One swing came out of nowhere—fast
but not fast enough to hide what it did.
Faith had a near instant reaction, pulling back his body and head knowing an attack would come , but instant wasn't enough.
A few strands of Faith's hair, those slightly-too-long bits near the side—
snipped clean off and spiraled into the air.
His body immediately locked into panic mode.
No thinking.
No yelling.
No words.
Just pure survival instinct, burning through his veins .
He grabbed Lumini by the arm and yanked her with him, sprinting across the thick branch to the other side of the tree.
Then—
~ SLAAASH!!
The beast didn't miss the branch.
It cut straight through it.
The entire section of wood gave way under them, snapping like cheap plastic, dropping both of them.
Lumini instantly began levitating, her feet lifting off the falling wood like she weighed nothing.
Faith used that without thinking—he latched onto her, using her upward momentum to slow his own fall—then swung himself off her shoulder and jumped toward the trunk.
His hands slapped the rough bark.
his boots scraped.
and he slid down, burning through layers of skin on his palms, until he hit the ground.
Again, this time, the wounds started bleeding badly.
He was on the ground, yet again.
But in an even worse situation than before.
He bolted—no plan, no direction—just straight for the nearest cluster of trees.
But this time…
This time, they were already there.
The weird beasts. Multiple.
He could see their shapes lurking just inside the darker parts of the forest.
Not stepping into the light.
Like they didn't want to be fully seen.
They formed a loose ring around him—not close, but close enough.
Enough to let him know that:
He couldn't run left.
He couldn't run right.
He couldn't run forward.
He couldn't even go back.
He was boxed in.
Completely.
The main beast—the one that climbed the tree—
slammed onto the ground behind him.
The earth shook, vibrating through his feet and up his spine.
Faith turned around slowly…
and finally saw it.
In full.
It was massive—easily two, maybe three times his height.
Shaped like a wolf, but wrong.
Distorted. Like aura leaking out from its fur.
Spikes running down its back like jagged bone.
Its stance was of that of a cat finding a mouse.
Behind it was three tails.
Long, furry, black, tails.
All moving in a stiff but calm motion.
Lumini floated down, but still above them, yet again, hands on her hips, this time grinning like she'd been waiting for this exact moment.
Finally satisfied.
She shouted at him, loud enough to echo:
"Prove yourself, Faith!"
And she crossed her arms, like this was a spectator sport.
He looked up at her—
But the beast didn't wait.
It attacked.
Quick.
A huge swing cut through the air—fast as hell but not invisible.
He saw every inch of it coming, saw the muscles in its shoulder bunch, the claws carving a line through the air—
He dodged by a hair again.
Barely.
He could keep up, but only by a fraction of a second.
And even when dodging, it still got him.
The air pressure alone sliced his cheek open, leaving three thin wounds that burned like fire.
[ What...is this thin? ]
He thought, shaking involuntarily.
He brought his fists up in a boxing motion—not because he believed he could fight it, but because doing nothing would've been worse.
The beast moved again, slower this time.
Controlled.
Basic attacks.
Testing him.
Pushing him.
Almost like it was telling him:
"Come on. Fight. Commit."
He wasn't imagining it.
This thing was smart.
He ran towards it, trying to close the distance—
The beast lashed out with two more attacks.
He dodged both, but his clothes ripped open, the fabric fluttering away in strips leaving thin marking lines on his skin.
When he finally got close enough to strike—
one of its tails whipped at his head.
He dropped into a crouch instantly, dodging an attack with a 100% fatality chance.
He didn't need to get hit to know.
Just the wind from that swing,
the pressure,
the force.
It told him everything he needed to know.
One attack would've taken his head clean off.
He pushed himself up—barely.
But the beast didn't even let him finish standing.
The tail followed up with another one, it didn't miss.
It swung hard, slamming into his stomach like a mini–bus, sending him flying back.
Air shot out of his lungs.
He coughed—hard.
Spit mixed with blood splattering onto the dirt.
His throat burned.
His stomach felt twisted, like something inside shifted to the wrong place.
His heartbeat became a pulse in his ears.
His vision rocked.
His head throbbed so sharply it felt like it was vibrating inside his skull.
He felt dizzy.
He stumbled—
Then collapsed completely before forcing himself back up to his knees.
Slow.
Shaking.
He finally got up.
The beast stared at him with something he shouldn't have seen—
A smirk.
The thought hit him so hard he bit his lip, eyes welling with two small tears that slipped out before he could stop them.
He knew.
He knew he couldn't win.
Every move he made was pointless.
Every effort he pushed out was already being laughed at.
It wasn't fighting him.
It was amused, watching him scramble just to stay alive.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and spat out more blood, the copper taste burning down his tongue, then forced himself back into a stance.
One deep breath.
He dashed forward—
~ Crack.
His ankle made a sound it should never make.
His foot collapsed underneath him instantly.
He didn't even fall gracefully—
he just dropped onto his knees, hands digging into the dirt.
He tried to get up but—
Pain exploded through his right ankle like someone stabbed a hot nail through it.
He recognized it instantly.
The same pain he felt as a kid when he twisted it too hard and heard that same awful crack.
He said it calmly, voice flat and defeated:
[ I fractured my ankle... ]
He tried to stand again—
and buckled.
Completely.
He sank to both knees, practically surrendering without even meaning to.
The beast walked toward him slowly.
Each step measured.
Deliberate.
Confident.
It raised its paw—
high enough to cast a shadow over him.
A shadow that only meant one thing:
Death.
Faith looked up at the massive weight coming down.
He didn't blink.
He couldn't.
His energy felt drained out of his body, like someone unplugged the cord.
His arms buzzed with a weird, glitchy numbness.
He felt weak.
Too weak.
The weakest he had ever felt in his entire life.
The moment he jumped down earlier… that was it.
He couldn't run.
He couldn't fight.
He couldn't hide.
He was done.
He was going to die.
The beast's paw dropped—
a force behind it so strong the wind roared past him like an aircraft cutting through the sky.
Faith let out a soft chuckle as blood dripped from his nose and leaked from the sides of his mouth.
Even if he wanted to stand, his body wouldn't listen.
His arms wouldn't even rise.
He braced for the hit—
Expecting pain that would probably end him in one shot—
When suddenly—
"STOP!! "
Faith's eyes snapped open.
He blinked twice—fast.
He saw hair.
Lumini.
Standing in front of him, guarding him, her arms stretched out wide like she was trying to shield him with every bit of herself.
The beast froze.
Then slowly lowered its paw.
Lumini's voice hit next, calm but carrying anger underneath:
"Sit."
The beast sat.
Immediately.
Letting out a grunt so unexpectedly cute for something its size that Faith wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't watching.
Its expression changed into something almost guilty—
like a dog that knew it messed up.
Lumini exhaled and lowered her arms.
Faith looked up at her.
everything blurry.
He couldn't fully make out her face, but her expression…
he could tell it was worry.
He had so many questions.
But his body had decided its own move.
[ How did yo– ]
The words fell apart as he collapsed forward, passing out from the pain and a bit of bloodloss.
Lumini barely caught him, arms slipping under him just before he hit the ground.
She looked down at his face and gave a small worried smile—
soft, gentle, almost proud.
"You passed."