Alex walked, breath ragged, his chest rising and falling in rapid bursts.
With every step, he leaned on the twisted trunk of a tree, as if his legs were about to give out. The forest around him was a maze of shadows and dry branches, the ground muffled by damp leaves that swallowed the sound of his movements.
The blade in his hand — Foster's sword — still dripped a slow, thick line of blood, staining the dark earth. Now and then, the metal caught a pale flicker of light breaking through the dense canopy, as if the forest itself were watching.
He raised the weapon again and again — not to strike, but to push through the overgrowth, groping his way forward like a man searching desperately for either an escape or a destination he didn't want to admit to himself.
With each step, his shoulders sagged lower. There was a weight on him that went far beyond the physical.
No one knew this cursed terrain better than he did. He knew exactly which ruler controlled each domain, and where every monster prowled. And here, despite everything, was a safe point — or at least, as safe as a fragment of hell could be.
The corrupted beasts in this area hadn't yet reached their full cycle; they were dangerous, but predictable.
Carnivorous plants opened wide, revealing fleshy petals and fibrous teeth, releasing a sticky whispering sound as they snapped at him.
Alex didn't hesitate. Every strike was exact: Foster's sword slashed close, the scythe spun in a deadly arc, and the plant monsters toppled silently, releasing a sickly-sweet, nauseating scent.
The path seemed endless, yet he never slowed. Until, after hours — or minutes; time had lost all meaning — the foliage parted, revealing the entrance to his destination: a cave carved into stone, hidden by the shadow of jagged cliffs and a curtain of moss.
Seemingly abandoned… yet wrapped in a silence so thick, it felt like it was watching.
"At last…" Alex panted, leaning against the rocky wall of the entrance. "The cave of cursed rest…" A tired, almost relieved smile crept onto his face.
"Since I can't find the passage, I'll stop here… and move on later." He glanced with satisfaction at Foster's sword, as though it were a trophy.
The echo of his voice died in the forest's silence.
But that silence was shattered seconds later by the sharp beat of wings slicing through the air.
He lifted his head, eyes widening. A few meters away, two figures landed with the force of a controlled impact.
Me — and Alissa, as I set her down.
The shock on Alex's face made it clear: he hadn't expected to see us here… not like this.
"But… how did they survive that?!" Alex's thought thundered through his mind, loud to himself if to no one else.
He stepped back, gripping the scythe's handle instinctively, unsure whether to defend himself or explain.
The tension snapped, brutally, at Alissa's voice.
"Foster… is dead?!" The words tore from her like a knife thrust, her gaze locked on the bloodied sword in Alex's hands.
Time froze.
Her eyes glistened, tears gathering too fast. Her breath faltered. Her hands trembled.
I had never seen her like this.
There was no rage. No warrior's posture. Only a raw, silent pain that seemed to eat through everything around us.
Alissa covered her mouth, smothering a sob. Foster's sword, now crusted with dried blood, hung between us like a verdict.
I already knew what it meant: a weapon contract only broke when its bearer died. And if Alex was holding that sword…
He drew a deep breath, straightened, and adopted an almost theatrical stance, as if about to recount some ancient saga.
"That… colossal eagle," his voice echoed in the cave's gloom, "wasn't just a beast. It was a ruler. An ancient monster."
He stepped forward, shadows dancing across his face in the flicker of Alissa's firelight.
"We fought side by side… he against the claws, I against the beak. The whole sky trembled…" He paused dramatically, as though searching for the perfect words.
"Foster… Foster threw himself at it… opened a gap for me to strike."
The sword rang faintly as he lifted it to his eyes, as though in tribute.
"He… sacrificed himself… for me."
A faint whimper escaped Alissa, and at last the tears spilled free.
But beneath my own grief, something screamed inside me that pieces were missing from this story. His eyes… too cold for someone who'd just lost a comrade.
My instincts roared.
He was lying.
"I knew…" My voice came low, dripping venom. "…it was a mistake to trust you, Alex."
My hand closed around my sword's hilt, the leather creaking under my grip. His eyes went wide, and I saw the tremor run through his body.
"M-My lord LL… it's the purest truth!" he stammered, backing into the damp wall of the cave's entrance.
I leaned forward, letting my shadow swallow him.
"Lies… are like rust. Slowly… they eat away at the blade, and the man who wields it. And when the steel breaks… there's no fixing it."
I stepped forward. The deep rumble of thunder tore the silence apart.
All of us looked up. The sky split with lightning, and rocks began to rain down from above.
"It's the zone shift… rocks and acid rain!" Alex shouted, trying to use the chaos to force me back.
But Alissa didn't react to the sky. Her eyes were far away, drowning in memories of her brother. No words came, but her grief burned in her like live coals.
Without warning, she raised her bow. A flaming arrow formed between her fingers.
"Alissa… you…" Alex's voice shook as he stepped back and stumbled, falling sideways.
The rain began to fall. A massive boulder slammed beside us, splitting the earth. But nothing—nothing—broke her focus.
"This… is for my brother's life."
The arrow flew like a comet, cutting through the air. Alex triggered his titanic form, muscles bulging, skin hardening like stone. The impact didn't drop him. He even smiled, relieved, as if he'd already won.
Then the impossible happened. The fire didn't die. It spread.
Deep crimson flames began devouring Alex from the inside out. His screams filled the cave, more beast than man.
I stared, stunned.
How… how did she do that?
Before I could ask, Alissa collapsed, eyes half-shut, breath faltering.
"Take… Foster's sword… LL…"
Without thinking, I leapt to Alex's burning body. I tore Foster's sword from him and, in the same motion, snatched the scythe as well. The metal still hissed with heat as I turned back to her.
That's when a colossal boulder crashed down in the space between us, smashing the earth with a bone-rattling impact.
"Damn it!" I snarled, feeling the blast of heat and dust.
Acid rain began to fall, hissing as it touched the ground and the flesh of nearby monsters. Even on the verge of collapse, Alissa raised her bow and fired into the sky. The explosion birthed a translucent barrier, repelling the rain like molten glass.
But we both knew the rocks could shatter it at any moment.
"LL… use… the… sword… to… find the passage…" she murmured, coughing, her voice fading.
"Shit… how could I forget that?"
I clenched the sword tight and shot into the air, scanning the land. I searched every shadow, every crack in the earth. I sent my crows to scout… but the acid rain devoured them mid-flight, leaving me alone.
Time bled away too fast. The barrier was breaking. Then, a rock larger than a car crashed down, shattering it like fragile glass.
Without thinking, I dove, scooping Alissa into my arms. I ran to the trunk of a colossal tree, trying to use it as cover. But the rain pierced through the leaves, burning my skin and eating through my cloak.
We were trapped. Death was closing in.
Then, the sword shone. A burst of light split the darkness, pointing straight at the tree trunk behind us.
"What the…?" I barely had time to react.
The light exploded, and in an instant, we were pulled into it.