“What are you even talking about? I thought I made it clear that Macha has dibs on my soul when I take my dirt nap. Although I have no idea how the moon maidens are going to find me if I end up dying here in this shitscape of a universe…”

Qu’l-Nia let out a grumble. “I do not know what the case is with your Macha. This is something that is usually settled between the gods of your planet and the gestaltian. I believe it to be an aberration, but Derleth should know more about your universe’s workings than I.”

“Ha...” Alma let out a weird mix of a chuckle and a sigh. “This is just too funny. Just a week or two ago I wasn’t even sure if Macha was real. Guess I owe Zula an apology. And my parents. Man, deep down I always hoped this stuff was real. Crazy worlds, weird aliens, wrathful gods… Careful what you wish for I guess."

“Alma… I believe your kind requires physical sustenance in order to live. What exactly have you been doing in the way of food?"

"It's the damnedest thing. I really thought I was fucked, but when I reached into my pocket…" Alma reached into the pocket of her coat that had been tied around her waist and pulled out a small, torn-open wrapper. "I found a handful of my favorite granola bars! You know, the kind with little bits of candy in it? I swear I don't remember packing it, but there they were. Good thing you found me when you did, I doubt these would've lasted me much longer. Absolutely nothing else in this place is fit to eat. It's all ash and I don't just mean the taste…"

"I see." Qu'l-Nia wore a ponderous expression.

"Hey, so like, have you met my world's gestaltian? What are they like? Really snobby I bet."

"I have, actually. I met with her when I was first assigned here. She—"

A sudden shriek came screeching from the forest, causing both women to turn toward the source of a frightening danger Alma was all too familiar with.

“Shit. Shit! Shit! Shit!” Alma grit her teeth. She had been fighting off those shadow demons for days now, barely surviving by keeping to the border of the black sun where they never strove too close. Some, however, proved to be braver than others and had almost forced the sniper out of her safe zone more than once already. And between the deadly rays of the eldritch light or death by having her innards liquified and drunk through a straw, she couldn’t decide which fate was worse.

“Alma, I am once again sensing you are in distress. Am I to believe that sound just now is the source of it? I was led to believe nothing could possibly survive in such a hostile environment.”

“Those are the shadows I mentioned earlier. They’re these weird living shadows that I’ve been fighting for my life against. This sun’s been keeping them at bay so far, but I think they’re somehow connected to it. Don’t you think so?”

“Forgive me. My memory is quite limited in this form. I believe I am familiar with a creature like that which you have described. I do not know their true name yet I have heard them called the adumbrali in certain circles. They are not to be trifled with. You say you have done battle with them? I did not think a being of your level could even touch them."

“Right. Of course. Well, they were kicking my ass at first. Was pretty sure I was gonna die. That's always fun. Until what I'm guessing was my eyes kicking in and suddenly I could see what I'm gonna call its weak spot. Few bullets was all it took after that!”

“Weak spot? Curious. What did it look like?” asked Qu’l-Nia.

“A big fleshy hole opened up right in the center of its body.” Alma made a circle with her fingers and pressed it against her chest. “I shoot it. Blood gets everywhere. Like every other fleshy thing. It was all really gross.”

“Alma, you must minimize all engagement with these entities. I am amazed you have lasted as long as you have, but you must not put yourself in any further danger. These beings will imbibe more than just your bodily fluids. And they will take joy in it as they do.”

“I’m aware! That’s why I’ve been holed up in this one spot. They're all—unsurprisingly—terrified of the big black sun. I guess even shadowy oblivion monsters are scared of something. I've been basically stuck here with no real plan on what to do, so if you've got any solutions, I'm all ears."

"If you are trying to avoid the decimating rays of the black sun, have you considered tunneling under the ground?”

“What do I look like? Some fuzzy little animal?” Alma chewed her thumb nervously. “Where would we even go?”

“It would allow us some breathing room to speak without having to constantly watch our backs for unequivocal danger.”

“…Did you bring a shovel?”

Qu’l-Nia shook her head before pondering for a moment. She walked over to the edge of the threshold and looked out beyond the sea of dead earth. A low, haunting thrumming bellowed from her throat, gradually shaking the sands in front of her.

Alma flinched at the sound of her song, still traumatized from her first experience, and watched as a deep hole cratered out before them. Sand and ash shifted at the threshold as the new hole yawned deeper in response to her singing. The ex-soldier noted how it wasn’t that the ground had simply opened up for them, but rather it felt as if the intonations the eldritch woman had been making were actually pushing and forcing their way into the lifeless planet itself.

The alien melody ended and the gaping hole now seemed more like a large burrow. Alma took Qu’l-Nia’s silent nod as the go ahead to make her way inside. The sniper, burdened with ash and sweat, placed her coat over her head and took the plunge.