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Chapter 7
Cold swallowed Ren whole.
The river dragged him under with merciless force, icy water crashing into his mouth and nose as his body spun violently. His limbs flailed uselessly, striking nothing but rushing darkness.
Pain screamed through him.
Every wound burned as freezing water invaded them, shock ripping through his exhausted body. Ren tried to hold his breath—but his lungs were already screaming from the earlier fight.
Up… I need to get up…
The current twisted him sideways, slamming his back against submerged rocks. Something tore open along his ribs. His vision blurred instantly.
He kicked blindly.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Ren's mouth opened involuntarily as his body gasped.
Water rushed in.
Fire exploded in his chest.
He coughed violently underwater, his body convulsing as instinct fought desperately against reality. His thoughts fractured, panic clawing at what little focus he had left.
Not again.
Darkness crept in from the edges of his vision.
His limbs grew heavy, movements sluggish and uncoordinated. The river didn't slow—if anything, it grew stronger, dragging him deeper and farther from the surface.
Ren's fingers scraped against stone.
Hope flared.
He twisted, reaching desperately for the rock face beneath the rushing water. His nails broke as he clawed for purchase, the current trying to tear him free.
His grip slipped.
Once.
Twice.
His lungs burned violently as his chest convulsed. He screamed underwater, bubbles tearing free from his mouth as his consciousness began to fracture.
Then—his fingers caught.
A crevice.
Ren clung to it with everything he had.
The force of the river nearly ripped his arm from its socket. His shoulder screamed in protest as pain detonated through him, but he locked his body in place, pressing himself as close to the rock face as possible.
His vision dimmed.
His chest felt like it was about to burst.
Ren's legs kicked weakly as he tried to angle his body upward, but the water pressed down relentlessly, crushing every attempt.
I'm going to drown.
No system message appeared.
No task.
No warning.
Just cold, crushing water.
His grip began to fail.
Muscles spasmed violently as oxygen deprivation set in. His thoughts slowed, memories blurring together—faces, voices, moments slipping through his grasp like sand.
His classmates.
The wolves.
The forest.
The girl who had spoken for him… then turned away.
So this is it, a distant part of him thought.
Then something shifted.
Not strength.
Not power.
Instinct.
Ren stopped fighting the current.
Instead, he twisted his body sideways, pressing himself closer to the rock face, reducing the force tearing at his arm. It wasn't perfect—but it bought him time.
Seconds.
Precious seconds.
His free hand searched blindly until his fingers found another crack. He wedged his arm in, locking his body in place.
His lungs screamed.
Pain blurred into numbness.
His consciousness flickered violently.
Just as the darkness threatened to swallow him whole, the pressure suddenly lessened.
The current shifted.
Ren felt his body tilt upward.
Air slammed into his lungs as his head broke the surface.
He gasped violently, coughing water and blood as his chest heaved uncontrollably.
"—gh—hah—!"
His grip finally failed.
The river seized him again—but now the current was slower, less violent. Ren floated weakly, barely conscious, letting the water carry him.
The sky spun above him, gray and distant.
His body struck mud and reeds as the river spat him out onto a shallow bank.
Ren didn't move.
He lay there, half-submerged, coughing weakly as water drained from his lungs. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, cold and exhaustion sinking deep into his bones.
Minutes passed.
Maybe more.
Finally, he rolled onto his side and retched violently.
Silence followed.
No monsters.
No footsteps.
No system.
Ren dragged himself fully onto the riverbank, collapsing face-down into the mud. His fingers twitched weakly as fatigue crushed him.
His wounds throbbed—but they weren't worsening.
Rapid Healing was working.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
Ren turned his head and stared at the river beside him, watching the water flow past without pause.
Ren feared death.
Not the idea of it, but the feeling—the suffocating darkness, the moment when his body stopped responding and the world tried to erase him.
He had touched that edge once already.
He knew how close it was.
For the first time since arriving in this world, the fear stayed with him—not as panic, but as something colder.
Heavier.
A reminder.
Ren pushed himself up slightly, resting on his elbows.
"I can't keep doing this," he muttered hoarsely.
The river offered no answer.
As night crept in, Ren forced himself to crawl toward the treeline, every movement agony. He needed shelter. Fire. Anything to survive the coming darkness.
He disappeared into the shadows, unaware that far downstream—
Something beneath the water stirred.
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