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BAB3 -Chapter 22
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 04:59:01 +0000 UTC# Chapter 22: Unseen Hands
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Omar found himself beneath a sky he knew all too well.
He shuddered at the strange, silent glade stretching endlessly around him.
They were coming.
Damp grasses shimmered in shifting hues. Exotic flowers bloomed in impossible colors, and faint floating lights twinkled in every direction.
The holy tree towered over it all, larger than ever, its glowing bark pulsing with that cold, silver light.
But it didn’t mirror the moon this time. The moon had already begun to change.
They were coming.
The tree’s pulse quickened with rapid, strobing flashes, while the moon bled red and turned sinister.
The sky blackened. The wind vanished. The air turned sour, and the glade cracked and dried beneath his feet.
They were coming.
Screeches, howls, clicking, grinding—unnatural cries tore through the silence.
Shadows stretched, then grew into shambling beasts: giant insects, monstrous hybrids, animals with far too many eyes, and humanoid things with exposed organs and upside-down faces.
They were coming.
Thousands emerged, each more grotesque than the last.
Omar trembled, frozen in place and overwhelmed with terror.
The twisted creatures turned toward him in a creepy synchrony—and then charged.
They trampled one another, clawed and tore each other apart, just to reach him first.
Omar was surrounded.
There was nowhere to run, nothing he could do.
Falling to his knees, he clutched his head to his chest and tried to will it all to stop.
For them to go away.
That was when the first claw tore into him.
The sound of his own screams finally woke him.
***
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Seven more people had died in the past week.
Two from sudden fevers making them deliriously attack each other, four from some nonsense the inner circle called “mana sickness,” and one from slipping off a ridge during a morning forage run.
Though Piper knew the last one had simply blacked out and face-planted after her latest tincture took effect. After all, she had watched it happen.
It was almost too easy.
What the commune called healers couldn’t detect a thing.
Ethan had assured her they wouldn’t—even if they had been competent in the first place—when he passed her the vials of poison.
His smile had been casual, as always, but his eyes held that familiar flicker of mischief.
“It’s quick and debilitating, but it won’t finish the job for you,” he had said. “Think of it like.. tenderizing meat.”
She’d smirked at the time. Now, she was starting to see just how perfectly it worked.
It did nearly eighty percent of the job for her. And she thoroughly enjoyed finishing the rest.
There was a subtle beauty in gaslighting an entire community of Awakened into dying of natural causes.
And Piper was always innocently there—ready to cultivate their essence the moment they passed.
She’d already memorized everyone’s routines.
She even tagged along on errands beforehand, all smiles and soft reassurances, so no one questioned her presence when things went wrong.
Just a series of small coincidences. Easy to overlook.
By the time the idiot boy actually predicted the Blood Moon, she wouldn’t just be strong enough to get her revenge on Roxana.
She’d gut her like a fat pig.
Piper had heard rumors of people having strange dreams before a Blood Moon. She hadn’t believed them at first.
But the more the boy described seeing the exact same things—again and again, but always progressing just a little—and the more Ethan suddenly took an interest in his well-being, the harder it became for her to dismiss.
She couldn’t help but cautiously reconsider.
This was a world of magic, after all.
And if the tree monster really could warn of danger, she’d make sure to use it to her advantage.
A sudden scream tore through the camp.
*Speaking of*, Piper thought to herself.
She stood in the center of the makeshift bathhouse she’d insisted the commune build—ostensibly for “hygiene and wellness.”
Her skin glowed faintly in the torchlight, slick with oils and scented herbs.
Stepping into the steaming pool, she sighed as her limbs slipped beneath the surface.
She luxuriated there while more of them prepared to breathe their last, convinced it was illness or the cost of a hard life.
But it was just her harvest.
A soft thump echoed near the entrance. Piper didn’t flinch as the curtain slowly rustled open.
“Omar,” she said without opening her eyes. “Did you bring my tea?”
“Y-Yes,” he stammered. “With fresh milk. And sageroot. Just how you like it.”
“Good boy,” she murmured, extending one hand without looking.
The cup settled into her palm a moment later, warm and fragrant.
She took a sip, then slowly opened her eyes—and caught him staring at her submerged body.
“Would you like to join me?” she asked, her voice low and teasing.
His face turned crimson. He shook his head frantically. “N-No! I mean—not unless you.. I just.. I had another dream.”
“Of course you did.” She sighed, setting the cup on the stone ledge. “Let me guess—more monsters.”
He nodded.
“They were closer this time,” Omar whispered, clutching his arm closely. “I felt them tear into my skin.”
Piper gave him a long, pitying look. “You know, Omar.. sometimes dreams are just your subconscious processing stress. You’ve been through a lot lately—the deaths, losing your father..”
He hesitated, his eyes wet, but nodded.
“But,” she added lightly, as if the thought had just occurred to her, “if your dreams were prophetic.. if something was coming..”
She leaned back, stretching, letting just enough of her body rise above the surface for his eyes to catch and freeze.
“Wouldn’t it make sense to stay close to someone who can protect you?”
Omar blinked, his lips parting slightly.
“Someone strong and beautiful,” she continued. “Someone who understands power.”
He nodded again, slower this time.
Piper smiled sweetly. “You’ll stay close to me, won’t you, Omar?”
“I will,” he whispered. “Of course I will.”
She tilted her head back and closed her eyes again, listening to the sounds of the commune just beyond the bathhouse walls.
“Good,” she finally said, standing up and revealing her full body to Omar. Now help me dry off and tell me more about what you saw—every last detail.”
***
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Peanut sat against the warm stone wall, rolling a green vial between his fingers.
His mobile alchemy kit lay open across his lap, lined with elixirs, pills, and tightly sealed flasks.
Some were still warm to the touch. Others hummed faintly with pressure, just shy of bursting.
He, Bev, Juniper, and Winnie had been in the dungeon for days now.
They were in the last Safe Zone on the fifth floor, and were about to face the boss.
It would be their final fight before heading back up.
Thanks to the alchemical ingredients Xay, Lexi, and the others had left them, they had more than enough C-Rank Mana and Restoration Pills.
Peanut had left the B-Rank ones back in his room for when Xay returned.
Still, he knew better than most that there was a limit to how many restore-type pills an Awakened could take before something more intangible began to wear down.
Nothing beat proper rest and natural recuperation.
He glanced around the area at his team and couldn’t help but feel an ember of pride.
Bev and Juniper sat back to back, quietly meditating, while Winnie scarfed down the last of her rations with zero ceremony.
He and Bev were upperclassmen, but they were both sitting at the bottom of the placement list.
Bev sat at least ten spots higher, but Peanut was dead last.
Neither of them had even reached their first breakthroughs yet.
But that would change very soon. Peanut hit Level 24 earlier that day, and Bev had already hit Level 25.
Juniper and Winnie weren’t far behind either.
In all honesty, Peanut had always been more interested in alchemy than fighting. His Sphere Skill, *Pill Sage*, belonged to the Artificer Sphere, after all.
***Pill Sage (Artificer Sphere) (A-Rank)** – Expert alchemist capable of refining pills and mixing elixirs with high success.*
Peanut had only made it past the first five dungeon floors during his first year because he’d been carried by a capable team.
A team that didn’t allow him to cultivate much of the gathered essence.
But now, things were different.
His best bro was hands down one of the strongest Awakened he’d ever seen—and he was getting stronger by the day.
Craziest of all, his skill was in the same Sphere.
Xay’s absurd growth stirred up a mess of feelings in Peanut. There was inspiration, competitiveness, the urge not to be left behind, and more.
And he wasn’t alone. Bev, Juniper, and Winnie all wanted to be stronger—to be more than what they were.
So instead of whining about what they didn’t have, they banded together and came down here to grind levels and rack up real experience.
They made for an odd team, to say the least. Bev and Juniper were both casters—Bev’s Sphere Skill was *Plasmashaper*, while Juniper’s was *Aquagale*.
***Plasmashaper (Caster Sphere) (A-Rank)** - Expert mage with a natural affinity for both fire and stone.*
***Aquagale (Caster Sphere) (A-Rank)** - Expert mage with a natural affinity for both air and water.*
Winnie’s, on the other hand, was Aluminum Threadstalker.
***Aluminum Threadstalker (Prowler Sphere) (A-Rank)** - Expert thread manipulator with a natural affinity for aluminum.*
They hadn’t been fast, and they’d taken their fair share of scrapes.
But they’d made it.
Peanut was down to his last combat flasks. Winnie had turned one of his pant legs into a tourniquet at some point. Bev had accidentally set his jacket on fire yesterday.
And he wouldn’t trade the week for anything.
This team actually felt like his. Not a stronger group letting him tag along. Not a pity slot on someone else’s roster.
He was the leader.
And he’d make damn sure they walked out of here victorious, even if it meant taking down this giant scorpion bitch with his bare hands.
Refilling the bandoliers strapped across his chest with elixirs and flasks, Peanut rolled up his mobile kit and stood.
“Y’all ready?”
Bev cracked her neck and rose, clutching her orange wand.
Juniper hefted her purple staff, while Winnie wiped her mouth and grinned.
Peanut nodded and downed his last green vial.
Pain lanced through him as his skeleton elongated, muscles thickened, and his jaw squared. Overwhelming strength surged through his limbs.
He let out a silent snarl as the transformation settled.
The vial had contained a special, experimental concoction he’d brewed just recently. It temporarily boosted his constitution and physical stats.
He called it his Big Bruiser Juice.
Aside from severe exhaustion and the very real possibility of permanent disfigurement, there were no side effects.
To actually function, the elixir had to be precisely formulated to match his unique chemical makeup, which meant he couldn’t share it.
“Awesome,” Juniper deadpanned, her face not changing but her eyes glowing.
Bev laughed. “You say that every time.”
Peanut crushed three flasks in his hands.
Red, orange, and yellow smoke hissed into the air, curling around his party and sinking into their skin—Strenghten, Haste, and Fortify.
Their bodies shimmered lightly as the effects took hold.
“Let’s go,” he said, his voice several octaves deeper.
With Peanut in the lead, the group left the Safe Zone.
The Scorpion Queen waited at the center of a deep, circular depression, her stony legs spread wide across the cracked floor.
Her jagged tail arched high over her back like a wicked scythe. Dozens of smaller Stone Scorpions clung to her carapace, twitching and pulsing like coiled armor.
**Scorpion Queen (C-Rank) Lv. 25**: *A colossal matriarch that births Stone Scorpions and commands the hive.*
The Queen’s tail twitched forward with a shriek, and smaller scorpions shot from her back like a volley of living shrapnel.
“Scatter!” Peanut shouted.
Juniper aimed a *Wind Burst* downward, launching herself out of the blast zone with a whoosh.
***Wind Burst** - Fire a concentrated blast of air at a specific target area.*
She’d been working on her agility with Winnie during their training sessions.
For her part, Winnie zipped sideways with *Thread Motion*, anchoring threads to the cirque walls and yanking herself clear in a blur of silver lines.
***Thread Motion** - Utilize aluminum threads to alter and adjust one’s own movements.*
Bev slicked the ground ahead with a trail of cool, liquid plasma and launched herself forward, skating her own environmental hazard—*Plasma Slip*.
***Plasma Slip** - Generate a slick, plasma-based liquid that causes enemies to lose traction and lowers evasiveness.*
Peanut dropped two flasks and lunged to the side, his Big Bruiser body easily clearing several dozen feet in a single bound.
When one of the Stone Scorpions landed, it crushed the flasks and triggered a chain reaction. With a sound like screaming metal, torrents of water blasted upward.
The Stone Scorpions were obliterated on impact—but the reaction didn’t stop there. Fueled by their essence, the water kept surging, flooding the battlefield in a rising tide.
Winnie struck the boss first with *Thread Needle*.
***Thread Needle** - Skewer enemies with multiple short aluminum threads.*
Sharp silver threads burst from her palms, stabbing into the Queen’s face and eyes, making her screech in fury as her tail flailed.
Peanut charged forward, leaping onto the sharp threads and keeping the Queen busy with a barrage of blunt punches while his team went to work.
Another clutch of Stone Scorpions shot free—but a well-timed *Wind Burst* from Juniper blasted them back.
Before they could even hit the ground, she twisted her staff and fused wind with water, conjuring a howling cyclone—*Aqua Tempest*.
***Aqua Tempest** - Create a whirlpool of air and water to trap and damage foes.*
It shredded the cluster mid-air and blew the remains toward the source of the water.
Winnie cycled between filling the Queen like a pincushion with *Thread Needle* and whipping away debris and smaller monsters from her teammates with *Thread Lash*.
***Thread Lash** - Crack a whip-like tendril of aluminum threads to lash enemies.*
Bev reappeared amid the chaos, right in front of one of the Queen’s forward legs. She pressed both hands to the jagged limb and activated *Stone Shaping*.
***Stone Shaping** - Reshape stone and rock in a given area.*
She flooded the technique with mana, forcing it past the monster’s defenses. Distracted as it was, the stone soon gave.
The leg split open with a crack, and Bev raised her wand, launching the densest *Fire Ball* she’d ever conjured straight into the gap.
***Fire Ball** - Generate a condensed ball of fire that bursts on contact.*
The detonation was brilliant, blasting the Queen’s leg clean off.
Winnie yanked Bev back with silver threads, and Juniper softened her landing with a perfectly-timed *Wind Repulse*.
***Wind Repulse** - Create a barrier of swirling air to deflect incoming projectiles or attacks.
But it didn’t seem to matter—because the Scorpion Queen went absolutely berserk.
She stomped her remaining legs into the ground in a frenzy, unleashing a seismic shockwave technique too fast for Peanut to identify.
His entire team was blasted back as all the smaller scorpions surged outward in every direction.
Still blinded, the Queen thrashed wildly, her tail smashing into anything that moved—even crushing her own spawn.
Peanut slammed into the side wall and rolled, then pushed himself up with a bloody grin.
She’d helped his team get clear.
The entire chamber was now flooded with murky water, and the Queen bristled with aluminum needles.
Juniper and Winnie hovered near the ceiling, while Bev stood on a small ledge she’d shaped from the stone.
From the shallow crater he’d made on impact, Peanut began tossing catalyst elixirs one after another—then grabbed his last four combat flasks.
All lightning.
With one last heave, Peanut unleashed bottled lightning—and the room lit up in a festival of lights. The fireworks show was long and glorious.
Thick ropes of electricity exploded across the soaked ground like writhing fingers, converging on the Queen. Chunks of her stony body blew apart as she shrieked in pain and terror.
Just when Peanut started to think he might’ve overdone it, the reaction finally ended.
Their big move had left nothing but smoke and soggy rubble in its wake. Even the water had evaporated.
They’d done it.
“That was nuts!” Winnie shouted, zipping down on her threads. “There’s so much ozone in the air my teeth feel fuzzy.”
Bev laughed, walking over to Peanut. “I’m so proud of you, Ivan. That was amazing.”
“I can’t feel my toes,” he wheezed as Bev and Winnie helped him to his feet.
His Big Bruiser body was wearing off, and everything hurt—but he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
Juniper limped past, bruised and covered in dirt. “Let’s do it again.”
Winnie wiped the blood from a gash on her forehead. “Food and sleep first.”
Those shockwaves had left them all banged up in one way or another, but the boss was dead, and the floor was cleared.
They had even leveled up.
Exhausted and nearly falling over, they gathered their loot and made their way to the exit portal.
The group stepped through, riding the high of a very well-earned victory—only to freeze the moment they emerged on the other side.
Waiting for them was Dante Diamond, head of the S4 and all around jerk.
He was wearing a familiar sneer, and beside him stood Jasper Owen, silent and unreadable as always.
Neither Vi nor Reina were anywhere in sight.
“Where’s your little friend?” Dante growled, his aura flaring blue as he clenched his fists. “And don’t make me ask twice.”
Comments
Bob Bryan
So dante is pathetic confirmed and piper is definitely either going to turn into a monster or stab in the back, possibly by Omar, during the blood moon.
