Night fell like a blade.
The faint grey of the sky bled into a deep, suffocating darkness, swallowing what little light remained in the ruined forest.
The wind grew colder. Sharper.
It carried with it the scent of something restless… something hungry.
Aerin did not stop walking.
The memory of flames still lingered behind her eyes, but she forced it down — burying it beneath layers of quiet emptiness.
There was no space for grief in a life that refused to end.
The forest changed as night deepened.
Shadows stretched unnaturally long between the skeletal remains of trees.
The ground, once dry and cracked, darkened as if soaked in unseen blood.
Even the ash seemed heavier… clinging to the air instead of drifting freely.
Then came the howl.
Low.
Broken.
Not the cry of a normal beast — but something twisted by pain and time.
Aerin stopped.
Her emerald eyes shifted slowly toward the darkness.
More howls followed.
One… then three… then many.
They surrounded her.
Shapes began to emerge between the trees — lean, unnatural forms moving with jerking, uneven motions.
Their fur was patchy, falling away to reveal exposed flesh and bone beneath.
Their eyes glowed with a deep, sickening red.
Wolves.
But no longer creatures of the forest.
They were starving things… corrupted… driven beyond instinct.
The first one stepped forward.
Its jaws hung slightly open, strings of dark saliva dripping onto the ash below.
A low growl vibrated through its chest — not warning, but anticipation.
Aerin watched them without raising her bow.
Once, she would have spoken to them.
Calmed them.
Reminded them of the harmony that had once bound all living things.
Now there was only silence between them.
A gust of wind swept through the clearing.
The wolves lunged.
Aerin moved.
Her body shifted like flowing water, sidestepping the first attack with effortless precision.
Her hand rose, and silver light gathered instantly along the curve of her spirit bow.
She did not hesitate.
The arrow flew.
It pierced the first wolf's skull cleanly, bursting into radiant fragments that scattered into the night.
The creature collapsed without a sound.
But the others did not falter.
They came faster.
More aggressive.
Driven by something deeper than hunger.
Aerin stepped back, releasing arrows in rapid succession.
Each shot struck true — eyes, throats, hearts — ending lives with flawless efficiency.
Yet something was different.
She felt it.
Or rather… she didn't.
There was no hesitation.
No pity.
No sorrow.
Only action.
Only survival.
A wolf leapt from her blind side.
Its claws raked across her arm, tearing through flesh with a wet, ripping sound.
Blood spilled.
But she did not flinch.
Her other hand caught its throat mid-air, and with a single motion, she drove a point-blank arrow through its skull.
The body went limp instantly.
More came.
Too many.
They crashed into her from all sides, overwhelming even her precise movements.
Teeth sank into her flesh.
Claws tore into her back.
Weight dragged her down into the cold, ash-covered ground.
Pain exploded through her senses.
But still…
No fear.
No desperation.
Only a distant awareness that this was happening.
As her vision darkened, one final thought drifted through her fading mind.
…I feel nothing.
Darkness consumed her.
The wolves fed.
Tore.
Devoured.
Until the clearing fell silent once more.
Hours passed.
The red glow of their eyes faded one by one as they disappeared back into the forest, leaving nothing behind.
Nothing… except ash.
And then—
Light.
Soft silver light began to gather once more.
Slowly, gently, like a heartbeat refusing to stop.
From that glow, Aerin rose again.
Unmarked.
Whole.
Alive.
Her eyes opened.
Emerald… but colder now.
She looked down at her hands.
Clean.
Perfect.
Empty.
A faint wind brushed past her, carrying the last echoes of distant howls.
Aerin stood in silence.
Then, without a word…
she continued walking into the night.