Blinking into BronzePaw’s shadow, Guin struck at the air with her claws, arcing them upward with a [Wind Blade]. The thought-cast spell sent a shard of hardened air hurtling toward the creature as dark blades of its own started to extend from its apparent fingertips. Guin threw her head back to dodge as her own attack struck true, tearing through the shade’s smoky, dark rags. Pulling back, it shrieked a wrathful, blood-curdling cry.

Unaware of the danger that the appearance of the Veil creature could pose to her, BronzePaw whipped her tail around, almost tripping Guin behind her.

“Guin? What—?” She went, but Guin didn’t have time to answer.

She wasn’t a hundred percent sure if the Veil creatures could touch Che who weren’t able to cross into the Veil, but she wasn’t about to take the chance as it had gone after the garule first.

Her claws had worked well in her panic, but she was still more comfortable with her spear. Summoning it, she looked the shade over. If the creature is related to shadows... Narrowing her eyes, she pointed the spear near the fog that rose from around its head and focused on the tip. She shadow-stepped, intending to slice through as she fell, but the disorientation caused by the casting left her twisting and fumbling instead. Cursing loudly, she turned her head towards the creature, trying to bring her spear around for a backstab—but the creature's long-fingered hand flew out and grabbed her head in its claws. It brought her face up close to its own. Guin started to struggle, then froze as she looked closer and closer.

And she couldn't look away.

Eyeless sockets started with an open mouth. Head, covered in a coarse, black shroud. Its body twisted and wound like loose cloth in open water, black mist rising from it like bubbles at sea. Forming and dissipating. Forming and dissipating. Its head tilted as it let out a soft, low hiss that sent out an icy cold breeze that rolled over Guin’s skin.

With a whimper, Guin’s spear fell from her hand. She heard it clatter on the stones below, but the sound was muffled. Her whole world suddenly felt like she had been pulled underneath a pond that had frozen over. Cold. Trembling. Unable to draw even breaths. Unable to make sound. There was just her and the creature, locked together.

“—n!” she heard.

“—uin!” came again.

“Guin!” The voice was louder this time, and she felt a sharp tug on her tail. “Guin! What’s going on? Are you all right?” BronzePaw’s voice carried over the din, but just barely.

It was enough. Fighting the fear and icy chill that paralyzed her, Guin slowly lifted her hands up and gripped the wrist of the hand that held her head. Digging her claws into the creature’s flesh, she felt a slight bit of air escape from her throat. The air turned into a whimper. Feeling warm tears falling down her eyes, Guin managed to utter, “Go. To. Hell!” as she started kicking her legs against the creature that was holding her.

Seeing that its prey had shaken off its mental entrapment, the creature, still holding its grip on Guin’s head, lifted its free hand, and around it, shadows gathered as its nails pointed into her eyes.

“Paw!” Guin yelled out with eyes wide as she continued to fight against it. “Get me down! It’s a Veil Creature! You can’t see it! I don’t care if you have to attack me—just get me down!” She knew she was talking a mile a minute as she struggled against the creature’s grip. The shadows gathered faster and faster, solidifying at its fingertips. Long, sharp claws grew, extending more with every shadow it pulled to it, becoming less like nails and more like five thin swords that pointed at her face. The memory of the pain she had suffered through in the tutorial crept quickly back into her bones, and she screeched, “Bahena!”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Her plea, though perhaps unintelligible, had not gone unheard. Before the last syllable of BronzePaw’s name left her mouth, the garule woman’s determined face emerged through the chest of the shade, grabbing Guin in her powerful arms. Guin’s head and body jerked as the shadow creature tried to maintain its grip, but gravity favored her savior, and its fingers slipped through her hair. BronzePaw landed firmly on her clawed feet as she looked with wide eyes in the direction of the creature. It was likely that she had felt the resistance when she had pulled Guin down.

“Thanks,” Guin managed to breathe out as she rubbed her neck, watching as the creature screeched loudly into the air.

“Yeah...” BronzePaw went, tilting her head. “I don’t know what’s going on, but how can I support you?”

“If you see me floating in the air again, get me down for a start,” Guin murmured, struggling to get back onto her feet. She cast her [Spirit Shield] and [Chilling Aura]—though she wasn’t sure it would help.

“What is it?”

“A ghost,” Guin told her. “Probably a wraith of some kind.”

BronzePaw visibly shivered. “Oh, I don’t like ghosts; I’m very happy not to see them...”

Amused at her powerful companion’s reaction, Guin grunted and re-summoned her spear. “Why is it just floating there?” she wondered aloud.

“Is it?” the garule woman asked. “Maybe it’s scared?”

“Not likely,” Guin said. “How am I gonna kill this thing? It’s too high up for regular attacks...” She suddenly found herself wishing she had asked Drakov to come with her for a very different reason than she had at first.

Hanging in the air, the wraith opened its arms wide and screamed with a deafening pitch. Looking to buy time, Guin aimed with her spear and shot another lance-type [Wind Blade] at it. The creature simply took the attack, and Guin felt the blood drain from her face as she waited on [Wind Blade]’s cooldown. She was relying way too much on luck.

“We need to get out of this room,” she concluded, looking down at each side of the hall.

BronzePaw looked her over. “...Which way and how fast?”

Biting her lip, Guin knew that there wasn’t a really great option for them at the moment. “As soon as we can. But... If we run back the way came, we will live,” she said. “But we lose all of our progress. Probably.” She had to admit that she wasn’t sure if that was the direction of her quest or not. It was possible that it was the completely wrong direction like they had taken when they had run into the group of zombies.

“Victory requires sacrifice,” BronzePaw told her. “I will follow your lead.”

Guin chuckled. “That’s dangerous.”

And then the creature went silent. Guin’s head shot up, and she watched it thrust its shrouded head toward them at breakneck speed, causing Guin to jump back and fire another [Wind Blade] at it—but her surprise caused her to miss. BronzePaw stared at her in shock.

“Go!” Guin yelled at her as the shade swiped its long claws toward BronzePaw.

The garule moved a moment too late and screeched out in pain and aggravation as her health bar dropped by a good 10%. Her tail swishing back and forth, she hissed at the space behind her, her head snapping back and forth as if it would somehow help her see what she could not. Growling, Guin rushed toward it with her spear high in the air, though she knew it would be of little good. At the very least, she did manage to grab its attention back.

BronzePaw’s eyes were wide, her pupils dilated to the point they almost showed black, but Guin could see she could understand the situation. The garule ran passed them, locked in their duel. The wraith moved to follow after her, but Guin swiped another [Wind Blade] that landed true, pulling its agro back to her again. This time, it flew at her, its shroud billowing behind it as it reached out toward her with its claws. More prepared for close combat, however, Guin was able to dance around and land a [Back Stab].

“It’s just you and me now,” Guin taunted as she saw the tip of BronzePaw’s tail disappear around the bend at the far door. “You. And me.”