The deeper they fled... The darker the Dead Forest became.
Towering trees rose like ancient pillars, their enormous roots twisting across the ground in tangled labyrinths. Thick vines hung from the canopy above, swaying gently with every breath of wind. Giant leaves, broad enough to shelter a person from rain, crowded the undergrowth, while patches of emerald moss swallowed fallen logs that had long since begun returning to the earth.
The forest felt alive.
Watching.
Listening.
Every distant rustle made Tera's heart skip.
"...Come on."
She tightened her grip around Morri's arm, pulling it farther over her shoulders.
"Just a little longer."
Morri gritted his teeth.
"...Ngh..."
The knife buried in his knee throbbed with every step.
His injured leg dragged helplessly through the damp leaves behind him, carving an uneven trail across the forest floor.
Every movement sent another wave of agony shooting through his body.
His breathing became heavier.
His vision blurred.
"...T-Tera..."
His voice trembled.
"...I..."
His knee buckled.
The two nearly collapsed together.
"No!"
Tera caught him before he hit the ground.
She wrapped both arms around him, struggling to keep him upright.
"You can't stop."
"Not yet."
She looked back.
Nothing but trees.
No sign of Hikari.
But that didn't mean he wasn't following.
"...Please..."
She whispered more to herself than to him.
"...Just a little farther."
Then...
Her eyes caught something ahead.
A weathered shelf of stone protruded from the side of a rocky hill, forming a narrow canopy beneath it.
"...There."
She hurried toward it as fast as Morri's condition allowed.
A few moments later...
She carefully lowered him beneath the shelter.
Morri slumped against the cold stone wall.
The moment his weight left her shoulders...
He cried out.
"...AAAH...!"
His hands instinctively clutched his bleeding knee.
Fresh blood seeped steadily between his trembling fingers.
Tera immediately dropped beside her backpack.
She tore it open.
Her hands searched desperately inside.
Bandages...
Bandages...
"...No..."
Her movements stopped.
Only a few remained.
She stared at them for a heartbeat.
"...That's all...?"
A knot formed in her throat.
She quickly swallowed it back.
No.
Panicking won't help him.
She grabbed the remaining bandages and the small bottle of antiseptic before crawling back beside Morri.
Sweat covered his face.
His entire body trembled.
"Tera..."
His voice was barely audible.
"...It hurts..."
She forced herself to smile.
"I know."
Her fingers gently peeled his blood-soaked hand away from the wound.
"...Hold on."
"I'm going to stop the bleeding."
She folded the bandages into a thick pad before pressing them firmly against the wound.
Morri's body jolted violently.
"...AAAAAGH!"
His cry echoed through the trees.
His fingers clawed at the earth beneath him.
Tera didn't remove her hands.
She couldn't.
"I'm sorry..."
Her voice shook.
"...I'm sorry."
She reached for the small bottle.
The clear liquid sloshed quietly inside.
She loosened the cap.
Then looked at him.
"...This..."
She hesitated.
"...is going to hurt."
Morri let out a weak, humorless laugh.
"...More...?"
"...Just hold on."
She slowly poured the liquid over the wound.
For a single heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then....
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
The scream exploded beneath the rocky canopy.
Birds scattered from the towering trees overhead.
Morri's entire body arched from the ground.
His fists slammed repeatedly against the stone.
His breathing shattered into desperate gasps.
The burning sensation ripped through his leg like fire beneath his skin.
Tera bit down hard on her lower lip.
"...I'm sorry..."
"...I'm so sorry..."
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.....................
A few miles away....
The forest had fallen eerily quiet.
Only the steady crunch of footsteps echoed beneath the towering trees.
Crunch...
Crunch...
Crunch...
Hikari walked slowly through the Dead Forest, his eyes sweeping across the undergrowth with unsettling patience.
"...Morriiii..."
A crooked smile tugged at his lips.
"...Where are youuu...?"
He brushed aside a hanging vine and continued forward.
"...You can't run forever."
Then....
He stopped.
A single droplet of blood clung to the edge of a broad leaf.
...Drip.
His eyes narrowed.
"...There... There..."
Still wet.
His smile widened.
"...You're close."
Very close.
He slowly lifted his head.
His eyes traced the faint trail ahead.
Another small smear stained the bark of a nearby tree.
A broken branch.
Leaves crushed beneath hurried footsteps.
His gaze followed the signs disappearing into the thickening darkness.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"...Heh..." Without another word, he rose to his feet.
His shadow stretched long across the forest floor as he stepped deeper beneath the ancient canopy.
Crunch...
Crunch...
Crunch...
The shadows swallowed him as he continued the hunt.
...............
Back with Tera and Morri......
The rocky canopy offered little comfort.
It shielded them from the fading light and the chill of the evening breeze, but it could not silence the fear that lingered in the air.
Morri rested with his back against the cold stone; his injured leg stretched carefully before him. Fresh bandages were wrapped tightly around his wounded knee, already stained with faint patches of crimson where the blood had begun to seep through.
His breathing had finally steadied.
The worst of the pain had dulled into a relentless throb.
Beside him, Tera remained kneeling for a moment, listening.
Silence.
Then, slowly... She leaned forward until only the top of her head slipped beyond the sheltering edge of the stone.
Her amber eyes swept across the forest.
Left.
Right.
The towering trees stood motionless beneath the darkening canopy.
Nothing moved.
Nothing spoke.
Only the distant whisper of leaves swaying in the wind reached her ears.
After another careful glance, she withdrew beneath the rocky shelter once more.
Morri noticed immediately, "...How bad is it?"
She looked at him instead of answering.
A gentle smile found her lips.
"...How are you holding up?"
Morri shifted his injured leg ever so slightly before forcing a weary smile of his own.
"...I'll be fine."
His voice was quiet, though the strain behind it was impossible to hide.
"I've been through worse."
Tera nodded softly.
"...I'm glad."
Yet her smile never reached her eyes.
Instead, her gaze drifted toward the edge of the forest once more.
Beyond the shelter, a cluster of towering trees leaned at odd angles, their roots exposed where the earth had gradually begun to sink away beneath them. Nearby, several shallow depressions scarred the forest floor.
Moments earlier, rainwater dripping from the rocky canopy had trickled into those hollows...
...and disappeared.
Not pooled.
Not soaked into the surface.
Simply...
Vanished beneath the soft ground.
Tera watched the place in thoughtful silence.
Something about it didn't feel natural.
She slowly turned back toward Morri.
The warmth had left her expression.
"...We can't stay here."
Morri frowned.
"...Why?"
She lowered her voice.
"...He's getting closer."
The certainty in her words sent a chill through the quiet shelter.
Morri instinctively looked toward the forest entrance.
Nothing waited there, Yet somehow...
He believed her.
His brow tightened.
"...Do you have a plan?"
Tera rose slowly to her feet.
She adjusted the strap of her backpack before allowing her eyes to linger one final time on the strangely tilted trees and the unstable stretch of forest beyond.
For a long moment...
She simply watched.
Then she looked back at Morri.
"...Maybe."
Her voice was calm.
Quiet.
"But we need to move."
She extended a hand toward him.
"...Right now."
................
Few minutes later....
The Dead Forest grew darker with every step.
Its towering trees rose like ancient pillars, their massive crowns weaving together high above until the evening sky became little more than scattered fragments of fading light. Thick vines hung between the branches, swaying gently in the restless wind, while damp moss swallowed the forest floor beneath a blanket of emerald.
The deeper one ventured... The quieter it became.
Hikari walked alone through the shadows.
His pace was slow.
Measured.
Patient.
His sharp eyes swept across the forest with predatory focus, studying every broken twig, every disturbed fern, every footprint pressed into the damp earth.
They were close.
He could feel it.
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"...You can't hide forever."
The words barely rose above a whisper.
Then....
Crack.
A twig snapped somewhere behind him.
He stopped and immediately turn.
His eyes searched the forest.
Towering trunks.
Dense bushes.
Hanging vines.
Nothing.
Not even the wind moved.
His brow furrowed.
"...Hm."
After another moment, he turned back around.
Crunch...
He had barely taken a single step—
"AAAHHH!"
A scream tore through the forest.
Hikari's eyes widened.
He spun around just as a figure burst from the undergrowth.
Tera.
She charged straight at him, both hands gripping a knife as she threw herself forward with everything she had.
"AAAHHH!"
With his instincts...
Hikari dropped low.
His body slipped beneath the desperate strike in one fluid motion.
For the briefest instant...
Time itself seemed to slow.
Tera sailed over him; her body suspended in midair.
Their eyes met.
Her expression burned with fierce determination.
His... Curved into a smug smile.
You missed.
The message was unmistakable.
As gravity pulled her downward...
Hikari's hand disappeared into his pocket.
A flash of steel.
SHHK!
His knife sliced cleanly across her forearm.
"...AH!"
Pain shot through Tera's arm as she landed hard against the forest floor, rolling across the leaves before catching herself on one knee.
Blood immediately began trickling down her arm.
She instinctively clutched the wound.
The blood slipped through her fingers, dripping steadily onto the earth.
Hikari straightened with an amused sigh.
"...Really?"
He twirled the knife lazily between his fingers.
"I expected a little more than that."
His gaze slowly wandered across the clearing.
Left.
Right.
Behind the trees.
Searching.
"...Hmm."
"...Where's Morri?"
No answer.
He looked back at Tera.
"...Don't tell me..."
"He died from that little cut to his knee."
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"...Honestly..."
"That boy's weaker than I thought."
He shrugged.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he'd already bled to death by now."
Tera slowly lifted her head.
Pain lingered across her face...
Yet her eyes never wavered.
"...Don't..."
She tightened her grip around her injured arm.
"...Don't underestimate Morri."
Hikari raised an eyebrow.
"...Oh?"
"...You say what now?"
"Hahaha!"
He shook his head.
"...You've got a lot of faith."
His laughter slowly faded.
"...Unfortunately..."
"I've wasted enough time playing with you two."
His eyes narrowed.
"If Morri isn't here..."
"...then he's either hiding... waiting for an opening..."
"...or he's too scared to come out and let a girl do the fighting for him."
For the first time since the attack... A small smile appeared on Tera's face.
Quiet.
Confident.
Hikari frowned immediately, "...What's with that smile?"
Tera didn't answer.
Instead...
She turned.
And ran.
Straight into the darker heart of the Dead Forest.
For a heartbeat...
Hikari simply stared.
Then irritation flashed across his face.
"...Oh, no, you don't!"
His grin returned.
"...You're not running away from me this time."
Without another thought.... He lunged after her.
The forest swallowed them both as their footsteps echoed deeper and deeper into the gathering darkness.
..............................
Branches whipped past as Tera sprinted deeper into the Dead Forest.
Her breathing had grown ragged.
Blood continued to drip from the cut along her forearm, leaving faint lood droplets upon the forest floor.
Behind her...
Hikari sprinted after her without hesitation, his footsteps pounding against the forest floor. Yet despite the speed of the chase, a cruel smile never left his face. To him, this wasn't an escape. It was a hunt... and he already knew how it would end.
"...Come on now Tera."
His voice echoed between the towering trees.
"...You can run faster than that."
Tera never looked back.
She kept moving.
One step.
Another.
Another.
Then....
Her right foot swept low across the forest floor.
SNAP......
A hidden rope, buried beneath damp leaves and loose soil, parted cleanly beneath her heel.
Hikari's brow furrowed.
"...What?"
For the briefest instant...
Nothing happened.
Then...
WHOOSH!!
The dense undergrowth directly ahead of him exploded apart.
A massive timber log burst from between the trees, swinging straight toward him with terrifying speed, its thick trunk tearing through branches as it thundered across the path.
The air roared.
It was aimed directly at his chest.
Hikari's eyes flicked toward it, "...Really?"
His body leaned backward.
The enormous log roared past the tip of his nose before smashing violently into a nearby tree.
BOOM!
Splinters exploded through the forest.
The log swung harmlessly away.
Hikari slowly straightened.
Then laughed "...That's it?"
He glanced toward Tera with open disappointment.
"That was your plan?"
"You really thought a trap like that would stop me?"
Without another thought... He continued the chase.
Tera said nothing.
She simply kept running.
The ground beneath their feet became strangely uneven, rising and falling beneath thick carpets of moss.
Then...
Tera saw it.
There.
Just ahead.
Her heartbeat quickened.
The dense wall of bushes loomed directly ahead.
Beyond it...
A small clearing waited on the other side.
Just before the bushes, hidden beneath a careful weave of thin branches, broad leaves, and loose soil, lay a narrow pit that blended seamlessly with the forest floor.
High overhead...
A towering tree stretched above the canopy, one of its enormous branches arching over the bushes before reaching toward the clearing beyond.
From that ancient limb hung a long, sturdy vine, suspended between both sides like a natural bridge.
Tera never slowed.
She leapt.
Her hand shot upward and caught the hanging vine.
It tightened beneath her weight as she swung in a graceful arc, gliding over the concealed pit below.
For a brief moment, her body disappeared into the curtain of leaves crowning the bushes.
Then she emerged on the opposite side.
She released the vine, landed cleanly in the open clearing beyond, rolled once across the ground to absorb the impact, and sprang back to her feet without breaking stride.
Several paces behind...
Hikari burst through the trees just in time to see her swing over the hidden opening.
His eyes flicked to the patch of forest floor she had avoided.
The branches and leaves disguising covering the ground porthole.
A crooked smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "...Seriously?"
He scoffed, "You think I'm stupid?"
"You practically told me where you lay your trap."
Without a moment's hesitation, he bent his knees and launched himself forward.
"If you're going to set a trap..."
His body soared over the concealed pit.
"...at least don't make it so obvious."
Then...
The moment Hikari cleared the concealed pit...
His smirk remained.
"...Too easy."
He prepared to land.
But the instant his feet came down—
They found...
Nothing.
"...What?"
The ground collapsed beneath him.
The forest floor simply broke away, revealing a vast sinkhole that descended far below.
His stomach dropped.
Then gravity took him.
"GH—!"
He slammed deep into a bed of thick black sludge.
"...OOF!"
The impact drove the air from his lungs.
Instinctively, he shoved both hands into the mud to stand—
Only for them to sink.
"...Huh?"
He pushed harder.
Nothing.
The sludge swallowed his arms to the elbows.
His brow tightened.
He yanked at one leg.
It wouldn't move.
Then the other.
Still nothing.
The mud clung to him like chains.
"...No..."
He clawed desperately at the steep walls of the pit.
Wet earth crumbled beneath his fingers, raining back into the sludge.
"...Damn it!"
He lunged upward again.
The effort only dragged him deeper.
His breathing grew ragged.
He looked up.
His eyes locked onto Tera.
"You..."
His voice cracked.
"You little—"
He tried to force himself free.
The sludge was answered by swallowing him another few inches.
For the first time... Panic crossed his face.
A foul stench of rotting earth filled his lungs.
He gagged, wiping at his face, only to smear thick black slime across his eyes.
His vision blurred.
He was trapped.