The wolf-like abomination stood there in all its repulsive glory.
Jae covered his nose and squinted.
"Disgusting bastard. What the hell is that?"
As he said it, he turned and looked at Eros. Eros just shook his head slowly.
"I don't know. Haven't seen it before. But from the looks of it, I'd say that's the reason the Sunderkin are staying above ground and not crawling through the sewers."
Riven didn't say anything. He just stared, eyes locked on the creature like it might move any second. Then he heard a voice. A voice he knew too well.
It was his. Or rather, it was Eryx.
"That Firstborn really likes saying bastard a lot," Eryx said, his tone light, amused. "Quite the predicament you've got yourself in."
Riven frowned.
"What do you want, Eryx?"
Eryx answered with that same calm, indifferent voice as always.
"I just wanted to see how you're holding up. And honestly, it doesn't look great. Wanna switch with me?"
Riven hissed under his breath.
"Switch? No. I'm not switching. I'd like to stay in my own body, thank you very much."
Riven and Eryx could switch places—like two people in a car. If one got tired of driving, the other could slide over and take the wheel. Riven could used the body during the day, and probably Eryx had it at night if he wanted. But Riven didn't trust Eryx. Yes, Eryx was him. But that was the problem. He knew himself too well. He knew what Eryx might be planning.
Eryx let out a long, tired sigh.
"Fine. Just... please think of something. Anything. Your mind is boring. Can't you picture food or something fun? A dream? A memory? I'm dying of boredom in here."
Riven muttered,
"Okay, okay..."
He tried. Really tried. But for some reason, the only thing that popped into his mind was a banana.
He had no idea why.
When Riven opened his eyes again, everyone was staring at him.
Eros leaned forward, his voice softer than usual.
"You alright there, buddy? You were kind of talking to yourself back there."
Riven blinked. He hadn't realized. He thought he'd kept it all in his head. But no, he'd been speaking out loud the whole time. That familiar heat of embarrassment crept up his neck. Everyone knew what it meant when someone talked to themselves.
Crazy.
He forced a shrug and looked at Eros with a practiced blank expression.
"Yeah. I'm good."
Jae grinned, clearly trying to hold back laughter.
"Knew it. He's crazy."
Nira didn't laugh. She glanced at Eros, then turned back to the group.
"Enough small talk. We need to figure out how to get past that monstrosity. Do we fight it or find another route?"
Varik finally stepped forward, his tone steady.
"Not possible. We can't reroute. That would cost us days. And we don't know what else is down here. Might be something worse."
They all went quiet again, eyes slowly drifting back to the creature.
The abomination didn't move. Its matted fur was half gone, patches of exposed muscle showing underneath. Flies buzzed around it, and its breath came in thick, wet gasps. One of its eyes was missing. The other was a glowing, yellow smear in the dark.
It just stood there.
Blocking the only way forward.
And it looked hungry.