Chapter 80
Into the Unknown
The jungle swallowed them whole.
Towering trees arched overhead, their dense canopies blocking out the moonlight. Twisting vines tangled across their path, the thick, damp air pressing against their skin like an invisible weight. The night was alive with the rustling of unseen creatures, the distant hoots of owls, and the occasional snap of a branch beneath cautious footsteps.
Elena led the way, her machete slicing through the undergrowth. Every movement felt too loud, every breath too sharp. The further they ventured from the cabin, the stronger the unease settled in her gut.
Richard walked beside her, his eyes scanning the darkness. “You sure about this path?”
She nodded. “If we cut through here, we’ll save half a day’s travel. The ruins are due north.”
Mateo, bringing up the rear, let out a grunt. “Saving time sounds great and all, but I’d rather not end up in something’s dinner plans.”
Naomi shot him a dry look. “We have bigger things to worry about than jungle predators, Mateo.”
He huffed. “Yeah, like the actual demon we just locked away.”
Elena tightened her grip on her machete. “Which is exactly why we need to keep moving.”
Amira adjusted the straps of her backpack, already scanning her notes under the faint glow of a pocket flashlight. “If the texts I translated were right, the archive beneath the ruins should have a full record of the original binding ritual. We need to find it before the sigils back at the cabin start to fail.”
Naomi exhaled sharply. “No pressure or anything.”
Silence stretched between them. The weight of their mission pressed down heavier than the thick jungle air.
And still, that uneasy feeling gnawed at Elena’s gut.
The Presence in the Dark
They walked for hours, the dense terrain slowing their pace.
Then, just as Elena was about to signal for a break, a snap echoed through the trees.
Everyone froze.
Richard raised his rifle, eyes narrowing as he scanned the darkness.
“Did you hear that?” Naomi whispered.
They all had.
Something—or someone—was following them.
Elena’s pulse thundered in her ears. The jungle had its fair share of dangers—wild animals, unstable ground—but this was something different. The presence was unnatural, its weight pressing against the edges of her awareness like cold fingers trailing along her spine.
Mateo unsheathed his knife, his jaw tight. “Whatever it is, it’s close.”
Elena took a slow step forward, listening.
The leaves rustled again, just beyond the thick ferns ahead.
Her breath caught.
Golden eyes—**glowing, inhuman—**peered at them from the darkness.
Elena’s stomach dropped.
It was here.
The Attack
The thing moved before anyone could react.
A blur of black smoke and clawed limbs lunged from the shadows. Richard fired a shot, the gun’s roar shattering the silence—but the bullet passed straight through the creature’s form, hitting a tree behind it.
“Elena, move!” Naomi shouted.
Elena barely ducked in time as the entity slashed through the air where her head had been a second ago. The force of the swing sent a gust of icy wind against her skin, unnatural in the jungle’s thick heat.
Mateo threw his knife, but the blade vanished into the shadow’s mass, as useless as Richard’s bullet.
“We can’t fight it like this!” Amira yelled. “It’s not fully materialized yet!”
Elena’s mind raced. How had it escaped so fast? The sigils should have held longer—unless something had weakened them.
Her gaze darted to Amira’s bag. “The binding symbols—can we use them?”
Amira was already flipping through pages. “We don’t have enough time to draw them out again—”
The creature lunged at her.
Naomi shoved Amira out of the way, raising her arm just as the shadow’s claws ripped through the air.
A sharp cry of pain rang through the trees.
Blood splattered across the ground.
“Naomi!” Mateo grabbed her as she stumbled, crimson staining her sleeve where the entity’s claws had sliced into her.
Elena’s heart pounded. They were outmatched. The creature wasn’t fully formed, but it was still deadly.
They needed to run.
“Elena!” Richard barked. “Call it!”
Her hands trembled as she reached into her pocket, fingers closing around a small, cold object—the emergency warding stone Amira had given her earlier.
She clutched it tightly and whispered the incantation.
Light exploded from her palm.
The creature shrieked, its golden eyes widening in fury before it was yanked backward, dissolving into the darkness as if it had never been there.
Then, silence.
A Close Call
Naomi groaned, clutching her arm. Mateo was already tearing fabric from his shirt to press against the wound.
“Let me see,” Amira said, kneeling beside her. She pulled a small vial from her bag, pouring the contents over the injury. Naomi winced as the liquid sizzled against her skin.
“Burns,” Amira muttered. “But it’ll hold for now.”
Richard turned to Elena. “How the hell did it escape?”
She swallowed hard, staring at the now-empty space where the creature had been.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But that wasn’t a full manifestation.”
Amira nodded grimly. “It was testing us.”
Mateo exhaled sharply. “Fantastic. So now it knows we’re coming.”
A heavy silence settled over them.
Elena glanced toward the north, where the ruins lay hidden beyond the jungle.
The real fight hadn’t even begun.
And the entity?
It was waiting for them.
