The forest swallowed sound. Every step sank into damp soil, every breath felt borrowed. The Misleading Woods didn't roar or whisper; it waited.
Raul led, Arin followed, Victor stumbled behind like a man walking through a dream he didn't want. They had been moving for what felt like hours, though the sky above the canopy hadn't changed. It was still that dull gray, neither day nor night, like the forest had stolen time, too.
Finally, Arin spoke, voice low so it wouldn't carry. "Guys… before we go deeper, should we tell Victor about my talent? It might help us."
Raul didn't stop walking, but his head tilted slightly. "That's not a bad idea. We don't know what kind of abominations we'll face. Every bit helps."
Victor blinked, confused and exhausted. "Guys, I don't know what you're talking about. Fill me in. Please."
Arin slowed, letting Raul take point. His tone was calm, but there was weight behind it. "Okay, listen. My talent, it's called Lord. When I make someone my subordinate, they get stronger, not instantly though. We need to hunt monsters to grow. But it's like a long-term investment."
Victor stared at him like he'd grown horns. "Subordinate? Like… servant?"
"Not servant," Arin said. "It's a bond on equal terms."
Victor laughed, sharp and nervous. "You're joking."
Raul turned his head, eyes flat. "He's not."
Victor swallowed hard. "And if I say no?"
Raul shrugged. "No Pressure, no one's forcing you. But it'll be difficult to stay alive in this bloody forest, so every strength counts."
The silence after that was heavy. Victor's breath hitched. He looked at the forest, at the black trunks and the shadows that seemed to lean closer every time he blinked. He looked at Raul, who was calm like a blade, and at Arin, whose eyes held something steady, something that didn't bend.
Finally, Victor exhaled. "Fine. Do it. Whatever it is. Just… don't let me die."
Arin nodded once. "Then listen carefully."
He raised his hand. A thin arc glowed on his palm, shaped like a broken crown. The air folded and steadied, like the forest itself was holding its breath.
"Do you acknowledge me as your Lord?" Arin asked. His voice didn't rise. It didn't need to. It carried weight, as iron dropped on stone.
Victor's throat worked. His knees bent without meaning to. "I… I do."
The broken crown flared. A thread of red light left Arin's hand, thin and sharp as a needle, and drew a straight line to Victor's chest. It pierced without pain, sliding in like water, finding its place. Victor gasped. For one beat, Arin felt their rhythms match, heart to heart. Then settle back with a line between.
A screen rolled through Arin's sight, again not blue, but a clear, royal red.
___________________________
Subordinate: Victor
Core Talent: Blacksmithing
Rank: Soldier (62%)
Talent Skills: Steelcraft, Forgemind
Regular Skills: Advanced Hammer Mastery
Upgrade: Locked (Unlock with 100 Lord Coins)
Current Lord Coins: 00
Subordinates (2/3)
1) Raul Slade — Soldier (37%)
Victor — Soldier (62%)
___________________________
The glow faded. The crown dimmed. The ritual was over
Victor staggered, clutching his chest. "What… what was that?"
"Do you feel any changes?" Arin said.
Victor looked at his hands like they might start glowing. They didn't. "I don't feel stronger."
"You won't," Raul said. "Not until you earn it."
Victor groaned. "Great. So I sold my soul for nothing."
Arin's mouth twitched. "Not for nothing, but for survival."
Raul scanned the trees. "Enough talk. We move."
They walked until the roots rose like ribs from the ground, until the air smelled like wet stone and old blood. Raul stopped at a massive trunk, hollowed by time and rot. The hole was wide enough for three men to curl inside if they didn't mind touching shoulders. Also, the night was deep enough; they were already risking it by moving at night. Raul's combat sense was on overdrive just to avoid unwanted dangers. Now they actually needed a decent rest.
"This will do," Raul said. He tested the edges, checked for claw marks, and sniffed for rot.
Arin helped Victor inside. Raul found a solid plank among the ruins, a piece of old timber, heavy and straight, and dragged it back. He wedged it against the opening like a door. It wouldn't stop something big, but it would slow it down. Sometimes, a few seconds was everything.
Inside, it was dark and close. The wood smelled of moss and rain. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the forest breathe.
Victor broke first. "We're not lighting a fire?"
Raul shook his head. "Fire calls things. Monsters or maybe something even worse."
Victor swallowed. "Worse than monsters?"
Raul didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Arin leaned back against the curve of the trunk. His eyes were half-closed, but his mind wasn't. He could feel the threads now, Raul's, Victor's, ike faint invisible lines tugging at the edge of his thoughts. It wasn't control. It was a connection.
Victor shifted, restless. "So… what now?"
Raul's voice was quiet, but sharp. "Now we wait for morning; night is too dangerous to move."
Victor laughed, hollow.
Outside, the woods creaked. A sound like a branch breaking drifted through the dark, slow and deliberate, like something testing its weight. Then silence again, thicker than before.
Arin opened his eyes. "Tomorrow," he said softly, "we hunt."
Victor stared at him. "Hunt? In this? Are you crazy?"
Arin's gaze didn't waver. "We hunt or be hunted, law of nature, baby."
Victor closed his mouth. He didn't argue. He just curled tighter against the wood and tried not to hear the forest whispering things that weren't words.
The night stretched long. Shadows moved where they shouldn't. Once, Raul thought he saw a pale hand slide across the plank, slow and curious, but when he blinked, it was gone. He didn't tell the others. No point, maybe he was just hallucinating from stress, who knows?.
Inside the hollow, three men breathed in rhythm, bound by fear, by choice, by threads of red that glowed faintly in the dark, threads that promised strength, if they could survive long enough to claim it.