There were 5 platforms at each corner of the pentagon each with a massive crystal that hung above it, the arches circling the pentagon, in total 11 massive half arches surrounded the pentagon in the center.


    A smile runs through Selene’s face, as she turns back to everyone excited, unable to remove her hand off of the path because of her excitement, as she lifts one forward and places her foot on the path, slowly putting more of her weight on top of it until she has her full weight on it.


    “It’s sturdy! I think we can walk across this!”


    Josh, alongside another man who he seemed to know and a few others, had walked on over next to Selene and Annie, eyes agape still trying to process everything.


    “Well, I mean this is better than nothing I think?”


    Josh’s eyes moving from Annie and Selene, over to the path, and then the other platforms along the way.


    Selene started walking along the path to the center most platform, the arches still above her, everyone watching her in anticipation, the freezing cold ocean only what seemed to be 30 feet beneath her swirling and splashing against the platforms almost in anger.


    “Selene! Are you sure this is a good idea?!”


    Turning her head over to Annie behind her with all of the previous survivors behind her still watching her.


    “It’s fine so far! And better to go check it out while we still can. If this is the only way of this place, it could be our only shot!”


    Selene turns around and keeps walking until she gets to the center and as soon as her foot steps onto the center platform the crystal towering above glows a deep crimson red as all other paths leading to the center suddenly vanish.


    “What the hell!?”


    Selene’s looking around fear coursing through her, and heart pumping waiting for something to happen, and yet nothing does.


    “Selene!”


    Annie had yelled over to Selene, as the survivors all watched in anticipation wondering what would happen.


    “What’s going on?!”


    Selene looked around quickly trying to figure out what to do, or what’s even happening, her eyes moving across the different platforms, she had stepped onto one of the platforms and caused it to change in some way.


    “Wait! I think we all need to spread out to different pla-!”


    Screaming..a blood curdling scream was all that followed, then an audible clicking and chattering coming from below first a few, then many, and then a cacophony coming from their mandibles a sight that couldn’t be met with anything less than primal fear. They were..trying to skitter and jump up the sides of the platforms but were still yet failing, it felt no different than sharks swimming around their prey.


    “Everyone stay away from the edges!”


    Josh’s yell had gotten everyone’s attention and got into a leadership role, he needed to do what he could to get in control of the situation, everyone was in a full panic unsure what to do.


    “Why why why wh-ah-y me!”


    A woman had collapsed. It was the same woman who had screamed, earlier, the same blood curdling scream came from her again, that same disease spreading through everyone…fear.


    Then a wave crashed at the very bottom of the platforms, it was obvious what was happening but no one wanted to believe it.


    The sea levels were rising…


    “Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!”


    More people began to panic the most recent one was the busdriver that had past out at the wheel, he had been unconscious throughout most of everyone’s experiences, yet somehow either luckily or unluckily for him he had awoken to a nightmare that would haunt everyone’s dreams, something they would never forget.


    “I said get back from the ledges!”


    Josh had tried desperately to get them all to listen to him yet, all were stricken with the disease that befell all of them, many were unable to move their eyes wide in terror.


    “Everyone we all need to spread out two all of the other platforms! We need to stand on them to activate the crystals!”


    In the midst of the spreading fear and horror, a single voice had reached them


    It was Selene, straining her voice to the extreme’s trying to get their attention away from the chittering of death below.


    “You all heard her hurry and get to the other platforms!”


    Annie’s voice strained to get everyone moving from their fear struck legs. And turned to run to the other platform, quickly getting onto the path.


    Before Josh even knew it, hearing that girl start moving before he ever did just standing there made him want to push himself harder. And so he ran for one of the other platforms too, and some people followed their lead and some stayed behind, one after the other, Josh, Annie, The businessman from earlier, and all but 2 of the survivors had left their original platform, some still limping from their earlier injuries. Audrey and the bus driver who had been unconscious up until now for better or for worse was now a part of this hellish nightmare.


    “Come on move! Or else we are all dead!”


    Josh tried desperately to snap everyone out of their fear stricken bodies, and it had worked many people began running as though their lives depended on it.


    “That’s it, keep running!”


    When the last survivor to leave the platform left, the crystal that hung above the platform above the survivors that stayed behind had turned from a light blue into a bright green color, the moment it did however, the water below began rising faster that the mandible nightmares below that had crab like bodies covered in barnacles were becoming more visible, they were getting even closer.


    “What the-?!”


    This did not escape Selene’s notice, having a clear view of all the crystals from her position in the center of the pentagon. As more of the survivors reached different platforms, more crystals hovering over the platforms began changing colors, which in turn made the sea level rise faster, however not all of them had quite yet changed. Even though there were those standing atop of the platforms.


    “Why aren’t they fucking changing?!”


    The businessman, had yelled panicking from the increasing sea level and the creatures below him chittering in hunger over their new found prey. Standing on the same platform as Josh and one other survivor was a man wearing a black jacket who seemed to have knew Josh when they first arrived.


    “I think we need two people on each platform! The only crystals that are lit up have only two people on them!”


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Her voice screaming to everyone, Selene, was thinking fast on her feat, it seemed likely she would be right, patterns were something easy to notice enough, but would it be right?


    “Wait a minute..we have one extra then!”


    It was Josh who had said that, which caused everyone to freeze, the only platform which hadn’t turned a different color came from Josh’s platform, they all turned to look at them.


    “What?!”


    She looked around trying to find any indication that as to how that could be..then she froze and looked down, hers was the 6th platform, someone else should have come with her…


    Did I just kill someone?


    Her whole world was spinning, Selene couldn’t believe what she had just realized, she had doomed someone to die, if not everyone..her Crystal was the only one that was red after all.


    “Put me the fuck down, you piece of shit!”


    It was the businessman who was screaming and struggling against Josh, who was holding him up by his shirt trying to push him over the edge.


    “Josh, what are you doing?!”


    Audrey had screamed from her platform over to Josh, looking wide-eyed in horror at what she was seeing, unable to believe what she was seeing.


    “Doing what I need too to save us!”


    Gritting his teeth trying to push the man over the edge.


    “Drake come over here and help me!”


    “Fuck you, you crazy basta-!”


    The business man hard started punching Josh in a fury, as Drake started running over to go help Josh, the loud sound of water rising and then falling could be heard, followed up by a crunch then a scream.


    “Help! Fucking help me Jo-”


    Drake screamed with no uncertainty in the pain he was in being held in the claws of the horrific monstrosity before him.


    The water level had finally gotten to high, one of the creatures from below could now be seen in its entirety, it had an armored tail with 6 legs, 1 pair looked a lot like a cricket, the rest were the sharp armored appendages, it had 2 sets of arms, two crab like pincers, and a smaller pair closer to it’s chest that were incredibly sharp, the body itself appeared to be a mixture of a shrimp and a human body, the head resembling a human one but with deep black eyes on the sides of the head and a pair of mandibles where the mouth should be, and a pair of cold unmoving human eyes in the eye socket moving unblinking as it rips Drake’s arm off using it’s pincer claws and then using the second pair of arms to grab a hold of it and bring it to its mandibles where audible crunching could be heard, Drake still being held in one of the pincers while the other had torn off his arm.


    “Drake!”


    “It’s eating him!”


    The businessman pushed Josh to the side while Josh was still in shock over Drake dying and managed to get back on the platform, before Drake’s screams were cut off by his head being ripped off by one of the large pincers, sings of veins and bone could be seen still trying to hold on uselessly to the now decapitated head from his body before snapping off and the head being devoured by the horrific creature.


    The moment it had done so, the crystal above their platform finally changed to a green color, when it had done so the crystal above Selene who was still standing there in shock, shined brightly, then like a pulse with the red crystal being it’s center of released a red energy, almost like the sonic aftermath of a nuke hitting the ground, just as shocking and deadly, it disintegrated the monsters yet leaving the survivors unharmed leaving behind these red motes of energy where the destroyed bodies of the horrific creatures lay. Before a single otherworldly voice in a commanding tone boomed over all of the survivors.


    “??? ???? ??????-to unleash the power that lays here, and sacrifice one of your own to obtain it, you shall receive it in kind” Everyone was standing there motionless waiting to see what would happen, when the crystals atop all of the platforms except the one above Selene, began unmaking itself and then reforming into motes of light, all flowing into those who still stood alive atop the platforms, first it began with Annie, her body glowed until her hair turned into a snowy white and gold eyes, in her hands formed into a sword of pure white energy, the businessman’s skin itched as tattoo’s of snakes formed and slithered around his arm and up around his body, his pupils becoming elliptical, and his nails grew into sharp claws with a clear liquid coating them.


    “W-What the hell?!”


    Josh had looked watching the businessman turned near monstrous taking a step back before his arms lit aflame forming into gauntlets, and a crown of flame forming over his head, his skin forming scales along his arms and around his chest.


    Audrey’s hands became a glassy blue, her eyes becoming a bright oceanic blue, her arms which could now be seen through had this bright energy flowing through it almost as if energy were blood. Across from her the bus driver seemed to stir as his body lined in blue markings all over his body and up to his head, each joint forming a circle, and then circling around his head.


    Him and many more seemed to be changing, and right as the last person received whatever twisted gift this otherworldly being had in mind, his voice boomed over all.


    “Listen well, you must all be prepared to destroy the holder of the desecrated power that lays here, for it shall now be released onto one of you, you ten heroes hear me now! Destroy the evil that shall now manifest into this world by your own greed! Finish what the heroes of eld had failed to accomplish!”


    Manifested evil? What is this thing talking abou..oh no


    Selene had been the only person that hadn’t received anything, her crystal was the only odd thing different…everyone was looking at her.


    NO NO NO NO please for the love of fuck no, I thought the sacrifice was supposed to be for the platforms!


    “No, please no wait!”


    Selene had tried to scream to make it stop, but no one would save her, no one could save her, she was at the mercy of whatever otherworldly voice was orchestrating all of this.


    “You have chosen your sacrifice!”


    The crystal above Selene drew in all of the motes of red light that were left behind by all of the monstrosities when they were destroyed, they were all being absorbed greedily by the crystal, then when it had finished absorbing into the crystal, in a singular beam it shot down onto Selene, an immeasurable amount of pain flew through Selene as she felt her body change, the bones on her back broken and realigned and moved, skin tearing to let these small leather wings release, horns broke through Selene’s skull blood dripping down her head, caking her black hair and flowing down her back, the color of her eyes turning into a crimson red, ears forming into sharp ends. Her screams filled the air, while everyone looked on in horror.


    Dark tendrils released their way from Selene, heading forward aggressively to attack all of those present, before being blocked by an invisible force of energy.


    “Selene!”


    Her voice trying her best to reach Selene, Annie’s voice did little to get through the pain that Selene was feeling.


    I..I can’t make the pain stop! Make the pain stop!!


    “Listen well new heroes, you have released this evil, now you will destroy it in time, good luck to you saviors of Lunaria”There was a bright flash filling her sight Selene could no longer see anything through the white light, and she was already losing consciousness. The last thing she could see from her surroundings before she passed out was a damp cold room lined with stone bricks.