The Awakening Of The Shadows
Chapter 48: The Leap Into the Unknown

Chapter 48: The Leap Into the Unknown

The sound of energy crackling around the portal filled the air like constant thunder. The unstable structure pulsed violently, as if trying to hold itself together but failing miserably. The dark bluish light emanating from the portal cast distorted shadows on the ground, while an eerie, icy wind blew from the dimensional rift.

Lian stood before it, observing the phenomenon with an intense gaze. His heart pounded in his chest, a mix of anticipation and apprehension. He had seen portals before, but this one was different. Something alive seemed to be calling him from the other side.

"Are you sure about this, kid?" Vance asked, adjusting his armor as he looked at Lian. "Unstable portals are hell. If something goes wrong, you could end up in a place you’ll never return from."

Lian clenched his fists. He knew the risks, but hesitation was not an option.

"I’m ready," he replied.

Argus, standing beside Viktor, assessed Lian for a moment. His eyes seemed to probe every thought inside him. Then, he nodded.

"Our objective is simple," Argus said, turning to the group. "We go in, assess the area, and ensure there are no immediate threats. If we notice any signs of total collapse, we leave immediately."

"If the portal breaks while we’re inside," Viktor added, his voice low and serious, "be prepared to fight until the last second."

The soldiers nodded, drawing their weapons.

Lian gripped Oblivion’s hilt tightly. His body was tense, but his mind was steady.

Then, without further hesitation, he took the first step into the portal.

The moment Lian crossed the threshold, reality unraveled around him.

A crushing weight fell upon his body, as if he were being pulled in different directions at once. The light around him vanished, and everything became an infinite void. He couldn’t feel the ground beneath his feet, only a constant pressure on his chest.

Then, the darkness shattered in a blinding flash.

Lian felt his body being hurled forward, and he fell to his knees, gasping for air. The sound around him was different, absolute silence.

Forcing himself to stand, he looked around.

What he saw was nothing like what he had expected.

The sky was a sea of darkness, no sun, no stars, just an empty void that moved slowly like smoke. The landscape around him consisted of gigantic ruins and remnants of ancient structures, as if an entire civilization had been reduced to dust.

The ground beneath his feet was hard, cracked, and covered in battle scars. A strange scent filled the air, something metallic and rotten at the same time.

This was not just another portal.

This was a grave.

"What... is this place?" Lian murmured to himself.

Before he could process the situation further, the other soldiers began emerging from the portal behind him.

Argus was the first to step firmly onto the ground, his eyes quickly analyzing the terrain. Viktor and Vance soon followed, their weapons already drawn. The other three soldiers completed the group, all in defensive positions.

"Something’s not right," Argus said, his expression hardening. "This isn’t the kind of terrain we usually find in unstable portals."

"I’ve seen ruins inside portals before," Viktor muttered, running his fingers over a broken wall. "But never like this. This... is old. Very old."

Lian looked around, an unsettling sensation crawling over his skin.

The silence was what disturbed him the most.

Portals always had something, distant sounds, wind, or even the growls of creatures dwelling inside them. But here... there was only a void.

As if the place itself was waiting for something.

"Stay alert," Argus ordered. "We move forward and look for signs of activity. No one separates under any circumstances. If we’re lucky, this will be an abandoned portal."

The group started moving through the ruins. Each step echoed in the empty environment, making the silence even more oppressive.

Lian felt the energy around him pulsing, but it was unlike anything he had experienced before. It was dense, suffocating, and... familiar?

As if something here recognized him.

"This feels like an ambush waiting to happen," Vance whispered, his spear ready for any attack.

"That’s because it probably is," Viktor replied.

They advanced for several minutes without incident, but Lian felt something was off. His skin tingled, his body seemed instinctively prepared to react to something that hadn’t happened yet.

That’s when he realized.

The shadows were moving.

There was no wind, yet the shadows around them flickered. Not naturally, but as if they were watching.

"Light," Lian said suddenly. "We need more light."

Argus narrowed his eyes but didn’t hesitate. With a swift motion, he activated an illumination crystal, which glowed with a strong bluish light.

It was enough for everyone to see.

The shadows twisted.

They weren’t just shadows. They were something alive.

And then, they attacked.

Darkness exploded around them, moving like spears lunging from every direction. The soldiers reacted instantly, dodging and striking back.

Lian instinctively raised Oblivion and slashed at one of the shadows lunging at him. The impact was strange, like cutting through dense liquid, yet at the same time, there was a solid resistance.

The creatures were fast, moving through the ruins as if they were part of them.

"Stay together!" Argus shouted, raising his blade and repelling a shadow that lunged at him.

Vance conjured a barrier of fire around the group, forcing some of the shadows to retreat. "They react to light and heat!" he alerted.

"Good," Viktor growled. "Then let’s burn them all."

Lian kept fighting, but something was wrong.

With each strike he delivered, he felt a response inside himself.

Something was trying to connect with him.

A whisper echoed in his mind.

"You feel it, don’t you?"

Lian shuddered and shook his head, trying to push the sensation away. But the voices persisted.

"You belong to us."

He forced himself to focus on the battle, but the shadows didn’t stop. They weren’t just attacking.

They were testing him.

And then, the ground trembled.

Something was emerging from the darkness. Something bigger.

Lian’s eyes widened as he saw a gigantic black entity rising from the shadows, its presence dominating everything around them. The creature had no definite form, it was as if the darkness itself was trying to take shape.

"What the hell is that?!" Argus shouted. "That’s not a normal monster!"

Viktor gritted his teeth. "Then I hope the kid has learned something... because this is going to be ugly."

Lian stared at the creature, feeling his own body reacting to its presence.

He didn’t know what this being was.

But he knew this battle wouldn’t be like any other.

And for the first time, he felt he was about to discover something he was never meant to know.

Something about himself.