Chapter 16: The Devourer's Rule
Our car rolled slowly onto the narrow village path. I kept watching the place where the last trace of that dark energy had vanished, while the rest of the village faded into the edges of my vision.
"Rhan..." Selene's voice trembled. "I think another car is following us. Not that black van."
Her hand shook against the door handle, and her eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror.
Then a horn blared behind us—sharp and impatient, as if the driver wanted us to move faster... or get out of the way.
A tense silence filled the car.
"Don't look back. Don't stop," I said, keeping my tone calm.
The moment the words left my mouth, the engine noise behind us vanished. The horn fell silent too.
The road had ended.
No abandoned houses stood nearby. The closest building was at least ten meters away. Our headlights illuminated a narrow trail swallowed by weeds and darkness.
"That trail," Clara said, pointing ahead, "leads to Ashcroft."
I nodded.
"Park here."
"Wait—there's a car." Selene pointed suddenly to an empty patch of ground on our left.
A red SUV stood there, stark and motionless in the night.
Clara rummaged through her bag, pulled out a flashlight, and shone the beam through the window.
"That's Nyx's car," she said quickly. "She showed it during her livestream last week. I'm sure of it."
I stepped out and walked straight toward the vehicle.
The doors were locked. The interior was empty—no one inside. No body.
"Well?" Selene and Clara had followed me over.
"No one," I said. "She must have gone in."
"Gone in..." Selene murmured. "But I'm sure this was the car that followed us."
"Did you look back?"
"No. Just... a feeling."
I turned to Clara.
"How far is Ashcroft from here, along that trail?"
"About fifteen minutes on foot," she said. "I've never gone in myself. It's forbidden."
"Rhan... you're going in?" Selene's voice tightened with worry.
"I am." I didn't soften the answer. "I want to see it myself."
I started toward the trail, but Selene grabbed my arm.
"Rhan, I'm coming with you. If I stay here alone... I'll be too scared."
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
"Me too," Clara added quickly.
Right now I was the only thing keeping them steady. If I left them completely alone, panic might take over.
But beyond that trail was the real danger zone. I couldn't bring them with me.
"You're not coming. I'll go ahead and take a look. Wait in the car."
"But... what if that woman in white comes back?" Selene's voice cracked.
I took the silver necklace from around my neck and placed it in her hands. It was the most reliable ward I had.
"Hold onto this," I said. "Stay inside the car. Don't come out. You'll be safe."
I met her eyes.
"Selene, remember why we came here. We're already this far. You have to face it. I know it's hard—but you can do it."
She drew in a shaky breath, then nodded.
"Okay... I will."
I turned toward the trail.
"Rhan."
I stopped and looked back.
"Come back safe," she whispered.
“I will.”
Then I turned and stepped onto the trail leading into Ashcroft.
---
I moved quickly down the trail, descending into a stretch of darkness that felt unnaturally heavy.
Nerves crept in despite my resolve. I had never faced anything on this scale before.
But as I had told Selene, we had already come too far to turn back.
Elena had wandered for four centuries as a ghost. The souls bound to this place had been enslaved for hundreds of years—reduced to something even lower than ordinary wandering spirits. If I had never crossed paths with them, perhaps I could have walked away.
But now that I had crossed paths with it, turning away was no longer so easy.
Fifteen minutes later, I pushed through a patch of wild grass and stepped onto a stretch of ground that was unnaturally flat.
The soil shimmered with faint points of light, scattered like dying fireflies that blinked in and out of existence.
I approached cautiously.
Nothing grew here.
I had no idea what kind of corrupted force had taken root in this place—or whether I could withstand it.
Then I noticed something at the far edge of the clearing: a splash of color violently out of place in the grey, lifeless landscape.
I walked toward it.
With each step the shape grew clearer, until it unmistakably resembled a human figure.
A woman in a pink jacket and casual pants lay motionless on the ground.
Nyx.
She was dead.
Her body lay here in the open—so why hadn't the police found it? And if this was her car, who had been driving the red SUV earlier?
It was three in the morning, the darkest hour before dawn.
Without warning, the oppressive presence hanging over the clearing vanished. The scattered lights on the ground winked out all at once, as if erased by an unseen hand.
Then a blinding white radiance erupted from the center of the clearing.
I raised my arm to shield my eyes.
When the glare faded and I lowered my arm, the world before me had completely changed.
A vast, translucent palace hovered in a boundless void.
At its center sat a one-eyed old man upon a throne, reclining in indulgent comfort. Women knelt at his feet, massaging his shoulders and legs, while others danced before him. The spectacle carried the grotesque extravagance of a decadent emperor.
The old man's lips curled into a satisfied smile. His voice rasped with crude amusement.
"Another one has arrived... which means one of you must be devoured."
The music stopped instantly.
Every woman dropped to her knees, terror flooding their faces.
"Master, please don't consume me! I can still sing for you..."
"Master, I can still serve you through the night..."
"Master, my massages are the best—you said so yourself..."
They pleaded desperately, like possessions begging their owner for mercy.
Devoured?
Soul consumption.
I had read about it once. The spirit world was said to resemble the deep ocean—stronger entities feeding upon weaker ones in order to grow.
Reading about it was one thing. Watching it happen was another.
"A new arrival means an old one must be replaced. That is the rule," the old man said casually, as if the matter barely concerned him. "Begging is useless. You would do better to pray that no one else ever wanders into this place."
A chill crept down my spine.
In the next instant he devoured one of the female spirits.
The movement was so swift I could barely follow it.
He turned his head.
His single eye locked directly onto where I stood.
One glance.
My entire body convulsed as if struck by lightning. My limbs went numb, frozen in place.
What kind of power was that?
An instant later the palace vanished. The numbness faded, and once again I stood alone in the silent clearing.
I didn't know whether he had truly detected me—but I couldn't risk staying another moment.
I turned and ran back the way I had come.
The old man's words echoed in my mind.
A new arrival... an old one replaced.
Why did there have to be a replacement?
Why devour one when another arrived?
He could have kept them all to serve him.
So why follow such a rule?
The logic escaped me, and there was no time to unravel it.
Fifteen minutes later I reached the car.
I pulled the door open.
Clara was curled up in the back seat, fast asleep.
But Selene was gone.
A cold dread tightened in my chest.
