The journey to the Undead Cave felt endless. It was the same cave that Kael and Lina's group had taken shelter in several hours ago. Ishy had no idea the prisoners were there, but deep down, he hoped they had made it and that he could regroup with them soon.
With every step, his body screamed in protest. The freezing ground stabbed into his soles like shards of ice, while the scorching heat from the chain burned his ankle without mercy. The lingering curse from the Whistle of Death pulsed dully in his head, sending waves of dizziness and nausea through him. He gritted his teeth and kept walking in silence, refusing to let the others hear his pain.
He endured it for one reason only — to find the prisoners he had risked everything to save and help them figure out how to survive this dreadful Fallen Dream.
His eyes grew heavy with exhaustion. The thought of reaching the cave and taking even a short rest was the only thing keeping him moving. Finally, their group arrived at the mouth of the cave
.
Vale was the first to act. He carefully laid the wounded Scarlett against the cave wall and drew both his pistol and a flashlight. With practiced caution, he stepped inside, sweeping the beam of light and the barrel of his gun across the darkness, performing a thorough safety check before allowing anyone else to enter.
Soon, Vale finished his thorough safety check inside the cave and stepped back out. He carefully lifted Scarlett and carried her through the entrance, gently setting her down against the inner wall. He knelt beside her, pulling out a simple bandage and a small vial of pure alcohol from his pouch to tend to her deep claw wounds.
Ishy entered the cave right after them, a flicker of hope in his eyes. He scanned the dim interior, searching for any sign of the prisoners he had sent ahead. That hope shattered almost instantly. The cave was empty — no trace of Kael, Lina, or the others.
He let out a soft, weary sigh of resignation. For a moment, exhaustion and disappointment weighed heavily on him. But he quickly steadied himself, clenching his jaw in silent determination.
"'They must have moved on, he thought. I'll find them. I have to..'"
Ishy found a spot on the dirt floor and slowly sat down, leaning his back against the cold cave wall. Silas followed and took a seat beside him, his eyes occasionally drifting toward Vale and the injured Scarlett.
Ishy's gaze fell to the ground. There, pressed clearly into the dirt, were massive footprints — far larger than any human's. He stared at them for a long moment, recognizing their origin. They belonged to the Bounded Shroud.
His focus was suddenly interrupted by Silas nudging his shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Silas asked quietly.
"Did you notice something that could put us in danger?"
The question caught Ishy off guard. He steadied himself and answered simply.
"Nothing… I'm just thinking about how long I'll be stuck in this realm."
Silas paused, considering his words, then tried to offer reassurance.
"Oh… Is that so? Well, don't worry about it. You'll be freed soon enough if you're strong enou—"
His sentence was cut off by a sharp groan from Scarlett. She clenched her teeth tightly as Vale tended to her wounds, pouring alcohol onto the deep claw marks and wrapping them with bandages. Vale had torn open the front of her garb to gain better access, exposing her inner clothing.
Both Ishy and Silas quickly turned their heads away, embarrassed and awkward. To avoid the uncomfortable sight, they shifted their gaze toward the cave entrance, watching the giant scavenger crows feasting on the corpses outside.
While the awkward scene continued — Vale carefully tending to Scarlett's wounds — both Ishy and Silas remained silent for a few moments, staring out at the giant scavenger crows feasting on the corpses outside the cave.
Silas eventually broke the silence with a casual question.
"Urm… hey, Ishmael… Let's be real, shall we?"
He turned toward Ishy and continued,
"So, tell me… who are you in the awakened world? Like, who were you before you got dragged into this realm? Because I'm curious. My guesses were way off — I thought you were some kind of bodybuilder, a soldier, or maybe even a loser."
The question made Ishy feel uneasy. He didn't like people digging into his personal life. But he knew if he stayed silent, Silas wouldn't stop talking. With a short, reluctant answer, he replied:
"A college student… that's all. Nothing fancy about it."
Silas looked genuinely stunned. He hadn't expected that answer at all. A college student — someone who should have had a bright future ahead of him — was now trapped in this treacherous Fallen Dream.
"A college student, eh?" Silas said, amazement clear in his tone as he fully turned toward Ishy. "Never thought someone like you would end up stuck in this realm instead of focusing on studying and graduating…"
He chuckled lightly, clearly entertained by the revelation.
***
Silas continued trying to pry into Ishy's backstory, his tone casual but persistent. However, their conversation was abruptly cut short by the loud, harsh cawing of the giant scavenger crows outside. The birds were fighting over the leftover corpses, their noise growing louder and closer by the second.
Both Ishy and Silas clamped their mouths shut. The scavenging crows were getting dangerously near — their heavy footsteps crunching on bones and their sharp beaks chattering echoed through the night air.
Silas turned to Ishy, pressing a finger to his lips in a clear signal to stay silent. He then looked toward Vale and made a repeated lowering gesture with his hand, urging him to keep noise to a minimum.
Vale and Scarlet immediately fell silent. Their eyes locked on the cave entrance, where the massive, shifting shadows of the giant crows were clearly visible. The birds were searching for more food, and they were getting uncomfortably close.
Ishy's mind raced. If the crows discovered them, they would be in serious trouble. His sharp gaze flicked from the cave exit to Vale and Scarlett. His brows furrowed with tension as he desperately tried to think of a way to avoid detection.
"'Damnit… those birds can't even get full from all those corpses?! Why can't they scavenge somewhere else?! Curse those damn birds!!'"
Despite the cave mouth being too narrow for their bulky bodies, the giant scavenger crows still tried to reach inside. Their long, sharp beaks stabbed repeatedly through the opening, snapping and clacking as they desperately searched for prey.
The night was bitterly cold, the kind of freezing temperature that would drive most Unholy Beings to seek warmer hunting grounds. Unfortunately, these scavenger crows were built for it — their thick, oily feathers protected them from the harsh chill.
Moonlight streamed into the cave, offering the group a faint silver glow that let them see each other's tense faces. However, Ishy felt increasingly unsettled. He nudged Silas and motioned deeper into the cave. Silas didn't waste time. He shifted his seat, helping Ishy move further back until they were sitting across from Vale and Scarlett.
Vale and Scarlett looked at them with genuine confusion but said nothing. Vale had just finished bandaging Scarlett's wounds and now sat protectively beside her.
Silas leaned closer to Ishy and whispered, "What is it? Another unsettling feeling?"
The question sounded slightly mocking, but there was real concern behind it — as if Silas suspected Ishy knew something the rest of them didn't.
Ishy glanced at him and answered simply, "I feel those birds will try to peek inside the cave… that's why."
Silas opened his mouth to ask another question, but the loud chattering and scraping of beaks suddenly grew much louder, echoing through the cave. All four of them turned toward the entrance.
True to Ishy's warning, the abomination had found them.
One of the giant crows thrust its massive beak deep into the cave mouth. The sharp tip lunged forward hungrily, scraping against the stone walls as it tried to reach them. The beak got stuck for a moment, wedged tightly in the narrow opening, before the crow violently jerked its head back, screeching in frustration.
Thus, the hunters and Ishy's hearts pounded as the monstrous bird continued its relentless assault on the entrance.
The giant scavenger crows continued their relentless assault, thrusting their long, razor-sharp beaks deep into the narrow cave mouth in a desperate attempt to reach the humans inside. No matter how hard they tried, their bulky bodies couldn't fit through the tight entrance. Frustrated, one of the massive birds let out a deafening, harsh caw that reverberated through the entire cave like a sonic blade.
The sound was unbearable. Ishy, Silas, Vale, and Scarlett instinctively backed away, clamping their hands tightly over their ears. The piercing screech drilled into their skulls, making their heads throb painfully.
Ishy turned to Silas, still covering his ears, his face twisted in discomfort. He wanted to say something, but the noise made it impossible. The crows showed no sign of stopping — their harsh caws echoed endlessly off the stone walls.
Ishy lowered his head, staring at the intruding beaks with gritted teeth, and muttered under his breath,
"Damnit… these crows are hungry for more food…"