Nev did not move.
The forest around him felt frozen, as if even the wind was holding its breath. Blood dripped from his arm and soaked into the soil beneath his boots. His lungs burned, but he forced himself to slow his breathing. Panic would only make him louder. Panic would make him predictable.
The Faceless was still there.
He could feel it.
The threads around him did not point to a shape anymore. They trembled instead, bending and snapping in quick, erratic pulses. The monster was moving too fast, too close, circling him beyond normal perception.
Nev closed his eyes.
Sight was useless.
The first instinct was to listen, but the forest gave him nothing. No footsteps. No breath. The Faceless made no sound when it moved. That was its greatest weapon.
So Nev stopped listening.
He focused inward.
The shard in his chest pulsed weakly, responding to intent rather than fear. Nev let go of trying to see the monster and instead watched the threads themselves. Not where they were, but how they reacted.
Something shifted.
The threads did not react to motion. They reacted to intent.
A faint pull formed behind him, sharp and sudden.
Nev moved.
He stepped forward and to the side at the same time, twisting his body just as claws tore through the space his neck had occupied. The air cracked. The Faceless passed close enough that Nev felt cold brush his skin.
Nev slashed backward without looking.
The blade connected.
For the first time, the monster reacted.
The Faceless recoiled several steps, its body folding unnaturally as it landed. A thin, dark mark appeared along its side. Not blood, but damage. Proof that it could be hurt.
Nev did not celebrate.
His legs trembled. His vision swam at the edges.
The Faceless did not roar. It did not scream. It tilted its head once more, but this time the motion was sharper. Faster.
Anger.
It vanished again.
Nev did not chase.
He planted his feet and waited.
Every part of him screamed to move, to run, to escape the pressure closing around him. He ignored it. Running would expose his back. Running would end him.
Instead, he listened to the threads.
They pulsed. Once. Twice.
Left.
Nev dodged.
Right.
He blocked.
The impact rattled his bones. The monster's strength was still overwhelming. His arm nearly went numb from the collision. Nev staggered, barely keeping his balance.
The Faceless pressed the advantage.
It attacked faster now. More aggressively. It was no longer testing. It wanted the kill.
Nev moved on instinct alone.
He ducked under a sweeping strike, rolled across the forest floor, and came up slashing. His blade cut empty air. The monster struck him in the side, sending him crashing into a tree.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Nev coughed and tasted blood.
He forced himself upright.
The world spun. His vision blurred. The shard pulsed erratically, strained by the constant demand.
He was reaching his limit.
The Faceless stood several steps away, its posture lower now, limbs tense. It had been damaged, but not enough. It was still faster. Still stronger.
Nev wiped blood from his mouth and laughed quietly.
"So that's how it is," he murmured.
He adjusted his grip on the sword.
If he could not match speed, he would control space.
Nev backed toward a cluster of trees, positioning himself where movement was restricted. Roots broke through the soil. Fallen branches littered the ground. The Faceless hesitated briefly, sensing the change.
That hesitation was enough.
Nev moved first.
He slashed low, forcing the monster to jump. As it landed, Nev kicked a loose branch upward. The Faceless sliced through it instantly, but the momentary obstruction disrupted its rhythm.
Nev felt the intent spike.
He stepped inside.
Pain tore across his shoulder as claws grazed him, but he did not stop. He drove forward, blade angled upward, putting his entire weight behind the strike.
The sword pierced the Faceless's torso.
The monster froze.
For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.
Then the Faceless convulsed violently, claws thrashing. Nev was thrown backward as the creature collapsed, its body twisting and cracking like drying clay.
Nev hit the ground hard and did not move.
His chest rose and fell in shallow gasps. His vision darkened at the edges. The forest slowly returned to silence.
The Faceless lay still.
Its body began to crumble, breaking apart into ash-like fragments that scattered across the forest floor. The threads that had screamed moments ago settled into quiet stillness.
Nev lay there for several seconds before he finally pushed himself up.
His body felt ruined.
Cuts burned. Muscles screamed. Blood soaked his clothes. But he was alive.
Barely.
He laughed again, this time weak and breathless.
"I survived," he whispered.
As the last of the monster faded, something warm surged through his chest. The shard pulsed sharply, drawing in faint remnants of the Faceless's essence. Nev gasped as new sensations flooded him. His perception sharpened further. The darkness around him felt less absolute.
He closed his eyes and steadied himself.
This was not victory.
This was proof.
Proof that he could stand against something stronger and not be erased.
A distant sound reached his ears.
Voices.
Metal.
Torches.
The guild.
Nev forced himself to his feet. He wiped his blade clean against the earth and sheathed it with trembling hands.
He did not stay to be found.
As the Soulbound guild's lights approached through the trees, Nev slipped deeper into the forest, moving slowly but deliberately, leaving behind only blood-stained soil and the memory of a monster that no longer existed.
The night swallowed him once more.
And somewhere far away, unseen eyes would soon notice that a Tier Two had fallen.