Chapter 145: It’s Just... Sitting There

Words : 1012 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 145: It’s Just... Sitting There Ethan’s device would’ve received it inside the mansion—if it weren’t turned off. A silent ping. No message. No sound. Just a flicker. A whisper. "I was here." Nyx stood. No drama. No sighs. Just a clean movement. She turned her back to the mansion and walked down the garden path again, letting the shadows wrap around her legs like smoke. She didn’t vanish. Not yet. She walked all the way to the outer gate. At the threshold, she paused. Looked back once. Her expression stayed unreadable. But her eyes? Still glowing. Still sharp. Still watching. This wasn’t over. Lilith had made her move. And Nyx would remember. Not for revenge. But to return the gesture. Because when it came to Ethan? They weren’t rivals. They were pieces on the same board. And next time? Nyx wouldn’t miss her turn. Then—like a whisper caught in the breeze— She vanished. Meanwhile, far away from the mansion, in the deep military command zone... Liliana Nocturne stood in front of the massive wall-length screen. The feed was live. Clean. Clear. Her soldiers—Alpha and Beta teams—had just entered the cave. Their helmets streamed constant data. Body vitals. Sound levels. Spatial pressure. Everything seemed normal. But it didn’t feel right. The deeper they went, the stranger the environment became. The temperature dropped slightly, but not enough to register as dangerous. The pressure in the tunnel rose, but not enough to cause alarm. It was the silence. That strange, deep silence that made the hairs on your arms stand up. Even inside a sealed tunnel, sound never fully disappeared. But here? It felt like someone swallowed all of the noise and made sure that there would be none. Like the cave itself was waiting for them. Liliana’s eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. "Audio check," she said calmly. A tech officer to her left adjusted a dial. From the speakers, they could now hear faint footsteps. Breathing. The occasional soft click of gear tapping metal. But no echoes. No wind. And no wildlife. Nothing. "Commander," a voice came through the comms—soft, tight. It was Beta Team’s vice-lead. "We’re not seeing anything up ahead, but... it feels like something’s moving." "Define that," Liliana said. The soldier hesitated. "It’s just... vibrations. Not from below. From around us. Like something’s brushing the walls... but we can’t see anything." "Any eyes above?" "We’re scanning. Nothing visible." On-screen, both Alpha and Beta teams were advancing slowly now. Tighter formation. Weapons out. It is not aimed at anything, but it is ready to be used at a moment’s notice. The cave was wide enough for them to move, but not comfortably. Each step echoed with soft crunches from the debris underfoot: sharp rocks, dried dust, and strange patterns along the walls that didn’t match natural erosion. Liliana tilted her head. "Overlay heat scan." The tech team shifted the visual. Still nothing. "Hold the lamps steady," said Alpha’s squad lead. "If anything drops down, I want to see the shadow before it lands." The command room was still. Quiet. Then— A soft sound came through. Like tapping. Light. Quick. Click-click-click-click. "Commander," Beta’s lead said. "We’re hearing something again. But it’s not on the ground." "Where?" "Above." Both teams slowly came to a stop. The feed tilted upward as multiple soldiers raised their helmets toward the cave ceiling. At first, nothing. Just stone. Then... Movement. It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t loud. But it was deliberate. Something massive shifted on the ceiling—just enough to make out faint motion behind the rocky surface. The way it clung to the shadows—tight, like it belonged there. Click-click. Six blood-red eyes opened. And blinked. Not in rhythm. Not together. But individually, each one had its own mind. And they stared. Right down. At them. One soldier froze. His breath caught in his throat. His fingers twitched toward his weapon—but didn’t draw. Training. Protocol. Discipline. His hand moved instead to the shoulder of the teammate in front of him. A light tap. Then a squeeze. The other turned. Saw the eyes. He didn’t scream. None of them did. But their posture changed. Instinctively. Lower, tighter, defensive. Someone on Alpha’s side activated a tool from their belt—a compact, high-durability lantern. Built for deep void ops. Tempered lenses. Adjustable field output. He twisted the dial and aimed it up. The beam cut through the shadows. And for the first time, the team saw it. Not fully. But enough. A spider. No. Not just a spider. This thing was a monster. Each leg was long, jointed, and lined with sharp, blade-like hooks. Its body was armored—dark and glistening—but the color wasn’t black—it was deeper than black. A kind of living void, flickering faintly with magic pulses across its legs. It didn’t hiss. It didn’t roar. It just stared. Unmoving. Unblinking. Watching. One of the soldiers whispered, "It’s just... sitting there." Another added, "It’s letting us pass." But Liliana’s jaw had already tightened. "It’s watching where you go," she said aloud. The spider hadn’t attacked. Not because it was scared. But because it was patient. Waiting. Both Alpha and Beta teams continued forward slowly, deeper into the cave’s center. And behind them? The spider shifted. Barely. Following. From above. Like a shadow with claws. Liliana leaned back and crossed her arms. "Mark current ceiling points as danger zones. Update Threat Grid every twenty seconds. Keep communication lines open at all times, and make sure to report whatever you see and try to find out more about it." "Yes, Commander." "Keep tabs on it and make a new catalog for this beast, as we have never seen something like this in the database. And if any of those creatures drop down—" She paused. "—You light them up without waiting for orders." "Acknowledged." On the screen, both teams pressed deeper. Their lights got dimmer as the walls swallowed the beams. But the clacking sounds? They didn’t fade. They multiplied. Faint echoes bounced from farther inside the cave—faint, steady, always out of reach. The deeper they went... The more of them there were.

Chapter 145: It’s Just... Sitting There

Comments (0)