The Forest Strikes Again
Valtherion didn't get long to breathe.
The Stalker Wolf's corpse still burned behind him, its fur curling inward as orange embers chewed through bone. Smoke crawled low across the forest floor, curling around charred roots and blackened stones like tendrils seeking warmth. The smell of burnt flesh clung to the air, thick and nauseating, mixing with the metallic tang of blood.
Then the forest went quiet.
Not the gentle quiet of rest. Not the soft hush of nightfall.
This was the silence of something watching. Calculating. Hungry. Patient.
The wind died first. Leaves froze mid-rustle, caught in unnatural stillness. Even the dying flames seemed to hesitate, shrinking inward as if afraid to rise too high, as if the forest itself dared not breathe.
Valtherion felt it before he understood it.
Pressure.
A wave of it, cold and heavy, rolled over him, tightening around his chest. His breath caught painfully in his throat. The temperature plummeted, frost crystallizing on scorched soil where his feet pressed. His small hands trembled violently as he pushed himself upright, pain ripping through his wounded shoulder like a jagged blade twisting deeper with every heartbeat.
"Ah—!"
He clutched it, fingers slick with blood. Every movement sent white-hot agony coursing down his arm. Sweat and ash mixed on his face, dripping into the cracks of his burned skin.
His eyes darted frantically across the forest floor.
No footsteps.
No growls.
Nothing.
That was worse.
"P-Please…" he whispered, voice cracking under the strain of terror and exhaustion. "No more… please…"
The forest did not answer. It never did.
---
The Second Predator — The Phorashia Bone Serpent
A vibration rolled through the ground.
Low. Deep. Wrong.
Val froze.
The dirt beneath his knees trembled, grains of soil hopping in place as if something massive slid just below the surface. Not charging. Not rushing. Circling. Slow. Patient. Predatory.
His heart pounded so loudly it drowned out his thoughts, echoed in his ears like a tribal drum of impending doom.
Then—
DING!
⟢ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
[Enemy Detected: Phorashia Bone Serpent]
[Level: 31]
[Class: Undead]
[Threat Level: Medium–High]
[Reward: Exp +10,200]
SHRRRIIIIP—!
The ground erupted violently. A skeletal snout burst upward, snapping shut inches from Valtherion's face. He screamed and threw himself sideways, rolling through ash and debris as jagged white bone tore through the earth where his head had been moments ago.
The creature emerged fully, dragging its grotesque body free with a grinding, marrow-chilling hiss.
A Bone Serpent.
Four meters long.
Its body was layered in pure-white skeletal plates, interlocking like armor forged from the bones of a graveyard. Pale green fire burned in its hollow eye sockets, cold and merciless. Its jaw unhinged wider than any living thing should allow, rows of jagged bone fangs clicking together hungrily.
A mid-region predator of Phorashia.
An apex killer of anything smaller than itself.
Its forked tongue flickered, tasting the air. Tasting him.
Valtherion staggered backward, feet slipping on soot. His injured arm hung uselessly at his side, every instinct screaming at him to run—yet his legs refused to obey.
"No… no, no, no—!"
The serpent hissed.
And lunged.
---
Instinct vs. Evolution
Valtherion moved on pure terror.
He thrust his good hand forward, mana ripping out of him without control. The heat from his core flared, tongues of fire licking the edges of his fingertips.
"Ember Pulse!!"
THMP!
A burst of red flame slammed into the serpent's skull, detonating in a violent flash of heat. Smoke and ash whipped around him in blinding swirls. For half a second, hope flared.
Then the Bone Serpent barely flinched.
Its head snapped back, eyes burning brighter. Anger replaced hunger. Intelligence, ancient and cruel, glimmered in the hollow sockets.
WHAM!
Its tail smashed into Valtherion's side. The impact crushed the air from his lungs and hurled him through the forest like a ragdoll. Trees splintered under his body, bark shredding like paper. His ribs screamed in protest, a chorus of cracking agony, and blood sprayed from his mouth as he hit the dirt.
"GAAAAH—!!"
He slid down the trunk and collapsed in the ashes.
Blue light flickered weakly above his vision.
DING!
⟢ SYSTEM WARNING
[HP: 41%]
[Warning: Internal damage detected]
Pain radiated through every nerve. Blood mingled with sweat and soot on his lips. Tears streamed down—not from fear, but from the sheer, unrelenting physical torment.
"I… I can't…" he sobbed. "I can't do this…"
The serpent advanced, each motion deliberate, deliberate as a predator savoring the fear of its prey. Its bones scraped together with a sound like clattering steel, a grinding whisper of death.
It knew he was broken.
It knew he was prey.
Its jaws opened.
Wide enough to swallow him whole.
---
A Desperate Spark
Valtherion dragged himself backward, palms scorching against the ash-soaked earth. His legs barely obeyed. Every inhale felt like knives slicing through his lungs. His vision blurred. The edges dimmed into black.
"M-Mama…" he whispered. "Papa… I wanna go home…"
The serpent struck.
Time slowed.
The skeletal jaws rushed toward him, death yawning wide—and something snapped inside Valtherion.
Not outward. Inward.
His flame core surged violently. The newly evolved fire inside him roared awake like a beast freed from chains. Mana flooded his veins in a scalding torrent. Pain and heat collided until his scream tore from his throat, splitting the silence of the forest.
His eyes flew open. Crimson sparks danced across his pupils.
The serpent's jaws closed—
And stopped.
Valtherion had grabbed its skull with both hands.
His skin blistered instantly where bone touched flesh, but he didn't let go.
He screamed.
And released everything.
FWOOOOOOOM—!!
Fire erupted from his palms in a violent inferno, a storm of raw, unstable power. Flames licked upward, brighter, hotter—white at the core, red at the edges, roaring like a living, angry thing.
The Bone Serpent shrieked, its cry piercing, unnatural. Its skeletal plates glowed white-hot. Cracks spiderwebbed across its skull. Bone warped. Melted. Heat warped the air, boiling the forest floor beneath their feet.
Valtherion screamed with it. Pain tore through every fiber of his body, but he held on. Letting go meant dying.
The forest lit up like dawn. Night fled before the blaze.
When the fire finally died, the serpent collapsed. Its skull melted into a molten mess, its body twitching once before stillness claimed it.
---
Second Evolution — Uncontrolled Awakening
Valtherion dropped to his knees.
Then vomited.
Mana backlash wracked his body violently. His vision doubled, then tripled. The world spun wildly as he collapsed into dirt.
Steam rose from his skin, whorling upward like spectral smoke. His heartbeat thundered, each pulse sending waves of heat through his chest. Pain burned like molten metal in every nerve.
A familiar sound rang out—clear, cruel, undeniable.
DING!
Blue light burned itself into the air above him.
⟢ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
[Enemy Defeated: HP And Mana Restored]
[Class: Undead]
[Exp Gained: +10,200]
[Level Up! Lv. 10 → Lv. 30]
[Element Evolution: Medium Fire → Expanded Fire]
[Lifespan Increased: +200 Years]
[New Skill Unlocked: Heatwave Burst]
[Mana Increased: +300]
[Warning: Unstable Evolution — Mana Core Overheating]
Valtherion convulsed.
"Ah—! T-too… hot…!"
His skin felt like it was boiling from within. Tears formed—but evaporated instantly against his overheated cheeks. Every breath scorched his lungs.
This power was too much. Too fast. Too raw.
His body—still that of a child—wasn't ready.
He curled into himself, arms wrapped around his chest, shaking uncontrollably. Steam continued to rise from his small frame like an angry storm of heat.
---
The Forest Watches
High above, branches shifted. Eyes opened in the darkness. Predators stirred in the shadows—wolves, lizards, creatures without names—drawn by the explosion of power.
But none approached. Not one.
Instinct screamed danger.
The forest understood what had happened.
A cub of fire had crossed a line.
Not a hero. Not yet a monster.
But something unnatural.
Valtherion whimpered softly, barely conscious.
"S-Someone...! Help...!"
No answer came. Only the cold truth of Phorashia settled over him like a shroud:
There would be no mercy.
Only survival. Or death.
And Valtherion—barely breathing—lay alone in the aftermath of his second awakening, unaware that the forest itself would never forget the night a child forced power into existence… and lived.
The battle was over.
But the consequences had only just begun.