Arknights - Echoes Of The Unfound Dawn

A/N: Sorry guys but the pain cannot be ignored, its burning while at the edge is numb.

Xian looked toward the last child, the one who had bumped into him earlier, as she quietly sat beside him. Her hands were folded in her lap, and her eyes were bright with wonder as she gazed at the horizon. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up, her voice soft but filled with a quiet longing.

"I want to travel the sea," she said, her voice like a gentle whisper carried by the breeze.

Xian raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. It was different from the dreams the others had shared, more peaceful yet equally filled with wonder. He tilted his head slightly, giving the girl his full attention. "The sea, huh? Why the sea?"

The girl looked out at the vast, open water, her eyes reflecting the same endless expanse before her. "It's so beautiful," she murmured, her voice growing distant. "The waves, the way the water sparkles under the sun... and when you dive deep into it, it's even more beautiful, full of colors and creatures. I want to see it all. It's so vast, so endless, like it could never stop. I just... I just love the sea."

Xian chuckled lightly, amused by the sincerity in her words. He was about to say something when she continued, her voice becoming more impassioned.

"I want to hear the songs the sea sings, the whispers of the waves against the shore... the stories it carries from all over the world, from the deep, deep places where no one has ever gone. The ocean... it tells stories, Mister... stories of the past, the creatures who live in it, the ships that have sailed, and the places no one knows about. It's all so... magical. I could stay there forever."

Her voice had grown almost hypnotic, like she was trying to pull herself—and Xian—into the deep, endless sea she described so lovingly.

Xian stared at her, captivated by her words, but something about the way she was speaking began to unsettle him. His eyes flicked to the other two kids, but they were silent, their faces blank and emotionless. They were staring ahead at the horizon, as if lost in their own thoughts, not acknowledging Xian's gaze.

As the sky grew darker, the sun finally began its descent, dipping below the horizon, its orange-red glow spreading across the water. The air around them grew cooler, the soft sounds of the waves now feeling distant and hollow.

Xian's body stiffened, a strange feeling washing over him, like something was wrong. He tried to move, to shake off the sensation, but his limbs felt strangely heavy, as if an invisible weight was pressing down on him.

His heart raced as he glanced at the girl, now more still than before, her gaze fixed on the sea, almost too intense.

"Hey..." Xian said softly, his voice cautious. "Are you alright?"

The little girl didn't respond at first, her eyes still staring out at the water. But then, slowly, she turned her head to face him.

Xian froze. Her eyes—where there should have been warmth or curiosity—were now glowing a deep crimson red, like two smoldering embers.

They were hollow, unsettling, and they bore into him with an intensity that made his breath catch in his throat.

"Wh... what's going on?" Xian asked, his voice barely above a whisper, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

Before she could answer, something even more unsettling happened. Black, inky liquid began to ooze from the corners of her eyes, dripping down her pale cheeks as if she were crying some unnatural, dark tear. The liquid stained her skin, pooling beneath her, yet she didn't seem to feel it. Her expression remained empty, her gaze fixed and distant.

Xian's heart pounded in his chest as he tried to move, but his body refused to obey. The weight on him intensified, as if the air itself had thickened around him. He couldn't understand what was happening, why he couldn't move, why the peaceful scene had shifted into something so unnatural.

The other two kids, still sitting in silence, showed no signs of reacting. Their eyes were empty, and their faces were devoid of any expression. It was as though they were part of the strange trance that had overcome the little girl.

"Wh-what is this? What's happening to her?" Xian whispered, more to himself than anyone else. His voice cracked with confusion and fear, but no answer came.

As the last rays of the sun sank beneath the horizon, the air seemed to grow colder, and the darkness around them deepened. The girl with the crimson eyes and the black liquid didn't blink, didn't speak, just stared at him with a presence that felt otherworldly, as if she wasn't entirely human anymore.

Xian tried to shake himself free from the paralysis, but it was no use. His pulse raced as his mind struggled to make sense of the situation. There was something wrong here, something deep and ancient, but what it was-he couldn't yet grasp.

Then, the girl finally spoke, her voice no longer filled with love for the sea, but something far colder, far darker. "The sea is calling me," she murmured, her words like a soft chant. "It always calls. And now... it's time to answer."

Xian's breath hitched as he realized what was happening. The two other children, who had been eerily silent until now, began to twitch and contort unnaturally.

Their arms twisted and elongated, morphing into sharp, jagged forms, the limbs becoming grotesque, resembling weapons more than limbs.

The dark liquid from the little girl's face pooled around them, seeping into the ground, as if it were alive, feeding into the transformation.

Before Xian could react, both kids lunged at him, their twisted limbs slicing through the air with unnatural speed. His body froze for a split second, but then a sharp, primal instinct kicked in.

The training and reflexes buried deep within him surged to the surface.

His movements were fluid, almost too smooth to comprehend as he shifted to the side, dodging the first attack. Without thinking, he spun around and kicked the first kid hard, sending them crashing into the nearby roadside rails with an audible slam.

The force of the impact bent the rails out of shape, and the kid crumpled, their twisted limbs now a heap of broken bone and flesh.

The second child, not far behind, came at him from the other side, but

Xian's instincts were already in motion. He ducked low and with one swift motion, launched the child away, sending them skidding across the sand and crashing into the sea, their body sinking into the waves with a sickening splash.

Xian landed on his feet in a steady stance, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath ragged as adrenaline coursed through him. He glanced back at the chaos he'd just caused, still processing what had happened.

His mind struggled to catch up with his body-how had he been able to react like that, as if it were second nature?

His eyes snapped to the little girl in front of him, still sitting motionless, her once innocent face now hardened, contorted with something unnatural. Her glowing crimson eyes seemed to pierce through him, her voice an eerie, emotionless murmur.

"The sea calls... The deep answers...It is time." Her words were soft but chilling, dripping with an ominous cadence that made Xian's blood run cold.

Her once childlike features were now etched with something darker and old ancient. Her body began to stiffen, as though the transformation was nearing completion.

Xian's heart pounded, and his hands tightened into fists as he tried to steady himself. The air was thick with a strange energy, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

The sky had deepened to a shade of inky black, and the ground trembled beneath his feet. The sea roared in the distance, as though answering the call of the girl before him.

The darkness surrounding them seemed to grow heavier, suffocating him with its presence.

He blinked, trying to focus. "What is this? What happened to them?" he muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible over the roar of the waves.

His mind raced, searching for an explanation-some clue as to what had just occurred.

None came. His thoughts were scattered, fragmented, overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of the situation.

Then, it happened-the ground beneath him shook violently, and a low, rumbling sound filled the air, almost like a distant growl, emanating from the very core of the earth.

The sea churned restlessly, and Xian instinctively took a step back, his eyes darting to the little girl once more.

She was no longer the child he had seen earlier. Her eyes, now glowing a deep crimson, shimmered with malevolent power.

Her body began to twist unnaturally, as if the darkness itself was melding her into something else-something older, something far more dangerous.

Xian stood firm, refusing to show fear, but his mind was spiraling. He had no idea what was happening, or what this force was that was taking over the children, but he knew one thing: it wasn't natural. 

It was beyond anything he had encountered before, something that defied reason and understanding.

"How ridiculous.." Xian muttered to himself, his voice tinged with disbelief. "What is this..?"

But even as he questioned, the answer seemed to hang in the air, just out of reach, teasing him with its mystery.

The night had swallowed them whole, and with it, everything that was familiar had disappeared. Now, only the girl's eerie whispers and the ominous rumblings of the sea remained, as if the world was about to unravel around him. 

The strange force gathering in the air pressed down on him, as if it were waiting for something-or someone-to make the next move.

But even as he questioned, the answer seemed to hang in the air, just out of reach, teasing him with its mystery.

Xian's breath quickened as he looked up at the towering monstrosity emerging from the sea. A massive tentacle, impossibly large, reached high into the clouds, its grotesque, pulsating surface shimmering under the faint moonlight. 

The air was thick with dread, and the ground beneath him trembled as if in reverence to the entity that had risen.

"What… what is that?" Xian whispered, his voice barely audible over the roar of crashing waves and the unsettling groans of the tentacle as it moved.

His body froze, paralyzed by the sheer scale of the monstrosity. It wasn't just fear-it was an overwhelming sense of insignificance, a primal terror that made him feel like a speck of dust in the face of the incomprehensible.

But before he could fully process the sight, he was snapped out of his trance by a blur of movement in his peripheral vision.

The little girl, no longer human in any recognizable way, darted toward him with unnatural speed.

Her small frame blurred as she closed the distance, her twisted form exuding a predatory menace.

Xian's instincts roared to life once more. Without thinking, he relinquished control to his muscle memory, his body moving on its own.

He leapt into the air, twisting as he delivered a powerful kick aimed directly at the oncoming girl. She dodged at the last moment, her movement a blur of inhuman agility.

But Xian's reflexes didn't falter. Using the momentum from his missed strike, he twisted mid-air and brought his other leg around in a follow-up kick.

The strike connected with a sickening force, sending the girl hurtling into a nearby building. She smashed into the wall, the structure cracking and crumbling around her from the sheer impact.

Xian landed gracefully, his body steady despite the chaos. He exhaled sharply, but before he could even catch his breath, his senses screamed at him to look up.

His eyes darted back to the sky, just in time to see the gargantuan tentacle descending upon him. The air itself seemed to vibrate as the massive appendage hurtled toward the ground, casting a shadow that swallowed the city.

Panic rising in his chest. He sprinted as fast as his legs would carry him, the ground quaking beneath his feet.

The monstrous tentacle crashed down with a deafening roar, shattering the beach, buildings, and roads in its wake.

The force of the impact sent shockwaves rippling through the city, toppling structures and throwing debris into the air. Xian barely managed to shield his head as he dove for cover, the ground beneath him splitting apart.

The world around him became a cacophony of destruction. The air was filled with the sound of crumbling buildings, panicked cries, and the relentless rumble of the tentacle's movements.

Xian felt his body go weightless for a moment, the force of the blast throwing him into the air.

Wisphers comes along getting stronger and stronger.

Xian last glimpse was a "Thing?" Tentacles and creatures rising at the sea.

Arknights: Echoes of the Unfound Dawn

Xian jolted awake, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. The sterile white ceiling above him came into focus, the faint hum of hospital machinery grounding him in reality.

His body was drenched in sweat, his hands trembling as he gripped the edges of the hospital bed.

"Xian!" A familiar voice called out, filled with a mix of shock and relief.

He turned his head, his vision still hazy, to see Ch'en standing beside him, her eyes wide with disbelief. She was frozen in place, a takeout container spilled across the cold floor.

The aroma of the food mixed with the antiseptic smell of the hospital, creating a strange juxtaposition that only heightened Xian's confusion.

"Ch'en…?" Xian croaked, his throat dry and voice hoarse.

Ch'en stared at him, her composure slipping as she struggled to process what she was seeing. She took a hesitant step forward, her gaze locked onto his.

"You-you're awake," she finally managed, her voice breaking slightly. "You... you scared the hell out of me."

Xian tried to speak, but the memories of what had happened hit him like a tidal wave. The kids, the tentacle, the destruction-it all felt so real, but now he was here, in a hospital bed, with no sign of the nightmare he had endured.

"What… what happened?" he asked, his voice trembling as he looked at Ch'en for answers.

Her expression hardened, though her concern was evident. "You were out for five days, Xian. Five days. We thought…" She trailed off, biting her lip before crossing her arms tightly. "We thought we'd lost you."

Xian blinked, his mind racing. Five days? Had it all been a dream? Or was it something else-something far more real than he dared to believe?

He looked down at his trembling hands, then back at Ch'en, her piercing gaze searching for answers he didn't yet have.

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Happy New year Everyone ✨❤️🎆



(Original pic avail at Wattpad).