The loud yell and subsequent crash immediately woke everyone up.

Asterion was unfortunately not spared, looking around confused. His heart began to race as he questioned his sanity a bit of whether what just occurred actually happened or not. The dream state he was in was wearing off quickly, bringing his mind up to speed. If it weren’t for the confusion that permeating through everyone present, he may not have believed it was real.

‘Wha… is it vengeance from Hope?’

The thought of tracking them down in retaliation for killing a person would not be unreasonable, after all.

He pushed himself up to a kneeling position, ready to run at the first sight of danger, should there be any. Naturally, he looked to the most experienced people he knew for guidance on what to do.

Bellarus and Brandon were in the same state he was, their sluggish demeanor fading into a ready state as Brandon drew his sheathed sword. Bellarus seemed to just look around for a moment.

Dust rained down on everyone once more as another loud crash reverberated through the entire structure. Another distant, unintelligible yell came from the outside.

‘What was that?’

Brandon and Bellarus reacted instantly and began running toward the doorway, presumably to aid the three guards in their fight.

Everyone began to pale as the structure groaned as if about to collapse. Instead, splinters of wood fell from the beams, clattering against the floor from good height..

‘Should we run after them?’

From the pale faces that littered the room, it was a little up in the air whether or not the two men had run toward the battle, to aid and defend the three soldiers outside… or to run while they had a chance to get away.

‘So much for an oath, huh?’

To be fair, the second possibility was more of his own mind thinking of what he might have done, had he gone out there and it turned out to be a creature he had no chance against. He swore an oath, yes… but he also liked not being bloodied viciously.

Just as everyone got to their feet, another crash rammed into the wall, this one much softer. A cocophany of shouts from the outside permeated through the holes in the roof above, allowing the group of sixteen to hear the shouts, but not understand them.

They sounded frantic. Too frantic to be victory shouts and too frightening for Asterion’s liking…

He looked to the open doorway, unable to be shut without the missing door itself. ‘Should I just make a break for it?’

He wouldn’t make it far. He had no food. He had no experience out in the wilderness of Eden. Most of all, he had no way to defend himself.

His face fell flat, the last truth being a little harsh.

He looked around at the other still mostly exhausted, recruits, and then toward a wooden door that sat open behind what he thought may have been a raised platform of some sorts. It had divots from intense usage in it, and the stone bricks were chipped all over, but he imagined it was used to give speeches, if this place was at all similar to churches in Hope.

Bellarus and Brandon had already cleared everything behind the door when they first settled in the ruins, so it was at least free of any beasts.

‘Well what do we do then… hide?’

Just as he thought that, Bellarus — now carrying a sword somehow — Brandon, and a guard came barreling through the door, shouting.

“Get up and move deeper in the ruin! Don’t look back!” Brandon bellowed, his imposing voice losing its rough distinction for a split second.

He didn’t have to tell Asterion twice. Even before he said ‘move’, Asterion was already running toward the raised platform.

As he ran, an inhuman shriek echoed through the long hall from the open doorway, sending chills down his spine. He didn’t dare look back, too focused on getting to a safer place… heavens forbid whatever made the five men armed with swords retreat got to him, instead.

His mind was entirely focused on getting through the door, and only then would he look back at their aggressor. The sentiment wasn’t shared equally, though. In front of him, he saw a couple of the others running take a glance back… and then slow… before coming to a full stop.

‘Why are you stopping, fools!’

Something in his very core warned him not to look, too focused on getting behind the door and to wait out whatever abomination had just entered the ruins.

Then… after a short glance, his heart dropped.

As he ran past the two who looked over their shoulders at the entryway, he saw something in their eyes and on their face.

Fear.

True fear unlike any he had seen before. It was plastered on them in a tense expression covering their face. If that wasn’t bad enough, the next thing he noticed made his heart drop lower.

‘Their eyes… are grey?’

He hadn’t noticed their eye color before, but he was sure the coloring of them was definitely not normal. Their pupils were large and dialated, their iris a dull dirty grey color. Both were now facing the opposite direction, standing tensed and still.

As he passed in a rush, all he heard over the adrenaline now ringing in his ears were heavy breaths being released from the two men before they collapsed to the ground.

‘Oh…’ was the only thought he could come up with after witnessing that terrifying display.

Only moments later he reached the wooden door that sat on the stage, leading deeper into the ruins. Everyone else did too… except for the two who looked back. Closing the door behind the last recruit running, everyone made quick work of the surrounding debris, fashioning anything heavy looking into a brace against the door.

‘And two of the guards, it seems…’ he thought fearfully, as he helped push what probably was a table fashioned from stone toward the door.

After the table was against the door and securely bracing it, everyone present took a shallow breath.

The creature had taken the lives of four people in the span of a few minutes. It was a horrifying fact. The walls of Hope protected humanity from the beasts like this one that roamed the wilderness.

It was why the pathfinders were so looked up to… they survived these beasts every day, braving their ferocity. They were strong.

However, Asterion didn’t feel very brave at the moment. He didn’t feel very strong, either. He felt entirely the opposite, in fact.

He felt hopeless.

With the door secure, Asterion and the rest found themselves standing in a small dark hallway that protruded to the sides, giving way for a few more rooms along one wall, along with some stairs at the end of either side, leading up to the second floor.

Nobody moved to leave, though. Everyone stood, staring at one another just in front of the door, each with their own complicated expression trying to comprehend what had just transpired. The room was tense. The silence was enough to hear a pin drop.

…Which was unfortunate, because on the other side of the door, it was obvious that whatever creature entered the ruins to prey on them was approaching the door quickly, its footsteps vibrating the floor of hard bricks as it got closer. Everyone’s eyes widened, and the men who faced the beast outside launched themselves at the door, bracing it even further with their bodies.

The door rattled once, the wood groaning in pain as the horrifying beast attempted to push on it to open it for a moment. When that failed, it tried again, this time much harder, slamming on the other side of the door once, trying to break it down, instead.

The door held firm, barely holding on to the hinges due to the braces put in place to stop it from budging. The creature made a slow, eerie groan, obviously upset it couldn’t get to its prey, before deciding to give attention to those it had caught, instead. It began moving away…

‘Wha…’ Asterion’s eyes widened further with his mouth agape realizing what he was hearing.

Everyone stood in a semi circle staring at the people bracing the door with shocked faces, listening to the vividly clear, nauseating, horrific noise of the creature beginning to feast on the two bodies left behind in the hall. The three simply looked back, not saying a word.

An awkward pause between the two groups began… only to be separated by Peter and a couple others vomitting, their adrenaline presumably wearing thin.

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Bellarus humorlessly laughed, earning a dirty look from Brandon.

“This is a great opportunity to introduce you all to the creatures that roam out here. Most are like the one on the other side of this door. Granted, this one’s a bit fiercer than the average…” he said, still chuckling.

‘He’s making jokes in a time like this?!’

“But we will be fine, give it some time and it will go away.”

Asterion could not help but interject.

“What do you mean ‘we will be fine’? Four people just died!”

Brandon was the one who responded, instead.

“Yes, and their deaths bought our freedom. It will leave after it’s had its fill. It’s a dangerous world out here.”

The guard to his left nodded slowly, seemingly favoring one side of his body in a slight lean.

“The abomination is intelligent. Darell didn’t even see what was coming before it ripped into him… it pierced him like a puppet and used him as a meat shield against us.” he added, sadness and anger in every word.

That prompted the tension to grow even thicker.

‘Intelligent? This horrifying creature is intelligent?’

His own voice in his mind magically answered his question.

‘Yeah. Unfortunately we ran into its hunting grounds, we have to wait for it to fill up, and then we’re out of here. Don’t worry, we will be fine.’

‘Get out of my head!’ Asterion thought, prompting Bellarus to chuckle once more.

With that, he voiced his more precedent thoughts aloud.

“Why did the two recruits who looked back collapse? It was like they just died from fear?”

The guard looked at him with a disgusted expression.

“Did they? How about you take a look at the beast and see how it turns out. Maybe you can do something about our situation.” He said sarcastically, before getting off the door and walking down the dark hall, towards the stairs to the second floor. He mumbled something under his breath as he passed everyone.

‘What was that about?’

Bellarus eased off the door as well to ease the tension left in his wake.

“There’s a lot of dangerous creatures out here, Asterion. Most have no unique properties, aside from their shape and abominable strength. But some — and rarely, are more dangerous than the rest because they have intelligence and abilities that shouldn’t be possible… much like us.” He said nonchalantly.

He continued again.

“Starlit are the best weapon against these creatures because we can combat their terrible powers with our constellations. Granted, I am not quite the best starlit to have in combat against these beasts, since my constellation doesn’t give me any combat ability aside from projections. Alfred was not mad at you, believe me. He’s more upset at me because I couldn’t do more. Anyways the place is clear, make yourselves at home while we wait. Brandon will stay here and watch the door.” He said, glancing at Brandon, who only grunted, before walking away.

With that, people dispersed, forming their own small groups and heading to explore different parts of the ruins. Asterion was no different, somehow finding himself in the company of Aaron, Peter, and Daren once more.

Peter, now a little paler than before and much less boistrous turned to Asterion.

“Did you get a look at the creature?”

Asterion glanced at him while walking down the long hallway.

“Do I look dead? Apparently looking at it kills you!” He exasperated.

Peter laughed shortly, but the laugh didn’t quite match the look in his eyes.

“Just trying to make conversation…” he said solemnly.

The four of them wandered around for a bit, exploring the ancient structure for something to pass the time. There wasn’t much to see… it was really dark. All the rooms adjacent to the hallway were very similar, too. There was no telling to how long it will take for the beast to leave, and how long after that they would even attempt to flee, should the creature remain in the area.

Asterion’s stomach growled.

‘When did we eat last?’

“Yeah, me too… but I’ve lost my appetite after hearing that… thing… eat. I spoke to one of them once…” Daren said, referring to a fallen recruit and his stomach’s complaint.

Asterion didn’t feel like eating, too. He was hungry, as was everyone, but his own appetite was suppressed. Come to think of it… since they left, they seemed to be woefully unprepared to brave the wilderness.

‘Ah… I hope this isn’t a recurring thing. That bastard promised food and shelter!’

He looked above him at the cracked ceiling of the hallway.

‘Not exactly what I had in mind.’

Either way, everyone was stuck for the time being. There were no windows, so it was quite dark. The hallway extended in either direction to a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. The ones on the left were broken and resembled a pile of debris more than stairs. It was entirely unusable. The right staircase was usable, but from the aching of the old wood even when left alone, it was also rather sketchy.

Most preferred to follow Bellarus into one of the rooms, gathering into the largest one that fit into the wall opposite to the large gathering hall. Some chose otherwise, opting in their respective smaller groups like Asterion’s, to decide to head to a different room and enjoy some privacy from the large congregate.

Pushing a creaky wooden door open, Asterion stood momentarily in the doorway, waiting for something to jump out at him. He knew the place was already cleared by the others, but it felt better to allow himself a moment to calm his nerves before entering an unknown space.

The room was small, clearly some kind of chamber from the few pieces of furniture left behind by its inhabitants. A desk, small bed, and a dresser were strewn around the room disorderly, all fashioned crudely out of wood and metal. Everything was covered in dust, making it rather hard to breath when Asterion opened the door, wafting some of it into the air.

‘These people left in a hurry, didn’t they?’ He asked himself.

There was a small candle attached to the wall, its small wick exposed and evidently used a long time ago and left to run its course and disintegrate, from the wax that ran down the wall.

“Hey, Peter, can you go to the others and see if Bellarus made another fire yet? If we light this, it will make this waiting a lot easier.” Asterion asked, moving to sit at the head of the bed that sat diagnally in the middle of the room.

“Sure thing.” He replied, leaving the room.

Daren moved and joined him on the bed, sitting at the foot, and weighing down the soft dirty cot. Aaron seemed to prefer to stand, instead.

Asterion sighed as a peaceful silence enveloped the three of them in the darkness. Aaron had remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal, so quiet that Asterion was beginning to wonder about him.

“You okay?”

Aaron’s dark silhouette shifted to face him.

“Me? Yeah, just not what I imagined for the Pathfinders. I thought we would be rebelling against the capital, or fighting some harrowing creature and winning… not running from them. It was kind of my reason for joining.”

His tone indicated he was a bit disappointed and fearful.

“If that’s what you’re searching for, your goals are out there with that abomination, go fight it! Be my guest! Go get em’ tiger!” Daren said, laughing.

Asterion didn’t know what a tiger was, but he imagined it was some kind of brave creature, to have such an odd saying. From the confused look of Aaron’s silhouette, he didn’t know either.

“Everyone joined for different reasons, but fighting that creature out there was not one of mine.” Asterion added, laughing too.

Aaron scoffed. “That’s not what I meant.”

Eventually, Peter returned with a small piece of wood disintegrating from one end as a small ember’s dying breath was consuming it for fuel to stay alive. He lit the small exposed wick, and a more lively ember was born, exposing the room to light. Asterion looked around, reexamining the room once his eyes adjusted to the new brightness.

‘Hm. It’s actually nice in here’ he thought.

The place was disgustingly dusty and disordered, but it was also quaint and homely. He hadn’t had a stable home for a few years now, so something like this was an upgrade in his eyes.

From the look on Aaron’s face, he didn’t agree.

Curiousity slowly got the better of Asterion, before he bit the bullet and finally asked.

“Hey, Aaron. Why join the pathfinders for those reasons? It seems kind of… I don’t know… flamboyant? Did you have a bad life in Hope?”

Aaron looked at him, visibly amused, shrugging his shoulders, he spoke casually.

“Not really. My father actually works high up in the government… so I wasn’t poor if that’s what your asking me. From that, I know a bit more about the workings of the government compared to most, and what I learned makes me sick… so here I am.”

His response was odd to say the least. At least to Asterion. Why would a person want to join a rebellion when they had a cushy life? Morals were hard to avoid, but in the face of harrowing danger, the answer seemed quite easy to him.

He turned to Peter, “And you?”

Peter pursed his lips.

“Stole something valuable from someone dangerous, got away but they know I was the one who took it…” he said shortly.

Asterion looked Peter up and down…

‘This fool has nothing valuable on him. What could he have taken?’

He wasn’t going to push, though. Peter seemed uninterested in explaining his reason more thouroughly.

He turned to Daren, raising an eyebrow. Noticing this, he laid back against the wall, as if reminiscing, then sighed.

“Accidentally murdered someone, they just haven’t found the body yet.”

Everyone looked at him with surprised expressions. After a few seconds of tense silence, he laughed again.

“Just kidding… I just wanted to see what was outside of Hope. The pathfinders seemed like the best way to do that. I will say… now that I have, it sucks I swore an oath because this is a literal hell.”

‘can’t find argument in that...’ he thought.

Aaron looked back at Asterion, clearly expecting him to give his own answer. He thought for a moment, deciding how to answer. He had a reason, a multitude of them, even. But the core of his honest answer was that he was tricked, and didn’t really want to admit that…

“Oh you know, poverty and poor luck.” He said softly.

Daren chuckled, smiling.

“If only we fought as hard as you did when you woke up to not join the pathfinders, we wouldn’t be here.”

Asterion’s face fell flat.

‘Oh great… you remember that. I remember how I woke up too.’ he thought, looking at Peter with a grimace.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak on the past transgression, a loud echo emanated from the hall outside, cutting him off.

Everyone looked up.

“Did anyone hear that?” He said.

“I think so?” Peter replied.

Getting up, everyone moved toward the door and into the hallway, looking both directions for the source of the noise. The shadows of the hallway assaulted the dying candle on the wall of the room, but only succeeded in creating a veil of impenetrable darkness around the doorway to Asterion.

Further down the hall, Bellarus seemed to be stepping out of his room, as well, seeking out reason for the noise. The larger campfire creating a white glow against his back and the opposite wall of the hallway. He glanced at Brandon, who’s shadowy silhouette in the shadows only shook his head.

With that, Bellarus exited the room and outstretched an arm.

Within his outstretched hand, a faint shimmering light began in his palm. Slowly, a dim glow fought against the darkness and winning its contest of dominance. A few seconds later, that glow strengthened, becoming even more radiant and aggressive. A moment after that, it flashed one last time, taking a complicated shape and blinding Asterion momentarily due to how dark it was around the bright light.

Bellarus walked past Asterion quickly and ignoring him, now wielding a sword made of some kind of silver metal. He couldn’t tell what the metal was, and he was no blacksmith, but from its shiny polish it looked extremely expensive.

‘Woah.’

He had never seen a real starlight projection, but the description of their summoning was spot on from the books he read. Though, their descriptions did nothing to spare him from the awe that a magically manifested item could endow on someone as mundane as himself.

Bellarus moved up the stairs carefully, disappearing up to the second floor. After he passed, the others in the room moved back inside now that someone went to go check on the strange noise, trusting Bellarus to keep them safe.

Asterion on the other hand, could not keep himself in the dark of what the sound was. He couldn’t keep the thought out of his mind that it almost sounded like someone yelled.

Giving the others a look, Asterion decided it was worth it to follow, and moved into the hallway to follow him up the stairs.

It wasn’t long before he made it all the way up and into another long hallway, resembling the one downstairs. Bellarus seemed to be standing just at the top of the stairs, looking down at the floor unmoving. His hand was tensed around the grip of his sword’s handle.

Asterion moved around Bellarus to see what he was looking at.

‘Alfred…’ his eyes widened, a shocked gasp leaving his lungs as he tried to comprehend what he was looking at.

He backstepped, nearly falling down the stairs…