Lian Hai’s words stuck with Frederick as he strolled around the lake. As promised, he maintained Lian Hai and her cabin within view. Although he had beautiful views on both sides and could gaze into the woods, he didn’t get the same immersion as if he entered the forest.

Additionally, any attempt at immersing himself in nature failed when questions regarding his spirit entered his mind.

The sun descended over the horizon. Silhouettes of evergreen trees and distant mountains contrasted the faint orange glow from the fading remnants of dusk.

As his surroundings darkened, Frederick’s senses heightened, and he tensed until his strolling turned into pacing. Movements in the shadows made him whip around every so often. Although he never spotted anything approaching, he listened to his surroundings and never dropped his guard.

It didn’t take long for his cautious side to kick in. Why hadn’t he waited at the cabin with Lian Hai? Sure, the silence could grow awkward, but it beat watching over his shoulder and jumping every time a leaf rustled or a twig snapped. Besides, Lian Hai couldn’t teach him about the astral plane if he took a wrong step and ended up in another abyss.

His earlier words returned. “I don’t want to run away from something just because it scares me.”

Frederick clenched his fists and took deep breaths. The simple gesture cleared his mind and slowed his racing heart. He’d made it this far without bowing to panic. No way would he let some darkness cow him into hiding.

When he continued, he stepped with more confidence. So long as he avoided water bodies wider than him and kept the cabins within view, he could walk as he pleased. Nonetheless, the fading sunlight meant he couldn’t admire his surroundings as much as he wanted. Frederick wished he’d had the foresight to bring a light.

He’d meant the thought as an offhand comment, but as it crossed his mind, memories returned of him drifting off and witnessing strange lights in his fading vision.

Perhaps, he didn’t need conventional lights to navigate.

Frederick squinted and focused on his surroundings. His eyes strained until his heart hurt, but he didn’t see any lights. Instead, the exercise made him aware of how dark everything was. The complete lack of buildings or street lamps would leave the area pitch black soon.

As Frederick scanned how far he’d walked and how Lian Hai resembled a pinprick on the faraway lake edge, he estimated that even if he ran, he wouldn’t reach the cabin before darkness settled. If he didn’t want to lose his way in the woods, he’d need a different strategy.

His next idea struck him as bizarre, even compared to the situation. However, given that he’d astral projected into the wilderness to consult with a stranger on astral projection, he’d left behind normal tactics long ago.

Close to the soil trail, a downed log lay in knee-high grass. The rough bark dug into Frederick’s backside, but the sensation felt faint enough that he could ignore it. He checked for any snakes or rodents before remembering he was intangible, then switched to locating more anchor points. In the end, he chose the rough tree bark, the trees rustling, and the lake’s splashing waves.

With his anchor points locked on, Frederick allowed his eyes to droop until he only perceived vague shapes of what lay before him. At first, his surroundings remained dark.

Then, faint lights emerged from the shadows. The first one that grabbed his attention snaked behind him in a blue wispy trail leading back the way he came. Upon closer inspection, he recognized it as the same light trails that meandered through his home office, where he spent several hours on weekdays and even some time on certain weekends.

This new development assured him he could return to Lian Hai in case his surroundings turned pitch black. Nonetheless, his cautious side urged him to return while he had some waning sunlight.

However, several other light wisps he didn’t recognize snaked around his trail and permeated the woodland lake. Despite his initial idea to play it safe, his more exploratory side urged him to investigate.

After some thought, Frederick settled for a compromise. He started heading back to the cabin and watched for other places he could sit. After several minutes, he located a tree stump with a smooth if lopsided surface. Frederick sat and repeated the process of anchoring himself before investigating. Compared to earlier, the light trails didn’t blend together as much, making them easier to distinguish.

The most prominent one resembled a braid of interwoven greenish light threads. A few other similar ones intertwined with it, their hues differing in minor ways, but Frederick struggled to distinguish them to the same degree. Wisps of blue, purple, and even yellow drifted into view if he focused enough.

However, he stopped paying attention to them when he noticed black splotches that stood out in the darkness and absorbed the surrounding light.

Frederick’s stomach churned. He didn’t know why, but something about these spectral ink blots signaled danger. His rational side insisted he couldn’t pass judgement too soon, but the thought disappeared when he reached toward a spot and flinched back from a sharp burning in his hand. Whatever he thought about the sinister appearance of these new energy trails, he couldn’t deny the danger they posed.

When Frederick spotted the inky trail heading toward the cabin, he sprinted back.

The pounding of his footsteps against compact soil matched the thundering of his heart. Any airiness that accompanied his earlier moves disappeared. His lungs heaved as he gasped for air, and his leg muscles grew sore. Despite that, Frederick didn’t slow his sprint until he had a straight shot to the cabin. 

Once he returned to his old spot, he sat on the boulder that once held Lian Hai’s fishing gear and scanned the area. The green braid-like energy trail stood out much stronger than before, and Frederick suspected it came from Lian Hai. Even more fainter threads stood out around the cabin, the various colors and textures of people’s energy trails contrasting.

However, he focused on any inky black splotches. His initial scan didn’t reveal any, and he sighed while slumping over. Fortunately, he had arrived before any threats did.

The hairs on his neck stood, and he turned back the way he came. During his mad dash to warn Lian Hai of possible danger, had he once checked if the monster was following him?

Frederick got his answer in the form of a pitch-black canine with glowing eyes glaring at him from the shadows of an enormous pine tree.

As icy shock flooded him, one word flooded his mind. Run.

Keeping his movements slow, Frederick rose without turning away from the shadowy fiend. With his normal vision, the space under the pine tree remained empty save for knee-high grass. However, the vision of the dark beast from his spectral vision stayed burned in his mind’s eye, and he suspected that it didn’t just exist in his head. That it didn’t move from its initial spot should’ve relieved Frederick, but the sight unnerved him more.

What did the creature want, and what was it waiting for?

Frederick backed toward the cabin. Unfortunately, his heel caught the boulder, and he fell backward onto the ground. The force of slamming onto the ground knocked the wind out of him, and he rubbed his back as he tried to reorient himself.

He stopped when he spotted the shadowy beast charging across the grass toward him.

Time slowed as he dragged himself to his feet and analyzed his options. With how fast the monster moved, he doubted he could reach the cabin before it overtook him. Searching his pockets yielded no results, and when he tried lifting the boulder, his hands phased through it. In the end, he squared his posture and braced himself.

The dark beast jumped at his chest. Before it did, Frederick noticed that it stood at almost waist height and had muscular legs. He grabbed its neck with one hand and reached for its chin with the other, aiming to keep its jaws shut so it couldn’t bite him. 

To his shock, the monster phased into his chest before disappearing. Frederick whipped around, searching for the fiend, before inspecting himself. Had he imagined the whole ordeal?

Then, an icy pressure crushed his chest, squeezing the air from his lungs and leaving a stabbing pain. Frederick collapsed to his knee with a gasp, using one hand to support himself and the other to feel for any wounds.

A second invisible slash cut across his bicep. The wound encompassed a smaller area, but searing pain cut much deeper into his flesh. He didn’t have time to investigate before a heavy weight on his shoulders forced him onto his back. Although he dreaded what he might see, he narrowed his eyes and unfocused his vision.

The dark beast was standing on him. Sharp claws dug into his chest and arm, and it bore its razor-like teeth as it glared at Frederick.

Using his free hand, Frederick jabbed at its eyes and snout. However, every attempt at touching the monster resulted in him phasing through it as though he were wrestling a shadow. The same happened when he tried to push the monster off. Any attempts at prying himself free failed with how he struggled to breathe, much less extract himself. 

Through all his struggle, the dark beast watched him without moving. Although it didn’t bite or slash with its claws, Frederick dreaded how much longer that would last. In a last-ditch attempt to escape, he closed his eyes and focused within. Unfortunately, between his racing terror and excruciating pain, he couldn’t reach the usual empty darkness.

“Hey!”

Rapid footsteps approached from the side. When Frederick turned, he spotted a familiar green light shining brighter than before rushing toward him. Although the glow obscured details of her appearance, Frederick recognized Lian Hai, and the thought of her coming to help relieved him until he noticed she didn’t carry any weapons. 

The dark beast snapped its head toward her and leaped off him. Even without words, Frederick knew what it planned to do.

He shouted, “Watch out.”

Before he could finish his warning, the monster charged at Lian Hai, its legs blurring as it barrelled down on its intended prey. Instead of fleeing, she squared and raised her fist. It might’ve been Frederick’s imagination, but he could’ve sworn her hand was glowing green.

The dark beast leapt at her, and she swung her fist into the side of its face. A loud crack echoed through the woods. The monster howled as it crashed to the ground. It tried to rise, but Lian Hai pinned it down with her knees and grabbed its nape with both hands. It thrashed about, and though Lian Hai restrained it for now, her gritted teeth showed her struggle.

Not wanting to give it a second chance, Frederick sprinted over. He reached out to grab the monster but recoiled when he recalled how he phased through it the first time he tried. How could he help now?

“It can’t phase out of this plane while it’s bound like this,” Lian Hai explained. “Grab its jaws.”

Frederick clamped its jaws shut with both hands before it could snap at Lian Hai. The monster fought against his grip, and his hands ached as he struggled to maintain it. He almost missed Lian Hai gesturing with her head toward the lake, and even with the two of them handling one monster, dragging it over involved many close-call bites and scratches.

Even after they threw it into the water and it sank out of view, he waited a few minutes in case it returned for round two.

When it didn’t, Frederick collapsed against the boulder. The rough dirt and scratchy grass paled in comparison to the white-hot pain in his left bicep. Lian Hai hovered above him, scanning him with furrowed eyebrows.

“Shit, are you okay?” Lian Hai asked. “What happened?”

Between his labored breathing and growing fatigue, Frederick rasped out, “Saw a dark trail in the woods. Got a bad feeling and tried to warn you. It followed and tried to kill me.”

Lian Hai nodded before kneeling next to him. While he watched, Frederick reviewed the recent events. Had he ever encountered anything like that monster? None that he could recall. Based on Lian Hai’s lack of shock at its arrival, she couldn’t say the same.

After taking a deep breath, Frederick asked, “What was that thing? And how did you stop it?”

Lian Hai started to reply, paused, then said, “I don’t have time to explain. The monster has injured your astral body. If you return to your physical one now, nothing should transfer over.”

Although Frederick understood her concern, he asked, “But what if that thing follows me back?”

“It shouldn’t. Even if it does, you’ll have a better chance fighting in your element.”

Although Frederick had doubts, growing fatigue stopped him from arguing. He lay on the grass, closed his eyes, and focused inward until the empty darkness returned. The silence provided much needed peace, but it disappeared when he awakened in his bed to his wife screaming. 

“Honey, deep breaths,” Frederick muttered as he struggled to wake up. “What’s wrong?”

Instead of speaking, she pointed at his arm. A deep gash cut through his bicep, and blood seeped into the bed sheet.