Dawn. Cold. Gray.
Ten of us. I do a quick, panicked headcount as we stand at the gate. Me. Toren, who looks like a ghost in his armor and shouldn't even be standing, let alone marching. Captain Felric, his face already a mask of stone. Kaela, gripping a new, real steel sword that looks way too big for her. Lysara, checking her pouches, her silver eyes scanning everything. Elira, her pack bulging with... who even knows. Nyssa, almost invisible in the shadows. And the two guards, Marcus and Thea. Ten... ten people walking into hell because of me.
The whole village is here, watching us. Their faces... God, it's awful. It's this mix of hope and sheer terror. They're not sure if they're seeing us off or burying us. Elder Stoneheart steps forward, his voice a low rumble. "Bring her home. And return yourselves."
I promise him we will. I don't know if I'm lying.
Kaela is pressed close to my left. "Stop worrying," she mutters. "We got this."
Lysara is on my right. She... shifts. Just a little closer. It's... crowded. "Hydration and energy management will be critical," she announces, seemingly to the air itself. "I've prepared herbal supplements to maintain optimal performance."
Kaela just stares at her. "You made... herb-pills?"
"For tactical efficiency," Lysara snaps, her cheeks getting a little pink. "Obviously."
Elira bounces on her heels, her pack clanking. "Ready to march into certain doom?"
"That's the spirit," I mutter.
"Hey, optimism is overrated! I've got seven void dampeners, three flares, and something I'm calling a 'reality anchor' that might help."
"Might?"
"Sixty percent confidence! That's... pretty good! Worst case, it explodes. Which, you know. Exciting."
"Strike team, form up!" Felric's voice cuts through the dread. "We march!"
Toren's hand lands on my shoulder. "Stay close. No heroics. Smart. Careful."
"Yes, sir."
He knows I'm lying.
The first hour is... okay. It's just the forest. Our forest. I see the trees Toren taught me to climb, the streams we've... it's fine.
Then the color just... drains.
It's subtle at first. The green gets dull. The bird sounds... thin out. The air... it gets heavy. Then, the smell. That faint, underlying rot. We're in it.
Nyssa's hand goes up. We freeze.
She gestures. Left. A marker. Felric sends Marcus and Thea. They melt into the trees and come back seconds later. Their faces are grim.
"First one," Felric says, his voice a low growl. "We're in their territory. Eyes sharp. Voices low. Weapons ready."
We move slower. The forest gets darker. It's... it's like the corruption is eating the light.
Kaela is practically glued to my shoulder. "You doing okay?"
"Nervous."
"Good. Means you're paying attention."
Lysara is on my other side again. They're... they're flanking me. Like a pair of very weird, very short bodyguards.
"The corruption density is increasing," she states. "Sustained exposure causes disorientation and... fatigue." She glances at me. "Though... you seem... less affected."
She's right. Everyone else... they look pale. Tense. I... I feel... nothing.
No. Not nothing.
I feel... better. Stronger. The curse... oh, God, it likes it here. It's... comfortable.
"It... likes it here," I whisper.
Lysara's face hardens. "That's... concerning. But... tactically useful. If it doesn't affect you, you can..."
"Tactically useful?" Kaela scoffs. "You mean it's creepy as hell, Lysara."
"I am worried about the entire team's effectiveness!" Lysara says, way too fast, her face flushing.
"Right," Kaela grins. "The team. Uh-huh."
Lysara just huffs and mutters something about "emotional inefficiency" and "tactical priorities," marching a little faster.
We're four hours in when Nyssa's hand shoots up. Stop.
My heart just... stops.
She points. Bear.
I see it. A... a wrong bear. It's... twisted. The fur is patchy, the spine is cracked with that sick purple light. It's... it's wrong.
Felric signals. Avoid. Go around.
We try. We really do. We're quiet.
Too late.
Its head snaps toward us. It roars. A sound that isn't a sound. And it charges.
"CONTACT!" Felric bellows. "DELTA! REN, LYSARA, MAGIC! CONTAIN AND ELIMINATE!"
It's just... chaos. Marcus and Thea hit it first, their blades screeching on the corrupted hide. The bear swipes. Thea... she just... flies. She hits a tree with a crack that makes me wince. Marcus holds, but the bear is... huge.
Kaela's in. A red-haired blur, jabbing, dodging. Toren is there. They're... they're holding it.
I reach... no. The ley lines. They're... they're sick. They're tainted. If I pull on them, I'm pulling on... that.
Use me, the curse screams in my head. I can hurt it! I can DRINK it!
"No!" I whisper.
Lysara's magic hits it. Light. Pure, elven light. It burns the bear. The thing howls. Toren uses the opening. His new, enchanted blade finds its throat.
It just... dissolves. Black goo and steam.
Silence. Just... panting.
Thea groans from the tree. Seraphine is already there. "Ribs. Cracked. She'll be fine."
"Louder than I'd like," Felric grunts, cleaning his blade. "We need to move. Fifteen minutes. Then we push."
I sit down, hard. My legs are shaking.
Kaela and Lysara both sit next to me. At the same time. It's... awkward.
"You didn't use magic," Kaela says.
"The lines are... dirty. Using them... it feels... wrong."
"It makes the curse stronger," I admit. "I'm... I'm saving it. For... Mama."
Lysara just hands me a waterskin. "Hydration. You're sweating."
"Thanks."
"Tactical necessity," she says, looking away. "Dehydration... impairs judgment."
Kaela just rolls her eyes and shoves a piece of dried rations at me. "Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
"I don't care. Eat." She just... pushes it into my hand. "You need strength."
I eat. It tastes like cardboard. They both... watch me. Like they won't look away until I'm done.
I'm... I'm not alone.
Camp is a joke. We just... sit in a circle in the dark. No fire. Elira sets up her little metal... things. They hum.
"Reality anchors," she whispers. "Keeps the... weird out. A little."
And... she's right. The air in our little circle... it feels... cleaner. The oppressive... weight of the forest lifts. Just a little.
"Impressive," Lysara admits, inspecting one. "The... the resonance amplification is... clever."
Elira beams. "Thanks! I based it on your family's ward designs!"
They start... geeking out. About magic and runes. In the middle of this... this nightmare. It's... bizarre.
Kaela slumps next to me, our shoulders touching. "You're thinking again. Stop it."
"What if... what if I get one of them hurt? Because of me."
"Then we deal with it. Stop... stop trying to carry everything, Ren. We're here. We chose to be here." She looks at me, her eyes serious in the dim light. "You'd do it for us."
"...Yeah."
"So shut up. Rest. You've got second watch."
Seraphine finds me before my watch. "How is it?" she asks. No preamble.
"Louder," I admit. "It... likes it here."
"I was afraid of that." Her face is grim. "This... this is food for it. Ren... by the time we get to Umbral Hollow, you'll have been... marinating in this. It will be... screaming."
I just stare at her.
"When you see your mother. When you're... angry. And scared. Will you be able to control it?"
I don't have an answer.
"You need to decide. Now. While you're... you. What lines won't you cross?"
"What if... what if 'controlling it' means she... dies?"
"Then you make an impossible choice," she says, her voice sad. "But you make it. Not it."
She leaves me there. The curse... it just... purrs.
She's right, you know. I'm getting so strong. Just let me. I can save her. Who cares about 'lines'? What good is being 'you' if she's dead?
...The worst part is... it's right.
My watch. Marcus. He's... quiet. "First time in the deep dark?" he whispers.
"Yeah."
"It whispers. Lies. Tells you you're weak. Don't listen."
"What if... what if the dark is... in me?"
He looks at me, and his weathered face is... kind. "Then you decide what it means, kid. Darkness is just shadow. You use it to hide, or you use it for shade. Your call."
Lysara shows up. "Can't sleep."
"Sure," I say.
"Attacks are most likely during this watch. Statistically. Having... support... is logical."
"Always logical, elf-girl?" Marcus chuckles.
"Someone has to be," she says, but... she's looking at me. And... she's blushing. "I'm... meditating now. To maintain... readiness."
She sits. Stiff-backed. But she's... she's watching me.
Marcus just... snorts. "Kid, you're gonna have your hands full."
"With what?"
"You'll figure it out."
Dawn. We just... stand up. Cold food. Cold... everything. Everyone looks like hell. Thea is moving stiff. Toren's face is gray.
"Two more days," Felric says, his voice a rasp. "Stay sharp. Stay alive. Let's move."
We march. The forest... it's not a forest anymore. It's... it's a corpse. The trees are black, twisted. The ground is cracked. The air... you can taste the rot. The ley lines are... gone. Just... choked-out, dead threads.
And the curse... it's not whispering. It's not purring.
It's singing. It's happy.
Almost home, it hums. This is where we belong. Among our true kin.
"You're not my kin," I mutter.
"What?" Kaela, beside me.
"Nothing. Talking to myself."
"Weirdo." She grabs my hand. Just... for a second. "You're still you, Ren. Don't... don't forget it."
I hold on to that. I hold on, and we walk deeper into the dark.