Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 224: Illusion

Chapter 224: Illusion

When the path forward begins to perplex a person, it is only wise to look back to gain an idea of what could lay ahead.

But what, daresay, would happen when there is no past to look for?

That was what Ambrose experienced after waking up.

If not for the sudden call-up by Anderson, he would have had the chance to carefully iron out the discrepancies.

Now Natasha helped him recall the strangeness he’d felt when he first awoke.

There were so many questions, Ambrose had to ponder the possibility of there being something wrong, and based on what he’d discovered, it seemed there was.

He looked to Natasha for answers but it seemed she was in a similar state of confusion.

Pursing his lips, he fell into deep thought.

Unfortunately, he was unable to hold one for long as a strange cloud moved to prevent him from discovering the truth.

"Something is stopping us from recalling what we forgot," Ambrose muttered with a frown.

Following his train of thought, Natasha replied. "I agree. And it’s only gotten stronger since we entered this structure."

"You think it might have something to do with the Tenebrous Order?"

"Is there any other way to look at it?"

"....Hmm, you are right. But we can’t be hasty. For now, let’s just go ahead with the investigation while carrying out some of our own."

"Alright." Natasha nodded, completely agreeable to the plan.

Ambrose nodded and prepared to walk down the stairs only to pause as Natasha called out to him.

"Hmm?"

"What about these?" Natasha inquired while gesturing toward the effigies she held.

Ambrose inexplicably grew tense as he stared at the clay likeness.

It felt as though some forgotten memory connected to the winged humanoids had popped up but its specifics eluded him, leaving him quite vexed.

Mulling for a moment, he soon replied. "Leave them here."

"Alright." Natasha quickly tossed the effigies aside, seemingly sharing a repulsion toward them, same as Ambrose.

With that out of the way, the duo quickly made their way down the stairs and into the underground tunnels.

Just then, the sound of stone scraping against stone echoed after which... there was a whisper.

***

The underground tunnels were an intricate network that covered the entirety of underground BoneHaven and then some.

Its winding structure made it quite difficult to not get lost especially when one had very few means to keep himself abreast of his location.

Ambrose and Natasha combatted this as best as they could with knives they used to carve into the walls, serving as indicators in case they ended up going around in circles.

The eeriness of the tunnels combined with the thick darkness left both investigators unnerved, coupled with their reservations about the inexplicable situation they’d found themselves in and it was only by the angels that neither attempted to turn back.

After almost an hour of walking, Natasha sought to break the ice. "It’s weird."

"Hah, what is it this time?" Ambrose responded with a tired sigh.

"Well, I don’t know but...have we always been capable of seeing in the dark?"

"That..." Ambrose trailed off as a frown graced his visage.

Silence reigned for a while before he shook his head. "I don’t believe so... especially considering the darkness is so thick."

"Yet we can see just fine," Natasha remarked, leading to yet another resounding silence.

"... Let’s go back." Ambrose decided after realizing the situation was much more complicated than he could have imagined.

Alas, hardly had he made the decision when a peculiar sound echoed across the tunnel they were in.

It sounded like people talking but on closer inspection, the language spoken... wasn’t a language at all.

It was merely gibberish spoken in a low tone, sharing semblance to an actual conversation.

Immediately, both Ambrose and Natasha felt a fear that shook them to their boots.

"Let’s go." Ambrose quickly said as he turned and led the way deeper into the tunnel with Natasha following closely behind.

Despite their efforts, however, the whispers still seemed to be in proximity, nearing with each meter they took forward.

"We have to stay and fight," Natasha called out.

Ambrose quickly retorted. "Something tells me we aren’t equipped to fight whatever is making that noise."

"... I agree." Natasha’s expression turned grim as she glanced back only to catch what seemed like a gray blur.

Her eyes grew wide before she exclaimed. "Get down!"

Leaping forward, she grabbed Ambrose and both tumbled before falling into the hard and rough ground with a silver light erupting from Natasha’s body.

At the same time, what felt like a light breeze passed by them.

"...Breeze?... Underground?" Ambrose muttered, his mind gears turning to explain the anomaly.

At that moment, he felt the urge to raise his head but Natasha didn’t allow him to do so as she muttered.

"... I remember."

"What?"

"I remember everything."

"I don’t follow."

"It’s an illusion."

"..."

"We are done for," Natasha muttered under her breath as she stared off in a certain direction.

Currently standing at one end of the tunnels were several Whisperers and on the other end, yet more stood.

They were completely trapped.

Just as the Whisperers drew closer, with even more en route, Natasha felt the cold arms of death steadily enveloping her in an embrace.

Gritting her teeth, she sought to fight back but without a weapon, what was she to do?

"No." She shook her head as she slowly rose to her feet.

Standing with her back against the tunnel wall, she made sure to keep both ends within her sight as she clenched her palms together.

At that moment, silver energy began to bubble up from her palms, coalescing into a fragile framework for a short sword.

’Antimagic may not kill them but it would slow them down.’ was her thought process as she tried to strengthen the sword.

Seemingly realizing what she was trying to do, the whispering grew louder as the Whisperers regarded her with interest.

Unfortunately, Natasha’s resolve wasn’t enough, and as quickly as the framework was formed, it dissipated similarly, leaving her weakened for a moment, and naturally, her gaze fell from the Whisperers.

One rushed forward without hesitation.

"Ah!" Natasha screamed as it dug into her shoulder, relieving her of one of her hands.

Glaring at it, she sought to punch a hole through its head but a second one targeted her torso and in seconds, she slumped to the ground with blood streaming from different portions of her body.

Ambrose watched this happen, unable to even move a muscle as fear enveloped his being.

"Ah." He muttered as his mental state teetered on the edge of insanity.

At that moment, the Whisperers turned their attention to him.

"Haha." He laughed, his eyes quickly turning bloodshot.

There was no hope, only death remained.

But then, salvation arrived.

"And as it is written in the holy book of the Only One God, ’Should death meet me with their cold embrace, I wish for my enemies to feel the burning inferno that is my faith!’"

What followed next was a blinding light that erupted in the tunnels carrying with it rays of hope that burned away Ambrose’s terror and Natasha’s pain.

At the same time, it destroyed the Whisperers hounding them, turning the whole lot into gray ash that fell to the ground unceremoniously.

Watching the Whisperers get dispatched so quickly, silence reigned for a while before Ambrose and Natasha exchanged looks with one another after which sighs of relief escaped their lips.