Dimensional Descent

Leonel took a breath, his grip on his spear tightening slightly.

They were everywhere. Or, at the very least, it truly felt like it.

The center of the Nest was an enormous, perforated, ball of rock. Pathways of all shapes and sizes, winding in all sorts of different directions, jetted out from the perforations.

This perforated ball of rock hovered above what looked like a green sea. This oddly discolored sea gave off a strong, pungent smell that seared one's nose hairs and tingled the skin. It looked like a vat of acid and Leonel wasn't convinced that if he took a dip, that it would react any differently from one either.

The number of Rapax that moved through this construction weren't small. But, there was something odd about their movements. Despite the fact Aina had just killed one of their own and they were in fairly clear view of them, none seemed to react.

That was when something that should have been obvious all this time clicked for Leonel.

'The Rapax are blind.'

Leonel had never noticed any eyes on the Rapax. In fact, their pill shaped heads were covered by their metallic carapaces so he had just assumed that their eyes were underneath and they had a method of seeing through the metal casing. However, now Leonel realized that that assumption had been stupid to make. He was still trying to see everything the Rapax did through a human lens when they were decidedly not human at all.

The Rapax must have used a different method to track their prey, and since they had no reason to lock onto this particular location, they wouldn't react immediately.

Leonel was no fool. He didn't believe that the Rapax would be so inept. There was a large distance between the location he stood upon now and the perforated spherical rock that hung ahead. There was no pathway that connected it to where Leonel and Aina stood. If Leonel had to describe it, it was like they were standing in a window, looking through it. If they wanted in, they would have to find a doorway

that if they truly did find a doorway, the reception wouldn't be nearly this benign.

corner they had just wrapped around. Only then did they sigh a breath of relief

how the Rapax had engineered this place. It seemed that this 'window' was actually a designed lookout. But,

confirmed one matter: the Rapax did have methods of seeing things at long distances. And, secondly, it likely wouldn't be long before the Rapax they had killed was

enemies here, something the Rapax were already aware of. It was also possible that it could reveal their location, but Leonel was confident that they would have made a

it's an observation station?" Aina concluded the

"I think so."

need to find another entrance. But, even

layout of that spherical hive hovering in the center of that acid lake. The issue isn't that, it's just… What would

it isn't, then we'll end up

by the

"Hm?"

but there's something oddly mutated about it, as though it feel more malleable and

spoke those words, he too realized it. After a moment of thought, he felt like he had come to a conclusion, but

It's one thing for the Rapax to force their young to be born in such an environment, but it would be another thing entirely if they just allowed the Anarchic Force to kill them. The girl

Force is being suppressed, but it's rather because the Anarchic Force would rather target