Dawn crept slowly into Wildwood Valley, pale light filtering through towering branches thick with mana mist.
Karan Saxena did not wait for the sun to fully rise.
After completing the final guard rotation, he moved through the camp, nudging shoulders and calling softly.
"Up. Everyone up."
Bedrolls rustled. Armour shifted. Exhaustion clung stubbornly to limbs, but no one argued.
They had two days left.
Two days to survive.
Two days to return to the Academy alive.
Students emerged one by one into the cold morning air. Breath fogged faintly before their faces as they washed, stretched sore muscles, and prepared for what might be their most important day yet.
A small fire crackled back to life. Breakfast was simple — preserved grain cakes, roasted fruit, and the last of yesterday's rabbit.
No one complained.
Fuel mattered more than flavour now.
Akshay remained seated near the medical tent, his movements careful but steadier than the previous night. Meira hovered nearby, watchful without being overbearing.
"You should still avoid sudden strain," she reminded him.
Akshay gave a faint smile. "Walking without feeling like my ribs will shatter is already a victory."
Across the camp, Avdhoot gathered the group.
"We divide into two teams," he said.
No hesitation. No wasted words.
"Herb completion is non-negotiable. Without it, the campaign itself fails — even if we defeat the Sky Reaper."
He looked toward Bhavna, Kiran, Karan, and Divya.
"You four handle collection."
All nodded immediately.
Then his gaze shifted.
"The rest of us prepare the battlefield."
Siddhant stepped forward slightly. Mira moved beside him. Priya and Tara were already checking gear.
Veer cracked his knuckles.
"Finally. Something that sounds mildly insane."
Meira crossed her arms. "And we are staying here."
Avdhoot nodded once. "Guard the camp. Monitor mana signatures. If anything approaches — signal immediately."
Akshay looked frustrated but didn't argue.
He understood his role now was survival.
Within minutes, both teams departed — one toward duty, the other toward confrontation.
The forest welcomed them with heavy silence.
Bhavna walked at the front, scanning the terrain carefully.
"If this plan fails…" Divya said quietly beside her, "we're not talking about injuries anymore."
Bhavna didn't slow.
"If the plan fails," she replied, "we adapt. Panic is what actually kills people."
Behind them, Kiran pushed aside a low branch.
"I still can't believe the size of that thing," he muttered. "When it landed, it felt like the ground itself gave up."
Karan nodded grimly. "Let's make sure we never stand that close again."
Hours passed beneath the dense canopy.
Searching.
Tracking.
Confirming leaf patterns.
Twice they thought they had found Starlight Bloom — twice it proved false.
But persistence won.
Near a shaded ridge, Divya finally froze.
"Here."
Silver-blue petals shimmered faintly between roots.
Relief washed through the group as containers were opened and the first verified herbs secured.
Later came Ironleaf Bark — stubborn to harvest, but dependable once located.
Time blurred into effort.
By the time their quotas were complete, shoulders ached and fingers were stained green — but no one suggested resting.
Not yet.
They had something better waiting.
Hope.
Deeper in the valley, the forest changed.
Mana grew thicker — almost drinkable in the air.
Breathing required more effort.
"Feels like inhaling water," Veer muttered.
"Stay focused," Tara replied.
They reached the dense sector by moving above the ground — leaping from branch to branch to avoid leaving an obvious trail.
"Timing starts now," Veer called.
One by one they launched forward.
Boots struck bark.
Bodies flowed through motion.
Avdhoot moved like an arrow — efficient, controlled, wasting no momentum.
He landed first.
As always.
But leadership weighed heavily today.
Because this plan required one terrifying truth:
He would be the bait.
Tara immediately began surveying the terrain.
"This section is perfect," she said. "Root density is high. Soil integrity is unstable beneath the surface."
Siddhant nodded. "Meaning collapse is guaranteed once triggered."
They began with the first mechanism.
Three massive trees were partially cut — angled carefully so they would remain standing until the support ropes were severed.
"When the lines are burned through," Mira explained, tightening a knot, "gravity finishes the job."
Veer stepped back, eyeing the trunks.
"If that doesn't knock it down, I officially retire from optimism."
By midday, sweat soaked through fabric despite the cool air.
"Food," Tara announced. "Now."
No one argued.
They ate sitting on fallen stone, discussing angles, distances, timing sequences — refining the plan until it resembled strategy rather than desperation.
Then they worked again.
A concealed pit.
Trigger points.
Orb placement positions.
Fallback routes.
By the time the final trap was tested, the forest itself seemed complicit — silent and waiting.
Siddhant exhaled slowly.
"It will work."
No one said it aloud…
…but they all wanted to believe him.
The herb team returned first, legs trembling from exhaustion.
They collapsed onto the flat stones near the fire.
Meira approached immediately.
"How did it go?"
Bhavna managed a tired smile.
"Quotas complete… and we found edible mushrooms. Some valley fruits, too."
"That," Veer declared as the trap team staggered into camp moments later, "is the most beautiful sentence I've heard all week."
They were filthy.
Covered in dirt.
Hair tangled with leaves.
But their eyes burned with quiet triumph.
"All traps installed," Siddhant reported, lowering himself onto the ground. "Every mechanism tested."
For the first time since the Sky Reaper appeared…
People smiled without forcing it.
Food cooked.
Stories exchanged.
Details compared.
The plan — fragile as it was — had form now.
After the meal, Avdhoot stepped outside the circle of firelight. Priya and Siddhant joined him instinctively.
The valley stretched before them, shadowed beneath the descending night.
"This is our last night in Wildwood Valley," Avdhoot said.
Both leaders nodded.
Siddhant let out a soft breath. "Strange… isn't it? We arrived as competitors."
"And now," Priya added, "we fight like one unit."
Avdhoot watched the dark tree line.
"I suspect that was always part of the Academy's lesson."
A pause.
"But the Sky Reaper?" he continued quietly. "That was never part of their design."
Before the silence could deepen, Meira's voice cut through the air.
"Inside. All of you. Rest."
No one protested.
Tomorrow demanded everything.
Bedrolls were claimed early.
Some hand-made wooden weapons are placed within arm's reach.
Mana conserved.
One by one, the camp surrendered to sleep.
Veer took the first rotation.
He leaned against a tree, eyes drifting upward.
The sky had cleared.
For the first time in days, stars burned unobstructed — brilliant against the endless dark.
A slow smile touched his face.
"Worth it," he murmured. "At least this view is."
The valley seemed peaceful.
Almost grateful.
Then—
Far beyond sight…
Something vast shifted in the night.
Not hunting.
Not fleeing.
Turning.
As if answering a call, only it could hear.
Veer never noticed.
But tomorrow…
Wildwood Valley would remember the sound of falling wings.
[End of Chapter 18]