CHAPTER 255: CHAPTER 254 - THE RUIN OF OBSCURA.

The air thickened.

Not with mist.

But tension.

Raven’s gaze locked onto the sign Nibbles had raised—"They all disappeared in a mist."

He knelt, his voice low but clear. "Nibbles. Elaborate."

Without hesitation, the squirrel general leapt in the air, did a somersault midair, and landed squarely on Alex’s shoulder with theatrical flair.

Alex blinked. "Oh? Is it time for the Alex-Nibbles mind-meld again?"

Selena groaned. "Please don’t call it that."

Clara sighed. "Just translate."

Nibbles started squeaking—rapid-fire, intense, paws flailing in expressive little circles.

Alex’s face grew increasingly serious.

"Alright, so here’s the deal," he said, pointing to the broken stone pillars. "Nibbles’s recon squad was watching everything from the trees around the perimeter—super stealthy. Acorn helmets, nut camo, you know, the full kit."

Raven raised a brow.

Alex continued, "They didn’t move in. Not because they were lazy—although, let’s be honest, they probably are lazy—but because they felt it. Something in the air. Something wrong. Even the birds didn’t chirp."

The group leaned in slightly.

"Nibbles says the assassins were just standing around the ruins," Alex went on, "doing their whole shadowy-lurker thing. Then... they started panicking. All at once."

Jessy frowned. "Panicking? Why?"

"Exactly what Nibbles wanted to know," Alex said, his tone now hushed. "Before they could even think of getting closer, the mist rolled in. Dark. Thick. And... unnatural. Nibbles says it ate them."

Selena’s brows furrowed. "Ate them?"

"Did someone say anything about eating?" Graye perked up, only to be ignored.

"Like—gone. Swallowed whole," Alex continued, nodding seriously. "No time to scream. No time to run. Just gone."

Clara stared at the quiet, overgrown ruins before them. "But if the mist took the assassins... why is it so quiet now?"

Raven didn’t answer.

Because even he didn’t know what this was. But he knew that silence was worse than screams.

He could still remember the plot of this ruin.

The problem was that it wasn’t a fixed plot because the entity that controlled the place could change anything anytime.

Raven didn’t even know how the protagonist was able to escape in the first place.

It was as if he were deliberately left alive.

However, it was no use thinking about the plot, because in the plot, the protagonist was trying to escape from this place, whereas they were trying to enter it.

They had to go in if they wanted to save Myria, no matter the risk.

So, Raven straightened. "We’re moving in."

Lia hesitated. "Even after what Nibbles just—"

She wanted to search for Myria, but now she was in a dilemma.

If they all entered the ruin, then they might not return, and although she was ready to risk her life, she couldn’t ask that of everyone else.

Unlike before, she could now think clearly, so she wouldn’t demand that they move in with her.

But Raven cut her off before she could complete her words.

"We need to know what’s inside," Raven said. "If we wait out here, we’ll never understand what happened. Above all, this is the only way we can get any clues about Myria’s whereabouts."

The others nodded despite being nervous, alert, and tense.

They stepped past the cracked arch and into the ruins proper, the mossy floor crunching beneath their feet.

But...

Nothing happened.

No shadows.

No mist.

No eerie voices whispering forgotten names.

They exchanged glances.

Clara cautiously muttered, "Was the squirrel intel wrong?"

Alex shrugged. "Maybe the mist doesn’t like us?"

Selena narrowed her eyes. "Don’t say it."

"Say what?"

"That thing. The red-flag line."

Alex blinked innocently. "You mean, ’Huh, maybe it’s not that dan—’"

SCHLAP.

Jake’s arm emerged from Alex’s own shadow and slapped a hand across his mouth.

The suddenness of it made Alex yelp behind the palm as Jake fully emerged, glaring through his bangs.

Even Nibbles raised a paw in judgment.

Alex, properly scolded, gave a sheepish nod and zipped his lips.

Everyone, with their senses sharp, paused and looked around, looking for any anomaly.

After all, Alex was about to red-flag them again.

But nothing happened. Again.

It seemed like things were fine until—

BANG!

A heavy metal door slammed open at the far end of the ruin.

Everyone whipped around.

A man—drenched in blood, in a black cloak torn and clawed—stumbled through the now-open doorway. His steps were uneven, and his face was filled with terror.

He was one of the assassins—they could all tell that.

"AHHHHHHH!" He screamed, arms flailing as he sprinted out the door before his eyes turned to them.

"HELP!!! PLEASE!!" He ran toward them, hope flashing in his eyes.

One must know that he was an assassin trained to survive the harshest conditions, yet he was acting like that.

Selena’s shadow twitched as she clenched her fists, ready to summon her devourer beasts.

Clara stepped forward, the air around her vibrating.

But Raven raised his hand. "Wait."

There was no way anyone could escape this place—at least not some random side character like that assassin.

Raven knew it better than anyone else.

As he predicted, the man didn’t even make it ten feet.

From within the shadows of the open doorway—something shot out.

A black tendril, oily and inky like liquefied nightmares, lashed around the man’s ankle.

"NO—NO—NO—!"

He screamed in horror and pain, his eyes wide like a child who had seen the worst demon from his nightmare.

Then he was yanked backward into the dark.

The metal door slammed shut.

CLANG!

Then—

With a whoosh, the door was gone.

Not closed.

Gone.

Like it had never existed.

Silence fell again.

Heavy. Crippling.

Alex gulped. "Okay... so, uh... can we all agree that was not a squirrel illusion?"

"No," Jessy said, her tone clipped. "That was very real."

Raven stared at the blank wall where the door had just been.

Whatever this ruin once was—it wasn’t just a forgotten temple.

However, their objective was still the same. They had to walk deeper until they found a clue about what was happening.

Lia shivered beside him, whispering, "That wasn’t magic. That was something else..."

However, there was some relief in her eyes because now they knew they were in the right place and the assassins had been in the ruins.

That meant Lia’s sister was also here.

The only worry Lia had now was whether Myria was alive.

Raven’s crimson eyes narrowed. "Let’s keep moving."

"Into that?" Selena asked, gesturing toward the place where the door had vanished.

"No," Raven replied, pointing to the far archway. "Let’s look for another entrance. But stay alert."

Jessy cracked her knuckles, metal plates already orbiting her arms.

Rufus, on the other hand, summoned a soft, glowing ball of light as the moon was now dipping low.

After that, for what felt like hours, the group wandered deeper into the ruins. Room by room. Hall by hall.

Dust clung to every surface, ancient cobwebs glistening with the faint shimmer of enchantment.

Every corner felt like it was breathing, watching. Listening. But nothing came. No mists. No tendrils. No whispers.

Just silence.

Along with the quiet pressure of being somewhere they were never meant to find.

"Anything?" Selena asked, peering into a chamber lined with broken marble statues.

"Just more old junk," Clara replied, sounding frustrated as her brows frowned, wondering why this ruin looked so normal.

Graye opened yet another door with a bored sigh. "Empty... again. I’m starting to think Nibbles overhyped this whole operation."

Nibbles, riding on Alex’s head now, indignantly squeaked and slapped his ear.

"Why me?! She was the one who said it!" Alex let out a hushed yell, rubbing his ear. "I know you weren’t wrong, so please don’t claw my brain."

Just then—

"Uh... guys?" Graye called out, this time with a tinge of something in his voice.

Hope.

Everyone turned, quick steps echoing against the cracked stone floor as they moved toward him. He stood inside a narrow room lit only by a faint blue glow leaking from cracks in the ceiling.

There, at the far end, sat a small wooden bench.

Nothing else.

Just that.

But as they focused, they saw something carved into its surface. They were—jaggedly, clumsily, yet heartbreakingly clear—words: "When are you coming to rescue me, big sis?"

Time froze.

Lia stepped forward, hand trembling as she reached out, brushing her fingers over the etched words.

Her throat tightened. Her legs buckled.

She collapsed to her knees before the bench, pressing her forehead against the carved message, her breaths shaky.

"This is her," she whispered, her voice breaking. "This is Myria. I’d know her handwriting anywhere..."

A silence fell over the group again.

But this time, it was different.

Not eerie.

Not cursed.

But mournful. Heavy with memory and desperation.

Lia turned slowly, tears streaking down her cheeks, eyes locked on Raven.

"She was here. She is here. Somewhere. We’re close."

Raven nodded once, stepping forward, gaze hard. "Then we’ll find her."

But—

A new voice entered the room. Smooth. Feminine. And chillingly casual.

"Oh? Are you here to rescue the little girl with pink hair?"

Instantly, weapons were drawn. Magic surged. Nibbles pulled a tiny acorn blade from his belt, teeth bared.

Everyone turned.

No one was there.

Just the air... speaking.

Selena’s shadow shifted, and a shadowy devourer wolf jumped out of it. "Who’s there?!"

Lia stepped protectively in front of the bench, eyes scanning wildly.

But Raven didn’t move.

He knew this voice.

He’d been waiting for it.

Because he also knew that this was the moment.

The trigger.

The moment you reply to her voice, she will start doing whatever she wants to.

Although Selena had already replied to her words, hence fulfilling the condition, he still spoke.

"Yes," he replied evenly, his gaze sharp. "We are."

A soft, amused giggle danced across the room like a breeze.

"Good," the voice said sweetly. "I really hope you survive."

Then—

The floor beneath them shifted.

The world twisted.

The stone cracked. Light warped. Reality snapped.

Then, in a single heartbeat—

They were gone.