Morning rose heavy and unnaturally quiet.No wind.No birdsong.The Forest of Tianyu seemed to be holding its breath.
Ren felt it first.
A cold shiver ran down his spine, making his staff vibrate faintly in his hands.
"Something is wrong."
He stepped out of the cabin slowly, silver eyes cutting through the low mist that hovered over the ground.Draven was practicing small blue flames on his fingertips.Lyra was sharpening her arrows.Borin was arranging tools near the anvil.
Everything looked normal…But it wasn't.
The silence was too deep.
— "Ren?" Lyra called, sensing his tension. "Did you hear something?"
Ren shook his head.— "No. And that's the problem."
Borin lifted his gaze.— "The forest's always talkin'. If it's quiet…"
He gripped his hammer.— "…then something doesn't want to be heard."
🌫️ The Sound That Shouldn't Exist
Then it came.
A crack.Soft, uneven.Like a branch being crushed—slowly.
Draven straightened.— "That wasn't an animal."
Lyra was already standing, bow drawn.
Ren felt the staff pulse again.— "Stay together."
They closed in around Borin, forming a tight triangle of defense.The mist began to shift…Snaking between the trees.
Lyra swallowed.— "I can't… hear the wind."Ren's eyes widened.
She was right.The wind was gone.
👁️ The First Appearance
Something stepped out from between the trees.
Slow.Dragging.Dark.
A pair of yellow eyes opened within the mist.
Draven took half a step back.— "…What is that?"
The creature had no solid body.It was a living shadow wrapped in smoke, moving with weight and hunger.
Ren raised his staff.— "It's a Shade. Mana corrupted by old spirits."
Borin spat.— "Knew it. Old mana, forgotten places—these pests love lurkin' where the world's asleep."
Lyra's voice was barely a whisper.— "It's… looking at you, Ren."
It was.The creature stared directly at him — or at the staff.
Ren felt a cold tremor crawl through him.
"So you sense the Ancestral Root too…"
The shadow lunged.
⚔️ The Guild's First Battle
— "Formation!" Ren shouted.
Draven rushed forward with fire spilling from his hands.Lyra stepped back three paces, bow ready.Borin planted himself between them, shield raised.
The Shade attacked like a streak of black lightning.
Borin blocked with his shield — the impact sent him sliding nearly two meters.— "By the ancestors… it's heavy!"
Lyra released an arrow.It passed through the shadow — but the creature recoiled, hissing.
— "No physical body!" she warned.
Draven didn't wait.He punched forward, unleashing a burst of flame that tore a guttural roar from the creature.
— "That hurt it!"Ren's eyes sharpened.— "It's weak to pure mana. Draven, Lyra — keep pressure!"
The shadow darted again, this time straight at Ren.
He raised his staff — the Guild's emblem burned with light.
The creature hesitated.Just for a heartbeat.
Pain shot through Ren's skull.A whisper echoed within him:
"Protect what you have planted…"
Ren steadied himself.— "Borin! Hold it still!"
The dwarf slammed his fist into the ground.The stone roots they'd shaped days before shuddered—Then rose.
They trapped the Shade, even if only for a second.
— "Lyra, now!"— "I've got it!"
Her arrow, wrapped in wind, pierced the creature's center.The Shade shrieked.Draven followed with a flaming strike that detonated the mist.
Silence fell.
The creature dissolved…But a dark stain remained on the ground, pulsing faintly.
🕯️ Fear After Victory
Draven panted.— "That was… that was our first real monster, wasn't it?"
Borin clapped his shoulder.— "And you didn't burn anyone. I'm impressed."Draven snorted, half laughing despite the tension shaking inside him.
Lyra approached Ren.— "What was that… really?"
Ren hesitated.
Then answered quietly:— "Something that woke… because we woke this forest."
Her breath caught.— "Do you think more will come?"
Ren looked at the stain.— "I think this was only the beginning."
📜 [Status Window – Immortal Guild]
Event Recorded: First Hostile EncounterCreature: Shade of the Mist (Level Unknown)Outcome: Partial VictoryAnomaly: Corrupted Mana Residue remains active
New Functions Unlocked:
Spiritual Danger Alert (Lv.1): Detects corrupted creatures nearby.
Basic Defensive Formation (Lv.1): Minor bonus when all four members fight together.
Base Construction: 34%Status: Active Threat in the Forest