Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 291: Inside The Shadows

Chapter 291: Inside The Shadows

The three scouts hovered silently before the Black Wall, its shifting shadows and writhing tendrils radiating an overwhelming aura of menace.

None of them could find out what the wall truly was or what it would do to them at this point, and that uncertainty gnawed at their heart.

Kassiel cast a glance at his companions. Aelarin nodded subtly, his face composed but his grip on his daggers showing the tense in his heart. Elsa swallowed hard, clutching her shortsword hilt tightly. They exchanged a final glance.

There was no turning back now. This mission was not just an order, it was their sacred duty. Whatever lay ahead, they would face it together.

With that unspoken agreement, the trio began to move again, inching closer to the wall.

The disturbing energy it emanated grew stronger with each passing moment like a crushing weight pressing against their chests.

The whispers grew louder, more insidious, echoing in their minds with disjointed words that carried no meaning, they can only sensing that it was full of only malice.

The scouts readied themselves. Kassiel drew his longsword, the blade glowing faintly as it hummed with divine energy. Aelarin unsheathed his twin daggers, their edges glinting like slivers of moonlight. Elsa unsheathed her shortsword.

Together, they crossed the threshold and entered the Black Wall.

The world around them instantly dissolved into utter blackness. They were blind to everything except the faint glow of their weapons which flickered like fragile candles in an endless void.

A strange sensation engulfed them. Unseen hands seemed to touch and pull at their bodies, stretching them in every direction.

It wasn’t painful, but deeply unsettling, as though the very fabric of their beings was unraveling.

Elsa gasped, clutching at her chest as the whispers turned into an incomprehensible cacophony.

Aelarin reached out instinctively to her after hearing her gasp, but his hand found nothing but empty air. Kassiel gritted his teeth, his wings trembling as he forced himself to stay composed.

"Stay together," Kassiel’s voice echoed through their telepathic link. "Focus on your weapons’s light. Focus on the mission!"

They pressed forward, each step a struggle against the unseen forces that clawed at their essence.

The cloaks that had shielded them so effectively outside the wall now felt fragile, as if they were being eroded by the oppressive darkness.

A sudden pulse rippled through the void, and the blackness around them seemed to shift.

Faint shapes began to emerge — twisted, ghostly forms that flickered in and out of existence. They weren’t entirely real, yet their presence sent chills down the scouts’ spines.

"Do you see that?" Elsa said with mind-voice trembling with a mix of fear and awe.

"Yes," Aelarin replied tersely, his eyes darting to each flicker of movement. "Stay alert. They might not be illusions."

The shapes grew clearer as they moved deeper. They were grotesque and unnatural — elongated limbs, hollow eyes, and gaping mouths that seemed to wail silently.

The figures circled the trio, their forms distorting as though they were made of liquid shadows.

Kassiel raised his sword, its light intensifying. "If they attack, strike quickly. Don’t hesitate."

One of the shadowy figures lunged without warning, its movements unnaturally fast.

Kassiel reacted instantly, his blade slashing through it. The creature dissolved into wisps of darkness with a hiss, but its presence left a lingering around him.

Another figure darted toward Elsa. She sidestepped, her shortsword cutting through the void. The creature dissipated but not before she felt a sharp chill brush her arm, leaving her skin numb.

"These things aren’t solid!" Aelarin finally shouted while his daggers striking another shadow. "But they’re not harmless either!"

More shapes appeared, their movements erratic and increasingly aggressive.

The scouts tightened their formation, fighting off the relentless phantoms as they continued their advance. Every step deeper into the Black Wall felt heavier, the air around them thick with the disturbing energy that seemed to touch at their soul.

Then, suddenly, the figures vanished.

The oppressive whispers ceased, leaving only an eerie silence. The darkness around them began to shift again, this time coalescing into something more tangible.

A distant pulsing light appeared ahead, faint but unmistakable, like a heartbeat in the void.

"That must be it," Kassiel said.

"The source of this nightmare," Aelarin muttered, his grip tightening on his daggers.

Elsa stared at the light. "Let’s go there."

The trio moved toward the pulsing glow.

---

Clyde woke with a jolt, his chest heaving as though he’d just surfaced from drowning.

A strange sensation buzzed at the edges of his mind but it fading as quickly as it had come. He sat up, the chill of the Sivagadh Fortress air biting against his bare skin.

The room was silent. Clyde glanced at the window. The black night sky loomed, a perpetual abyss that had hung over Sivagadh Fortress for as long as he’d been there.

"What was that?" he thought, pressing his palm to his forehead.

His head throbbed faintly, like... an echo of something trying to force its way in. He closed his eyes, trying to recall the sensation, but it slipped through his mental grasp.

It wasn’t just a nightmare. It couldn’t be. He knew when his instincts were speaking to him and this was far beyond a simple hunch. Something had reached out to him.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees as he tried to piece together his scattered thoughts.

It wasn’t a normal sensation. A message? A warning? But from whom? And why couldn’t he remember it?

Clyde stood, his muscles stiff from sleep, and began pacing the small chamber.

Sivagadh Fortress’s dimension barrier were thick with layered protections against intrusion — physical, magical, and mental. Whatever had reached him had bypassed all of that.

A knock came at the door.

"Clyde? Are you awake?" The voice belonged to Hammer.

"I’m up," Clyde replied, his voice rough. He crossed the room and opened the door.

Hammer stood there, his expression grim. The dwarf’s thick arms were crossed over his chest, and his usual jovial demeanor was absent.

"Maethion tell me to call you. He said he got the test result of that substance."

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