Chapter 12 – Footsteps in the Fog
The morning was cloaked in a dense fog, unusual even for the northern woods. The trees loomed like silent watchers, their branches veiled in mist. Every crunch of Elric's boots against the damp earth echoed too loud, too real. Grom padded ahead, his nose twitching with every step. Rook trailed behind, unusually quiet. And the Whisper Cat? Still perched on Elric's shoulder, tail flicking in slow arcs like a clock counting down something inevitable.
Elric adjusted the satchel on his back, his eyes scanning the woodland. This wasn't a normal patrol. Not today.
Last night's vision still burned behind his eyes: the Ether-Walker, the scout from another world. He hadn't told anyone in the village, not even Grandpa, who would've told him to stay put. But something inside him said the time for hiding had passed.
> [System Notification] Passive Skill "Shepherd's Will" activated. Scanning area for foreign life signatures... 1 anomaly detected. 85 meters northeast. Threat level: Moderate.
He stopped. The fog ahead thickened unnaturally in one direction.
"Grom, with me," he whispered. The beast's ears perked. Rook flanked left without command.
They moved like hunters, quiet but deliberate. Thirty paces in, the fog began to clear at the edges. A circular patch of forest was revealed—dead, lifeless. Blackened grass. Wilted ferns. The trees here had no leaves. In the center stood a stone altar, half-buried under fallen moss and crawling ivy.
Elric narrowed his eyes. This wasn't in the old maps Grandpa showed him.
Then he saw it.
A creature crouched beside the altar. Humanoid. Metallic limbs fused with sinew and bone. Its head twitched every few seconds, as if struggling to process the world around it.
> [Enemy Identified: Ether-Husk - Fallen Scout Construct] Status: Corrupted | World Signature: Mechanical + Undead Rank: Intermediate Elite | Core Stability: Broken
It wasn't just a scout. It was a remnant. A hybrid.
Elric took a slow step back—but the Whisper Cat leapt from his shoulder.
It landed on the altar and hissed.
The Ether-Husk screamed.
Everything exploded into chaos. The creature surged forward, blades whirring to life from its arms. Rook tackled it from the side while Grom leapt for its leg. Elric drew his dagger, eyes burning with the glow of summoned instinct.
> [Skill Activation: Beast Command - Dual Pulse Link] Grom + Rook synchronizing...
The two beasts moved like twin shadows. For the first time, their attacks were perfectly in sync.
Elric dodged a claw swipe and slashed at the exposed core on its neck. Sparks burst free, and the Ether-Husk stumbled. But it wasn't enough. It shrieked and released a pulse of violet energy that knocked everyone back.
> [Warning: Corruption Field Detected. Exposure past 1 minute will cause system instability.]
"No more games," Elric hissed.
> [Summoning Slot: Available - 1/3] Beast Egg Slot: Locked Attempting forced synchronization...
The bone whistle around his neck glowed. He blew into it. No sound emerged, but the ground beneath the altar cracked. Black vines erupted from below, entwining the Ether-Husk's limbs.
> [Temporary Summon: Thorn Wraith (Feral Mode)] Duration: 5 minutes
A creature made of thorns and bone pulled itself from the soil and lunged onto the husk. Screams echoed across the forest.
When the dust settled, the Ether-Husk was gone. The Thorn Wraith vanished with it, having completed its task.
Elric dropped to his knees, exhausted.
> [System Update: First Foreign Hybrid Neutralized] Title Unlocked: "Mistbound Hunter" Reward: +2 Summoning Efficiency | 1x Random Summoning Token
He held the token in his hand. It shimmered like liquid fire.
"That thing was a scout... a failed one. But if one crossed over... more will come."
He looked at Rook, Grom, and the Whisper Cat, who now purred beside him.
Elric wasn't ready.
But he would be.
Because now he had no choice.
Because the fog wasn't lifting.
It was spreading.
The village awoke under a dim sky, thick clouds crawling over the horizon like a beast stalking its prey. Elric stood alone near the outskirts, barefoot on damp earth, his gaze fixed on the border trees where whispers were louder than usual. Even the winds held their breath. Something was coming.
His summoning tattoos pulsed faintly under his sleeves, responding to the unease in the air. After a few days of peace, the tension had returned like a stone in his boot. He crouched, resting a hand on the fur of Rolo, his loyal sheepdog-turned-pack-guardian. The beast growled lowly, ears up, tail still.
"Another test? Or a message?" Elric murmured.
Behind him, his grandfather's voice cracked through the tension. "It's too quiet, boy. Either the gods are watching, or something's already slipped through."
Elric turned to him, the old man leaning lazily against a fencepost, chewing on a wild stalk, eyes sharper than ever. "Old bandit instinct, Grandpa?"
"Something like that. I've seen this stillness before. The day the Black Wolves raided the eastern border. They come when you're too comfortable."
That evening, Elric joined his family for dinner. Mira and Lysa—his two little sisters—bickered over a fried root, while his mother chided gently, and his father looked up only to smile faintly. Grandfather, of course, stole the last piece when no one was looking. Elric just laughed.
But the laughter ended when a villager arrived at their door. Bleeding. Shaking.
"The mines... they're moving. The stone... the stone screamed."
---
Chapter 13: The Whispering Depths
The council hall, lit only by flickering firestones, buzzed with tension. Elders and young warriors packed the space, murmurs thick like fog. Elric sat with Grandpa in the rear, arms crossed, waiting.
An old miner spoke first. "We dug deeper last week—into the Vein of Echoes. Found bones. Not fossil bones. Fresh. Armor pieces too. And... the sound."
Elric's eyes narrowed. Grandpa met his gaze, and nodded once.
"Sounds like the Undead World left something behind," the old man muttered.
The village chief ordered an emergency patrol. Elric, against his mother's protests, volunteered.
"If I'm to protect this place... I need to see what we're up against."
---
The mine was colder than usual. Moisture dripped from unseen crevices. Rolo sniffed the entrance and whined.
They descended slowly. Ten steps in, the torches flickered blue. At twenty, the ground began to hum. Then the whisper came.
"Protector... Pretender... Return..."
The tunnel shook. Bones burst from the walls—half-formed skeletons in old armor. Undead. Ancient. Trapped.
The patrol panicked. Two fled. One screamed before vanishing into the shadows. Elric stepped forward.
"Come forth," he said, raising his hand. A faint green rune lit under his palm.
Summoning Skill Activated: Soul Bind — Lesser Revenant
A fallen beast's soul from an earlier hunt responded, forming beside him: a hound of shadow with burning eyes. It leapt into battle.
Rolo howled, and Elric joined the fray.
He wasn't ready.
But he fought anyway.
---
They returned at dawn, battered but victorious. The undead were sealed temporarily with a summoning circle Elric etched from instinct—some fragment of the Shepherd Class reacting.
Grandpa clapped him on the shoulder. "You're more than a summoner now, boy. You're a warden."
The mine was sealed. But the whispers lingered.
And something... had watched.
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