The sun was bleeding.
Its fading light painted the sky in a wash of crimson and ash as three lone riders thundered across the jagged cliffs of southern Zeyrus, their shadows stretching long behind them like ghosts refusing to let go. The wind howled across the open plains, not as a whisper of freedom—but as a warning.
Yuji Kazehaya sat atop his horse, eyes narrowed beneath windswept bangs, one hand gripping the reins, the other curled tightly over his ADM Gear ring. The device pulsed faintly with a dull glow—10 EB still intact—but the weight pressing on his chest felt heavier than any number could measure.
They had five days.
Five days before the shadow poison in Aika's veins would reach her heart.
Five days to ride into a place no living soldier had returned from.
Five days to kill a beast that defied legend itself.
Ahead, rising from the earth like a wound in the world, stood the Forbidden Forest—a sprawling stretch of corrupted land wrapped in blackened trees and curling mist. Even from a distance, Yuji could feel its presence… as if the forest itself were breathing, waiting.
Hakiru pulled his horse to a halt and reached into his cloak. From a sealed case, he drew out the map the Commander had given them—a faded, crimson-scroll etched with ink that shimmered unnaturally in the dying light.
"The forest is divided into three sectors," Hakiru said, his voice flat and focused. "No one has ever made it to Sector 1 and returned alive."
Yuji leaned forward, frowning. "And that's where the Red Potion is?"
Hakiru nodded. "That's where Vernakar is. The predator cursed by the Dark Element itself. Its blood is the only ingredient strong enough to create the potion Aika needs."
Sagai snorted, adjusting his gloves. "So what you're saying is: we walk into hell... and if we're lucky, we crawl out with a drop of salvation."
Yuji didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the tree line now—where the forest began, where the light of Zeyrus ended.
Sagai's tone dropped. "We have one day per sector. That's the rule. If we waste a second—Aika dies."
The horses stamped nervously, catching the scent of corruption on the wind.
Yuji drew a slow breath and whispered, more to himself than anyone else:
> "We don't have time to hesitate."
And with that, they crossed the threshold into darkness.
---Forbidden Forest – Sector 3: The Forest of Fangs
The moment they stepped into Sector 3, the world changed.
The sky disappeared.
The trees, jagged and towering like spears, closed above them in a suffocating canopy of black leaves and thorn-covered branches. Light did not enter here. What little sun remained outside was swallowed whole by the fog that clung to the ground like coiling smoke.
Yuji felt it instantly—this place wasn't just dark. It was alive.
Each breath he took felt thick, tainted with an energy that slithered down his throat. His ADM Ring vibrated subtly on his finger, and when he checked the interface…
> [ EB Level: 9 Remaining ]
[ Sector 3 Detected – Time Limit: 23 Hours, 41 Minutes ]
"We just entered and the time's already started," Sagai muttered, glancing at his own ring. "Whatever we do, we need to be quick."
"Or smart," Hakiru added, scanning the map again. "This sector isn't just about brute force. It's where the forest tests your mind."
Yuji's gaze narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Hakiru pointed to a set of strange markings on the scroll—a series of arcane runes arranged in a triangular pattern, with a faded note scrawled beneath it:
> "To pass through the roots, one must face the trial of the head… and the hunger of the beasts."
A sudden growl cut through the silence.
Then another.
The ground trembled.
From the shadows between the trees, eyes opened—dozens of them. Cold, yellow, inhuman.
The first creature lunged forward.
It was huge—twice the size of a tiger, but its body made entirely of moss-covered stone and bone. Jagged teeth protruded from its maw, and its tail ended in a bladed tip dripping black sap.
> [ Enemy Detected: Gravefang – Element: Earth + Poison ]
"Split!" Hakiru barked.
Yuji dodged to the right just in time as the Gravefang slammed into the ground where he stood. A crater formed instantly, bark and stone exploding from the impact. Behind it, two more emerged—slimmer, faster, their claws made of curved obsidian.
"Keep your distance—those claws are venom-coated!" Hakiru yelled, forming a frost lance with his hands. He hurled it at one of the creatures, nailing it in the shoulder. Ice exploded from the point of impact—but the beast only roared, charging straight through it.
Yuji activated his Wind element, using it to leap backward as a Gravefang swiped at him. The wind was weak, unstable. He could barely lift himself five feet.
His heart raced.
Not enough.
Then came the whisper. Faint. Deep inside his mind.
> "Let me in…"
Yuji gritted his teeth and raised his other hand. The Dark element surged, forming a swirling pool of black mist around his palm. He shaped it—struggled—but finally, it formed into a shadowy bow.
He nocked a single dark arrow—unstable, trembling.
He fired.
BOOM!
The Gravefang's side exploded in shadow-fire, the blast throwing it sideways into a tree, which cracked in half. The beast howled, bleeding thick green fluid, twitching.
Yuji gasped.
"I hit it…!"
But his joy faded quickly.
> [ EB Remaining: 7 ]
Two arrows. That's all it took to lose two entire EBs.
He couldn't waste any more shots.
"Don't rely on your element unless you have a clear target!" Hakiru shouted, conjuring a ring of ice around one Gravefang to hold it in place.
Sagai blitzed through the battlefield like lightning—literally—his electricity-enhanced daggers flashing as he cut deep wounds across a Gravefang's flank. His speed was almost unnatural.
"Yuji! Focus!" he barked. "I'll distract, you finish!"
Yuji nodded.
He waited. Watched. Timed the enemy's pattern.
Then the moment came—Gravefang reared up to lunge, exposed.
Yuji focused wind into his legs, leapt, and summoned another dark arrow.
He fired.
CRACK—!!
Direct hit between the creature's eyes. Shadow tendrils burst outward, eating away at its head. The beast collapsed, twitching violently before going still.
> [ Enemy Eliminated – 2 Remaining ]
Hakiru and Sagai double-teamed the final two. Hakiru froze their legs. Sagai's lightning surged through the frozen limbs, shattering them.
Crack. Crash.
The beasts fell.
Yuji collapsed onto a root, breathing hard. His body was trembling.
"Still… too weak…"
Sagai knelt beside him, panting. "You landed your shots. That's all that matters."
Hakiru stood at the edge of the clearing, breathing heavily, not looking back.
"Don't celebrate yet. We've only cleared the gatekeepers."
He pointed to a stone structure ahead—half-consumed by vines. An altar stood before it, three symbols glowing faintly.
"The puzzle trial," Hakiru muttered.
Three statues surrounded the altar. Each bore a riddle engraved in Elemental Script.
> "The first is strength without shadow."
"The second is truth without voice."
"The third is sacrifice without witness."
Yuji blinked. "We have to choose one?"
"Worse," Hakiru replied. "We have to solve all three to open the path to Sector 2."
They began.
The first trial forced them to defeat a creature with no elemental powers—a brute made of bone and muscle alone. It was massive, but predictable.
Sagai handled it with precision, reading its moves, countering every strike. Still, it took nearly ten minutes and exhausted another EB from each of them.
> [ EB Remaining: 6 ]
The second trial tested perception. A room filled with illusions. Voices lied. Shadows whispered. The group nearly turned on each other—until Yuji realized the truth was in their silence. The puzzle only ended when no one spoke.
The final was the hardest.
The altar demanded one of them to give up a weapon—a sacrifice.
Yuji placed his wind core blade on the altar.
Nothing happened.
Hakiru stepped forward, placed his ice crystal dagger. Still nothing.
Sagai hesitated—then laid down a small orb glowing with yellow light.
It vanished.
The altar glowed. The door opened.
"Only the one who gives what they hide passes the final gate," Hakiru muttered.
Yuji glanced at Sagai—curious. The orb… hadn't looked like a normal weapon.
Sagai just smiled. "We're in. Let's move."
As the heavy stone door opened, a gust of damp, cold wind rushed out.
> [ Sector 3 Complete – 1 Day Used ]
[ Entering Sector 2… ]
They stepped inside. Shadows grew thicker.
Yuji's EB count blinked red.
> [ EB Remaining: 5 ]
And the countdown continued.
⏳ 4 days left.
---
Sector 2 – The Forest of Echoes
The moment they stepped into Sector 2, the world screamed.
Not literally—but the sensation was the same.
Yuji flinched as a wave of pressure hit him like a wall. The trees here were different—taller, unnaturally twisted, their trunks spiraling like corkscrews and dripping with black sap. The ground felt wet, though there was no water. The mist that clung to their ankles pulsed faintly, like it was breathing.
No birds. No wind. Just distant echoes.
As if the forest remembered every scream that had ever occurred here—and played them back on loop.
> [ EB Remaining: 5 ]
[ Sector 2 Detected – Time Limit: 23 Hours, 51 Minutes ]
"We need to move fast," Sagai said, eyes narrowing. "The environment here isn't stable."
"Agreed," Hakiru replied, holding out a crystal rod. The end shimmered with ice-blue light, glowing faintly in response to the atmosphere. "Toxicity's higher than expected. And I don't trust that silence."
Yuji nodded, eyes on the canopy. The forest seemed to watch them.
Every footstep echoed. Too loud. Too wrong.
Then the first sign of life came.
A black root moved—snaking across the ground and curling upward.
Yuji drew his Wind blade instinctively.
Then the ground ruptured.
A massive beast burst from below the soil, like a shark breaching water. Its body was layered in obsidian armor, with a serpent's tail and a gaping mouth in the center of its chest.
> [ Enemy Detected: Mawcradle – Element: Earth + Shadow ]
It roared—a deep, vibrating growl that shook the air.
Yuji stepped back, flaring wind beneath his feet to retreat as the Mawcradle lunged at Sagai with its serrated claws. Sagai spun, dodging, and slashed with his lightning-charged daggers—but the strike barely left a mark on the creature's shell.
"It's armored!" he shouted.
"Go for the mouth on its chest!" Hakiru responded, conjuring two massive spears of ice and hurling them with precision.
They struck the creature's sides—cracks formed in the armor, but no real damage.
Yuji summoned his Dark bow. His fingers trembled. The last time he missed, he wasted a full EB.
He steadied his breath. Aimed.
The arrow of shadow whined as he released it—
BOOM!!
Direct hit to the chest. Shadowfire exploded, tearing part of the armor off and revealing the pulsing flesh underneath. The creature shrieked in agony.
Sagai dashed in, lightning crackling along his arms. He stabbed into the exposed flesh. Electricity surged—Mawcradle convulsed violently, flailing.
Yuji followed up with a Wind-infused slash to the neck, and Hakiru froze its legs.
A coordinated trio of strikes.
The creature thrashed… then fell, twitching.
> [ Enemy Eliminated – 3 Remaining ]
[ EB Remaining: 4 ]
Yuji collapsed to one knee, panting.
Sagai clapped his shoulder. "That shot was clean."
"Yeah… but I burned another EB…"
They didn't have time to rest.
A distant bell rang through the trees.
It wasn't mechanical. It was… organic. Like something mimicking the sound of metal.
They followed it cautiously and arrived at a clearing.
At the center stood a massive stone obelisk wrapped in silver vines, with three glowing animal-shaped masks floating around it.
> [ Puzzle Trial Initiated: The Echo Gate ]
A message pulsed in their rings:
> "To pass this gate, one must match voice to spirit, memory to mask. Fail, and face punishment."
"What kind of trial is this?" Yuji whispered.
The masks rotated.
Suddenly—a voice spoke.
"Why did you abandon me… Yuji…?"
Yuji froze.
That voice. That was his mother's voice. The exact tone. The words she'd said the day she vanished.
He backed up, shaken.
Another mask spoke:
"You lied to me, Hakiru. I trusted you."
Hakiru tensed. His eyes flicked toward the mask but then turned away quickly. His fingers twitched—but he said nothing.
Sagai looked between them. "These aren't just puzzles," he said quietly. "They're made to crack us open. To expose things we hide."
Each mask had a different voice, a different memory.
They had to pick the correct mask that matched the truth of their own past.
Yuji, breathing heavily, stepped forward and chose the one that didn't speak.
The silence between words—that's what he remembered most about his mother. The silence after she left. The unanswered questions.
He placed his palm on the silent mask.
It glowed.
> [ Yuji Passed ]
Hakiru stepped forward, hesitating for a long second. He placed his palm on a mask with no emotion—just a monotone whisper. It said:
"You did what you had to."
> [ Hakiru Passed ]
Sagai approached. The mask he touched screamed in rage.
He didn't even blink.
> [ Sagai Passed ]
Yuji noticed something strange then.
Sagai smiled when the scream ended.
Like it didn't affect him.
The puzzle ended.
The obelisk retracted into the ground, revealing a narrow path through twisted thorns.
The trio continued, injuries aching, energy draining.
Suddenly—a monstrous howl.
Trees cracked.
The second beast arrived.
It was enormous. Six-legged. Insectoid. Its wings were torn, but its mandibles were bigger than their horses. Its eyes were glassy white, and its body leaked purple ichor.
> [ Enemy Detected: Deathmaw Broodqueen – Element: Poison + Shadow ]
Yuji felt it before it even moved. That killing intent.
Sagai dashed in, lightning fast.
He stabbed the Broodqueen's leg—it didn't react.
"IT'S RESISTING ELEMENTAL DAMAGE!" he shouted.
Hakiru created a massive spire of ice beneath it. It rose, lifting the monster off the ground, but the creature screamed, blasting poison gas from its back.
Yuji couldn't breathe.
His ring blinked—
> [ EB Remaining: 3 ]
He pushed through the pain. Drew his bow. Aimed for the exposed underbelly.
Fired.
Missed.
"DAMN IT!"
The arrow exploded behind the creature—useless.
He drew another. This time, he channeled both Wind and Dark into it. The arrow became unstable—screaming in his hand, vibrating—
"NOW!" Sagai shouted, stabbing both daggers into the Broodqueen's back.
Hakiru froze its wings.
Yuji released the arrow.
KRAAAAKK!!
Direct hit to the core under its ribs. The arrow didn't just explode—it imploded, pulling the beast inward and ripping its body apart with shadow-void force.
The creature shrieked.
Then collapsed.
Dead.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Yuji dropped to his knees. He was pale. Sweating.
> [ Enemy Eliminated – Sector 2 Clear ]
[ EB Remaining: 2 ]
> [ Time Remaining: 2 Days ]
But none of them cheered.
Yuji looked at Sagai again.
And for a second… Sagai's eyes didn't look tired. They looked calculating.
---
END OF CHAPTER 8