Chapter 716 - Sleeping Shadows
Tasgall shook his head trying to say something but...how could he without a tongue? It had only been a few minutes since he had 'lost' it so there was no way he was used to it yet.
The only upside was that the wound wasn't bleeding any more.
"Follow!" Hao Xuan had to almost drag him behind because he was struggling so much.
Hao Xuan retracted his steps as best as he could until they reached the roof which is when Mr. Hyde spoke up and guided him back.
The surroundings had changed quite a bit. Hao Xuan had been keeping a mental note of all the buildings he had previously crossed but couldn't find any of them now.
Thousands of them floated in an orbit around the pale sun and they all looked identical so it was expected.
"Quickly!" Hao Xuan shouted from across a building towards Tasgall who was just standing by the edge.
Tasgall shook his head, pointing at his legs. His face was ashen, devoid of any color even in this monochromatic world. He looked much thinner and weaker from what Hao Xuan remembered.
He jumped back to help him up, lending a shoulder so he could move again.
'Hurry. He is already turning,' Mr. Hyde's words startled Hao Xuan. He looked to his left at Tasgall's face that was just a few inches away from him.
He could see his skin turning translucent, reacting to the intense light of the white sun. His eyes were unfocused and a bit of drool was leaking from the side of his mouth.
'What will happen to him?' Hao Xuan asked just incase.
Mr. Hyde physically appeared next to him, staring up at the sky.
'He will start changing if he stays here much longer. And under 'his' direct gaze it cannot be helped.'
'His? Who are you talking...' Hao Xuan looked up but could see nothing other than the sun.
'Wait..' his eyes narrowed and focused in on the sun. His pupils elongated just a little, just wide enough to receive a little more of the spectrum than what was visible to the human eye.
"What the fuck is...that?!" he exclaimed upon seeing what Mr. Hyde was referring to.
Hao Xuan was able to see through the intense white light that acted as a barrier of sorts hiding its true form.
The pale sun was the head of a creature. Surrounding it was one gigantic serpentine tail with hundreds of smaller ones come from the sides. It looked like an orgy of serpents, a mating ball with untold creatures acting as one. (Reference image link in Authors notes and discord)
Most of the tails were passing up and down into the mist, going god knows where.
Mr. Hyde looked at Hao Xuan with a raised eyebrow, "You can see it?"
Hao Xuan gave a slow nod, "What is it?"
Mr. Hyde shrugged lightly.
"Aberration, an eldrich monstrosity. Some say it was banished to this world a long time ago by the old gods, some say it was born much later. But it has always been here as far as I can remember. Either way, its light corrupts all who touch it," he glanced towards Hao Xuan, thinking the last sentence to himself 'Or at least it is supposed to.'
"Go before it's too late," he reminded Hao Xuan who was lost in thought, waking him up.
"Y-Yeah."
The return trip that should have taken a handful of minutes lasted half an hour. But by the end Hao Xuan managed to find the staircase at the very least. Tasgall was foaming at the mouth by now and could not even open his eyes properly.
Hao Xuan lept down and halfway across he started climbing up just like before. He came out on the other side in the exact same spot. Nothing looked different, at least not to his eyes.
With Tasgall in tow, he swiftly made his way up to the roof where the setting sun's last rays were falling down.
He put down Tasgall and examined him again. Just being under the light of the sun was enough to stop his seizures. Color started to return to his face and he looked a lot better within seconds.
Hao Xuan fell back, letting out a breath of relief.
"Thank god!" he mumbled out loud.
But Mr. Hyde's voice echoed through his mind once again, saying otherwise.
'It is not yet over.'
*Crunch*
Hao Xuan's hypersensitive ears twitched.
*Crunch*Crunch*
Picking up multiple sounds from all around him.
'You should move while you can. Make use of the sunlight to the best of your abilities because once it goes down, you will have a lot more to contend with than just the cold.'
Hao Xuan stood up, picking up the unconscious Tasgall in his arms.
"This world, it wasn't abandoned was it?"
Mr. Hyde chuckled, 'Abandoned? How can it be abandoned when there are so many sleeping within the shadows?'
***
Authors Notes:
All images are posted in the Official Discord.
Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ
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Reference Image Link: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/24/1f/a2/241fa20e03257544a7f8db7e60c41985.jpg
Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/UawA8