CHAPTER 35: THE HAUNTING

The wind on Watch Hill didn’t blow like it did in other places.

It whistled.

Not the natural sound of air currents among trees or rocks. It was a deep whisper, laden with something ancient, as if the very bones of the earth grumbled at being awakened. Each step the group took on the dry ground did more than echo: it reverberated.

Eren walked at the front.

His body relaxed, eyes alert. Nothing in his posture indicated fear or hesitation. That environment, even with the overcast sky, uneven ground, and decrepit landscape, seemed perfectly acceptable. As if part of him.

The vegetation was sparse. Dry branches curved like skeletal fingers reaching for the sky. Partially buried stone structures exposed parts corroded by something other than time. And here and there, partially buried bones punctuated the path like forgotten markers.

Eren briefly activated his mental interface:

[Location: Watch Hill]

[State: In ruins | Residual aura: High]

[Magic record: Presence of unnatural death]

Observation: Not recommended for creatures sensitive to spiritual energy

He read it in silence and moved on.

"M-Master..." Nyssa’s voice broke the air, low and trembling. "I-I think... we should go around..."

She slithered behind him, in a semi-cohesive form. Her gelatinous skin was more opaque than usual, and her core pulsed irregularly. It was as if the very air of the place was pressing on her.

Eren looked over his shoulder.

"Afraid?"

She shrank back, her voice almost childlike.

"It’s just that... there’s something here... watching us."

Kaela growled softly.

"This place stinks."

She walked with the fur on her neck standing up, her eyes scanning the sides of the path. Her movements were tense, but not out of cowardice — out of instinct. Like a dog sniffing what it can’t see but knows is there. Her senses were on high alert.

"It’s the smell of rotten things. Not... natural death. There’s too much spirit per square meter here." She sniffed. "Old blood. Dry scream. Things that got ingrained."

Morwynn, on the other hand, walked almost lightly.

"The webs binding this place are beautiful," she said, looking at a broken column covered in dark moss. "Here, the memories haven’t left. They... stuck."

Eren replied without looking.

"I’m not surprised you like it."

The spider smiled with all her teeth.

"Shadows are more honest than people."

They passed through a semi-fallen stone arch, where worn inscriptions could still be seen with effort.

Nyssa hesitated to cross, but Eren pulled her translucent hand and dragged her without ceremony. Kaela followed, more out of stubbornness than courage.

Morwynn was the last. Before passing, she ran her fingers over the inscriptions and whispered something in an ancient language. The stone trembled. Eren didn’t comment. He had already accepted that the spider knew too much.

Inside the hill, the view expanded. The terrain descended in gentle curves to a sunken center, like a natural crater with a small destroyed tower in the middle. That was the heart of Watch Hill. From there, it was possible to see — albeit from afar — the outer contours of Barovik. The double walls. The towers. The smoke.

But the group didn’t observe for long.

Because at that moment, the light appeared.

Coming from the southern slope, on the side of the stone ring. It wasn’t sunlight — it was magical. An enchanted torch being raised.

Eren turned slowly.

Down below, five figures approached along the gravel path. Heavy armor. Crimson cloaks. Subtly altered symbols — an iris with blood dripping instead of flames.

Knights of the Order of the Flaming Eye.

But not the ones Eren had seen before. These... were changed.

"Eren..." Kaela said softly.

"I know."

"They haven’t seen us yet," Morwynn added.

Nyssa had already begun to retreat instinctively, trying to hide behind a fallen rock.

Eren analyzed in seconds. Five. Two with shields, one with a spear, a spellcaster (probably light), and one walking in the center with an uncovered head but a body entirely covered in raw runes.

The visor flashed for a second.

[Name: Blood Inquisitor – Elite Class of the Order]

[Attributes: High magical resistance | Capable of detecting active bonds]

[Status: HOSTILE]

[Alert: Can detect Kaela’s bond if within 30 meters.]

"Damn."

Eren furrowed his brow.

He had to decide quickly: hide, confront, or... negotiate?

"Morwynn," he said. "Plan?"

"Containment web in the trees. I can delay two of them. But not for long."

"Kaela?"

"I can take one head before they say ’purification.’ After that... well, you know me."

Eren turned to Nyssa, who was trembling.

"And you?"

She swallowed hard.

"I-I can hide us if you want... but only for a short time..."

The knights’ footsteps echoed closer. One of them stopped. Pointed upward.

"They looked this way," Kaela growled.

Eren inhaled slowly.

[New Battle Condition: Imminent Confrontation]

[Options: Combat | Retreat | Strategic Feint]

[Passive Skill Activated: Alpha Instinct (Kaela)]

[Tactical Skill Unlocked: Escape Web (Morwynn)]

He gestured with his chin.

"Kaela up front. Morwynn to the left. Nyssa, mist and fog. I’ll go to the center. If they’re smart, they’ll run."

Kaela grinned with exposed canines.

"They’ll pray to melt quickly."

The air vibrated with the first impact.

Kaela collided with the vanguard paladin like a living wall, claws against steel, muscles against enchantments. The crash was so loud it cracked the stone beneath her feet. The man flew but didn’t fall — he spun in the air, sliding through sheer martial prowess and planting his boots on the ground just ahead.

He smiled. Sadistic.

The spellcaster stepped back three paces and raised his hand.

A lance of light shot toward Morwynn, who jumped back and fired dark silk strands between two trees, creating an improvised barrier. The lance exploded there, sending divine sparks scattering in all directions.

Eren remained at the center, spinning his body between spells and attacks. He launched small bursts of fire in a zigzag to confuse the advance, but the paladins were disciplined. They didn’t retreat. They surrounded him.

Nyssa had already dissolved, spreading a viscous mist around. The battlefield began to turn into a gray swamp where only the most trained eyes could distinguish allies from enemies.

And still... it wasn’t enough.

"Kaela! Fall back!" Eren shouted.

"I can handle it!" she growled, being pushed back by two knights at once.

She couldn’t handle it.

Morwynn had already been hit by a second projectile, and her legs trembled with the effort of keeping the webs active. Nyssa, despite creating cover, was starting to disperse beyond control.

Eren narrowed his eyes. A heat rose up his back, but it was the wrong kind. It wasn’t magical fire. It was the bitter recognition of a conclusion.

They were losing.

The paladins advanced with surgical precision. The inquisitor at the center — the one with runes etched into his skin — did not attack. He simply observed. His hands were crossed. His eyes shone with judgment.

[Status: Critical]

[Ally Morwynn – Integrity 41%]

[Ally Nyssa – Unstable Core]

[Ally Kaela – Low Physical Resistance | Feral Mode UNAVAILABLE]

[Alert: "Execute emergency protocol or prepare for forced bond rupture"]

Eren gritted his teeth.

And then... the world froze.

Literally.

A glacial wind swept through the clearing, silencing everyone. Nyssa’s mist condensed into crystals in the air. Even the paladins stopped — confused, alarmed.

Something walked among them.

No footsteps were heard.

Nothing was heard.

Only a faint, delicate sound, like fluttering fabric. And a presence that chilled even thoughts.

A translucent figure emerged through the mist. Female. Tall. Her hair waved as if floating underwater, and her body shimmered in pale shades of blue, white, and lilac. Her eyes were deep pits where light was lost.

Eren took a step back.

The system reacted:

[Interfering Entity Detected]

[Name: Sylha – Condition: Singular Phantom | Hostility Level: Unknown]

[Observation: Passive affinity established with Eren Vale]

[Forced bond? NO.]

[Pre-existing emotional connection? UNKNOWN.]

"Sylha..." Eren murmured, not knowing why he said it.

The phantom looked at him. And smiled.

Not warmly — but with an ancient familiarity, as if recognizing a lost echo.

The paladins reacted too late.

She raised one of her hands with supernatural grace. The shadows hovering over the wreckage began to rise — and took form. Blades made of absence, stakes born from the pain of the place, from the lament of Watcher’s Hill.

In one motion, Sylha unleashed the darkness like a whip of souls.

One of the knights was pierced by three shadowy spears. He fell to his knees. The other screamed as his helmet froze from the inside out. The inquisitor tried to raise his hand, but she merely whispered something. The rune on his chest glowed — and went out.

They were not prepared to fight against what was not part of the living world.

In less than a minute, the remaining paladins had fled or fallen unconscious. The mist receded, the wind ceased.

Sylha hovered a few meters from Eren. The monsters regrouped behind him. Kaela was bleeding but smiling. Morwynn moaned silently but remained firm. Nyssa trembled — but did not cry.

Eren took a step forward.

"Who are you?"

Sylha looked at him.

"You still don’t remember?!" she said, with a voice that seemed to echo inside his brain.

"Do we know each other?"

She simply smiled and touched his chest. The translucent tip of her fingers passed through his skin for a second. Eren shivered.

[Weak Link Established – Entity Sylha]

[Unknown Ability added to tactical reserve]

[Time until next manifestation: Unknown]

[Condition for emotional fusion: Not met]

And then she vanished.

She didn’t fly.

She didn’t turn into smoke.

She simply... disappeared.

Absolute silence. Only the sound of the four’s breathing remained.

"What... was that?" Nyssa whispered.

"A phantom." Morwynn said, surprised. "But one with its own will. That’s not common."

Kaela spat blood and laughed.

"That was badass. Scary. But badass."

Eren did not laugh. He continued staring at the spot where Sylha had been. That was not an ordinary apparition. Nor an entity of the system. It was something personal. Something that... knew him.

[New Side Quest: The Voice of the Veil]

[Discover who Sylha is]

[Emotional Connection: Fragmented]

[Reward: Unlock Sealed Memory]

[Progress: 0%]

Eren took a deep breath.

"Take everything we can carry." he said at last. "We still have a way to go to Barovik."