The makeshift caravan traveled through a lumpy dirt path which along with the hard wood cuased considerable pain to everyone's backsides. Luckily Miranda also had to fulfill the role of a guide as non of the villagers ever visted the city and where they were there weren't any road signs let alone people to ask.
Soon a unsual smell started to draft through the air. Being in such a cramped space unsual smells weren't unsual but this different. As they went futher through the forest the smell only got stronger and soon the man sitting opposite Cole realised what it was "Oh gods it's blood".
Miranda flew around and when she couldn't find a source of the smell she went in front of the moving caravan and said "The smell isn't cuased by anything too near here it should be safe as long as we get out of here fast" True to her word the stench of iron got bit clearer but not much stronger simply staying at a constant level even if they traveled far enough to waft away any normal smell.
The sun was going to set soon so Rotund decided they would make camp along the side of the path along a little clearing which was rare as the forest now was thick and walking through it was a challenge. Most of the group were egar to walk around after being sat for so long yet no one dared to venture too far from the group and by extension Miranda.
Darkness set and Kabel slept on the ground with only a blanket too wrap around Himself along with everyone else expect the children who slept on the carriages. Cole was next too him and asked him "Hey..Kabel if somthing happens you run" The unexpected words made his face widen. He tried to think through on how to respond but all that came out was a "Why?" Cole didn't look back and stared at the sky.
"You're not like us, I can barely read and I'm not even that good with my hands if I die it wouldn't matter all too much but you smarter and stronger and you're just...more" Kabel sat up slightly "Cole you do know that in the grand scale of things we're both so insignificant that me being well educated is like if one blade of grass was the tiniest amount longer than the other, everyone's lives are equal as in this world there's not a person that can't become stronger that doesn't have potential to grow stronger, so let's wait until we're old and dieing to be comparing our lives how about that" Kabel's words put him at ease slightly and gave him enough to think about that he went silent till he fell asleep.
However Kabel didn't fall asleep just yet he first sniffed the air and besides the smell of sweat the smell of blood was strong. He was determined to get too the cuase and understand. "It started around 4km ago and the smells been constant...That means it's covering a incredibly wide area or the source of the smell has been following us" He leaned down and sniffed the dirt but with the smell completely enriched every molecule of air so he needed to get closer.
He dug up a relatively clean patch of dirt and shoved his nose in it and sniffed, looking like a dog in the process. "The dirt just smells like dirt so it isn't coming from the ground which rules out underground gases" He then slowly stood up and walked over too the carriages. He carefully inspected each cargo.
After a hour or two of sniffing he concluded "It's not coming from any of the cargo" He then decided to check the forest. "Perhaps its a type of moss or plant that has recently evolved?" He walked into the darkness. The moon was out that night but the dense foliage blocked much of that out.
He ended up walking in complete darkness the tree and growths seemd to latch onto his limbs as he pushed by and powered through. The thorns cut him shallow all over his arms and legs and even on his face as he kept moving forward "If my eyes dont work just gotta rely on my nose"
He kept moving forward using his nose for direction and touch to navigate. Somehow the world seemed to get darker and to Kabel he and the smell of blood was all that was left. To his hope the smell actually got stronger "Finally I'm closer to the source!" He sped up getting cut more by the forest that seemed to want too grab onto him, trying desperately to stop his pursuit.
Yet he ignored and kept on pushing, drops of blood fell and trickled down his leg yet the intensifying stench of blood only motivated him futher. He walked forward and forward until the smell grew so strong he could barely stand it. The notes of iron and acidity grew so strong that his eyes watered and he stopped too cough.
He opened his eyes again to find another one staring back at him. It was as large as his body with a bright yellow tinge along with a bright red iris staring at him with laser focus. Kabel froze in fear and quickly recovered slowly trying to step backwards. Yet as soon as he moved a step his arm along with three trees behind was completely blown off.
The air pressure sent his body flying but the forest catched him with it's dense network of plants. Searing pain flooded his system and adrenaline was unleashed as he stared to run backwords as fast he could jumping to avoid the brambles. "C-camp! I need to make it back too Miranda!"
A airy crackling sound came from behind Kabel as the moonlight made from the hurt forest shown through illumating part of the monster. Dozens of fleshy human hands were sticking out of somthing that couldn't be seen as a red gass was expelled from it's muscle. The hands near too the ground all pointed down and pushed launching the monster into the air and breaking through the foliage into above the forest.
Kabel ran faster than he ever did as blood leaked from his arm drenching his side. He looked around trying to find where the creature went. "If it jumped and it's still not come down then it's hell of alot stronger than I thought or it can fly" He tried his best too calmly analyse the situation and ignore the pain that seemd to shoot straight too his brain. The creature then promptly slammed down too the ground crushing wood beneath it and turning wooden fragments into shrapnel that cuased an array of wounds all over Kabels body.
Kabel swerved and moved his body despite the pain and bloodloss. The creature let out that horrible sound yet again and this time Kabel realised what is was doing "Its laughing, It enjoys this" The realisation made him smile "Thats why it hasn't killed me yet! But it doesn't know about Mirranda if i can lure it too her then it's finished!"
With hope in place his body achieved new-found strength as the creature jumped again this time it put less strength into it's legs landing back down after a short amount of time. This process repated again and again until Kabel could barely run at a jogs pace with one off his legs becoming useless along with wooden shrapnel the size of fingernails deep in his internal organs.
"Ah...im going to die" The darkness of night didn't recced and he had no idea if he was even close too the camp. Yet he didn't stop moving. "Strange I'm doing to die and yet I'm still walking?" Somehow he kept on moving forward because that was all he could do and the only path he could take.
He thought back too memories of his birth how he had forced himself to evolve with mana too his time spent learning under Miranda and his time idling with his friends. "W-why am I dieing here?" He came too an almost obvious conclusion. "I stopped. I thought that my life could continue like that forever never needing to change or move forwards...how nice that would've been" His mana was stired for the first time since his evolution.
The monster saw his prey and had gotten bored it lunged torwards Kabel to finish him off before heavenly thunder struck Kabel and blasted the monster away while charring deep black scars all over Kabels body. Wind picked up too as beyond hurricane forces cuasing the surroding area of dozens of meters too be razed too the ground.
The camp was far away by this point as they held onto their horse carriages. "I thought you said if we moved away we would be safe!" Rotund shouted at Mirranda over the wind. Mirranda stood in shock as she stared at the event "this wasn't suppose to happen" The wind tore apart all of Kabels skin leaving him bare as the earth opened up and spewed lava while the ground shot up and stabbed his chest. The water in the atmosphere around him both freezed and boiled his body alive. In this moment Kabel was trying too defy heavens will too rise above his station and distort the natural laws using mana.
A man riding a broomstick from afar used his monocle too see the event happening "Now who's kid is awakening out here?" In the meantime Kabel felt the worst pain he could ever imagine. The world itself was rejecting him and he could feel gods offering too lend their aid for him too overcome the tribulation.
He didn't rush though. As the world was actively tearing him apart the longer he waited the more powerful god appread. At first he could feel all frogs asking if they wanted his help, then wind seemd to blow in the perfect way that almost seemd like a language he couldn't hear but he understood the underlying meaning, then as his legs fell apart the god of nature reaching out too him.
Yet he waited even longer. After he rejected the god of nature there was silence for a few seconds before somthing began too change. In fact all things changed as change itself had wished to lend its aid. This felt right and perfect for him like he was made for this. And so Kabel accepted the external help and in a instant the world died down.
Surrounding him was pure devastation but it was safe atleast. Stood in the middle of it was a limbless charred square. His two eyes were the only things that signified what he once was. The male mage came over on his broomstick before looking around "hm very interesting" He jumped off and stared at Kable and asked "boy do you want too live?" He couldn't talk yet the magician understood anyway as he spilled the entiery of a potion and stored the torso away in a magic bag.