This was it—a new journey to rebuild myself from the ashes of who I once was. They said the Great Forest lay beyond the mountain range, but I could only wonder what horrors awaited me there. First, I had to survive this crystalline purgatory.
Despite my heavy gear, the cold was a physical weight, a numbing toxin seeping into my marrow. My hands were covered, yet I felt the blood turning to slush in my veins. Dammit, am I to die before I even begin? I cursed the Frost Lord in silence; why had he not granted me a steed or a soar-glider to reach the woods? Two days of agony passed before the wall of green finally broke the white horizon. I thought I had found sanctuary, but my instincts screamed a different truth: I was being hunted.
Chapter II: The Predator's Gambit
The sensation of unseen eyes prickled my skin. A rustle in the underbrush, a snap of a twig—I drew my blade, my breath hitching in the frigid air. Suddenly, a blur of fur and fangs erupted from the shadows. A wolf, moving with unnatural speed, lunged at my throat. I parried, the creature's jaws locking onto the cold steel of my sword. In that heartbeat, the forest came alive; a pack emerged, surrounding me with predatory precision.
I channeled my Inner Fire to blast them back, but my heart skipped a beat when the lead wolf exhaled a counter-flame of its own. It was a trap. They weren't just beasts; they were elemental hunters. Dropping my sword, I surged mana into my legs and propelled myself toward the canopy. One wolf abandoned the blade and leaped after me. As they began to scale the trunk, a grim smile tugged at my lips. I slammed a mana-charged stone into a hollow in the bark. The tree groaned, its branches lashing out like sentient whips, binding the wolves in a crushing wooden embrace. I descended, reclaimed my sword, and with cold efficiency, left no survivor. I took their pelts and meat—in this wild, hunger is as deadly as any blade.
Chapter III: The Heart of the Wild
A week passed. I adapted. I learned the hierarchy of the woods: the monsters on the outskirts were mere nuisances compared to the horrors in the Heart. When I encountered the same breed of wolves deeper in, they were a different species entirely—tactical, powerful, and relentless. It made me wonder: How does the one who lives deep within this forest survive in such peace?
I didn't dwell on it. I pushed myself to the brink every day, driven by the memory of my encounter with the Lord of Death. I had to be stronger. Better. I fought from dawn until the moon reached its zenith, ignoring the constant shadow of demise. I had made a vow: I would either shed this shroud of cowardice or die trying.
Chapter IV: The Guardian of the Grove
One afternoon, amidst a heavy silence, I felt a presence. No footsteps, no warning—just a man standing suddenly beside me. He looked at me, took two measured steps, and then vaulted off a branch, spinning back toward me with twin blades drawn.
I felt a surge of pure lethality. I raised my sword just in time to catch his descent, but the sheer momentum of his strike sent me crashing into the dirt. He landed with the grace of a falling leaf.
"So, you're the little fox hunting in my woods?" he said, his voice dangerously calm. "Impressive reaction, but your judgment is poor. Coming this deep is a death wish."
I scrambled to my feet, gasping, "Who are you?"
He reached back, pulling his hood down to reveal sharp, piercing eyes. "I am the one whose forest you trespassed. I am (Eien). Remember that name, for it is the last one you shall hear."
Chapter V: Blue Fire and Air Palms
Eien moved like a gale. I retreated through the branches, trying to find an opening, but he was everywhere. I dived into a thicket of dense foliage, luring him up the heights. As he closed in, he realized too late that I had circled him with orbs of volatile energy.
"A trap?" Eien muttered. With a split-second reflex, he ignited his twin blades. Just as my orbs detonated, he unleashed a massive tidal wave of fire that neutralized the blast, charring the entire tree.
He hovered in the air, searching for me, when my voice echoed from above. I slammed my palms down, manifesting a gargantuan hand of compressed air. Eien's eyes widened, but he crossed his swords, and his flames shifted from a roaring red to a haunting, ethereal blue.
The collision of the Air Palm and the Blue Fire shattered the silence of the forest, uprooting trees and scorching the earth. When the dust settled, Eien stood unscathed. He drew his blades in a swift X-motion—the screech of the metal cutting through the air like a funeral knell. We clashed again, sparks flying like dying stars. But with a deceptive feint, Eien swept my legs, pinning me to the ground. He drove one sword through my sleeve into the earth and stepped on my other hand.
"It's over," he stated, his blade hovering over my heart. "I don't know who sent you, but your life ends here."
The Unexpected Guest
Before the final plunge, the sound of rapid, familiar footsteps broke the tension. Eien stiffened. He pulled his sword back instantly and hauled me to my feet with a frantic whisper: "I was trying to kill you, but I'll actually do it if you don't play along right now!"
Before I could process the insanity, a woman stepped through the bushes, her face etched with worry. "Eien! Are you alright, my son?"
She stopped, spotting me, her expression turning to curiosity. "And who is this?"
Eien threw an arm around my shoulder, his murderous intent replaced by a strained, sunny grin. "Oh, him? This is just my friend, Mom! Right, Andre?"
I looked at the sword wounds on my sleeve, then at the kind-faced woman, and managed a weak, confused mumble:
"Your... Mom?"