The sound of flowing water eventually faded as he walked deeper into the forest.

He didn’t rush when he left. The rest had helped, barely, but enough to steady his breathing and keep the constant edge at bay.

He casually popped a suppressant into his mouth followed by a healing potion. The relief was instant.

The forest was just as gloomy despite the early morning sun glaring through the overgrown canopy.

His gaze assessed the forest the nagging feeling at the back of his mind still present.

His steps slowed.

’This forest is too quiet’

The sound of following water had eventually vanished, what was left was the chilling quiet.

’Is there no insect or bird’

His gaze scanned behind him; he couldn’t shake off that feeling, even in the quiet forest.

The sense of danger never ceased.

He stepped forward but then, a snap came from behind him. He turned, arrow already drawn.

Something burst fast from the undergrowth. A wolf, just like the one that had attacked him at first but twice his size.

It reached his chest. Surprisingly it was the few uncorrupted ones he had met.

Atheline could feel its hungry stare bore into him.

It lunged forward, its massive body shortening the distance faster as its limbs dug into the ground.

He released.

The arrow struck it on its chest but that didn’t stop it.

’Of course not’

He stepped in instead of back, his blade drawn.

The moment it reached him, he twisted, letting its momentum carry past as his dagger curved its throat.

Red blood splashed, coloring his remaining clothes but even as the wolf collapsed another burst out from the side.

He barely blocked it.

Claws scraped against his blade, the force pushing him back a step.

A second one smaller but faster followed.

A third followed, he was surrounded. The third then let out a loud howl.

’You’ve got to be kidding me’

He quickly assessed them, his brain thinking of strategies and how to get out of there alive.

They didn’t hesitate or even circle like normal wolves, they attacked at once.

He moved to meet them his mind set on breaking through the formation.

The first lunged again, claws drawn. He ducked and drove his blade upwards into its jaw, breaking it.

He kicked it off and turned to the second which was already midair.

He dropped low, letting it pass overhead before slashing on its hinge legs as it landed. It stumbled but didn’t fall.

He finished it before it could recover.

The third didn’t stop, it slammed into him. They hit the ground hard.

Air left his lungs in a sharp exhale as claws dug into his arm, its teeth snapping inches from his throat.

His hand moved, the blade driving straight through its eye and skull.

It went limp.

He shoved it off him rolling to his feet immediately. His breath was heavier than normal despite only fighting such a small number.

He could already feel it, his body was weakening by the minute.

’I need to continue forward ’

In the quiet of the forest, he could hear them. Footsteps, lots of footsteps.

The number was increasing, the third wolf’s howl had probably alerted more beasts than he wanted to fight.

His expression hardened.

"... how unlucky ’

He didn’t wait, he moved forward, running with all his might.

Behind him, the number increased as they joined the hunt with each step he took deeper into the forest.

Suddenly a few steps before him, another shot out from the trees. Its steps thundered as its large body hit the forest floor.

A three-horned boar. Its tusks had darkened while its skin, half-corrupted, was cracked and oozing black pus and corrupted aether.

It charged straight at him.

Atheline didn’t slow down or try to dodge, he ran straight to it.

At the last second, he shifted to the left just enough to avoid direct impact, his blade drugging across its side as it passed.

It wasn’t enough to kill it but it managed to destabilise it. The boar skidded, turned, and collided with another creature behind him.

This caused a domino effect. They continued to crash into each other in a mess of snapping limbs and growls, momentarily slowing the tide.

He didn’t look back.

The further he went the more the forest around him began to change. It was subtle at first roots rising above ground higher as they twisted unnaturally amongst themselves, the soil darkening further with each step but what made it even worse was the fact that, grass was still growing on the darkened soil.

The crawling sensation that kept on following him became stronger the deeper he went but he didn’t have much of a choice in the direction.

His attackers were everywhere.

"Almost there."

He didn’t realise he said it aloud. His body was aching from defending against the numerous sneak attacks he had gotten.

In front of him, the trees began to weaken and the grass slowly started to vanish.

Another creature leapt at him. He reacted on instinct.

Arrow nocked, released.

The creature dropped midair. Another followed, then another.

He moved through them now, not trying to really fight them but to just keep moving.

He didn’t really have a choice when it came to stopping.

Each step forward was met with resistance. Each swing of his blade bought him seconds. Each arrow created space that closed almost immediately after.

His breath grew heavier and his movements lost the refinement he always maintained but his attacks had become sharper and more concentrated. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Still, he pushed forward.

Ahead of him a small sound began to hum in the air. He had heard it some time before but took it as his own hallucination.

He broke through the last line of trees and stopped but he was too late.

The ground ahead looked weird, convoluted in some sort of way. Dark veins spread outwards from a central point, crawling across the soil like roots but they looked alive with how they moved around.

’What in the light is this!’

Atheline was too surprised to think of the danger behind him. The air was filled with both corrupted aether and lunar aether as though both of them had integrated into this one jumbled mess of whatever the roots led to.

At the centre something moved, a mass, twisting and shifting as though something was inside it.

Beasts surrounded it, both corrupt and uncorrupted, as though guarding it.

They all turned towards him at the same time.

His breath caught.

He recognised whatever was inside immediately. Only one creature could command other beasts.

’That’s forest lord and it looks like it’s almost corrupted... this is a disaster in the making’

Behind him, the forest erupted.

The ones that had been following behind him broke through the trees, spilling into the clearing in numbers he hadn’t realised were even possible.

He was surrounded.

It was at that moment that he came to a horrifying realisation.

’I walked into it’

He had been led directly to the forest lord since it could basically control most of the beasts in the forest.

His heart dropped.

Atheline could feel despair settle in the pit of his stomach.

’Please... dear light...’

The creatures shot towards him. Atheline’s grip on his weapons tightened.