---
The Red Forest breathed.
That was the first thing Kiren noticed once he put enough distance between himself and the camp. Not wind—breath. A slow, pulsing rhythm that vibrated through bark, soil, and bone.
He welcomed it.
This was what he'd been waiting for.
Kiren crouched low, pressing two fingers into the earth. The ground was warm, faintly humming with mana. Too much of it. Even the animals here were saturated.
He inhaled deeply.
There.
A sharp, metallic scent—blood mixed with sap.
"Found you," Kiren muttered.
He moved silently through the underbrush, his steps light despite his size. The forest resisted him. Roots twisted subtly beneath his feet, branches bent where they shouldn't, as if the land itself was aware of his presence.
Then he saw it.
The beast was massive—six-legged, its body plated with bark-like armor streaked with veins of glowing crimson. Antler-like horns curved from its skull, Kiren didn't know it's name and unlike others, he didn't know how to tell its tier.
Mid-tier. He decided.
Dangerous.
Perfect.
The creature lifted its head, yellow eyes locking onto Kiren's.
It charged.
Kiren grinned and met it head-on.
He dodged its first strike, horns tearing through the space where his chest had been. He countered with a sweeping kick that cracked against its armor, the impact ringing like iron on stone.
The beast screeched.
Vines erupted from the ground, snapping toward him.
"Cheater," Kiren snarled.
He leapt, twisting midair as the vines missed by inches, then drove his claws deep between the plates of its neck, latching on . The monster bucked violently, slamming him into a tree trunk hard enough to splinter bark.
Pain flared.
Good.
Kiren tightened his grip and pulled.
The beast collapsed with a final, gurgling roar.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then the forest shifted.
Kiren straightened, blood dripping from his arm. He reached into the creature's chest cavity and withdrew a glowing core, pulsing red-orange with mana.
High quality.
"Not bad for a warm-up," he said, his arm steaming as it snapped back in place.
The forest didn't answer.
But Kiren felt it then—eyes on his back. Not one. Many.
Slowly, he turned.
Nothing.
A beat of silence, then red eyes appeared. Dozens of them.
Kiren smiled, "Looks like it wasn't alone."
---
By the time Kiren returned, dusk had begun to settle, the fire casting long shadows across the camp.
Lyra was asleep inside the tent.
Vane sat by the flames, staring into them.
Kiren tossed a bag of beast cores onto the ground beside him. "Here are some cores."
Vane glanced at it briefly. "You're bleeding."
"It'll heal."
Vane studied him more carefully. Normally Kiren's injuries healed instantly, unless his body was exhausted. "The forest resisted you, didn't it?"
Kiren paused. "Yeah. Subtle, but yeah."
Vane nodded. "It reacts to power. Especially mana."
Kiren snorted. "Then it's lucky I don't have any."
Vane didn't smile.
"Something's off," Vane said quietly. "The trees here are...watching."
Before Kiren could respond, a scream echoed through the forest.
Not close—but not far enough.
Both of them stood instantly.
"That came from the west," Kiren said.
Vane's eyes glowed faintly. "Another group."
The scream cut off abruptly.
Silence followed.
Kiren flexed his claws. "We're not alone out here, are we?"
Vane stared into the trees. "No."
Far above them, unseen, a raven watched—
and the Red Forest pulsed.
---