Grim Reaper in the Apocalypse: Reaping Immortals

"Wake up! Wake up!"

"What happened?! Who was supposed to be on shift?"

"It doesn't matter now. Wake up the Porter!"

Atlan felt someone shake him from his sleep.

What happened, he asked himself.

After they took camp last night, Atlan laid on the cold hard ground and found himself staring at the white skies and the black sun.

He couldn't sleep. So, he stayed awake with Ninth, who was on the first shift to be on guard. They didn't talk much and only spent the night in silence.

That was all he remembered.

I must have slept soon after that.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he clearly did. That was because the environment around him was different from the one he saw yesterday.

Up above him was a dark sky and an even darker sun.

A day had passed, which meant that in the real world, it was early in the morning. And since the Remedium showed the complete negative of the colors, the bright blue skies had turned into a very dark and ominous red. The sun, on the other hand, turned into a hole of blackness that swallowed all the light that bounced off it.

"Get up." Atlan's bodyguard, the second tank in the group, offered his hand to him.

Atlan didn't take his hand and got up by himself. If he took the man's hand, he would only get pulled down to the ground because of the battle suit's immense weight.

"Where are we," he asked the tank.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

They were supposed to be on the rooftop of the skyscraper they climbed yesterday. They were supposed to see the skyline of the City down below them.

Instead, Atlan found himself stepping on wet and moist ground.

All around him were black dead trees with no sign of leaves anywhere. Even the shrubbery near the trunks was only filled with thorny branches that extended outwards.

And because of the darkness of the sky above them, they could barely see anything in front of them. It was shrouded by a sinister fog that permeated the air.

"Where are we," he asked again, this time a little bit louder.

Ninth looked back at him and said, "It's here."

She didn't have to explain any further. Last night, they were talking about how Canzers could sabotage them deep in the night, and now it seemed that it really did happen.

"Places, everyone!" she screamed. "We don't know what's out there, so do not get careless. And by the looks of it, it seems that the Canzer is not our only problem. The Remedium is showing its fangs."

Judging by the fact that the entire environment changed around them meant that the Remedium itself was sabotaging them.

"But we haven't even gotten near the Church yet," Atlan questioned.

"The Remedium is not controlling itself. It's being controlled by something else," Ninth answered.

"By what?"

"Canzers," she said plainly. "There are some Canzers whose depravity and chaos are so strong that they influence the Remedium around them. They bend it to their advantage."

"They can do that?"

She nodded. "We must move now. We can't stay here in one place or else we'll lose the advantage. We must find the Canzer before it finds us."

Ninth looked at her team and gave out her orders. "Sniper, see if you can see anything in the fog. If you do see something, hold your fire until I say so.

Mesmer, you know what to do when the Canzer appears. Give me enough time to slice it in half.

Tank, protect the Mesmer, and ensure that he can activate his spell. If our Sniper gets attacked, don't worry, I'll protect him.

Mage, can you cast a spell that can disperse the fog?"

The Mage nodded. "Yes, but it will send out a large flare for the Canzer to find us. I don't think it is worth it."

Ninth bit her lips. "Fine. Just ready an area-of-attack spell whenever you sense anything amiss."

"I'll use a combination of light and earth energy. It will most likely be more effective with all the miasma and dark energy in this dead forest," the mage answered.

As for Atlan and the tank behind him, they didn't have much to do. His only responsibility was to stay out of danger and reach the basement safely, while his bodyguards' only duty was to make sure no Canzer got to him.

Slowly, they walked forward through the dark and dead forest.

CAWW…CAWW…

Occasionally, they heard a raven's cry echo through the forest. The Scout wanted to investigate the source of this sound, but Ninth stopped him. If he separated from the group now, he could probably get lost in the dense fog around them.

After a few minutes, they came across a stream that flowed with dark water. The Scout couldn't figure out its nature, so as a precaution, Ninth ordered them to find another path. The stream was too wide for them to jump.

SWOO

Atlan suddenly saw something from the corner of his eyes. But when he looked to the side, he saw nothing but a dead tree and its roots.

"What's that?" he asked.

"With a forest like this, the Remedium will try to play tricks on your eyes. It's best to ignore them. The tank will protect you if something tries to approach you," the Scout said.

Atlan was sure he saw something, but he wasn't sure if it was an illusion or not.

As they kept walking, Atlan kept seeing things flash by at the corner of his eyes. And whenever he tried to look at it, it would disappear from his sight.

Trying to look at it was as useless as trying to outrun his shadow.

'...umans….'

Atlan stopped in his tracks, alerting the tank behind him.

"What's wrong?"

Atlan looked around him and closed his eyes. If he got rid of his sight, then his sense of hearing would be enhanced.

'Humans are here…I want to eat them…'

He was right! Those were Canzers!