The forest thickened as they walked.
The trees were unnaturally tall, their twisted branches weaving into a canopy that blocked out what little moonlight remained. Every step seemed to echo, swallowed by an endless, eerie silence.
Kaito stuck close to Hina. Her sharp golden eyes scanned the darkness, her fists clenched and glowing faintly with her Tensui aura.
Ahead, Riku moved effortlessly, like a shadow gliding between trees. His silver threads were retracted now, but every so often one would flicker out from his sleeve, touching the ground as if sensing for danger.
"You keep staring," Riku said without looking back.
Kaito flinched. "I—uh—I wasn't…"
"You were. You're wondering if you can trust me."
Hina scoffed. "No. We know we can't."
Riku smirked. "Good answer."
They continued in silence until suddenly—
crunch
A distant sound. Heavy. Too heavy for a wolf.
Riku stopped. His eyes narrowed. "Something's coming."
The ground began to tremble. A deep rumble, like distant thunder, rolled through the earth.
Hina's aura flared instinctively. "That's no ordinary beast."
From the darkness ahead, two glowing orbs appeared. Not eyes. Veins. Pulsing with thick red Seiki.
Then it stepped into view.
A towering creature, its body like a twisted fusion of a gorilla and a lizard. Jagged bone-like armor jutted from its shoulders, and its mouth split into three vertical jaws, dripping with black saliva. Each breath it took hissed like steam.
Kaito felt his stomach drop. "What… is that?"
Riku's tone was calm, almost amused. "A Ravine Stalker. Seiki beasts born from failed awakenings. It's… hungry."
The Stalker roared. The sound rattled their bones.
Then it charged.
"MOVE!" Hina shoved Kaito aside as the ground exploded under the beast's massive fist.
KABOOM!
Dirt and splinters rained down.
"Don't just stand there!" she shouted, leaping forward. Her aura blazed bright orange.
"Tensui: Burst Step!"
Her body blurred as she sprinted up the beast's arm, fist cocked back.
"Tensui: Roaring Fist!"
CRACK!
Her punch slammed into the creature's jaw with seismic force, snapping its head to the side. It stumbled, growling—but didn't fall.
Hina landed gracefully, teeth gritted. "Damn it… it's tougher than I thought!"
The beast turned its glowing eyes toward her, furious.
Before it could retaliate—
shhhhhk!
Silver threads shot out, wrapping around the beast's limbs.
Riku stood behind it, fingers weaving like a puppeteer. "My turn."
The beast froze mid-motion, jerking as the threads tightened.
But instead of fully controlling it—
SNAP!
—the threads tore apart, shredded by the creature's raw Seiki.
Riku frowned. "…So it resists external manipulation. Annoying."
The Stalker roared again, slamming its fists down. Trees shattered like matchsticks.
Kaito stumbled back, heart racing. He couldn't fight. He didn't even know how to use his Seiki.
But then—he felt it.
That cold emptiness again.
The Void inside him stirred, like it wanted to answer the beast's power.
Not now… I can't control it…!
"Kaito!" Hina's voice snapped him out of it. She was panting now, her aura flickering from exhaustion. "We need a plan!"
Riku stepped beside her, calm as ever. "I have one."
He pointed toward the Stalker's chest. "Its Seiki core is exposed beneath that armor—just for a split second when it roars. Hit that, and it'll die."
Hina glanced at him. "And how exactly do we get close enough without getting crushed?!"
Riku smirked. "Leave that to me. I'll give you one opening. You'd better not waste it."
Before she could respond, he flicked his wrist. Threads shot out, latching onto fallen trees. With a single motion, he yanked them down, creating a collapsing barricade that distracted the beast.
"NOW!" Riku shouted.
Hina roared, charging in with everything she had left.
"Tensui: Meteor Fist!"
She leapt high, fist blazing like molten fire.
The beast roared back—its core glowing for just an instant.
CRACK!
Her punch connected with the glowing spot.
The Stalker froze.
Then it collapsed with a thunderous BOOM, dust and blood scattering into the forest.
Hina landed, gasping. "Haa… haa… It's… dead."
Riku retracted his threads, expression unreadable. "Not bad. You're stronger than I thought."
Hina glared. "We're alive because I did the work!"
"And because I distracted it," Riku said smoothly. "You're welcome."
Kaito approached slowly, staring at the beast's corpse. His heart still pounded.
If he hadn't hesitated, could he have helped? Or would his Void have… done something worse?
Riku glanced at him, noticing his distant look. "You still don't know how to fight, do you?"
Kaito bit his lip. "…No."
"Then you'd better learn. Fast. Because that…" He gestured at the beast. "…was just a small one. The deeper we go, the stronger they get."
The forest fell silent again.
But in the shadows beyond, faint glowing eyes began to appear.
They weren't alone.