Chapter 21: Lost Carcosa

"You look rather off, Tahlia, what's up?" Lupina asked.

"If I tell you, we all die," Tahlia said with a wry smile and a side-eye latched onto me. "Hence why I won't tell."

"Alrighty then, keep up the work!" Lupina cheered.

Just like the Ordeal of the Dusk, the info-dumps also gave me another eerie description of what Ordeal of the Midnight could potentially be.

'The sky will fall and swallow light. A warning to be harkened. A soul to be darkened. From the sea to the sons, all must hail the King,

Then pray to gods and lords, pray to sins and orders, pray to siblings and flesh, pray to the devil and the hordes.

O song of the soul, his voice is dead; Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed. Shall dry and die in—

Lost Carcosa.'

With everyone preparing their willpower, we earnestly waited for our doomsday to descend and kill us all.

Though, seeing how we were doing with the Ordeal of the Dusk, we might have ended up victorious. Who knows~

The Bleeding Tree still persisted on the east side of our bastion, preventing almost all of the Calamity Objects from attacking through that direction. It surprisingly became a great boon for us.

We had also captured a couple of the reoccurring Bloodhounds to be sacrificed, increasing our survivability even further.

Our souls clenched tight in anxiety and anticipation, but hope also persisted amidst this harrowing time.

"Something feels off," Verina uttered suddenly.

She was then reminded of something as she looked up to the sky for a quick second, before grounding her gaze.

I immediately caught on to what was going on.

"The Hollow Star, what is it!?"

"I knew it, the appearance rate of the Calamity Object is higher than normal for some reason." It was the first time I saw Verina greatly lose her cool like this. "I removed that thing's existence from my consciousness so that I won't get affected by it, but it also led me to forget its threat entirely."

Lupina was caught by the dreadful atmosphere. "Uhm, are you referring to the dangerous thing on the sky, Verina? The one where you told us to not look and delve further, as much as possible?"

It was quite the hassle to let yourself unswayed by the Hollow Star's existence the moment you look deep into its form.

However, I also remembered that the Hollow Star's information screen didn't mention anything regarding the increasing appearance rate of the Calamity Object.

Unsure of what Verina meant, I rechecked the information of the Hollow Star.

—

[The Hollow Star]

[Description: A cold, lifeless star hovers just above the bastion's horizon, casting no light but drawing the gaze of those who look upon it. Its presence fills individuals with a deep, inexplicable dread, as if it is watching and waiting for something to happen.

At night, the star seems to pulse with a faint, malevolent energy, and whispers of forgotten constellations echo in the minds of those who stare too long]

[Hint: The Hollow Star's pull is irresistible, but it drains the life force of those who study it, leaving them as hollow as the star itself]

—

It didn't mention anything about affecting the Calamity Objects.

Should I doubt Verina's experience and expertise in this crucial moment?

"Tell us what you know, Verina." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Quickly, we don't have a lot of time left."

[The Ordeal of the Midnight will be approaching in 1 minute_]

[This message will appear invisible to every instances of entities in this world, if you received this sequence of notification, please notify any of the Arbiters to prevent further complications in your immersive playing experience]

Her eyes remained gazing to the ground. "The last time I encountered that maddening god, I remembered how our bastion was suddenly overwhelmed by the Calamity Objects throughout the night.

"The appearance of a rare Calamity Object rises through the sky, alongside the level of danger of the Ordeal of the Midnight. Everything is aiming to kill us."

I shifted my gaze to the wolf beastman. "Lupina, you didn't realize the difference in the numbers?"

"I-I'm too focused on fighting and didn't compare the amount of Calamity Objects at all!"

"W-what do we do then!?" Tahlia whimpered.

It was informed to me through the info-dumps that the intensity of the Calamity Objects correlates with the essence of chaos itself.

To put it simply, it should be impossible to predict the danger and lethality of every ordeal.

However, at this very moment.

My instincts didn't doubt Verina's statement about the Hollow Star at the slightest.

[Quī mē ex v!ersicu!līs meīs put?āstis, quod!? su?nt molliculī, par!?um pudīc?um!!]

Time seemed to stop for a moment, as if something was grasping my soul with curious intention.

[Multiple Qliphoth Objects have been manifesting within the vicinity of your bastion_]

[Attempting to analyze its property and identity_]

Then suddenly, I felt the temperature of the air drop drastically.

And at the same, a drastic influence of dreading nightmare from the opposing direction

—

[The Wild Hunt] Searᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Description: A terrifying spectral army led by a fearsome, horned rider on a skeletal horse. The Wild Hunt is composed of ghostly figures clad in armor, their eyes glowing with cold fire. The ground shakes as they ride, and the sky darkens as they approach. The Hunt moves with relentless speed, pursuing its prey without mercy, their haunting war cries echoing through the air]

[Mythos Reference: Manifested by folklore of the Wild Hunt from various European mythologies, a spectral procession of huntsmen often associated with death and disaster]

[Hint: The Wild Hunt chases down every living being with terrifying speed, overwhelming them with sheer numbers and strength. Those who hear the Hunt's war cries are filled with paralyzing fear, immensely reducing their sanity, making ultimate escape nearly impossible]

—

[The Headless Horseman]

[Description: A ghostly rider with a flaming god-shaped void for a head, the Headless Horseman is clad in tattered, bloodstained armor. He rides a spectral, jet-black horse that leaves a trail of fire in its wake. The Horseman wields a massive, cursed blade that glows with an eerie light, and his presence is heralded by the sound of galloping hooves and a chilling, otherworldly laugh]

[Mythos Reference: Manifested by the legend of the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, a ghostly rider searching for his lost head]

[Hint: The Headless Horseman hunts every living being with relentless determination, his blade capable of cleaving through armor and bone. His head must not be perceived by any sane mind as trying to comprehend the shape alone is enough to drive an unprepared individual into madness]

I immediately grabbed everyone to jump out of the wall's platform.