Chapter 108: The Watcher on the Hill

Thin trails of smoke rose from several of the towers.

Not just one plume now. As Sky focused his Soul Clone’s vision, he could see three, maybe four distinct trails of dark grey smoke curling upward.

Someone was there. The castle was not just a ruin.

Chloe’s visor immediately projected a magnified image, her system enhancing the distant structure. The image was grainy but clear enough.

“A structure,” she said, stating the obvious. Her voice was tight. “No, it’s more than that. The walls are intact. The energy shielding is still active.”

Sky nodded, his eyes never leaving the distant silhouette.

“A castle. A real one. Not like the broken ones in the labyrinth. Someone built this to last forever.”

Vesper stared at it, her holy energy reacting slightly to the sight. Her staff gave off a faint hum.

“Could that be the castle from the records? The one the first expedition mentioned? The Fortress of the Forgotten King?”

Sky’s expression became serious. The carefree relief of reaching the surface was gone now, replaced by calculation.

“Probably,” he said. “The size matches. The location, if you count being thrown across the world, could match. And the old logs said it was always smoking.”

Chloe scanned the distant structure, her visor running through different spectrum modes. The readings made her frown.

“There’s energy activity,” she reported. “A lot of it. Not just residual Array energy from old enchantments.”

“How much?” Sky asked. “Is it a beast? Or people?”

“Significant,” she said. “Multiple high-density sources. At least one is stronger than anything we’ve scanned in the labyrinth, except for the sleeper. This is a fortified position.”

Sky smiled slightly, a sharp, excited smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He liked a challenge.

“So it’s not abandoned. That’s actually good news. Abandoned castles never have answers. People do.”

Suddenly—

A sound echoed across the plains. It wasn’t from the castle. It came from behind them, from the forest below.

ROOOOOAR! It was deep, guttural, and it vibrated in their chests.

The ground trembled slightly under their boots from the force of it.

Bird-like creatures exploded from the distant trees, hundreds of them, shrieking as they fled the source of the roar.

Sky immediately drew his Blood Blade. The red steel sang as it left its sheath.

Vesper transformed her staff in an instant, its holy form flaring to life with golden light.

Chloe activated the defensive mechanisms attached to her belt, small drones buzzing up to form a shield perimeter around her.

Sky’s eyes scanned the surrounding area, his senses stretched to their limit. He sent a Soul Clone darting toward the treeline.

“What was that? Was that from the castle? Or something else?”

Chloe looked toward the forest, her visor now flashing with dozens of red dots. Her voice became urgent.

“I’m detecting multiple lifeforms. Large ones. Moving fast. They’re coming this way from the eastern tree line.”

“How many?” Vesper asked, planting her feet.

“At least twenty,” Chloe said. “Maybe more behind them. They are big, Sky. Really big.”

Sky sighed, lowering his stance. He was tired, but his blood was starting to burn again.

“Of course. We get five minutes of peace. That’s all we get in this world.”

The creatures emerged from between the trees. They burst through the trunks as if the massive trees were just twigs.

They were enormous quadrupeds with thick armored hides and glowing yellow eyes. Their teeth were like swords and their claws dug trenches in the earth.

Savage beasts. Probably native to this strange blue-green plain. Apex predators of this region.

But they didn’t attack. They stopped at the edge of the forest and looked up at the hill.

They simply watched the three Awakened. Their yellow eyes stared, intelligent and hungry, but they didn’t charge.

Then, one by one, they turned their massive heads toward the distant castle. They sniffed the air.

And ran. Not toward Sky and his group, but away, in a stampede toward the distant castle, ignoring the humans completely.

Sky lowered his blade slightly, confused. That was not normal beast behavior at all.

“That’s strange,” he said. “They saw us. They should have attacked. Beasts always attack.”

Chloe watched them disappear over the next hill, her drones still buzzing nervously around her.

“Very strange,” she agreed. “It’s like something is calling them. Or they are more afraid of staying here than they are hungry.”

Vesper looked toward the castle again, at the smoke that was still rising steadily. Her expression was grim.

“Perhaps the castle controls this region. Perhaps it controls the beasts. The records said the Forgotten King could command monsters.”

Sky frowned, putting his blade away slowly. The idea was worse than random beasts.

“Or something inside it does. Something that is calling them home. Or calling them for dinner.”

The three of them stood silently for a long moment, watching the dust settle from the stampede. The plain was quiet again.

The castle was still far away. Even with enhanced speed, it was too far to reach before nightfall. The distance was deceptive.

And judging from the strange creatures surrounding the region, simply walking there wouldn’t be easy. The plains were not empty.

Sky looked toward the sky, judging the position of the sun. It was already beginning to descend toward the colossal mountains.

“We need shelter before dark,” he said. “I don’t want to be out here in the open when whatever hunts those things comes out.”

Chloe nodded, her practical side taking over.

“And food. And water. We used most of our supplies in the dungeon. We can’t fight on empty.”

Vesper looked at her, then toward the sound in the valley below.

“There’s a river nearby. I can hear it. And where there is water, there is usually something we can eat.”

Sky turned toward the sound of flowing water, the river they had seen from above. It was closer than the castle.

“Then we’ll camp there. By the river, with our backs to the water. It’s defensible.”

He looked back at the distant castle one last time. The smoke continued rising from its towers, steady and unending.

Someone lived there. Someone powerful enough to maintain a massive fortress in this unknown region, powerful enough to scare those beasts.

And if the old records were correct, if the legends about the dungeon realm were true…

That person might know how to escape the Dungeon Realm. That castle might be the only way home.

Sky tightened his grip around his Blood Blade, feeling the familiar pulse of it against his soul.

“Tomorrow, we head toward the castle. At first light. We find out who lives there and we make them talk.”

The three began walking toward the river, leaving the hilltop and the strange exit behind. They moved carefully, watching the treelines.

None of them noticed the small figure standing on a distant hill behind them. It was too still, too well hidden.

Watching them. It had been watching since they emerged from the passage.

The figure remained there for several seconds, cloaked in a way that bent the light. Then it turned.

Then disappeared into the trees without a sound, moving faster than any normal human could.

The castle wasn’t abandoned. It was very much awake.

And now…

Its inhabitants knew that three strangers had arrived.