The cursed monkey charged with a guttural roar that shook the air.
Jacob's heart pounded in his chest like a drum, the raw beat echoing through his veins. At first, he tried to run. His legs screamed as he pushed forward, but the dead weight of the man on his back was a crushing anchor.
His breath came in ragged gasps. He wouldn't get far—not like this.
Without hesitation, Jacob dropped the man unceremoniously onto the ground. The thud was muffled beneath the heavy canopy of black leaves overhead.
His feet pounded the earth again as he sprinted.
His eyes flicked desperately around the shadowed forest, scanning for any sign of the cursed beast behind him.
Then, relief. A cave—its entrance a jagged scar against the rocky mountain face.
It was small, too narrow for the cursed monkey to follow. Jacob's breath caught, and he pushed his tired legs harder, slipping inside the cool darkness of the cave.
Safe.
But something felt off.
The air was heavy, thick with an unseen presence. The silence inside the cave was unnatural—too quiet, almost as if the darkness itself was watching.
His muscles tensed, every nerve screaming a warning he didn't want to ignore.
'If I don't want it to happen again, he thought while clenching his fists, then I have to make sure it doesn't.'
Without wasting a moment, Jacob spun around and dashed back into the black forest. His fingers found the man's clothes, gripping tightly.
He lifted the man—weak, ragged, bleeding—and slung him back onto his shoulders.
The cursed monkey's guttural howl echoed through the trees, getting closer.
Jacob broke into a run, pounding toward the cave with everything left in his tired legs.
The beast caught up just as Jacob reached the cave's mouth.
Sharp claws slashed forward in a violent swipe.
Jacob twisted his body, raising the man to shield himself.
Three long, cruel nails tore through flesh, ripping the man's shirt and skin beneath. Blood blossomed bright against the dim cave light, dripping down Jacob's arm.
The man jolted awake from the pain, eyes flickering open in confusion. His breaths came shallow and rapid before his body sagged once more, overcome by exhaustion and the fresh wounds.
Another claw came, but Jacob dragged the man inside just in time, shutting the darkness behind them.
The cursed monkey stood at the cave's mouth, snarling, its breath hot and heavy. It paced like a hawk waiting for its prey to make a mistake.
Jacob's chest heaved violently, his heartbeat slowly finding a steadier rhythm.
Minutes passed in tense silence.
Finally, the creature turned and vanished back into the black forest.
Jacob sank against the rough cave wall, relief flooding through him in heavy waves.
'Just like that…'
He whispered bitterly to himself, 'Blame yourself for not having patience.'
The exhaustion pressed down like a physical weight. His limbs grew heavy, and the darkness behind his eyelids beckoned.
He let it take him.
When Jacob's eyes opened again, the sky outside had shifted to a deep, bruised orange.
The sun was setting.
He shifted his head toward the man lying still on the cold cave floor.
The ragged army clothes clung to the man's gaunt frame, torn further by three deep claw marks that bled steadily, the wounds yet to clot.
Jacob frowned.
Normally, wounds like this for a nero would have begun to scab—would have started healing. But these hadn't.
He pushed the useless thought away.
There were other things to worry about.
Like food.
His stomach growled, a low, gnawing reminder of his hunger.
The cursed monkey had been gone all day. Probably still was.
Jacob dragged the man to the cave entrance, laying him down gently but keeping close enough to grab him again if needed.
If the cursed returned, he'd need another shield.
Jacob slipped outside.
The sharp scent of pine and damp earth filled his nose.
The cave was nestled at the foot of a mountain, its jagged form rising stark and cold against the dimming light.
Jacob approached a tree, its leaves black and curling like burnt paper, but clusters of red fruit hung heavy on the branches—vibrant, almost glowing in the dim light.
He climbed carefully, the bark rough beneath his fingers. His breath came slow and steady as he reached the fruit, plucking them one by one.
He stuffed the fruits into his worn pouch, the sweet, sharp scent filling his senses.
Back inside the cave, Jacob held a fruit in his hand, studying its glossy surface.
He moved closer to the man and pressed the fruit gently to his lips.
The man stirred.
His jaws clenched instinctively, chewing and swallowing.
Jacob waited, watching for any sign of poison or sudden sickness.
Nothing.
'No immediate effect.'
That was better than nothing.
Still, he couldn't let his guard down.
Stories of careless hunters dying from poisonous fruit played in his mind—he couldn't afford to be reckless.
There was one thing left to do.
Find out where the hell he was.
Jacob put the man back on his back, and stepped back outside.
His eyes lifted toward the mountain looming overhead.
The climb would be steep.
The wind whispered cold promises against his skin.
He squared his shoulders, tightened the straps of his pouch, and began to climb.
Each step was measured, deliberate.
His muscles burned, but he refused to rush.
One step. Then another.
Hours slipped by, marked only by the shifting light and the steady pull of fatigue.
Finally, his hand gripped the last rocky ledge.
He pulled himself up and collapsed, breathless, at the summit.
He stood slowly, legs trembling, and looked out.
Black trees stretched endlessly in every direction.
Black grass, swaying quietly beneath a darkening sky.
A sea of shadows that stretched beyond his sight.
Hopelessness settled deep in his chest, like a cold, heavy stone.
He swallowed it down, trying to push the despair away.
But deep down he knew.
'I'm was going to die here.'
There was no way out—not with monsters lurking and no sign of civilization.
He was about to turn back when a faint glow caught his eye.
Far off, just beyond the horizon, opposite of where he had come from, another mountain stood.
And at its peak—something unexpected.
A glowing blue flag.
Jacob's breath hitched.
Hope.
A word he hadn't felt in what felt like days.
His jaw clenched hard.
Sir had set him up for failure. But he had called it a mission.
And missions, no matter how impossible, were meant to be completed.
The distance was daunting.
But that wasn't what made the journey dangerous.
It was what lay between here and that glowing flag.
Jacob turned back toward the mountain.
The forest waited.
And so did the man on his back.
His mind churned, the weight of the impossible settling over him.
'What's to stop Sir from sending me back if I don't learn to harness Nero?'
Jacob exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.
'I'm going to have to cross the Black Forest with him on my back.'
He looked down at the man's pale face, blood still staining the torn cloth.
A faint, bitter smile cracked his lips.
'What could possibly go wrong?'
He made his way carefully back down the mountain, each step measured and deliberate on the steep, uneven rocks.
The air had grown colder, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and ancient trees.
Shadows lengthened as the sun began its slow rise on the horizon, painting the sky with soft strokes of orange and purple.
'And if the sun is rising... the cursed are waking,' Jacob thought grimly, feeling a chill that wasn't just from the morning air.
By the time he reached the mouth of the cave, his legs trembled with exhaustion, every muscle aching from the climb and the tension that never truly left him.
Without hesitation, he slipped inside, letting the shadows and the cool stone walls swallow him whole.
He sank to the ground, the weight of the man still slung across his back a constant reminder of the danger ahead.
His eyelids grew heavy, and the deep exhaustion that had been building finally pulled him into restless sleep.
Hours later, the fading light of dusk crept across the cave's entrance. Jacob stirred, muscles stiff but his mind sharper now.
He carefully shifted the man onto his back once again, checking for any new wounds or signs of life.
With cautious resolve, he slipped out through the opposite side of the cave, stepping quietly into the dense forest beyond.
His eyes scanned the dark undergrowth, but to his surprise, there was no sign of the cursed creatures lurking nearby.
Instead, the forest was eerily still. The only shapes that caught his eye were charred remains—blackened, twisted forms that told a silent story of something fierce and unforgiving having passed through.
Like the view from the mountain summit, the Black Forest stretched endlessly in every direction, a vast sea of shadows and darkness.
But despite the suffocating despair that threatened to pull him under, Jacob clung tightly to the spark of hope he had found—the glowing blue flag on the distant mountain.
This time, he wasn't just surviving. He was fighting.
And even if it meant dying in the attempt, Jacob was determined to see this through.
He tightened his grip on the man, took a deep breath, and stepped forward again into the endless night, into the sea of shadows and darkness.—into the Black Forest.