Despite fear and numerous protests, the elderly Tega Urok accepted to lead the group towards the sinisterly rumoured lake. Following his guide they ventured deep into the thicket, without ever coming across any living creature larger than a spider or a butterfly. Fortunately, the hunters' report turned out to be true: they saw no traces of the terrible beasts that inhabited that place.

  Nene followed Nila holding her hand. That way she was able to pay more attention to her sensations, as so to warn the others immediately, in case the Archangel's protection had reacted to the presence of the Evil One or one of its servants. All along the way she felt absolutely nothing, as they walked through twisted brambles, around rock formations and roots. The disturbing fungal ramifications could be seen everywhere, an impossible-to-ignore sign of Salisander's presence. The Tega Urok were lucky to not know their nature. Nene felt like being constantly watched by some alien creature. The early morning light, the rustling of the foliage, the chirping of the cicadas made the forest look pleasant, even welcoming. The awareness that something terrible was hidden in its depths did the opposite. Nene’s stomach ached, because of the Archangel's protection or stress, it was hard to tell. As much as an Inquisitor was prepared for the worst, trained to discern reality from suggestion, it still was an arduous task to evade the traps laid by the fragility of the human mind. She squeezed Nila's hand tighter.

  ?Is something wrong??

  ?I think… I feel something?

  The old man at the head of the group immediately froze. The Tega Urok were terrified by the witch, particularly by the lake, and were not at all anxious to meet a manifestation of the Evil One unprepared. Bugra stood in front of her, frowning.

  ?Did you find her??, he asked.

  She looked around. The wind became louder, the air humid, but above all suffocating. Noticing that none of her companions were reacting to that terrible heat, she closed her eyes to better concentrate.

  ?Don't you feel... the air is heavy??

  ?I don't?, Adanara replied.

  ?There is a stream in the distance?, Kora added. ?I can hear it?

  ?In that case… I think we're there. But I've never felt anything like that...?

  ?Doesn't your Church love to classify everything and everyone??

  ?Yes, but... there are many things unknown even to them. Even you, when we met for the first time, I had a hard time figuring out what you were?

  ?Hey, don't talk about me like I'm a... a...?

  ?Sorry. What I mean is, I don't know what we're getting at?

  ?It must be the witch, then?, Bugra concluded.

  ?I-if it’s the witch, shouldn’t you be able to tell her apart??, Nila asked. ?She should feel similar to Ada, right??

  Nene sighed. She looked at Adanara, who instinctively took a step back. The feeling that reminded her of the bone of Ormel, that in the past had helped her to distinguish witches from the common damned, was of no use in that forest, nor was any other relic that she remembered having studied.

  ?We will lose our soul if we go further!?, the old man claimed.

  Fear took hold of everyone, freezing them in place. Kora stood up to her full height and began sniffing the air, but not even she dared move a step forward.

  ?I'll go check?. Nene said.

  ?No!?, Nila protested. ?Y-you can't go alone, it's dangerous!?

  ?I'll come too?, Bugra interjected. ?You can count on me?

  ?It’s an unnecessary risk. I should be safe, but none of you are protected by the Archangel, do you understand??

  Nila grabbed her shoulders forcefully, making it clear that she had no intention to let her go. Adanara, however, came to her sister's side and took one of her hands, gently.

  ?We will just be a burden, Nila?, she explained.

  ?B-but... she's not sure she's safe either. Nene??

  ?I… can't know for sure…?, she admitted.

  ?See?!?

  ?I agree?, Bugra added. ?We cannot risk anyone's life, but especially that of the Inquisitor. Without her, we won't be able to defeat the witch?

  ?I'm not going there!?, one of the hunters said.

  ?It would be over if any of us turned against the others?, Kora said. ?We should heed Nene's knowledge. Surely she can notice the curse sooner, should it afflict her, and retreat in time. The rest of us have no chance?

  ?Nene, please don't?, Nila begged.

  She couldn't hold her gaze. The idea of ??trampling on Nila's feelings was breaking her heart. She would have reacted the same way if their positions had been reversed. However, the responsibility to face the Evil One and its hosts fell on her. It was a burden she had chosen, her mission, and her only way to protect the ones she loved.

  ?I have to?, she whispered.

  ?No, you don't have to. We can think of something else... we could...?

  To Nila, nothing was more important than the safety of her loved ones, and she would have gladly given up the task to keep her or Adanara safe. It was something on which they strongly disagreed, even in the past, although she understood her perspective. She reached out and caressed her cheek.

  ?Nila, I want to go. I'll be cautious. Have faith in me?

  Nila hesitated for a long time, her expression conflicted. Adanara gently tried to push her away from her. With a little persistence, she finally succeeded. Nila didn't say a word and hunched her head between her shoulders in silence.

  ?If you find yourself in danger, call and I will come to your aid?, Kora offered.

  ?No, it's too dangerous. Especially if the Evil One gets a hold on you, of all people?

  ?I guess so…?

  Kora, unhappy and helpless, sat on the ground with her arms and legs folded. If the curse of the lake was real, the last thing they needed was to end up facing her as an enemy. Nene had already witnessed her inhuman strength one too many times. She took the cross out of her robes and held it to her chest. She took a breath and finally walked past the old hunter at the head of the line.

  ?Be careful, girl!?, he recommended.

  ?Get back to the first sign of danger?, Bugra suggested. ?I don't want any more martyrs on my conscience?

  She nodded. The old hunter showed her the way through the undergrowth. She pulled herself up between two trunks that formed a sort of V and turned around. Everyone was watching her. In particular, Nila was begging her not to go. She regretted having looked at her. Part of her longed to give in, to run back and into Nila’s arms. She tightened her hold on the cross and moved a step forward. Her insides twisted more and more, a sign that she was getting closer to the unknown threat posed by the mysterious lake.

  She found a steep, rocky terrain. There trees grew crookedly, challenging the boulders that were limiting her field of vision. Since there were no mountains nearby, where did those boulders come from? Although covered with moss and mushrooms, they looked to have rolled down there in recent times. Monoliths similar to the one that marked Salisander's refuge rose as far as the eye could see, perhaps transported and erected by someone, and later reclaimed by nature. The cool wind whistled between them, full of moisture and increasingly turbulent as she advanced.

  After a few dozen metres, she finally spotted the water surface between trees and rocks. The ominous sensation became very intense. Taking the last steps to the shore took a toll on her. She was welcomed by the morning sun, whose light refracted on the small crystalline lake, surrounded by tall grass and shrubs, fed by a stream that emerged between the rocky fractures on the opposite bank. There was no trace of frogs or aquatic birds. Even that corner of the woods, as graceful and colourful as it was, seemed devoid of life, as if it had been completely abandoned by the local fauna.

  Nene began to sweat. At first, she thought it was due to tension and nausea, a sign that the Archangel's protection was at work, but the sensation of intense heat was real, and was coming from her hands. She dropped the cross before it could burn her. The object fell into the grass, emitting a muffled sound. She looked horrified at the very symbol of the Archangel, lying on the ground, and at her own bruised and trembling hands. Terror took possession of her at the idea of ??being damned. Was there really a curse on that lake? Had she already been affected by it? Was it too late to run? A shiver ran down her spine, her mind became hazy. She sadly recognized the sensations she had felt when Adanara had first drawn the Evil One to her soul. She fell to her knees and picked up the cross. The silver dug into her skin. She gritted her teeth and crouched, holding back a cry of pain. Strange thoughts entered her mind. Something searched her memories, which intertwined with someone else’s. In the theatre of her mind, she saw the spirit Rune and the suspended lake. For an instant, she observed the world from above, then she admired a dark, starry ocean. An idea, a revelation struck her: the lake was a door. She needed the key. She could make one.

  The Evil One got deeper into her thoughts. She saw herself performing practised gestures, in a repetitive, obsessive way. Before she could understand their meaning or consequences, she began imitating them. She laid the cross on the ground. The blisters on her palms throbbed painfully. She ignored her suffering and tore up tufts of grass to reveal the bare, damp earth on the lake shore. She picked up a stone and dug a furrow. She drew a circle as in her vision. In the centre of it, she represented a cross, but upside-down. The foreign presence was pleased with the sacrilegious symbol, and how it would have sent the Archangel into a rage. It had now become so strong that she could not only perceive its thoughts but even its emotions. Her body reacted to those as if they were her own, smiling at the heretical mess she was drawing in the ground. Her mind continued to reveal instructions on how to proceed. Her stomach tightened more than ever, her rational half kicked and screamed to be released from that influence, in vain. She needed three objects: a twig, something white, something red.

  She groped through the grass. Her senses were dulled, her movements awkward, the heat unbearable. She found a dry twig and a daisy. She positioned the twig in the centre of the circle and the flower at the top of the cross. She looked around for something red, but the Evil One was quick to suggest how to complete that last step of the blasphemous rite.

  “Blood”, an imaginary voice whispered. “Just a drop”

  She drew her sword. She brought the blade closer to her opposite hand while trembling. She looked at the blisters and the skin burned by the cross in disgust and hesitated. Had she gone out of her mind, to follow the Evil One’s instructions?

  Before she could think further, the edge of the sword grazed her ring finger. The sharp pain caused her to withdraw the sword and throw it aside. She clutched her bleeding hand, stifling her moans. Had the others heard her, they would have rushed to her aid, thus putting themselves in danger. The whispers suggested to pour the blood on the lower vertex of the cross. She wondered, or rather, asked the Evil One what would become of her, and it responded with bliss. Her muscles, tense with fear and pain, relaxed as if she had just gone to bed after a hot bath, following a long day of exertion. It was indulging her, hoping that she would fall into its trap, but it was too late. Tears streaked her face. She was done for.

  If she was truly doomed, the least she could do was to protect her companions…

  Her thoughts flickered to the silver dagger at her belt. The Evil One noticed and invaded her mind with memories, her own memories, mainly of Nila. Nila would have been devastated if she had taken her own life. Yet what other choice did she have to oppose the Evil One? A foolish hope, an attachment to life as spontaneous as it was unacceptable, took over. Naively hoping that nothing bad would happen, she held out her hand. A drop of blood fell into the magic circle, on the designed spot. A violent pang traversed Nene's chest. Her bodily sensations vanished completely. She lost her sense of touch and smell in an instant. The silence became absolute. She looked around and saw that the world was still: the blades of grass no longer moved in the wind, the water no longer swayed. A leaf stood suspended in mid-air, motionless, a few centimetres from the surface of the lake. When she looked up at the sun, she found not the familiar bright beacon that crossed the sky every day, but its negative. A pit as black as pitch that, instead of emanating light, seemed to devour it.

  In an instant, everything went dark.

  Then she heard a sound.

  For a moment she prayed that her ears would stop functioning again. All along she had sensed it, heard it inside her head, but all of a sudden, it was different: it was speaking to her, and not in a figurative sense. The whispers were real. A deep, hissing voice that made her tremble with every word.

  ?You finally open up to me?

  She screamed, but no sound came out of her mouth, if she still had one. She tried to move her hands, but she no longer had a body. An instant before she could panic, the Evil One spoke again.

  ?Take your time?

  A blurry image took shape in front of her. It became clearer and clearer. She remembered the long white hair, the sweet face that made her feel at home, those bizarre pink eyes that she had grown to admire.

  ?Is that better??, Elora said.

  ?Why?!? Nene shouted. ?Why do you look like her?!?!?

  ?To calm you down?

  ?Calm me down?! You are… I will strike you down, monster!?

  ?You welcomed me, Oroel’s minion?

  ?No, I didn't…. I did not…?

  ?I just knocked on the door. You opened it?

  ?Liar!?

  ?You are looking for a key?

  The blasphemous circle she had traced on the ground. She had thought that by completing it, she would have achieved something, but the Evil One read her mind, and seemed amused.

  ?An excuse so that you would lower your guard?

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  ?You deceived me!?

  ?You asked for my help?

  ?I never wanted your help! You are…Fuck! Get lost!?

  ?Hear my request?

  ?Never!?

  Elora, on her knees, wrapped in black hooded robes, stood up. She walked into the dark nothingness that surrounded them and came closer. Nene felt like fainting in front of that vision, a perfect imitation down to the last mole, smiling at her insincerely. Her blank expression, her eyes looking beyond her, betrayed the imitation as such, a trait that reminded her of the Emissary and her clumsy attempts to reproduce human behaviour.

  ?Save the witch, Nene?

  She listened in disbelief to those senseless words, partly shocked by the proximity of the false Elora. Part of her wanted to hold her close, but the Archangel's protection boiled over at the mere thought.

  ?You want… that I…?

  ?She suffered by my hand. It is unfair. Help her. You can do it. Adanara can’t?

  ?But... why??

  ?It doesn't concern you. We are enemies. I will show you the way. Fix her. For her sake. Nobody deserves to suffer this much?

  ?What do you know about fairness, you fiend??

  ?The way is open. Observe by yourself. Choose?

  A dazzling silver light shone in the darkness. Elora's figure disappeared like a shadow in the sun. An indecipherable mess of sounds thundered in Nene's ears, the cold enveloped her. She perceived the scent of the vegetation, the coolness of the wind. Hot tears ran down her cheeks. Her head swirled in confusion, the colours of the forest mixed with the sunlight. The pit of her stomach clenched. She spasmed, craned her head forward, and vomited. An acrid sensation set her throat on fire, once, then once again. Her bile spilt over the magic circle and into the grass. Her eyes were so teary she could barely see. She moaned and made low, guttural noises. Finally, she managed to breathe through the nose. The fresh air spread throughout her body. She trembled, moaned and cried.

  Her discomfort gradually dissipated and the light of reason came back to her. She was still alive. She looked disgusted at what remained of the circle on the ground and looked at her hands: the upside-down cross and the burns on her palms confirmed that she hadn't been hallucinating. The Evil One had taken hold of her, had influenced her. It had lurked in the most intimate parts of her thoughts and had even spoken to her. The image of Elora's face, her blank, unnatural expression, flashed before her eyes and made her want to scream.

  The sound of running water caught her attention. The lake shore had been extremely silent up until that moment, as had the entire grove. A drop of water fell on her head, so cold that it seeped through her hair to the nape of her neck. A second and a third fell. She looked up in disbelief.

  ?Nene!?

  She heard Nila's voice. A flicker of reason told her to turn around, to shout at her to stay away. She was the person dearest to her, she had to protect her from that thing. Fear, however, prevented her from moving. She remained dangling on her knees, in the rain, unable to react.

  The lake did not respect the laws of nature, not anymore. Its waters flowed skyward, casting shadows and rainbows on the shore. Deafening splashes and freezing spray spread throughout the surrounding area. Water slid along invisible rivulets, powerful waves crashed against non-existent cliffs, emitting foam and loud crashes. The water had forgotten which was above and below. It converged towards a single point, a black circle suspended about twenty metres from the ground, overlooking the centre of the lake bed, which was drying up. That dark sphere was too pitch black to be an ordinary object. That thing was not blocking out the sunlight, it was consuming it.

  The temperature dropped significantly, the sprays became frost on the grass and foliage. Nila's voice barely managed to reach her over the deafening noises. Nene stood up and awkwardly took a step back.

  The water gradually organised itself into a huge transparent sphere around the dark chasm and began to change. Blood-red branches spread from the lightless core. Capillaries dripping with murky water were surrounded by pale flesh that formed a bulb, surrounded by muscular filaments and disgusting nerves that shone in the dim light of that unnatural eclipse. The colossal eye suspended in mid-air contracted, its light-devouring pupil dilated. From its edges emerged muscular protuberances that snaked and stretched for many metres. What at first had appeared to be tentacles, instead turned out to be proboscises, dozens of them, with soft, prehensile ends. Each of those had a mouth equipped with a sort of thin, dangling tongue. Finally, growths of purple, livid skin enveloped the eye from above and below, turning into deformed eyelids dripping with heavy tears.

  The creature was at least as large as the dragon they had encountered in the past, its form even more absurd than the spirit Rune. The immense eye equipped with proboscis seemed paralyzed in a painful spasm, its eyelids and pupil dilated, the blood vessels swollen and evident on the white sclera and even under its purple skin.

  Nene didn’t budge in front of that aberration that stood motionless above the muddy chasm once occupied by the lake. A heavy hand grabbed her shoulder, shaking her from her stupor. Bugra yanked her, forcing her to look at him.

  ?Get out of here!?, he shouted.

  Before she could realise what was happening, the man grabbed her arm and dragged her with him. Her legs could barely move, stumbling with every step. At the edge of the grove, she saw the hunters, as well as Nila and Kora, all with their noses turned up and their expressions incredulous in the face of that abomination that had emerged from the lake. Adanara pressed her face against the shaman's back, trembling like a leaf, refusing to look.

  ?The witch…?, Nene muttered.

  ?We'll think about the witch later!?, Bugra replied. ?We must escape the curse!?

  ?The witch is down there!?, she shouted. ?Under the lake. We have to go there!?

  The man ignored her and continued dragging her towards the others. Nene shook him off and freed herself from his grasp. The hunter stared at her in shock.

  ?The curse was nothing more than the influence of the Evil One, but now it’s gone. All we have to do is…?

  Bugra looked up. Nene instinctively turned as well.

  The gigantic eye was watching them, scrutinising them. Heavy tears fell from the lateral extremities and evaporated before colliding with the ground, despite the cold. Its trunks stretched out as far as they could and contracted. A deafening sound, a cacophony of thousands of misshapen trumpets, thundered through the woods. The roar was loud enough to daze Nene. She heard screaming behind her. She tried to cover her ears, but the more her companions screamed, the more the abomination responded with its blood-curdling blasts, an ancestral conversation full of pain. She took a few steps towards the bottom of the lake with uncertainty. The closer she got, the louder the creature became. She felt her teeth chatter, her ears swollen and she feared for her safety. She lowered her head and ran back to Bugra's side.

  ?It won't let us get closer!?, she shouted.

  ?Is it guarding the witch's lair??

  ?We have to get rid of it!?

  ?What?! We don't even know what it is! It flies!?

  A new chorus of menacing trumpets announced Kora, who stood next to Nene, gripping her spear firmly in both hands.

  ?I told the others to stay back?, she explained. ?Adanara can cover us from afar?

  ?What are you two talking about?!?, Bugra yelled.

  ?Nene, can you take him down?? the shaman asked, ignoring him.

  She nodded. She didn't share Kora's ardour, who seemed thrilled at the idea of ??throwing herself against that gruesome servant of the Evil One, but she was happy to feel supported. Her courage risked failing with every glance she cast at the abominable being, so perhaps the shaman's crazy exaltation was what they needed.

  ?The Archangel's silver can destroy any damned. But I can't reach it?

  ?And I can't fly yet?, Kora said, gnashing her jaws. ?Blast it! Can we get it down to the ground??

  ?Yes, if we had a ballista! Are you insane?!?, Bugra intervened. ?We don't have the means to…?

  ?I'll act as bait?, Nene interrupted. ?It doesn't want us to get close to the bottom, so it will attack us if we move forward?

  ?It’s too dangerous?, Kora said.

  Nene pointed to the place on the shore where she had committed the blasphemous ritual shortly before. The shaman looked there and frowned.

  ?Over there is my cross. If I can get it back, I should be able to fight it off and defend myself. If it attacks me with those... arms, you will have the opportunity to hit it?

  ?Go, then. Are you ready??

  Bugra stared at them with his mouth open. Shocked and pale, he brought a hand to the hilt of his sword but did not draw it. Nene turned toward the chasm. She kept her gaze low to avoid succumbing to fear. She had to focus on her goal, the cross, and trust Kora. That last observation made her hesitate even more. A hand rested on her back and pushed her forward.

  ?Go!?, the shaman shouted.

  She ran. The deafening ringing began again. Nene covered her ears and opened her mouth, hoping that the sound wouldn't make her head explode. Shadows on the grassy bank moved erratically and forced her to look up. It was a grave mistake, as her legs froze. The eye stared at her, wide open. It was looking for her and her alone. The trunks rose to the sky and moved frantically, agitated as if in panic. She looked at the ground again and walked forward. The deafening sounds increased. Her hands, pressed forcefully on her ears, were of no use. She felt as if her head was being slammed onto something solid, as if it were being thrown against rocks from all sides. She managed to find the magic circle on the ground, shortly before being forced onto all fours, one step away from losing consciousness. She picked up the silver cross. The sacred symbol did not burn her, on the contrary, it stuck to her skin due to how cold the metal had become. The trumpeting was so loud as if the monster was approaching. She had no time left. Fearing for her life, she raised the cross and pointed it at the creature.

  The ringing suddenly halted. The eye, inexorably focused on her, stopped moving. It slowly closed its eyelids, then opened them again. The entirety of its hallucinating form relaxed, its trunks lowered again. Surprised by that unexpected, not at all aggressive reaction, Nene turned towards her companions. Bugra and all the others were cowering and covering their heads with their hands, except Kora, who despite all had assumed a feral posture, on all fours, similar to a feline ready to pounce. A high-pitched sound came from the monster. A single trunk let out a horrifying, yet delicate note. The others followed, orderly. Although their music was just as awful as the blasts earlier, it was not deafening at all; on the contrary, it gradually became somewhat understandable.

  Nene startled and regretted having let her guard down: the sounds, senseless at first, turned out more and more distinguishable. She thought she was having hallucinations, that she was close to delirium due to danger, when she thought she heard a voice.

  ?MAAAAAAAAAA?, the eye thundered.

  A second sequence of senseless trumpeting gradually became orderly. The creature was attempting to make precise sounds, through a trial-and-error process. Its horrendous stutters improved within seconds.

  ?RIIIIII?

  The trunks performed mysterious evolutions, tracing spirals in the air and spitting out puffs and crashes, whistles and tremors. Finally, breathing with prodigious violence, they spoke again.

  ?AAAAAA?

  Nene waved the cross in her hand. The monster's pupil anxiously followed its every movement, enraptured by the sight of silver.

  ?MA… RI… AAA?, it roared.

  ?Maria??, Nene repeated softly.

  ?MA… RI… AAA?

  As bizarre and incredible as that discovery was, as intriguing as its implications might have been, hesitating in the face of the inconceivable was suicidal. Nene looked at the magic circle in the ground, wondering if the Evil One had, inadvertently or otherwise, shown her the way. A silly idea popped into her mind, and before she could reflect on its stupidity, her hands moved on their own, thanks to the extreme state of anxiety she was in.

  She turned the cross upside-down.

  The eye widened in fury. Its blood vessels visibly pulsed. The trunks reached out towards her like arms trying to catch her. The creature's sounds turned into chaos, a frenzied series of clicks and whistles too absurd to understand. The floating mass slid seemingly weightless through the air. It was getting closer to her. She stood up and, taking care to keep her arm outstretched and the cross pointed at her opponent, Nene began to run backwards.

  The creature was moving much faster than her. She ran at breakneck speed towards Kora, who, unlike the others, still stunned on the ground, was glaring at the prey ferociously. Her breathing was so laboured that her back was arching, her legs tensed ready to spring. Nene saw the shadow of the being descend on the woods and heard the ringing getting closer and closer. She gave up pointing the cross at the monster and made sure to run as quickly as possible.

  Something foul brushed her hair. She screamed. At that moment, Kora leapt forward, growling.

  Nene lost her balance. She tumbled to the ground. She fell onto her back. The eye was above her, a step away from her. The shaman, flying like a bullet from a slingshot, darted like an arrow towards the sclera of the thing, her spear in her hand. The tip of her weapon easily penetrated the squishy being. A jet of blood covered her face, but it didn't stop her from screaming like a frenzied beast. The being's eyelids contracted with such violence that it knocked Kora to the ground and broke her spear in half. The ringing of the trunks changed into painful hisses. The creature's entire body began to whirl disorientated.

  Nene turned towards Bugra expecting to see him come to their rescue and lend a hand to the shaman, but she saw him on his knees, motionless, paralyzed by fear. An animalistic scream informed her that Kora was still battling the horror, completely alone. She regretted not having had the presence of mind to also retrieve her sword from the shore.

  As she helplessly watched the duel between Kora and the monster, before she could develop a new strategy, something hit her on the shoulder. Old Simig's enthusiasm was such that he didn't even notice her presence. After almost stepping over her, the old man continued running towards the creature brandishing an axe. His trembling voice outmatched the inhuman cries of Kora and the abomination both.

  The elderly hunter slashed his rudimentary weapon towards the swirling being's eyelid. When he tried to extract it from his flesh, he couldn't. He was hit by a trunk and thrown to the ground, but he got back on his feet almost instantly. Now disarmed, he hit the monster with his bare fists. A trunk swung in the opposite direction to chase him away again. He was not caught unprepared a second time, and grabbed the proboscis on the fly, with both hands. He put all his weight on it and, once immobilised, began to pull.

  ?How dare I call myself your chief??, Bugra shouted. ?Hold on, Simig!?

  The hunter, spurred on by the old man's actions, finally drew his sword. He ran to Nene's side and picked her up as if she were weightless. He put her on her feet and hit her on the chest.

  ?We'll hold it off for you?

  The man said nothing more and charged towards the eye. The creature crashed to the ground and flailed around, striking blindly. It kept its eyelids closed in a desperate attempt to protect itself. Bugra's sword cleanly severed the trunk immobilised by the elderly hunter, while Kora was clinging to another of the monstrous limbs with nails and teeth.

  Nene unsheathed the silver dagger. Subduing that creature and eliminating it with conventional weapons, if even possible, was a hazardous feat. Every moment of that absurd fight could easily cost one of them their lives. Their best hope was to kill it with a clean strike of holy silver. The monster had not flinched heavily to the blows. In contrast, its eyelids continued to flutter and twitch after Kora had pierced the sclera. Remembering how the entire being had originally been generated from the dark abyss that constituted its pupil, Nene felt like gambling that it was her best chance.

  ?Hold it open!?, she shouted.

  Only Kora seemed to hear her amidst the noises. The woman released her grip on the trunk to which she was clinging and, after a flight of a couple of metres, landed on all fours as if it was everyday business. Letting out a growl too deep for it to be her natural voice, she galloped towards the eye at full speed, leapt with one foot to rest on the lower eyelid, and violently thrust an arm under the upper one. The creature, whose limbs were busy trying to chase away the two Tega Urok, tried to defend itself from Kora by shaking its enormous bulk and twitching its eyelids. The shaman screamed and writhed. She summoned all her strength, and the eye widened. Nene could see the dark pupil, a slit not even half a metre wide, more than enough to strike.

  She darted forward. The increasingly high-pitched whistles were reminiscent of the yelps of a wounded animal. The eye was watering profusely, its white sclera was tinged with a faded red due to the wounds.

  Two severed limbs were shaking like a decapitated chicken, while the others fought desperately against Bugra and Simir, striking powerful blows which, when hit the ground, caused small tremors.

  Nene was one step away from the monster. The cold caressed her face. Kora's inhuman cries, which alternated between guttural and high-pitched, made her flinch more than those of the horror. Without hesitating further, without wondering what was in there and what would become of her hand, she sank towards the abyss.

  She met no resistance and the creature barely reacted. The pupil was a cold cavity, which narrowed as she stuck the dagger into it. An immense pressure crushed her bones. Her arm was on the verge of shattering. With her free hand, she pointed the cross at the being.

  ?MAAA….?

  The creature began its horrifying chant again. Like the first time, it relaxed a little at the sight of the cross. The pupil dilated slightly and Nene felt free to move her arm again.

  ?...RIIIIII…?

  Nene turned the dagger upwards and, leveraging her shoulder, drove the blade into the being with what strength she had left. The thing trembled, shaking with spasms. Its trunks extended to their full length. It floated forward, knocking Nene to the ground, then back, and overwhelmed the two hunters with its bulk. As Nene tumbled through the frozen mud, she saw that Kora was showing no sign of letting go of the monstrosity, even though it was no longer fighting.

  A chorus of high-pitched whistles filled the air. The shrieks grew increasingly fainter. Gradually the trunks were no longer able to contract and fell to the ground. The whistles gave way to panting sighs. The eye gently rested on the shore and only then did Kora let it go. The being, resting on its side, stiff and shaken, looked around trembling, its tears more and more abundant. The sounds from another world gradually ceased, the sighs became delicate. In a final flicker, the black pupil turned towards Nene, or rather, the cross, before becoming opaque. The cavity was now a common hole in the body of that hideous being. The light trapped in it was free again. The sun flooded the shore with spring warmth once again.

  Kora kicked the being, who didn't react. She turned, panting and covered in moods, towards Nene, her intense and fearful gaze letting out that, despite her excitement, she had been apprehensive the entire time.

  ?Simig??, Bugra called.

  ?I'm fine?, the old man on the ground grumbled, then sat up. ?I'm…?, he coughed. ?... fine?

  The two men admired the gigantic corpse at Kora's feet in disbelief. Bugra picked up his sword from the ground and began to laugh nervously as he sheathed it.

  ?We killed it!?, he exulted. ?Ah! We’ve broken the curse!?

  The old man did not share his enthusiasm and simply sat on the ground, contemplating. Nene got to her feet in pain and checked herself for injuries, but found none worth noticing.

  ?Ahahaha! Victory!?, the hunter shouted.

  Bugra, thrilled to be still alive, wrapped his powerful arms around Kora and lifted her off. The shaman remained impassive as her feet left the ground. Once the man put her down, she did the same with a straight face. The colossus was surprised to be lifted without effort by a person much smaller than him and laughed even more.

  ?You are as strong as ten, Tuatha!?

  ?What are we celebrating??, she asked.