The spirit dipped itself in darkness under Asher's feet.

  Asher looked down briefly before a white mask was donned on his face.

  It stings… I had almost forgotten the pain it gives.

  Asher licked his dry lips as his face was filled with a deep crawling and burning sensation.

  He instinctively raised his hand to soothe his face but the faceless mask got in the way.

  Asher sighed and resisted the mask’s negative effects for the next second. The pain diminished slightly but not completely. It was enough for now.

  Swoosh!

  And then he went down.

  Cold wind hit his face, his hair fluttering and his cloak flowing like waves in the sea. Before he could hit the ground, Asher stepped on the sky; defying gravity and using the world as his stairs, he pushed himself forward with a burst of speed.

  His presence thinned.

  The sound of the giant sleeping made the air tremble but he was moving in another direction.

  The lake remained still and silent, not a single ripple breaking its surface even as the wind swept across it. The water was dark—so dark it looked as if the bottom of the lake had turned upward, swallowing all light and reflection into its depths.

  In front of him were several beasts, shaped in myriads of ways. However, his eyes remained on the biggest pack of monsters, consisting of more creatures than he could count.

  It was none other than the monsters with twisted bodies, their shoulders slumped and heads tilted at unnatural angles, as if their very bones had forgotten how to hold them upright.

  Asher’s smile thinned as he drew closer to their horrific visages. Yet he felt no regret for his choice. How could he, when the other two options were far worse?

  At the center lay the steel giant, its body gleaming faintly under the starlight, and at the far end lurked the creatures that reeked of rot—shambling freely, their decay clinging to the wind like a curse.

  In the end, confronting these crooked creatures felt far safer.

  Though Asher never planned to confront anyone himself.

  His steps made faint sounds as he walked over the sparse flora that dared to grow in the desert. Even with his presence nearly erased, some monstrosities still raised their heads, their twisted forms sensing the faint disturbance he left behind.

  Asher paused, letting their head again wobble in another direction.

  The monsters had their own territories—places they would never abandon. At least, these three did. Asher wasn’t sure whether it was because of the influx of prey that gathered here or the fleeting peace the night seemed to offer. Perhaps both were true. The steel giant would be asleep for a while, and the rot creatures wouldn't move until the sun rose. But these twisted ones? They were always restless.

  Their restless nature was something he could exploit.

  He could always turn that instinct against them.

  And the best way to do so was through chaos.

  Just like he had done once before, back in the dark forest.

  Asher’s body tensed, a brief twitch running through him as his shadow stretched unnaturally across the sand. He glanced down, eyes narrowing, before pushing strength into his legs and leaping forward.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The air behind him distorted.

  A moment later, the spirit of shadow emerged from where he had stood, its form rippling like smoke. The pressure it carried stirred the night itself—winds howled, and one by one, the surrounding monsters lifted their heads, drawn by the silent disturbance.

  The shade that once shielded Asher from the harsh sun now moved on its own. It slithered across the sand and coiled around one of the smaller creatures, a frail and thin thing barely holding its stance. The shadow tightened—slowly, deliberately—until a sharp snap echoed through the still air, followed by silence.

  A loud howl made the lake ripple and Asher's hair stood on edge. But he didn’t panic; instead, he summoned a pale gray wand pulsing softly with light. It was a deadly artifact that had once left him paralyzed for days after a single use.

  He had always called it a baton out of laziness, but now he felt it deserved something more fitting. So, he named it the Wand of Burden. A simple name, yet it matched perfectly—for nothing else captured how heavy and difficult it was to wield.

  In any case, the wand of burden was pointed at the carcass just freshly snapped into pieces. The air went still, and then it bent slightly before the monster's body was raised slowly in the air.

  And then—

  SWISS!

  Along with [Kairosflow], the carcass was thrown toward the beasts with a burst of speed, hitting one of the crooked creatures instantly. The loud, unbroken noise reached the ears of several beings. With Asher’s presence hidden for the next minute and the spirit of shadow retreating into the dark, both groups of monsters turned their attention toward each other, unaware of the true hand that had stirred their instincts.

  Asher then quietly whispered to the spirit.

  “Go, I will stir them more.”

  As if understanding his words, the spirit hiding below nodded before crawling to its next destination.

  ‘Hopefully it works or my ration wll plummet by half.’

  Asher thought under his hood as he placed the wand of burden away and summoned his sword.

  The spirit had a crucial part to play in his plan, but it didn’t mean he was relying on the spirit. Rather, Asher was moving independently. Even if the spirit runs away, not doing what he had told it to do, Asher will still escape any danger that comes.

  After all, he could only rely on himself; he had learned it many times.

  Thud!

  Asher stabbed one of the crooked beasts dangling near the other group. A sharp, painful cry left its jaw. Blood splashed, coloring the land in a crimson hue. The crooked, tilted-head beasts tensed up. The small group did as well.

  Without a warning, then something happened Asher had hoped for.

  With a fierce growl and suffocating bloodlust, the first two beasts lunged at each other. Like rabid animals, their twisted claws clashed, bones cracked beneath their jaws, and the sand turned dark as they fought to snuff out the flicker of life in one another.

  Asher's lips curled up as he saw the two groups lunge at each other.

  He wanted to watch it a little longer, but he was also running out of time. He shook his head and then blitzed towards the edge of the clear lake.

  His breath turned jagged as he reached it fast, amidst the skirmish going on.

  “Ugh.”

  He groaned, feeling his face burn even more than before as if countless ants had started to rub salt on his wounds, then his visage became clear, visible to naked eyes.

  The mask of panoply effects had finally ended.

  Asher was tempted to remove the mask and breathe freely from the painful agony; his mind rattled as he pushed those thoughts away and resisted the crawling sensation over his skin.

  Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t remove the mask; after all, he was not that far from monsters. They could see him now, but his presence still thinned, a passive benefit of the artifact he always enjoyed.

  Thus, he was still under the risk of being assaulted. Though the chances were less, they were never zero.

  He gritted his teeth and summoned his empty pouches of bags one after the other.

  It contained only half of the bags he owned. The other half was hidden not far away and was to be filled by the spirit of shadow.

  After all, the fight wouldn’t last long, and even if it did, other packs of monsters would soon notice and come his way. He couldn’t fill all the pouches on time. That's why he would let the spirit do half his work. And even if it failed, Asher wouldn’t.

  Filling the bags was a tedious task, time-consuming even. However, Asher needed to make as little sound as possible to not wake the giant or get the attention of the creatures of beyond.

  This applied not only to him but to the spirit as well, as even under the darkness, he could see the small ripples and small waves appearing on the lake from the other side. The spirit was struggling, but so was he.

  In the end he placed the bags filled with water away in his bracelet before swinging his sword towards his right.

  Just a small commotion…he thought before a metallic sound rang in the air.

  His blade had clashed with a creature who had been pushed his way and noticed his presence.

  By the next second more will.

  And it was alright; Asher was done with his job.

  He had also made enough sound for the spirit of shadow to get enough time and escape with the bags of water.

  Asher chuckled as he saw a wave of creatures coming his way. He glanced at the ripple-filled lake, and the steel giant before his body turned illusory.