Chapter 2 – The Loop
The forest did not welcome them.
It swallowed sound first.
Leaves no longer rustled beneath hurried hooves. The wind ceased to whisper. Even the distant cry of night insects vanished, as if the world itself was holding its breath. Armin lay draped across the centaur's back, his body bouncing weakly with every stride. Pain throbbed through him in dull, rhythmic waves—each heartbeat a reminder that he was still alive, though he no longer understood why.
The black night lion ran at the front, muscles rippling beneath its shadowed fur. Its golden eyes glowed faintly, scanning the darkness ahead with ancient vigilance. The crow circled above them, wings silent, cutting through the fog like a living omen.
Then came the bell.
Clink.
It rang once—soft, distant.
The centaurs faltered.
"Do not slow," Leon growled, his voice resonating directly in Armin's mind. "If you hesitate, it will find you."
Armin tried to respond but choked instead. Blood filled his mouth—warm, metallic. His left eye throbbed painfully, the darkness there heavier than blindness. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to breathe.
They ran until the sky began to pale.
Dawn broke like a wound reopening.
The fog thinned, retreating reluctantly as sunlight bled through the canopy. With the coming light, the forest changed. The twisted silhouettes of trees softened, their bark losing the illusion of faces and reaching limbs. The ground steadied beneath them.
And then—silence.
The bell stopped.
The centaurs slowed, hooves digging into the soil as they finally came to a halt near the boundary of a ruined village. Stone foundations jutted from the earth like broken teeth, moss and vines reclaiming what once belonged to people long forgotten.
Leon exhaled slowly.
"It retreats with the sun," he said. "For now."
Armin slid from the centaur's back and collapsed to his knees. The ground felt unreal beneath his palms—too solid after everything he had endured. His hands trembled violently as he pressed them into the dirt, trying to convince himself that this moment existed.
Then he felt it.
Something was wrong.
"Tayle…" Armin whispered.
The centaur with the ice spear stiffened. "You feel it too."
Armin raised his hand toward the rising sun.
There was no shadow.
His fingers were outlined clearly in the light, yet the ground beneath them remained bare, empty of form.
Rayle sucked in a sharp breath. "Brother Armin… your shadow is gone."
A cold terror crawled through Armin's chest, colder than any blade. He turned slowly, scanning the ground around him. Every being cast a shadow—the centaurs, the lion, even the crow perched on a broken pillar.
Only him.
Leon approached, his massive head lowering until his eyes met Armin's. "A being who loses his shadow has already lost half his soul."
Armin's breath hitched.
"But," Leon continued, constellation runes across his body beginning to glow softly, "you will not walk alone."
The markings flared—stars igniting across Leon's fur. A shadow peeled itself away from the lion's body, vast and deep like a fragment of the night sky. It stretched, then flowed toward Armin, wrapping around his feet, his legs, his spine.
It fused.
Armin gasped as sensation returned—weight, presence, grounding. His shadow reformed beneath him, darker than before, alive with quiet power.
"Be careful," Leon said. "What was taken can still be reclaimed. And what follows you will not stop."
They reached the main road by midday.
Smoke rose faintly in the distance—signs of trade, of life continuing unaware of the horror lurking just beyond the treeline. Armin stared at the road as if it were a mirage. Civilization felt unreal, fragile.
The beasts stopped.
"Our path ends here," Tayle said softly.
Rayle clenched his bow. "You must live, Armin. Not for yourself."
Leon stepped forward.
The air thickened.
From the edge of the forest, something screamed.
It was hollow—empty of flesh yet overflowing with malice. The sound froze Armin's blood, his heartbeat stuttering violently. The centaurs braced themselves, weapons raised.
The fog surged back.
From within it emerged a shape—tall, distorted, its body a shifting mass of darkness. At its center was a pale mask-like face. One eye wept black blood, the other red. Its grin widened impossibly.
Leon did not retreat.
He roared.
The constellation runes across his body ignited fully, figures of pure astral energy forming around him—impossible beasts carved from starlight. Tayle hurled his ice spear; it transformed midair into a frozen crown that settled upon Leon's head. Rayle loosed an arrow, flames spreading outward into a protective dome.
"Promise me," Leon said, never turning back. "Live."
Then he charged.
The clash shattered the world.
Astral energy collided with corrupted darkness, shockwaves tearing through the ruins. Leon fought like a dying star, each strike burning brighter than the last. His constellation forms battled twisted silhouettes—fallen comrades, familiar faces bound by blood seals and dark magic.
Armin screamed Leon's name.
The monster laughed.
It retreated—slipping into Elen's frozen body as sunlight broke fully across the land. Leon halted.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Leon knelt.
He pressed his forehead gently to his master's lips and exhaled.
Cosmic breath poured forth.
Elen's body froze completely, lightning-like cracks spreading across her skin. The temperature of the battlefield plummeted. The corruption stilled.
Leon's body began to fade.
The centaurs followed.
Armin crawled forward, tears burning as they froze mid-fall.
"Live," Leon whispered.
Light shattered.
When it cleared, only silence remained.
Armin ran.
He did not remember standing. Did not remember deciding. His legs moved on their own, carrying him toward the distant city walls. His heart pounded violently in his chest.
Clink.
The bell rang again—inside him.
He ignored it.
He found the merchants near dusk.
Seven carriages, guarded by armed escorts. The smell of beasts and iron filled the air. Armin staggered forward, collapsing to one knee.
"I need a ride," he said hoarsely.
they agreed in return they ask him to protect their carriages if they unfortunately encounter the swamp lord k'ruthel because with the original route it takes 2 whole days to reach the town but because of aceremony preparation they have to be there as soon as possible with the shortcut from the swamp they can reach the city in 9-12 hours the only problem because nobody uses this route is because of the orc and troll tribes located at the left side of the swamp and swamp crocustole monsters with lizard mens tribe on the right and the king of the swamp k'ruthel a unknown swamp monster lurking in the swamp .
Before the trip begans they thought of investigate armin a bit for safety one of the main 7 merchants asks armin about his rank ,guild,name, and his party members whereabouts armin answers my rank-silver rank, Name-Armin lehmberg, guild- astro creed , and my party members are no more because of a false quest trap the merchant yorin checks the guild guide to check if what he is saying is true or not and while flipping pages he was shocked by something .
After seeing something shockingly unbelievable he asks again for armins name and where is his adventurer rank badge armin now serious says i already said due to a false quest mission our party was thrown in deaths mouth and during the fight i lost my badge all merchant expressions change in anger and anxiety they shouts for their guards the 4 horse rider scouts copper ranked along with 5 iron and bronze rank restrained armin in chains because of the trauma armin can't fight back properly yet he grabs his shadow thunder dragon sword but he can't even lift it now he try using his qi and mana but fails with a qi blast in the process injuring 2 iron ranks and getting restrained in cold metal chains and yorin shouts at him and asks how many days have passed since you leave the city for the quest armin confused can't understand the strange question answers 2 days travelling 3 days in the town and 1 day in escalante total 6 -7 days probably yorin says and what about the year he says ofcourse its 256 verin yorin slaps armin saying its not 256 verin its 301 verin 46th day.
Yorin says look at you your condition is not better than a beggar you don't have your adventurer badge,party member,armour or weapon just a stick as a weapon and the astro creed guild was destroyed 29 years ago due to internal conflicts and the assassination of its guild master because the guild master was losing his sanity after his son armin got lost during a mission with his party members he spended his days in despair trying everything to find armin even tries to sell his guild to hire adventurers from the royal capital for searching for his son at the end because of the objection of the vice guild master and other members he can't sell the guild after the search of whole 6 years he was drowning in alcohol and loses his every penny trying to finding his son ended up getting assassinated by an rival guild member.
They restrained armin with iron chains with thorns on it attaching him into the last back of the carriage .
The journey continues toward the town armin is hanged restraint with iron thorn chains at the back of the carriage of merchants inside the carriage yorin insists we should leave him into the hands of town guards for investigation because he is too suspicious he is probably a spy or bandit based on his looks. Another merchant voyrn interrupts him suggesting to sell him as a slave instead to a noble as a slave or a mercenary group as for the payment for the ride to the town because anything offered by a merchant is never free because we seeks profit everyone agrees with that yorin shuts them up A knock was heard on the window of the carriage everyone fell silent it was a guard he says my lord we are soon going to approach the swamp grounds he bows and voyrn closes the window everyone covers themselves with poerin skin blankets a passive nature beast that has no natural predator left because of the great territorial war 900 years ago its predators were wiped out because of their teeth and fur and poerin was unharmed because in poerin veins lies a poison that burns living thing from inside on direct contact its result in rot and decaying the skin rapidly thats why predators stopped hunting them from 100s of years ago and their skin releases a stinky smell because of their blood unique trait their skin scent confuses the enemy with blood lust results in attacking themselves it works on predators only because of their killing intent .its smell is disgusting for humans and often causes dizziness and headache to the wearer if wore for too long .but its the only lifesaver for merchants while travelling through monsters territories silently .
Meanwhile Armin wakes up after some time he feels dizzy restrained with chains and thorns of the chain piercing his hands causing pain his hands was in pain and he was tired because of the events he has just gone through during these days.
He sighs and try calming himself because he finally escaped that hell .A escort guard approaches armin wrapping his body with a blanket of poerin skin and loosing his restrains a bit .
Armin asks why he is worried about a stranger like him he answers softly i was kidnapped by a slave trader when i was a kid i get beaten everyday by them until i starts bleeding. for them it was just a game torturing someone.
one night when the guards were sleeping i sneaked away with some other captives but they noticed our absence soon and followed our trails and they quickly found us but by then we were far from them we were just a cliff away from reaching the town soldiers barracks they shot arrows toward us trying stopping us from reaching the town soldiers but luckily we escaped but the others couldn't during we were trying to climb the cliff many fall down and some got shot by arrows soldiers soon heard our sound and helped us up and i was sent to a orphanage later .
I became a scout guard that's why my heart hurts when i sees someone innocent in chains . Then he return to his place near the carriage smiling Armin thanked him for his kindness.
Then a faint sound of bell rang no one notices it .
Then sudden silence .Armin didn't see anything unusual there was fog everywhere but he felt like someone or something was watching them scouts sensed it too the atmosphere tensed everyone was at alert swords and spears in hand .
Then a chewing sound come from afar like flesh was torn apart by something monstrous munching . Everyone was terrified .
To be continued....