NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Whispers in the Dark
The jungle at night was a different world.
The air was thick, heavy with unseen eyes.
Every step forward felt like stepping into something ancient—something that did not welcome outsiders.
Shira moved beside me, silent as a shadow.
I, on the other hand, was hyper-aware of every sound.
A rustling of leaves.
A distant growl.
The steady thrum of insects—until suddenly—
Silence.
My body tensed.
Shira stopped walking.
Her golden eyes narrowed as she scanned the darkness ahead.
Then she whispered, "It's close."
Signs of the Unseen
I tightened my grip on my dagger, my pulse quickening.
"What's close?" I asked, my voice barely above a breath.
Shira pointed to the ground.
At first, I didn't see anything.
Then, under the faint moonlight, I noticed it—
A massive footprint.
Bigger than the beast I had slain before.
Deep, heavy.
As if something far larger had walked this path recently.
I swallowed hard.
"This isn't from the creature I killed," I murmured.
Shira nodded. "No. This is something else."
Her voice was calm, but I could sense the tension in her stance.
She was ready to fight.
Which meant I had to be too.
The Whispering Trees
We followed the tracks deeper into the jungle.
The trees grew taller, their twisted roots clawing through the earth like fingers.
I felt a pressure in my chest—an instinctive warning.
Something wasn't right.
And then, I heard it.
A whisper.
Not the wind.
Not an animal.
But something else.
It came from the shadows between the trees.
A voice—just out of reach.
Calling.
Waiting.
Shira stiffened.
"You hear it too," she said, eyes locked on the darkness.
I nodded, my skin cold.
"Who is it?" I whispered.
She exhaled.
"Not who," she said.
"But what."
My fingers tightened around my dagger.
I had faced beasts.
I had faced warriors.
But this—
This felt different.
This felt wrong.
And as the whispers grew louder, I realized—
We weren't alone.
Something was watching.
Something that didn't belong in this world.