The forest closed in around them, a dense, breathing entity. Eleanor could feel it; not just the chill air or the damp earth, but the very essence of the Whispering Wilds humming with a dangerous awareness that made her skin tingle. Every gust of wind through the impossibly tall, tree-like spires sounded like a thousand murmuring voices, too soft to understand but too constant to ignore. It was less a forest and more a gigantic, living trap.
Ziza stood ahead, her lean figure looking relaxed, but her golden eyes were as sharp as honed blades. She looked almost amused, like a seasoned hunter observing cornered prey. Gail instinctively stepped forward first, her nardachi blade already half-drawn, a gleam of determination in her platinum eyes.
"Stay sharp," Meredith warned, her voice low and clipped, a taut string of tension.
Then the forest moved.
A thick, ropy vine, camouflaged perfectly against the underbrush, snapped out like a serpent, coiling around Gail's ankle with terrifying speed. Before anyone could react, she was yanked violently into the dense trees.
"Ghyahh!" Gail's cry was brief, a startled gasp, before the shadows swallowed her whole.
"Gail!" Meredith shouted, already surging forward, her eyes wide with alarm.
"We gotta find her!" Eleanor yelled, sprinting instinctively towards the spot where Gail had vanished, her axe already humming with a faint Sunfire glow.
Another vine shot out, this one impossibly fast, wrapping around Eleanor's waist and dragging her in the opposite direction, pulling her deeper into the twisting gloom of the Wilds.
"Eleanor!" Zak called out, taking a frantic step after her.
"Damn it!" Meredith growled, spinning around, her frustration clear. "That's just great. Now Gail and Eleanor are gone!" She ran a hand through her hair, a rare sign of exasperation.
Theo glanced around, his usual cheerful demeanor wiped clean by the sudden chaos. "Should we split up?" he offered, looking between the two empty spaces where their teammates had just been.
"No. Ziza won't let us just go," Meredith replied, her eyes never leaving the Beast Goddess, who hadn't moved an inch, merely watching the unfolding pandemonium with a smirk. "They're trying to isolate us."
Ziza gave a low, rumbling chuckle, a sound like a satisfied predator. "Ahh, smart woman. Now you're catching on."
She raised a hand. From the thick, swirling mists behind her, two enormous white spirit lions materialized, each radiating a terrifying aura, nearly the size of a carriage. Their glowing eyes shimmered with Divine Authority, pure white light against the encroaching darkness.
One of the spectral beasts leapt at Meredith with a guttural snarl, claws already flashing through the air. Meredith drew her sword in a blur of practiced motion.
"Divine Art: Tidal Edge!"
A controlled wave of pressurized water burst from her blade, slamming into the lion's paw and knocking it back with a violent splash of raw force. She planted her feet, holding her ground, preventing the spectral beast from advancing.
The second lion lunged for Zak. Theo moved before he could even think, his twin daggers flashing in the dim light, intercepting the charging beast.
"Divine Art: Thunder Cut!"
A brilliant streak of blue lightning arced from his blade as he met the lion mid-leap. Sparks danced along its ethereal fur, and the creature snarled, recoiling for a stunned moment.
"Nice one, Theo!" Zak shouted, sliding in beside him, his black sword humming with light energy, ready to follow up.
"Don't celebrate yet," Theo grunted, shaking out his arm. "They're not going down that easy."
Ziza smiled wider, a glint of genuine amusement in her eyes as she watched them barely hold off her summons. "Let's see how long you can last." She paused, her smile widening into a cruel smirk. "This forest consumes its prey, you know. It leaves no trace, No bodies, no bones. Just dust. Just like your lost scouts."
Elsewhere in the twisting woods, Eleanor groaned as she hit the damp earth, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. The vine that had dragged her had vanished back into the trees as if it had never been there. Her axe, however, was still clutched in her grip, a faint, reassuring glow of Sunfire trailing along its edge.
She pushed herself up slowly, every muscle screaming in protest. The air here felt even heavier, more humid, thick with a cloying scent that wasn't quite natural. Ancient trees rose impossibly high above, their twisted trunks seeming to bend and breathe, watching her.
She wasn't alone.
Across the dimly lit clearing, a figure emerged from the oppressive shadows; a woman, tall and unnervingly graceful. Her black hair hung like a dark curtain, framing crystal-blue eyes that glimmered with something deeply unsettling, a cold artistry. Her arms were bare, but from her wrists extended long, flesh-like whips, coiling and uncoiling like living, dangerous things.
Carna.
The Sculptress of Pain.
Eleanor's grip on her axe tightened. Her heart pounded a furious rhythm, not from fear, but from a surge of grim resolve. This was her fight.
Carna tilted her head, a gentle, almost kind smile spreading across her lips.
"You're prettier than I expected," she said softly, her voice like smooth silk, yet chilling. "That should make your suffering all the more poetic."
Eleanor said nothing. She raised her axe, the golden light of Sunfire flaring in challenge.
The whips lashed towards her without warning, blurring into motion. Eleanor jumped back, narrowly dodging as the fleshy tendrils smashed into the dirt with a wet, sickening crack. One grazed her shoulder, and pain flared instantly, like her skin had been peeled raw, hot acid scoring her flesh. She bit back a groan.
Carna moved with unnerving elegance, almost like she was performing a macabre dance.
"Divine Art: Blazing Ray!" Eleanor muttered, her voice a low growl.
A concentrated beam of focused Sunfire burst from her axe as she swung, forcing Carna to twirl out of the way with effortless grace. The scorching heat withered the nearby vines, and the very forest seemed to shiver in response to the divine energy.
Carna's serene smile didn't falter.
"Good," she purred, her eyes fixed on Eleanor with an unnerving intensity. "I like it when they scream."
Eleanor stared her down, her golden eyes burning with unwavering defiance. "Then you're gonna love what happens next."