"Sooo… Tell me I'm not the only one who thought princess' Patron mission would be closer?" James asked, breaking the silence that had settled over them as they made their way through the final stretch of the Burning Wasteland.

By now, the endless sand dunes had given way to dry, cracked earth. The lava rivers were also nowhere in sight, and instead, far ahead, massive trees of all kinds were visible. They climbed the hills that made up the next territory, their dark violet and yellow leaves finally adding some new color to the scenery.

Even the blistering heat had given way to a warm breeze, just cool enough to stop the constant trickle of sweat down their backs. It was still far from comfortable, but after almost two days inside this furnace, even the smallest improvement was a win.

"I'm definitely not complaining," Elaine answered at last. "The farther it is, the weaker the monsters we will have to fight will become."

Flying a bit above them, Isaac let out a caw of agreement. The last thing they needed now was another fight with a Wyvern or a monster of similar strength. They would most likely win, but they had wasted enough time yesterday. Today, they had to make up for that.

"Maybe you won't have to fight anything?" Marie said. "You don't even know what your mission is yet. Could be anything."

Elaine hummed. "Guess we will see. And no, we're not making any bets."

James visibly deflated at that. How predictable of him.

After this little exchange, the trio continued talking to each other about nonsensical stuff. Isaac, meanwhile, kept gliding above their heads, content to just listen and be on the lookout for any potential danger that might try to approach them.

Not that there was much to see.

Ever since they left the dunes behind, the number of monsters in the area grew even smaller. Sure, it could be because they preferred to stay in the heart of Burning Plains, where the climate was more to their liking. But that still didn't really make much sense. This had never happened on the borders of different territories.

I don't like this…

Now Entering: Valleys of Whispers

Despite Isaac's gnawing unease, nothing happened on their way to the next territory. Monsters never ambushed them. Hell, they didn't even appear anywhere close by. It was as if the border between the Burning Plain and those Valleys was a no-go zone for the beasts.

"Creepy," Marie muttered as they all stopped at the edge of the Valleys of Whispers. Even Isaac landed and transformed so they could come up with a quick plan on how to approach this place.

"That it is…" Elaine whispered back, her fingertips tracing a literal face etched into the bark of a nearby tree. It looked somewhat human but with some features twisted beyond recognition. "Just what the hell is this place?"

"Creepy," James repeated.

Hard to disagree, Isaac thought, his gaze also tracing the multiple faces embedded in the trees. The leaves overhead might have been colorful, but the forest itself felt dead. Or maybe frozen in time was the better way to put it. Even the healthy blue grass adorning the ground shattered the moment somebody stepped on it.

And then there was the wind.

Where before the breeze had been cool and refreshing, now it carried something else with it. Whispers—soft, disembodied voices riding the wind. None of them made any sense, but each new wave sent a chill down his spine.

So yes, creepy described this new region pretty well.

No monsters, though, Isaac observed, averting his gaze from another gnarled face in the trees. The constant whispers gnawing at his ears and the unsettling appearance of the place might be unnerving, but nothing had tried to kill them so far. Which was quite nice.

Maybe it's like the Rotborne Woods? Where are you hiding then?

On instinct, Isaac almost transformed, ready to go ahead and scout this place a bit more. But before he could do that, James' voice stopped him.

"Guys, I got an idea."

"Oh?" Elaine raised a dubious eyebrow.

"Rude," James grumbled before clearing his throat. "I'm serious. Why don't we actually use the terrain for once? We never really got a chance to do that before."

Isaac nodded but still didn't see where the older man was going with this. "Meaning?"

"We all got pretty decent Legacy forms, yeah? So let's use them," James replied. "You and Ari can take the skies. And with how dense the trees here are, princess shouldn't have a problem moving through them."

Marie tilted her head. "And you?"

"Me?" James grinned. "I will be our glorious bait. The bull that paves the path ahead. If anything jumps me, you lot can swoop in and clean up in seconds. Good one, eh?"

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Isaac blinked. "Huh." He eyed the older man. "You sure you want to be the bait?"

James shrugged. "Why not? If I keep Steel Body active at all times, nothing should be able to take me down in one hit. Especially not in my Legacy form."

"Fine by me then," Isaac said and glanced at the others.

Elaine nodded right away. Marie hesitated, but a reassuring grin from James was enough to settle her nerves. And so, with the plan ready, they all transformed and took their positions. Within seconds, they dived deeper into the Valleys of Whispers.

The Valleys were empty.

They had been traveling for over six hours now, and no matter how many hills, valleys, and rivers they passed, they encountered nothing on the way. No animals. No insects. No monsters. No villages or nests. Only the endless trees and the brittle blue grass stood in their path. Well, that and the whispers that accompanied them throughout the entire journey.

Every once in a while, Isaac would fly higher, way above all the surrounding hills and trees, in hopes of spotting something on the horizon. Yet, it wasn't until the sun began to vanish in the west that he noticed a change far, far away. And it wasn't a monster or anything like that.

No, it was yet another territory. Or at least he thought that was the case. Even with his enhanced sight, details were scarce at this distance. The only thing he could say for certain was that it was flat… and gray. Not much to go off but he would find out more tomorrow.

For now, he had to help his team settle in for the coming night. Inside a creepy, empty forest.

Yeah… I'm definitely getting a lot of sleep tonight.

With a sigh, Isaac flew back to his team and led them to a nearby creek he had found earlier. At the very least, the spot looked quite nice if one ignored the faces on the surrounding trees. And the ever-present whispers, of course.

Still, without much talking, they prepared the camp for the coming night and settled down around a fire Elaine had started. Isaac pulled some food from his Storage Brand and passed it out. Thankfully, one of the perks of leveling up was that their bodies needed less food to function.

How that even worked, they had no idea. Nobody was complaining, though, as they had definitely underestimated just how much food they needed for the trip. If they didn't reach LA in the next two days, they would have to start scavenging or hunting.

Bet that's gonna go well, Isaac thought dryly as he bit into a protein bar. He chased it with a swing of water to wash down the dryness.

"So!" James clapped his hands. "I think we made pretty solid progress today."

"Would have been strange if we didn't," Elaine muttered. "We must have run like a hundred miles today. What I wouldn't give for a GPS right now…"

"Or a phone in general," Marie added, to which the other woman nodded.

"Some music would be nice," James said. "Beats listening to these damned whispers all night."

"Maybe next time." Marie patted his back, leaning her head against his shoulder. James slung an arm around her in response.

Isaac rolled his eyes. The two weren't even trying to be subtle anymore. Good for them, though, even if he still couldn't understand how any of this happened. Maybe he was just clueless.

Whatever… He grumbled and looked into the fire in front of him. "All right," he spoke up. "So, who wants the first watch? I know ther—"

"Me!" All three of his teammates yelled at once.

Isaac gave them an exhausted stare and sighed. "Guess I should have expected this…"

In the end, they decided to settle the problem in the most logical way possible. With James against Isaac and Marie against Elaine in a best-of-five game of rock, paper, scissors. The winners took the first watch, while the losers had to sleep. Apparently, nobody wanted to close their eyes first in this creepy place. Who could have thought?

"You're cheating, man," James huffed after losing the game three to zero.

Isaac arched an eyebrow. "Says the guy who picked rock three times in a row."

"Like you're any better! You went paper every time."

Isaac shrugged, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Yeah, I did. But I won. And you lost. Deal with it."

"Cheater," James muttered, stalking off toward the others.

Over there, the game was much closer, with Elaine pulling off a win in the last round. Marie didn't look too disappointed, though, at least not after hearing that James lost, too. Isaac refused to let his mind wander to the reason why that might be.

"Try not to kill each other while we're sleeping, okay boss?" James whispered as he passed by. "And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Isaac shot him a glare. Sometimes, he really wished the older man would learn when to keep his mouth shut. Or at least how to come up with better jokes. This was pathetic.

"Go already." He gave James a shove toward the tent, scowling as the older man's laughter trailed behind him.

Refusing to give the man any more attention, Isaac returned to the campfire and sat down there. The soft crackle of the flames filled his ears, joined by the whispers of the forest. Once more, he tried to make sense of them, but just like before, the words held no meaning. They sounded like a completely alien language. Or just one he had never heard before.

Linguist, I am not…

For a minute, maybe two, he just watched the flames dance in the pit, his mind blissfully blank. It wasn't until he felt Elaine sit down a few feet away from him that he averted his gaze.

She didn't say anything. Neither did he.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, though. Maybe just a bit awkward.

As time passed, Isaac tried to open his mouth multiple times, but in the end, something always stopped him. What was he supposed to say anyway? Apologize for something he didn't regret? Try explaining again why ignoring Rakin's words wasn't the smartest choice? Really, he had no idea.

And so, even as the final rays of the sun vanished, he stayed silent. Better that than starting another argument. Elaine, though, seemed to disagree.

"Ah fuck it… We can't avoid this forever," she began, her voice getting softer toward the end. "Listen… I know you meant well back then, but I'm wo—"

Only she never got a chance to finish.

The soft breeze around them surged without warning, turning those quiet whispers into distant, anguished screams. The air became colder within seconds. And finally, a notification appeared before him, its crimson letters freezing the blood in his veins.

The Shades of the Valley are waking. The Ruins of Whispers have revealed themselves. Hosts, prepare yourselves. Survive.

Isaac jumped to his feet, Root of Blood manifesting in his right hand. Far away, between the trees, specks of deep indigo and yellow illuminated the forest before vanishing. He turned to Elaine.

"Go wake up the others. Fast!"

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