Chapter 6 — The Thing That Watches
The Thing Moved First.
Not fast. Careful.
Its long foot pressed into the sand, and the ground stiffened around it the same way it had for Kael. Like the place was paying attention to both of them now.
"So you get the same treatment," Kael said. "Good to know."
The creature leaned forward. Its head bent too far, joints clicking softly. No eyes. Just a smooth face with a thin line where a mouth might have been.
Kael didn't wait.
He stepped in and slashed.
The blade cut through the air—and stopped.
Not on bone. Not on skin.
On resistance.
Like slicing into thick rubber.
Kael swore and twisted his wrist, pulling back just as the thing swung an arm down where his head had been. The strike missed, but the air snapped hard enough to sting his ears.
He jumped back, boots skidding.
"Okay," he said. "Not soft."
The creature straightened. The thin line on its face opened.
Something leaked out. Not sound. More like pressure. Kael felt it in his chest, in his teeth.
The sand around them darkened.
Shapes appeared on the ground—circles, broken lines, marks that didn't mean anything but still felt wrong to look at.
Kael glanced down, then away. "Yeah, I'm not reading that."
He moved sideways, slow this time. The creature followed, matching him. They circled each other near the ruins, sand crunching underfoot.
Kael noticed something small.
Every time the thing stepped closer to the black stone, it slowed.
Just a bit.
He backed toward the ruins on purpose.
The creature followed again. Its arm brushed one of the stones.
The stone cracked.
The creature froze.
Kael didn't think. He lunged and stabbed.
The blade sank in this time.
The thing jerked back, the pressure snapping off like a cord pulled too tight. Dark dust spilled from the wound, drifting upward instead of falling.
The creature staggered.
Kael didn't chase. He held his ground, breathing hard, blade shaking in his hand.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "You don't like this place either."
The creature looked at him. Really looked this time.
Then it stepped back.
The sand swallowed its feet. Its legs sank. Its body followed, slow and smooth, like it was choosing to leave instead of being forced.
Before it vanished completely, the thin line on its face closed.
Kael stood alone again.
The red sky pulsed once.
Then words appeared, small and plain.
OBSERVATION CONTINUES
Kael wiped his blade on his pants and let out a short breath.
"Of course it does."