The forest doesn't wait long.
It strikes the moment you let your guard slip.
We had been walking for less than an hour when the first scream tore through the trees.
Not human.
Not entirely animal either.
A ragged, distorted howl that echoed off the trunks and vibrated through the air. Birds exploded upward in panic. The ground trembled beneath something heavy.
Serah froze.
"What was that…?"
Iska was already drawing her knife.
"Too big to be a normal predator."
Brask's jaw tightened.
"Stay close."
I raised a hand.
"No fire."
Brask shot me a look.
"Seriously?!"
"If you ignite this forest, we all die. Smoke. Wind. Dry roots. It's suicide."
He hesitated.
Then extinguished the flame forming in his palm.
"Fine."
The sound came again.
Closer.
Branches snapped. A trunk shuddered. Something large was pushing through the undergrowth without subtlety.
Serah stepped back.
"It's coming…"
"Stay calm," I said. "Behind me."
It burst through the trees.
A massive shape of muscle and dark fur — nearly the size of a horse. Four powerful legs. Long, curved claws stained with dirt and dried blood. Its jaws hung wide, filled with uneven fangs. Its eyes burned with pure hunger.
It charged.
Iska cursed.
Brask instinctively stepped forward.
"Aydan!"
"Let me."
My voice didn't shake.
Mana gathered in my chest — stable, dense. I guided it into my right hand. No flare. No excess.
Carmine Fire answered.
Deep red. Compact. Silent.
It wrapped around my hand and shaped instantly.
A blade.
Thin. Solid. Precise.
An extension of my arm.
The beast leapt.
I pivoted.
One clean motion.
The blade cut through air —
Then flesh.
The creature collapsed into the mud without a cry. Without resistance.
Its head rolled several meters away.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Brutal.
Serah covered her mouth.
"…That was…"
Iska stared at the carcass, eyes bright.
"Damn… That really is a warrior bloodline."
I dismissed the fire.
The blade vanished without a trace. Only a faint scent of heat lingered.
Brask exhaled slowly.
"Still clean."
Kaïros observed the body without emotion.
"Territorial predator," he said calmly. "It wasn't alone in this region."
Serah shivered.
"There are more…?"
"Probably," Kaïros replied. "But they'll avoid this exact spot for a while."
I scanned the trees.
"We move. Now."
The rest of the day wasn't exploration.
It was survival.
Real survival.
Brask and Iska hunted together — quiet, methodical. They returned with a small animal. Thin, but edible.
Serah gathered what she recognized — berries, roots, edible leaves.
I built the shelter.
Thick branches. Broad leaves. Vines twisted into makeshift rope. Simple structures — angled to break wind and rain.
Not comfortable.
Just sufficient.
Kaïros watched the sky.
For a long time.
"The clouds are shifting," he said eventually.
I looked up.
The blue had faded. Dense gray masses gathered overhead.
"It's going to rain," he added. "Hard. For hours."
"Tonight?" Serah asked.
"Before nightfall."
We moved faster.
Reinforced the shelters. Dug small drainage channels. Raised supplies off the ground. No one complained. No one wasted breath.
The forest grew heavier.
The air clung to skin.
Then Brask stopped abruptly.
"Aydan…"
"What?"
He pointed ahead.
Half-hidden beneath leaves and mud —
A body.
Human.
I stepped closer.
A student.
Or what remained of one.
The chest torn open. Throat shredded. Deep claw marks across the torso. Uniform ripped apart. His face frozen in absolute terror.
Serah recoiled violently.
"No… no…"
Iska went pale.
"That's… that's one of us…"
"Yes."
Brask's fists trembled.
"Damn it…"
Kaïros crouched beside the corpse.
"Same claw pattern as the creature earlier."
"He was alone," Serah whispered.
"Dead since before last night," Kaïros added.
I stood.
"From now on, no one moves alone."
No one argued.
The rain began soon after.
Violent.
Cold.
It fell like a solid wall, hammering leaves, soil, shelters. The noise was overwhelming.
But we were ready.
The structures held.
We huddled inside — soaked, exhausted, silent.
Night came under the rain.
Serah trembled.
Iska stayed awake, knife ready.
Brask stared at the extinguished fire, lost in thought.
Kaïros closed his eyes, perfectly still.
And I watched the darkness.
The torn body replayed in my mind.
No anger.
No fear.
Just clarity.
This island does not forgive mistakes.
The rain lasted all night.
When morning finally came — gray and heavy —
we were still alive.
Day Three began.
And it would not be kinder.