directions, shadows against the ghostly white.

Captain Noebe stood firm amidst the chaos, her voice a beacon of strength as she commanded, "Form up! We move to the Gringolet at once!" Her words, usually so commanding, now carried an undercurrent of urgency, a subtle acknowledgment of the unknown horror encroaching upon us.

Astragon's massive form loomed beside us, his breath forming thick clouds of vapor. "I'll take the front," he growled, gripping his blood-stained axe, ready to confront whatever nightmare awaited.

Then, slicing through the turmoil, an ominous horn sounded, reverberating from the heavens themselves. Its deep, foreboding tone resonated with the rhythm of dread, a sound so ancient and terrifying it seemed to freeze our very souls. It was a call of despair, a signal that the fabric of reality was tearing at the seams.

"By Almáttigr, what cursed melody is this?" Gideon's voice trembled, a rare crack in his usually unshakeable demeanor.

Noebe's hands moved deftly with daggers, yet her eyes flickered with a flicker of deep-seated fear. "Stay vigilant! Something approaches," she cautioned, her gaze scanning the swirling snowstorm.

As we formed a protective circle, a new horror emerged. The wind, now a howling beast, carried within it the voices of what seemed to be children, singing a lullaby of doom. Their innocent tones twisted into a chorus of 'death', 'blood', 'punishment', the words weaving through the gales like spectral whispers and chuckles, eroding the very edges of our sanity.

Around us, the villagers succumbed to madness, their screams becoming part of the haunting melody that filled the air. Gideon cursed loudly, his eyes darting frantically in search of the unseen terror. sweating profusely, despite the intense cold.

A sharp, ear-piercing screech abruptly cut through the cacophony, a sound so intense it brought us to our knees, hands clamped over our ears. Then, as quickly as it came, the screech faded, leaving behind a silence so profound it was suffocating. It was the absence of sound, a void where even the whisper of death dared not tread.

In that haunting quiet, we stood frozen, a tight knot of warriors ensnared in a web of dread. The oppressive stillness was a malevolent entity, a harbinger of unspeakable horrors yet to unveil themselves. The snow continued its silent descent, blanketing the world in a shroud of white, a chilling prelude to the nightmare that loomed on the horizon.

In the heart of the snowstorm, a suffocating silence enveloped us, a stillness so profound it felt like a prelude to apocalypse. The cold, no longer just a physical sensation, seemed to seep into our very souls, a harbinger of something far more sinister approaching.

Around us, the world had turned into a white, desolate expanse, the snowflakes like a cascade of ash from an unseen pyre. The atmosphere was charged with an unspeakable tension, a sense of impending doom that was almost palpable.

Our instincts, honed through countless battles and encounters with the unknown, screamed in unison – a primal warning that danger, unlike any we had faced before, was imminent. It was a visceral, overwhelming urge to flee, to escape the unseen horror that lurked just beyond our perception.

I could hear my own heartbeat, a rapid drumming in my ears, accentuating the oppressive silence around us. Even the seasoned warriors among us – Astragon with his battle-worn axe, Gideon with his arcane gear – stood motionless, their usual readiness overshadowed by an instinctual fear.

Then they came.

From the swirling snow emerged figures, not just of flesh and blood, but of nightmares made manifest. They materialized slowly, their forms shifting and undulating, phantoms birthed from the very essence of terror. Each step they took seemed to draw the light from the surroundings, casting elongated, grotesque shadows on the snow-covered ground.

Their very presence was an affront to life itself, an unholy blight upon the natural world. Their eyes, glowing with a malevolent light, pierced through the storm with a predatory hunger, fixing on us with an intensity that felt like a physical weight.

In that moment, we stood on the precipice of an abyss, staring into the void where our deepest fears were realized in physical form. The realization hit me with a chilling clarity – we were not just facing creatures; we were confronting the embodiment of dread, a darkness that sought to consume not just our bodies, but our very souls.

The snow continued its relentless descent, each flake a silent witness to the nightmarish picture unfolding before us. We braced ourselves, not just for a battle, but for a struggle against the essence of fear itself, a confrontation that would test the limits of our courage and resolve.

The tension in the air was palpable, a thick, suffocating blanket of fear and uncertainty. The creatures encircled us, a silent, motionless sea of nightmarish figures, their mere presence an overwhelming force that commanded attention and instilled dread. Our instincts screamed at us to flee, yet we stood frozen, acutely aware that escape was an illusion.

Gideon, just as tense as the rest of us, unable to bear the oppressive silence, broke out in a cacophony of screams and insults, challenging the creatures to come forward if they dared. His words echoed into the void, met with nothing but the relentless howling of the wind. The creatures remained eerily still, their silence more terrifying than any battle cry.

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly, every second a drawn-out eternity. The tension rose to an unbearable peak, the eerie stillness of the creatures and the villagers amplifying the sense of impending doom.

Then, without warning, one creature began to move. It advanced slowly, deliberately, its aura growing more intense with each step. We instinctively backed away, our minds racing with fear and confusion. Even Astragon found himself retreating under the creature's oppressive presence.

Noebe's voice, usually so commanding and sure, was a mere whisper, barely audible over the minotaur's frantic yells. "Albert, the lantern... do you have it?" she murmured urgently.

"Yes," I replied, my voice barely a whisper, as I fumbled with the starstride lantern. "Prepare to use it. Light it as soon as we're all together."

As the creature continued its slow, menacing approach, Astragon, driven beyond reason by fear and anger, charged forward, breaking our formation. Our cries for him to stop were lost in the howling wind. "Fucking hell! What are you doing?! Come back minautor! You're breaking our formation!" said Gideon to the unreasonable Astragon.

The creature, moving with an eerie grace, vanished just as Astragon reached it. In a flash, it reappeared right in front of him. With a swift, ghostly movement, it slashed at the minotaur, a blur of shadow and malice. Astragon roared in pain and fury as one of his eyes was viciously taken.

The clash between Astragon and the creature was nothing short of cataclysmic. The minotaur, a towering figure of raw power and fury, unleashed his full might upon the nightmarish entity before him. His roars filled the air, a primal sound that echoed the depths of his rage and pain.

With each step, Astragon manipulated the very earth beneath him. He cast earth-shattering spells, his hands carving ancient runes into the air. The ground responded to his will, rising and falling like waves in a stormy sea, attempting to engulf the creature in a grave of dirt and stone. But the creature danced around these attacks, its form a blur of darkness, untouchable and unfazed.

In a display of his immense physical strength, Astragon seized a boulder as large as a small house, hurling it with terrifying force. The boulder tore through the air, a meteor of rage aimed directly at the creature. The impact was explosive, a shockwave rippling through the area, sending snow and debris flying in all directions. For a moment, it seemed as if he had triumphed, the creature buried under the rubble.

But then, like a specter rising from the grave, the creature emerged from the dust and debris, unharmed, its malevolent eyes burning with an unholy light. It was a chilling reminder of the supernatural resilience and power it possessed.

Astragon, undeterred, charged once more, his body a weapon of sheer muscle and fury. His fists pounded with the force of a battering ram, each blow enough to topple giants. He landed a crushing punch that would have shattered mountains, the impact reverberating through the air.

Yet, the creature absorbed the hit, staggering only slightly before regaining its sinister composure. It was as if it were made of shadow and malice, impervious to physical harm.

As the brutal fight continued, Astragon's rage was met with the creature's cold, unyielding malevolence. It was a battle not just of physical might, but of an indomitable will against an unfathomable darkness. The minotaur fought with a ferocity that was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, a testament to his incredible strength and resilience. But against such an otherworldly adversary, even his formidable power seemed to be in vain.

Their clash was a spectacle of raw power and savagery. Astragon's axe swung in wide, deadly arcs, each strike powerful enough to level trees. The creature, however, moved with an unholy speed, its form almost phasing in and out of reality, making it a specter of death, impossible to grasp.

In a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, the creature feinted, slipping past Astragon's guard. With a motion too quick for the eye to follow, it unsheathed a blade that shimmered with a white hue. A vicious slash that carved through the air with a sound like the tearing of the very fabric of reality.

Astragon's bellow of pain was a gut-wrenching sound, full of shock and agony. The blade had found its mark, cleaving through his eye and deep into his skull. Blood, a crimson torrent, gushed forth, staining the snow beneath him.

For a brief moment, Astragon stood, a look of disbelief etched upon his features. His one good eye wide with shock, he staggered, his mighty form wavering. Then, with a thunderous roar of pain and rage, he charged at the creature, a final, desperate attempt to vanquish his foe.

The ensuing fight was a tempest of violence. Astragon, even with his grievous wound, fought with a desperation born of pain and fury. His axe cleaved through the air, each swing leaving a trail of blood and energy in its wake.

But the creature was relentless, its every movement a deadly whisper. It danced around Astragon's attacks, each dodge a mocking taunt. Then, with a cruel precision, it struck again, delivering a fatal blow. The blade, glowing with an unholy light, sliced through Astragon's neck, severing his head in a gruesome spectacle.

Astragon's headless body stood for a moment, a grotesque statue, before collapsing with a heavy thud. The snow around him turned dark with his blood, a grim testament to his final stand.

The sight of Astragon's fall was a shock that reverberated through us all. The mighty minotaur, our comrade, our friend, lay defeated, his life extinguished in a most brutal and savage manner. The horror of that moment, the sight of his decapitated body, was a brutal reminder of the merciless nature of our foes.

In the wake of his death, a heavy silence fell upon the battlefield, a somber pause in the midst of chaos. It was a moment that marked not just the loss of a great warrior, but a stark realization of the true horror we were facing.

The moment Astragon fell, the world seemed to fracture, an unseen signal unleashing the creatures in a frenzied onslaught. They descended upon us like a tide of nightmares, their silent, eerie approach giving way to a symphony of violence and death.

I was in the heart of the maelstrom, my senses overwhelmed by the cacophony of screams, the metallic scent of blood, and the sickening thud of bodies hitting the ground. The creatures, with their relentless and emotionless assault, moved through the villagers, their claws and teeth instruments of merciless execution. Men, women, children – no one was spared in their silent slaughter.

Our crew, the Ascenders, fought back with a fierce desperation. Captain Noebe, her face a mask of steely resolve, channeled her arcane energy, conjuring [Tempest Blades], ethereal swords that danced around her in a deadly ballet, cutting through any creature that dared approach. Her movements were fluid, a dance of death amidst the chaos.

Gideon, his gauntlets glowing with raw power, unleashed [Earthshatter], a spell that sent shockwaves through the ground, toppling creatures and giving us precious moments to regroup. His fists became blurs of destruction, crushing skulls and shattering bones.

Aric, our strategist, invoked [Mist of Obscuration], a spell that enveloped us in a veil of mist, disorienting the creatures and masking our movements. Through the mist, his spells lashed out like serpents, [Arcane Lances] piercing through the bodies of our foes.

I, amidst the carnage, focused my mana into [Spectral Arrows], my hands moving rapidly as I unleashed a barrage of energy bolts. Each arrow found its mark, impaling the creatures with bursts of light that tore them apart.

But for each creature that fell, another took its place. They were relentless, a never-ending wave of death. The screams of the villagers echoed in my ears, a haunting soundtrack to the nightmare unfolding before us.

I saw a child cornered by one of the creatures, its claws raised for a killing strike. Time seemed to slow as I darted towards them, invoking [Shield of Aegis], a barrier of mana that intercepted the blow mere inches from the child. The creature's claws sparked against the shield, its force throwing me back, I immediatly got back up and saw the boy, already massacred.

The synergy among us, was the only thing keeping us alive. We moved as one, spells and attacks coordinated in a desperate attempt to stem the tide. Yet, despite our efforts, the villagers fell one by one, their lives extinguished in a torrent of violence.

The brutality of the creatures was unimaginable. They tore limbs from bodies, their claws slicing through flesh and bone with ease. The ground became slick with blood, bodies strewn about in grotesque displays of the creatures' savagery.

In that hellish tableau, fear and adrenaline coursed through my veins. Each spell cast, each arrow loosed, was a defiance against the overwhelming odds. But deep inside, a cold realization settled in – we were fighting a losing battle. The creatures, embodiments of darkness and malice, were not just our enemies; they were the harbingers of our potential demise.

As the battle raged on, the lines between survival and annihilation blurred. We fought not just for our lives, but for the very essence of our being, against a foe that seemed to be the very embodiment of death itself.

As Noebe's command to regroup and use the lantern echoed through the chaos, I grasped for the artifact. But in that split second, a creature, with a speed that defied nature, lunged and severed my arm with a swift, clean strike. Agony exploded through my body, a white-hot pain that blurred my vision. The lantern, our hope of salvation, slipped from my grasp and disappeared into the blood-soaked snow.

Panic and pain overwhelmed me, but there was no time to succumb. Through the haze of pain, I heard Gideon's voice, a mix of rage and agony, as he was overwhelmed by a group of creatures. They stabbed relentlessly, their claws sinking into his flesh with sickening precision. His curses and battle cries turned into gurgles of blood.

My attention snapped to the left as a wet warmth splattered across my face. Aric, our comrade, was airborne, his body grotesquely contorted, a victim of the same creature that had unleashed the ear-splitting screech. His body slammed into the ground with a finality that silenced his cries forever.

Now, it was just Noebe and me, standing back-to-back against an unending tide of death. We were the last line, the final stand of the Galahad crew. In unison, we unleashed our most powerful spells, our mana merging in a maelstrom of elemental fury.

Noebe, with a cry that pierced the din of battle, conjured [Storm's Vengeance], a spell that unleashed torrents of lightning and wind, decimating rows of creatures in flashes of blinding light and thunderous booms. Each bolt of lightning incinerated whatever it touched, leaving only charred remnants in its wake.

I, driven by pain and desperation, tapped into the deepest reserves of my mana, casting [Celestial Inferno]. Flames, tinged with the colors of the cosmos, erupted from my hands, engulfing the creatures in a conflagration that twisted the very air around us. The heat was intense, a scorching wave that turned snow into steam and flesh into ash.

But our efforts, no matter how destructive, were like drops in an ocean. The creatures, undeterred by the loss of their kin, pressed on, their numbers seemingly infinite. They swarmed over the fallen, their singular focus to eradicate us, the last thorns in their path of destruction.

The scene around us was a vision of hell, a landscape of blood, fire, and death. The screams of the villagers had long since faded, replaced by the sounds of our own spells and the relentless advance of our enemies.

Noebe and I fought, not with hope of victory, but with the grim determination of those who know their end is near. Our spells, once bright and powerful, now flickered like dying stars in the face of overwhelming darkness. In this moment, standing beside Noebe, I understood the true nature of our battle—it was not just a fight for survival, but a final stand against the encroaching void.

The battlefield, already a hellish tableau of gore and despair, was plunged into deeper horror by an indescribable presence. From the horizon, a figure emerged, astride a spectral steed. Its mere existence exuded an aura so dreadfully intense it felt like the very essence of terror made manifest. This wasn't just fear—it was existential dread, a force that assaulted the mind and soul, eroding sanity with its oppressive weight.

This new aura was a miasma of despair, thick and suffocating, reducing the bravest warriors to shadows of their former selves. It crept into the very marrow of our bones, a cold, unyielding grip that promised nothing but oblivion. I could feel my mental defenses crumbling, giving way to an all-consuming terror.

As I frantically sought Captain Noebe, my eyes found her in a state of utter ruin. She was no longer the unbreakable leader but a terrified, broken individual, overwhelmed by the monstrous aura. Her laughter and cries merged into a harrowing sound that was the death knell of her sanity. In her final moments, as a creature's grotesque hand wrapped around her neck, her eyes met mine, conveying a plea for a mercy she knew wouldn't come. "Save yourself," she whispered, a sliver of her once formidable spirit flickering in her terror-stricken eyes. Then, with a sickening twist, her neck snapped, her head lolling unnaturally, her life extinguished in an instant of brutal finality.

Amid the chaos, my gaze fell upon the starstride lantern. My hands, shaking with fear and cold, grasped it desperately. As I infused it with my waning mana, the creatures—embodiments of nightmares—turned their malevolent attention toward me. Their approach was slow, deliberate, reveling in the terror they invoked.

The figure on the horse remained still, an ominous sentinel overseeing the carnage. Its presence alone was enough to shred the last vestiges of hope, driving me to the brink of madness. The world around me seemed to blur, the screams of the dying and the clash of spells fading into a distant echo.

In those harrowing moments, my mind, fraying at the edges, was flooded with the memories of my life. Images of my family flashed before my eyes with aching clarity. I saw Isaac, my son, his eyes wide with innocent wonder, a stark contrast to the horrors unfolding before me. His laughter echoed in my ears, a reminder of the life I was about to leave behind. Penelope, my dear wife, appeared in my thoughts, her unwavering support and love a bittersweet memory in the face of imminent death.

The memories cascaded through my consciousness, each a poignant reminder of the life I had lived and the dreams I had harbored. The adventures with my crew, the triumphs and defeats, the bonds forged in the fires of exploration—all seemed distant now, like echoes of a life once lived.

As the creatures closed in, their horrific forms mere shadows in my blurred vision, the lantern activated. A blinding light enveloped me, piercing through the suffocating darkness. In that moment of transcendent terror and despair, as the light reached its zenith, I vanished from the battlefield, torn from that realm of nightmares into the unknown.

The last image seared into my mind was home.