Chapter 73: Oh God, That's What We're Here For?

The night stretched on, heavy and unyielding. The faint glow of distant lava flows cast eerie shadows across the jagged terrain, dancing like specters over the group's battered forms. James sat apart from the others, his head bowed and his hands trembling as he worked on a small device. He wasn't tinkering for utility this time—his fingers moved out of habit, a desperate attempt to keep the rising dread at bay.

But it was there, just beneath the surface. Waiting.

His dreams had turned darker with every passing night. It wasn't just the haunting image of molten eyes or the shadow that devoured the skies. Now there were memories—flashes of something ancient, visceral, and unrelenting. A storm of destruction tearing through the Scorching Badlands. Creatures of molten flesh and obsidian bone crumbling under an unstoppable force. And then, always, the cocoon. Vast, pulsating with ominous energy, nestled in the heart of the devastation.