Stay.
The word hung in the air like a drop refusing to fall.
Before Kade stood rows of men and women in dented armor, faces streaked with soot, eyes as empty as burned-out coals. Behind him stretched a barren horizon, trees reduced to blackened stumps.
He saw himself—but not exactly. Blade raised, frozen in the breath before the strike. Opposite him, a single figure, half-hidden, posture like a shield. No trembling. No plea. Only defiance.
The image flickered, warped… and shattered.
A hand clamped onto his shoulder, yanking him back hard.
Kade spun, retreating two steps, blade already half-raised, weight on his heels.A stranger stood there—brown hair, blue eyes, average height, a sword at his hip. That meant nothing.
"Easy," the young man said, tone steady, not soft."I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then don't move."
"Nor." He tapped his chest. "A player. Like you."
Kade blinked once, reassessing. A player was the last thing he expected to find here."What are you doing here? Not exactly scenic."
"System assignment." Nor nodded toward a broken edge of the ruin. "Two others are on their way—"
A low rumble crawled through the ground, vibrating up Kade's legs. Stone scraped, shifted, locked into place with the sound of something resisting before it gave way. One last jolt and the landscape settled.
Left: gray paving stones, ancient walls, rigid as a dead courtyard.Right: damp haze over a forest, leaves black-green and brittle as poison. Two biomes, stitched together with no care for the seam.
Duskveil's threads tugged toward the forest, quivering like a hound scenting prey.
"What in—" Kade's eyes narrowed. Nor's were the same.
"So?" Nor asked. "In or not?"
Kade already knew what Duskveil meant—the last artifact lay inside. Without a word, he slid The Thinking into his inventory.
[SYSTEM INFO]
Epic Artifact {The Thinking}
Effect: Can be combined with other items to create a creature.
Note: Causes hallucinations upon contact.
"I need something in there," Nor said after a pause.
"The Dying," Kade replied. The others would be after it too.
"Then we go together." Nor's faint smile was more an assessment than an offer. "But I'm not handing it over."
"You won't have to—because you won't get it."
Nor's mouth twitched. "We'll see."
Kade kept the Blood Dagger loose in his grip. "Stay out of my way."
"Fine."
The forest swallowed the light. Mist slid back, replaced by air so heavy it clung to the skin. Every step landed with a muffled thud, like the ground wanted to keep it. Water bled from cracks in the stone; a sweet, decaying tang coated the tongue. Overhead, the sky pressed down, close enough to touch.
Then—darkness.
In its center, the only fixed point: a rose. Black as ash, petals curled to razor edges.
"You feel it too," Nor murmured. "One of us is enough."
Two shapes uncoiled from the shadows. Twins—sharp-featured, cropped black hair, pale gray coats. One with a bow, one with a short sword.
"On time, brother.""Yes, brother."
"Break first?" the archer asked.
Nor slowed. Kade didn't—he lunged, blade cutting for the left one's throat. The right one's sword caught the strike, the jolt singing up Kade's arm.
"Cold-blooded, huh?" the swordsman said, pressing him back.
"Rico," the archer introduced."Nico," the swordsman followed.
Nor stepped between them, calm but sure. "Let me."
"Alone?" Nico smirked and came in hard. Nor's parries were clean, economical—and when an arrow hissed from the dark, he snatched it mid-flight, crushed it, and drove Nico back with a flat strike.
His left hand lit in a sharp flare. A crescent of light swept the air—Rico crumpled, then Nico. Both out cold.
Kade snorted. "Bold move, showing me that trick."
"Or just confident enough," Nor replied.
The rose loomed, fifty meters away. No sound. No sign of life.
"Too easy?" Kade asked, halting.
"Why complicate it?" Nor stepped up beside him.
"Because every other artifact came with teeth. This place is silent, and that's worse."
"If you don't want it, I will."
"I do."
"So do I."
The pause between them stretched taut.
Nor rubbed his chin. "Then no blades. We each ask one yes-or-no question. Answer honestly. This—" He produced a glass sphere. "—tells if you don't."
Kade took it. Heavier than glass.He weighed it, waited. The forest seemed to hold its breath.
His eyes hardened."Have you ever killed someone who trusted you?"
Cold in his palm.He knew: dodge, deny, admit—it all cost something.But he needed the artifact.
"Yes," Kade said, flat.
Nor didn't flinch. "Your turn."
Kade thought. Then:"Would you kill me if you had to?"
"Yes." Nor said without pause.
The word still hung when the ground beneath them shifted—not a rumble, but a slow, wet tear.
Duskveil cinched around Kade's ribs, threads alive with warning, pulsing in time with a heartbeat that wasn't his.
"You hear that?" Nor's head turned, gaze fixed on the treeline.
It came out of the dark like the forest had given birth to something it regretted.Too large. Proportions wrong. A predator's frame forced under skin too tight in some places, sagging in others. Back joints reversed, head flat, jaw hinged too far. Every step was silent in a way that pressed on the ears, as though the sound itself had been swallowed.
Its "eye"—a vertical slit glowing faintly from within—locked first on the rose, then on them.
Kade's grip on the Blood Dagger tightened. "We're not leaving with that thing at our backs."
"No." Nor drew steel, the light along its edge muted but sharp enough to cut the gloom.
The beast didn't lunge at once. It studied them, muscles under its warped hide twitching like a drumskin in wind.
The word still hung when the ground beneath them shifted—not a rumble, but a slow, wet tear.
Duskveil cinched around Kade's ribs, threads alive with warning, pulsing in time with a heartbeat that wasn't his.
"You hear that?" Nor's head turned, gaze fixed on the treeline.
It came out of the dark like the forest had given birth to something it regretted.Too large. Proportions wrong. A predator's frame forced under skin too tight in some places, sagging in others. Back joints reversed, head flat, jaw hinged too far. Every step was silent in a way that pressed on the ears, as though the sound itself had been swallowed.
Its "eye"—a vertical slit glowing faintly from within—locked first on the rose, then on them.
Kade's grip on the Blood Dagger tightened. "We're not leaving with that thing at our backs."
"No." Nor drew steel, the light along its edge muted but sharp enough to cut the gloom.
The beast didn't lunge at once. It studied them, muscles under its warped hide twitching like a drumskin in wind. Then it sprang.
The weight of the impact was like a wall falling. Claws cut the air where Kade's head had been a moment earlier. Duskveil's threads snapped upward, coiling around the foreleg mid-leap.
"Down!" he barked. Nor dropped instantly—Kade heaved backward, dragging the limb just enough for Nor's blade to arc low beneath the chest.
A hit—solid, jarring—but not blood. Black steam hissed onto the dirt, eating at the soil.
The predator's scream was an alloy of tearing metal and leather stretched past breaking. It yanked free, spun, tail whipping out like a steel cable. Kade barely ducked, the wind of it brushing his hair.
The beast backed off, circling. Its movement was wrong—fluid in bursts, then halting, as if deciding on the next angle of attack.
Nor shifted left. Kade mirrored right. They kept its focus split.
The predator blurred forward—straight at Nor.
Light flared along his sword, intercepting the bite, but the force drove him back two steps, boots gouging the soil.
Kade darted in from the flank, Blood Dagger in hand, slicing deep into the hind leg. The blade tore through tendon-like cords.
[ BLEEDING — STACK x1]
The beast lashed out with the other leg, catching him in the ribs. Pain punched through him, air leaving his lungs in a hot gasp. He hit the ground hard, rolling to avoid the follow-up strike.
[ HEALTH — 84%]
"Kade—" Nor didn't look away from the predator, but the edge in his voice was there.
"I'm fine," Kade growled, forcing breath back in. Not fine, but moving.
It came again, this time low and fast. Duskveil's threads tried to bind, but the beast twisted mid-lunge, jaws snapping at Kade's shoulder. Teeth grazed his collarbone—a white-hot slice of pain—before he shoved the Blood Dagger up into the roof of its mouth.
[ BLEEDING — STACK x2][ HEALTH — 78% — STATUS: Minor Bite Wound]
Black ichor sprayed, sizzling on his forearm. The stink was chemical, sharp enough to make his eyes water.
The predator recoiled, shrieking. Its head jerked side to side, scattering droplets that smoked where they landed.
"That's not normal blood," Nor muttered.
Kade didn't answer. He was already moving.
"Left!" Kade barked, breaking into a sprint to bait it. Nor caught the cue, circling opposite.
The predator chose Kade—predictable. He slowed at the last second, letting it commit, then dove aside. Its momentum carried it past him, right into Nor's waiting strike.
The sword's light bloomed white-hot, biting deep into the beast's shoulder.
[ SYSTEM: BLEEDING — STACK x3]
The smell of burning meat rolled over them. The predator howled, twisted—its tail lashed up, catching Nor across the ribs with a crack that made Kade's stomach clench.
Nor staggered but stayed upright. "Could use… a moment."
"You're not getting one."
The predator retreated several paces, hackles lifting under its distorted skin. Its "eye" slit widened, glow intensifying to a near-pulsing amber. Kade recognized the shift—this wasn't retreat. This was calling.
From somewhere far off, an answering echo rolled through the forest. Lower. Deeper. Heavy.
"Shit," Kade said. "It's not alone."
Nor's jaw tightened. "That call… it's a cub's. This thing's the offspring."
"Great," Kade spat, "so it's trying to impress mommy."
No more games—the predator charged with all four limbs, speed doubled. Kade barely had time to bring Duskveil up; threads wrapped his arm and dagger like an extension of muscle. The impact was bone-shaking.
It forced him back, claws digging into the ground to pin him. Nor's blade sliced down—but the predator twisted, catching Nor's forearm between its jaws.
A flash of light—pain and reflex. Nor's sword clanged against the beast's jawbone, breaking its hold, but blood darkened his sleeve.
[ SYSTEM: HEALTH — 81% — STATE: Moderate Bite Wound]
They were losing momentum.
"Pin it!" Nor barked, backing off just enough to reset his stance.
Kade darted forward, Sera's Dagger now in his off-hand. Duskveil's threads whipped around the predator's hind legs. The beast thrashed, dragging him two steps before he braced against a fallen log.
He slashed deep with Sera's Dagger, opening a line, then buried the Blood Dagger into the same wound.
[ BLEEDING — STACK x5][ STAMINA — 72%]
Nor's sword ignited fully now—white fire along the edge.
"Now!" Kade yelled, tightening the bind.
Nor charged. The predator lunged to meet him, but the bind caught; its body wrenched sideways, exposing the pale seam of flesh beneath its warped throat.
The sword came down.A flare so bright it burned a line into Kade's vision. The blade split hide, muscle, whatever passed for bone in the thing's body.
[ SYSTEM: Predator Cub DEFEATED][ STAMINA — 38%][ HEALTH — 78%]
[REWARD PENDING]
Black steam erupted, coating them both in the stench of scorched oil. The predator's cry died in a rattling exhale as its weight sagged into the earth.
Kade let go of the bind, Duskveil retracting with a slow, sated pulse. His shoulder throbbed where the teeth had grazed him; blood dampened his shirt. Nor cradled his arm, crimson soaking through the fabric.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Kade kicked the carcass once—not out of spite, but to make sure. No movement.
"That," Nor said, catching his breath, "wasn't even the real one."
"Yeah," Kade replied, eyes flicking toward the dark horizon. "And mommy's probably on her way."
The forest was silent again, but not in a safe way. The rose still waited, fifty meters off, framed in the predator's steam. Both of them out of breath.
Kade spat to one side, then looked at Nor. "We take it and run."
Nor sheathed his sword, grimacing at his arm. "Together?"
"For now."
Neither of them looked back at the carcass. They didn't have to.