The forest had gone silent.
Too silent.
Traveler carried Seris through the darkness.
Her body rested against his shoulder, still unconscious.
Her blood had dried across the side of her clothes, leaving dark stains against the fabric.
Traveler walked slowly.
Not because he was tired.
He wasn't.
His body felt strangely normal.
Too normal.
Only hours ago, he had been thrown from a mountain with three blades buried in his back.
Now—
there wasn't even a scar.
Traveler didn't understand it.
He occasionally touched the right side of his head.
Nothing.
He couldn't remember the impact.
He couldn't remember the villagers.
He couldn't remember being thrown.
Only fragments remained.
Purple eyes.
Darkness.
Two identical men.
A voice.
Blood of Creation and Destruction.
Then the Devourer.
Traveler's expression remained cold.
He pushed those thoughts away.
His attention returned to Seris.
She was breathing.
That was enough.
He continued walking.
Eventually, the trees became denser.
The moonlight almost disappeared beneath the canopy.
Traveler stopped.
Something was lying ahead.
A structure.
Ancient stone.
Half buried beneath roots and moss.
A broken doorway stood between two enormous trees.
Traveler studied it.
There were no lights.
No footprints.
No signs that anyone had lived there recently.
He looked at Seris.
Then back at the structure.
"We'll stay here."
He stepped inside.
The interior was larger than it looked from outside.
Broken stone pillars stood along the walls.
Old carvings covered the floor.
Most had been destroyed by time.
Traveler lowered Seris carefully onto a flat section of stone.
He checked her breathing.
Still alive.
He stood.
Then—
something caught his attention.
A black mark was visible on the ground.
Exactly where the Devourer had disappeared.
Traveler approached it.
He crouched.
The mark was unlike anything he had seen before.
It wasn't burned into the stone.
It looked as though the stone itself had been stained by darkness.
Traveler touched it.
The moment his fingers made contact—
the mark disappeared.
Traveler pulled his hand back.
He looked at his fingers.
Nothing.
Then—
a faint sensation passed through his arm.
Cold.
Not painful.
Just cold.
Traveler stared at his hand.
"What was that?"
No answer.
He stood again.
Behind him—
Seris remained unconscious.
Traveler turned toward the doorway.
The forest outside was motionless.
Then—
scrape.
Traveler's eyes shifted.
Nothing.
He waited.
Silence.
He turned back.
Swish.
Something moved outside.
Traveler stopped.
His eyes narrowed.
It sounded like—
a tail.
Something heavy moving through leaves.
He listened.
Rustle.
Then silence.
Traveler slowly stepped toward the doorway.
The moonlight revealed the forest floor.
Branches.
Leaves.
Roots.
Nothing.
He looked left.
Nothing.
Right.
Nothing.
He stepped outside.
The forest seemed empty.
Traveler looked back toward Seris.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Something slammed into him from the side.
BOOM!
Traveler was thrown several meters across the clearing.
His body struck a tree.
The trunk cracked.
He landed on his feet.
His eyes immediately scanned the forest.
Something enormous moved between the trees.
Green scales flashed beneath the moonlight.
Traveler stood still.
A massive serpent emerged from the darkness.
Its body was thick enough to crush a human.
Its green scales reflected the moon.
Its head rose several feet above the ground.
Two cold eyes stared directly at Traveler.
The serpent's tongue flicked through the air.
Traveler stared at it.
The creature stared back.
Traveler's expression didn't change.
"Another one."
The serpent hissed.
Behind Traveler—
Seris suddenly moved.
Her fingers twitched.
The serpent's head turned.
Its eyes locked onto her.
For the first time—
the creature reacted differently.
Recognition.
Its tongue stopped moving.
It lowered its head slightly.
Then it looked back at Traveler.
A strange sound came from its throat.
Not a hiss.
Almost a word.
"Seris..."
Traveler's eyes narrowed.
The serpent moved closer.
Its enormous body slid across the ground.
Then—
something impossible happened.
The serpent's body began changing.
Green scales shifted.
The massive head became human.
The upper body changed first.
Arms formed.
Long dark hair fell over her shoulders.
Her face became that of a beautiful woman.
But below the waist—
she remained a giant green serpent.
Her long tail curled across the forest floor.
She looked at Traveler.
Her expression was completely cold.
There was no humanity in her eyes.
Only hunger.
Traveler studied her.
"You know Seris."
The serpent woman looked toward the stone structure.
"Of course."
Her voice was calm.
"She belongs to this forest."
Traveler glanced toward Seris.
"She's not yours."
The serpent woman's eyes returned to him.
"Neither are you."
Traveler said nothing.
She smiled faintly.
Not kindly.
Predatorily.
"You are human."
Traveler's expression remained blank.
The serpent woman slowly moved around him.
Her tail dragged across the ground.
Leaves shifted beneath it.
"I can smell human blood."
She stopped behind him.
"I've eaten many."
Traveler looked over his shoulder.
"You kill humans?"
The serpent woman's smile disappeared.
"I hunt them."
She leaned slightly forward.
"They scream."
Traveler's eyes remained cold.
"I don't care."
The serpent woman studied him.
Then—
her gaze moved toward Seris.
"She does."
Traveler turned.
The serpent woman continued.
"Seris used to hate humans."
Traveler looked back.
"Used to?"
"Before she became weak."
The serpent woman's eyes narrowed.
"She began protecting them."
A pause.
"She forgot what she was."
Traveler's expression hardened.
"She's not weak."
The serpent woman laughed quietly.
Not warmly.
Just once.
"You defend her."
Traveler didn't answer.
The serpent woman moved closer.
Her enormous tail suddenly tightened around a nearby tree.
The trunk groaned.
"I wonder why."
Traveler's eyes shifted toward the tail.
He didn't move.
The serpent woman looked at him.
"You smell strange."
Traveler said nothing.
"Human..."
She inhaled slowly.
"...but not entirely."
Traveler's eyes narrowed.
She continued.
"There is something underneath you."
Traveler's hand moved toward his blade.
The serpent woman noticed.
She smiled.
"Good."
Her tail suddenly released the tree.
THUD.
It struck the ground.
The entire clearing shook.
Traveler's grip tightened.
The serpent woman lowered her body.
Ready to strike.
"I haven't eaten in three days."
Traveler looked at her.
"Then find something else."
Her eyes sharpened.
"I found something."
She lunged.
Traveler moved.
Her tail smashed through the tree where he had been standing.
BOOM!
Wood exploded.
Traveler appeared several meters away.
The serpent woman turned instantly.
He was faster than she expected.
She struck again.
Traveler ducked beneath the attack.
Her tail passed above his head.
Traveler stepped forward—
but stopped.
The serpent woman was already behind him.
Her tail swept toward his legs.
Traveler jumped.
The tail passed beneath him.
He landed on it.
The serpent woman's eyes widened.
Traveler looked down at the green scales beneath his boots.
Then at her.
She stared at him.
Neither moved.
Then Traveler stepped off.
"You're not like Seris."
The serpent woman slowly raised herself.
"No."
Her eyes became colder.
"She remembers being human."
A pause.
"I never wanted to be one."
Traveler said nothing.
She smiled again.
"I am a beast."
The forest seemed to become colder.
"And humans are prey."
Traveler looked toward Seris.
Then back at the serpent woman.
"Then stay away from her."
The serpent woman tilted her head.
"And if I don't?"
Traveler's eyes became completely calm.
"Then I'll stop you."
For several seconds—
the two stared at each other.
The serpent woman's smile slowly disappeared.
She had expected fear.
She had expected hesitation.
She had expected the same reaction she received from every human who entered her territory.
But Traveler gave her none.
The beast slowly narrowed her eyes.
"You're strange."
Traveler's voice remained quiet.
"So I've been told."
Behind them—
Seris suddenly coughed.
The serpent woman's head snapped toward the sound.
Her expression changed.
She knew Seris.
And whatever history existed between them—
it wasn't finished.
The serpent woman looked back at Traveler.
Then at Seris.
Then slowly smiled.
"This will be interesting."
Traveler's grip tightened around his blade.
The green serpent curled her enormous tail beneath herself.
Neither attacked.
Not yet.
The forest waited.
And somewhere beyond the trees—
something else was watching.