It was not yet night in the Ghost World, as the crimson sky had only begun to fade slightly, taking on the color of dried blood. At the foot of the monolith, there was an eerie silence, broken only by the labored breathing of exhausted travelers. The relative safety allowed them to breathe, but they did not relax.
Leng Wei remained awake, leaning back against the cool, unyielding surface of the anchor. He could feel its deep, silent hum, which was not energy in the traditional sense, but rather the embodiment of confidence. It absorbed his fatigue like a sponge and slowly restored his strength.
Closing his eyes, he tried not to think but to listen, not with his ears but with the part of himself that resonated with the Archon's teachings and the resistance of the Void. His perception expanded beyond their camp, into the crimson chaos of the world around them.
At first, there was nothing. Only the indifference of emptiness, its desire to simplify everything and reduce it to nothingness. But then, amidst the all-consuming noise, he detected something else. Faint, barely discernible vibrations. Not as strong as the rumbling of the monolith they were hiding behind, but thin like a trembling thread. There were several of them. One was slightly to the right, another was almost directly in front of them, and the third was far, far away on the horizon.
They resembled stars, barely visible through the dense smog. Beacons of stability in a chaotic world.
"Can you feel them?" Xiao Fei's soft voice jolted him from his thoughts.
She was sitting next to him, her legs tucked under her, staring into the same crimson distance. "Yes," Leng Wei responded quietly. "Other anchors."
"They're not all the same," she whispered. "The one in front… his song is trembling. He's tired. It's difficult for him. And the one far, far away… His song is the loudest, but it's sad."
Leng Wei nodded in agreement. His own blood seemed to respond to these "sounds" in different ways, and the nearest Anchor, whose vibrations were felt right in front of them, seemed to be calling out for help. Its signal was not as strong as that of the monolith, and it seemed more intermittent.
The next morning, or whatever time it was, he shared his discovery with the others. "So there is a map," Jin concluded, "and our next destination is the weakest Anchor we found. Logically, if it is on the verge of collapse, its stability may be crucial to us, or we can learn what happens when an Anchor fails."
"But there is also a risk," Khan remarked gloomily as he sharpened his blade on the stone of the monolith. "If this one is shaking, it means the Emptiness is almost overpowering it. Maybe that's where they set up an ambush."
Leng Wei agreed that there was a risk, but he also agreed that they couldn't stay there forever. They needed to understand this world in order to change it, so they had to take the chance.
Their small group set off again, this time with a purpose. Leng Wei led the way, guided by a faint, intermittent call. They sailed in the crimson sea, but this time Leng Wei didn't carry all the weight alone. Jin and Lin Mei helped him maintain a sense of stability, focusing on basic concepts like firm footing and clean air.
As they approached, they realized that Xiao Fei had been right. The song of this anchor was not just faint, it was distorted, with notes of indifference emanating from the void.
Finally, they saw it. The second anchor was smaller and not as imposing as the first, more like a crystal ball embedded in black glass. It seemed to be sick.
Half of its surface was covered in the same gray, translucent spots that had attacked them earlier. These spots slowly crept across the crystal, leaving behind faded, dead patches. Waves of stability emanated from the Anchor, but they were uneven and intermittent, like a racing heartbeat.
Around them, on the edge of the Anchor's influence, dozens of gray, shapeless figures swarmed. They did not attack the Anchor itself; they simply stood facing it, feeding on its weakening vibrations and accelerating its demise. "They're devouring it," Lin Mei whispered in horror. "No, they're not," Jin corrected, his face tense. "They assimilate its energy of order and transform it into their own energy of peace and nothingness, this... infection."
Leng Wei felt a faint, desperate call coming from the damaged crystal. It wasn't directed at them; it was just a cry of pain into the void.
And at that moment, Leng Wei realized that their mission was not just to find shelter, but to become doctors in this hospital world. Their first patient was dying before their eyes.