The Redfall's name demonstrated one act that they loved to do: enjoying and bringing prey up to the sky, spreading red wings, and letting the blood fall as they gnaw prey apart. Be it a human, Walker, or another Dark, this act was their favorite for anything and at any time.

  Next to this folder was another great monster. It was Arkhell. It was a rather small and strangely shaped Dark of the Beast Family, with an unlike perception and marks. Beasts were all about their intensity, size, and mass, followed by four limbs in most cases. A complete lack of fear was common, and their killing intent made them great, vicious hunters. That was common knowledge Outside.

  On the farther side of this Beast Family were Arkhells, who looked around five or six feet tall at most. That was around the height of a human, and it was rather small for its Rank, with thin-looking limbs that resembled Carnijaw's but were much thinner. It looked proportional to its body and seemed like a smooth and dull Hound with a completely different head. It was also thin, bald, and smooth-skinned.

  It had no eyes; just a smooth and thin, wide mouth in the middle of the head with four sides to it. It was a guess whether it had four jaws or if its mouth had four weird branches. No nose or snout was visible, or it was tiny, or non-existent.

  It had weird teeth, resulting in a forceful trigger that created a cross-shaped pattern on its head. Aside from this sketch was a depiction of its open head. It was like a flower with many tendrils inside, spiked hair, and flaring darkness. That would be the Dark Arcana, William guessed. There was another jaw inside it, smiling in the darkness.

  "L-looks almost humanlike. It doesn't run on four all the time, though it could. It has no tail. Soft, scaly, or dull skin may appear soft, but it is actually very brittle and sharp. Huh... Could the mouth evolve like this, or are those ears? What a terrifying monster. What makes it Rank 6?" William looked at the pictures and ignored their descriptions. It was more fun that way.

  As for the next Dark, that one left William completely speechless. It was an utter monstrosity described as a legendary thing of many tales.

  A Worm. That was a very famous Rank 7 Dark, and they were very well known and seen as bringers of destruction. William had heard of them from stories because they had slumbered in inactivity for the past few decades. They were excellent diggers with immense size and destruction capabilities that could collapse cities.

  This one was a Tunner. A lower variant of Worms with two pairs of legs that made it look weird, considering it was part of the Beast Family. It was also three hundred feet long, slow as a snail, if it didn't drill with its strange head that resembled a horn. Smooth, wriggling body seemed immense, so for it to be quick underground sounded almost fake.

  William thought it wasn't part of this cabinet and that someone had stored it here by mistake, because it wasn't a beast in his eyes. That was wrong.

  Snake-like movement was the usual method of moving underground or beyond, creating tremors and distinct shapes. It had no obvious eyes, though its legs and size didn't care for it. In rare cases, these beasts hid many lower Rank Darks in their massive bodies, or around, or inside their skin.

  William wondered what this Tunner was about, and regarding the vague descriptions, he turned the page because this Dark was way too big for a single page. Then, he saw it could open its drill-like head, exposing a revolving jaw full of spinning teeth that made it diabolical.

  There were even four large eyes gazing at him, and the drill itself was covered in teeth, metallic tendrils, or bones. Why yet another eye was on the tip was something William wondered for a mere second.

  It didn't resemble a snake or much of anything. Known for its low speed, high defense, and ability to dig, it was an interesting Dark that wasn't a hunter. The description said that it could dissolve any material in its mouth, including metal.

  It ate less organic matter, or... maybe that was just about humans? It lived underground, so it either ate dirt around the Western Hemisphere, rocks, or just cities on the surface. It was occasionally sighted over Australia and Inner Asia. Some people claimed to have seen it swimming in the sea, but it was a rumor, like its limbs doing a ton of work.

  "I surely haven't seen anything like this." William was stunned by those detailed pictures and sketches, which made his attempts seem poor in comparison. He didn't feel bad about it, thought. He was far from being a master of anything, and that was fine.

  Someone was keen on making these drawings, and it showed a lot. Anyone can get a full picture of these monstrosities, gain a proper idea thanks to their descriptions, and see their size. There was even a human figure included in the sketches.

  "So tiny. I suppose Rank 6 is where the size becomes extremely large, as the research indicates. Rank 7 points to a lesser size, and Rank 8 is... what? I wonder what I am about to discover further down the line. Maybe..." William looked around, sizing two Rank 8 folders.

  He shook his head and gulped. Gripping his card alongside the pages, he put it in his pocket.

  "Not today. No... No! But... Buuuut.... What if, a little peek?" He asked his hand and obviously got no answers, but he was alone, so... he talked to it.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  William glanced at the table. There were Darks left beside the crazy Worm-variants, so he moved and picked a folder depicting one peculiar Dark group known as Pouncers.

  When two words fused, warrior and beast, that's where the craze of Madness toppled. On its own, Pouncer was an utter monster with thick fur and spiked tendrils around the neck or limbs, and its variants were in dozens. Known for their incredible ferocious nature and desire to fight and hunt anything, one could see it straight from their sketch.

  Four thick legs carried a chunky torso and a wide, massive, or thinner head, and its Dark Aspects were rather complicated.

  The most notable feature of Pouncers was their ability to jump and execute high-speed attacks. Those were their strongest points, so they were great assaulters, thanks to their dominant hind legs.

  They were from ten feet to twenty-five feet tall, which was a broad spectrum for a Rank 6 Dark and most of its variants. They shared the same name across the board, although many looked quite different and had implicit sub-names if the difference was considerable.

  In addition, their frontal legs were equipped with blade-like paws capable of shredding buildings and people alike.

  “Pouncers, eh? I am familiar with Pounders, and this sketch and name? I didn't know there were that many of them. They resemble Hellgars a little, so maybe that is their possible evolution? Dogs are still dogs..., but this one has wider and crazier features that make it very different. Jaw Pouncer has sharp heads with common spikes, unicorns, and a retractable jaw that could extend and strike like a spear. Most have a jaw like an alligator. It can even run on two legs, attack with its frontal legs, and charge recklessly. Their charge is quick, hard to stop or change, and it destroys anything before them.” William read the description of multiple sketches just to refresh his memory.

  Dark Aspects ranged from spiked skin, a lingering Fog-like veil over the fur, tendrils over its head, and tentacles from the back. It was all flowing, changing, and breaking things if they wanted to. Spiked scales or dull armor scales were also possible variants.

  The arcana possibilities range from blood influences to wind, sound, poison, and a couple of others. There were even mentions of special Fog-enchantment, but it was unclear what that brought out. William wasn't sure.

  “What are those Arcana descriptions? Are they powers or concepts? No details are here. Why not?” William wasn't as impressed when he didn't even feel terrified.

  “Oversized Hellgars doesn't hurt to know. I can see why it's not a big deal, not knowing it or knowing it,” he chuckled and closed the pages. “So, was it worth it? Maybe Rank 6 is different when it is not right before me. Pouncers... Big beasts. Oh, maybe I am underestimating it after being safe in Roshwell.”

  Nodding, he put the pages in their folders.

  William was glad that he had made that card toss. Taking a deep breath, he closed the cabinet and reconsidered his choices. He was kind of tensed up, so he decided to go to the cultural floor to calm down.

  His watch states 4 PM, which was a decent time to finish a few dozen chapters of a novel before nightfall and dinner.

  There was no second-guessing this time around. William left the place and did exactly what he wanted. His birthday didn't matter to him; he almost forgot about that point already, if it wasn't for a brief moment of wonder whether Ellie would come, or find him on that sofa.

  He left the room with a heavy heart and noticed a bunch of people right beside the door, waiting for something. They were youths like him, maybe even young soldiers. They eyed him, bumping each other's arms as he got out and glanced at him. Some even whispered something to each other.

  William didn't think much of anything and...

  They stopped him just as he wanted to leave and walk past them.

  “What are you looking at, hm?” William muttered, sizing up a dude his age who looked kind of apprehensive and curious. His pal snatched him and dragged him to the room right away. Others followed suit, and soon, William was back alone, and he wasn't even sure what had happened or why they were looking at him funny.

  Right. He forgot and almot fucked up. He looked at his arm and saw that exposed glinting storm in a cage that he forgot to hide, or... did he expose it? He wasn't sure.

  William shrugged, wondering if a special day like a birthday counted as a Monday to them, too.

  He rather left.

  ***

  Down the floors, a pleasant rest of the day followed. Whatever came out of the upper floors, or Richards, didn't mess with William anymore. He focused on an otherworldly novel in a rather loose soft-page format. It wasn't as thick or as precious-looking, but words were words.

  Even thick and precious-looking books had common words inside them. Their meaning was different, and something like a little booklet of a novel wasn't wrong, or necessarily worse than something bigger, or better looking.

  Books were about a sense of wonder and character. In short, not like that wicked diary, whose character was simply questionable, at best.

  The one William read was about a main character who went against the dark lords while maintaining a keen heart and incredible spirit. He followed through with his conviction, action, and sheer power. He was a protagonist who refused to fear and moved forward regardless of any setbacks. It was a little idyllic and naive, but not bad.

  Like a martial hero whose sword cleaved enemies in half, magic supported his steps, and the main character struggled against evil men who sought to claim his women. He even killed his friends and then... his family. There were still positives in here, hiding in plain sight or very deep.

  What justified killing? What was worse than villains? William wondered if it was even reasonable to think about it, let alone do it. It was problematic how fantasies correlated with reality, or not at all because... well, they weren't fucking real.

  It made struggles more realistic, or reality into a joke. Maybe the answer led to a good ending, while the sense of suspense with each passing chapter provided a sense of wonder, an answer, or a new beginning. William couldn't drop it.

  Like drugs, he read without end, and hours soon passed. Ignoring people or voices, he no longer felt the need to mind any faces or words.

  But when a familiar hand pushed his book away, he winced and frowned in disbelief. Then, he swallowed any words or complaints, remembering the morning and reality.

  Ellie stood before him, overlooking his lazy ass spead on a sofa. This time, she was smiling after disturbing his free time, rather than invading his morning steps, which was totally fine. William wished he would mind it more, or leave.

  “Good night, isn't it?” Ellie said.

  “Is it?” William looked around and wondered if it was already night. There were no windows nearby. He also forgot about his watch as he looked at her smiling face and neat dress.