I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar place.
For a moment, I didn't move. I listened.
No voices. No footsteps. No distant hum of civilization. Only wind stirring leaves somewhere high above me and the slow, steady rhythm of my own breathing.
Towering trees stretched skyward, their thick trunks wrapped in long, vine-like leaves that dragged across the forest floor. The canopy swallowed the sky, letting sunlight bleed through in broken beams that shifted with the breeze, painting the ground in fractured gold.
I didn't need long to understand where I was.
A forest.
I was alone.
The realization settled heavily in my chest—not panic, not yet, but awareness. The kind that came before it.
My thoughts immediately turned practical. Food. Water.
Water wouldn't be difficult. In a forest this dense, there had to be lakes or streams nearby. I could follow the lay of the land, listen for running water. Food, though… food meant hunting.
Beasts. Animals. Anything that could bleed.
I drew in a slow breath. The air was clean—almost sweet—and the warmth of the sun soaked into my skin, leaving behind a comforting heat, like sinking into a hot bath. For just a second, it felt peaceful.
That was when I noticed it.
This place was alive.
Rich.
Dangerous.
The feeling didn't last.
A deep rumble rolled through the ground, subtle at first, then stronger—vibrations climbing up my legs and settling in my bones. My breath caught. The forest seemed to hold still around me, birds falling silent, insects vanishing into nothing.
I froze.
Whatever it was, it wasn't wandering.
It was coming straight toward me.
I turned just as the trees ahead were shoved aside, trunks groaning in protest as something massive forced its way through.
It stood nearly ten feet tall.
Two massive pincers replaced its hands, clicking together with a wet, metallic sound that made my jaw tighten. Rows of jagged fangs lined its mouth, each one long enough to tear flesh from bone. Its body was thick, plated, every inch of it built not just to kill—but to endure.
My heart began to pound.
My skin crawled the instant I looked at it, like something cold had slid beneath my flesh and wrapped itself around my spine.
Ascended.
At least.
My shadow reacted before I consciously did, wrapping tighter around me, flooding my limbs with strength and clarity. Muscles coiled, senses sharpened—but it didn't matter.
The pressure coming off the beast was suffocating. It crushed the air around it, pressed against my lungs, made each breath feel earned.
I wasn't ready.
I didn't even have a weapon.
Run.
The forest exploded into motion.
My boots slammed into dirt and roots as I sprinted, breath tearing out of my chest. Branches lashed my face and arms, leaves whipping past in green blurs. Behind me came the violent crack of trees snapping like kindling—followed by a wet, hissing roar that made my stomach drop.
Poison.
The smell hit first—sharp and burning, like rusted metal and rot. I swerved hard just as the ground behind me sizzled and melted, smoke curling upward in angry plumes.
I leapt.
My hands scraped bark as I ran up the trunk of a tree, skin tearing, pain flaring through my palms. I caught a branch and swung hard, my shoulder screaming as momentum ripped the air from my lungs. Leaves tore free around me as I launched higher, into the canopy.
Think. Don't panic.
I couldn't fight it head-on.
I had to use the environment.
Thank you, Professor Scare.
I moved on instinct—jumping, grabbing, kicking off trunks as my shadow tightened and guided my movements. Branches shattered behind me as I ripped them loose, hurling them back blindly to deflect poison blasts. Bark burst apart. Sap sprayed hot against my skin.
The monster roared again—frustrated now.
Angry.
The forest groaned under its weight as it tore through below, but up here, among tangled limbs and swaying leaves, I had space.
Speed.
A chance.
My heart thundered so hard it hurt. Each breath burned. Each movement felt one misstep away from death.
One mistake and I was dead.
The trees thinned.
And then I saw it.
A cliff.
The thought struck me so hard it felt like my mind seized, a sharp spike of pain flashing behind my eyes. Desperate. Reckless.
My only option.
I jumped.
I tore off the tree and slammed into the ground just short of the cliff's edge, boots skidding across dirt and loose stone. Pebbles scattered and vanished into empty space, the sound of them falling never reaching the bottom.
The beast barreled to a stop in front of me.
Too close.
I could smell it now—acidic, rotten, burning my throat with every breath. Heat rolled off its plated body, warping the air between us.
This was it.
One chance.
I die if I fail.
Barely Rank-touched… and I end up facing an Ascended beast. How unlucky do you have to be?
It roared and charged.
I forced myself still. The one good thing about fighting beasts—they weren't as intelligent as people. No feints. No hesitation.
I sidestepped at the last possible second, the rush of its bulk grazing my shoulder, and drove a full-force right hook into its thick, tick-plated body.
I didn't hold back.
Pain detonated up my arm, bones screaming—but the impact landed.
The plating didn't crack.
But it hurt.
The creature shrieked, a furious, ear-splitting sound that made my vision blur. It staggered half a step, rage boiling over.
Its pincers lashed out wildly.
I backstepped fast, dirt grinding beneath my boots as I forced space between us, each swing missing me by inches.
My arm burned.
My lungs screamed.
The cliff yawned behind me.
And I had nowhere left to retreat.
I kept backing up, step by step, stone crumbling beneath my heels as the beast's pincers carved through the air inches from my face.
The edge.
Now.
I moved before fear could stop me.
I jumped.
I launched myself straight up, forcing everything I had into my legs. For a heartbeat, I cleared the beast—
—but not enough.
Pain exploded through my gut.
One of its pincers tore across my abdomen, hot and wet, a tearing sensation that ripped the breath from my lungs. Blood poured freely—but the armor didn't stain. It absorbed the blow, hardened, redirected it.
If I hadn't been wearing it, I would've been cut in half.
Still airborne, vision blurring, I kicked back with everything I had left. Both heels slammed into the beast's chest.
The impact sent it reeling.
It staggered.
Tipped.
Then vanished over the cliff's edge.
The sound of its body crashing below never reached me.
I hit the ground hard, air driven from my lungs in a choking gasp. My body convulsed as I struggled to breathe, each inhale uneven, broken. Blood seeped through my fingers as I clutched my stomach—until the armor reacted.
It tightened.
Hardened.
The wound began to clot, sealing itself with a dull, burning pressure.
Moments later, the Voice echoed through my mind.
Venomclasp — Rank: Ascended — has been killed.
Four Soul Shards have been granted.
Midnight Blade has been granted Rank: Echoing.
I couldn't comprehend it.
My head spun. My vision swam. Night crept in between the trees, shadows stretching and deepening.
I couldn't pass out.
Not here.
Pain pulsed through me in heavy waves, deep and relentless. Sweat drenched my body as I fought to stay silent, terrified of drawing anything else to me.
With the last scraps of strength I had left, I whispered a command.
"Keep watch."
My shadow rose, silent and vigilant.
And then everything went dark.