The forest did not feel like Earth.
It felt older.
Too quiet. Too aware. As if every tree had been watching Kael Ardyn fall from the sky and was now pretending it hadn't seen anything at all.
Kael pushed himself up from the wet ground, breathing heavily. His body ached like his bones had been rewritten during the fall. Rain dripped from his hair, sliding down the strange burning mark on his arm.
The Bloody Sun mark.
It pulsed faintly… like it was still alive.
Kael clenched his jaw.
"Where… am I?" he muttered.
A distant rustle answered him.
Not wind.
Movement.
🩸 THE SURVIVOR IN THE SHADOWS
Deep inside the forest ruins, a small figure stood hidden behind broken stone and tangled roots.
She had been watching him since he fell.
Her eyes were sharp. Focused. Unblinking.
Her name was Jemila Dan.
A child… but not an ordinary one.
Her fingers slowly touched the mark on her own skin—a symbol shaped like a broken troll crown, glowing faintly beneath her sleeve.
She whispered to herself,
"…Another one."
Jemila did not move yet.
Because she already knew what Kael did not.
This forest was not empty.
And it was not safe.
💀 THE FIRST HUNTERS ARRIVE
The ground trembled.
Kael turned sharply.
From between the trees, figures began to emerge—slow at first… then more.
Tall shapes.
Twisted bodies.
Eyes that glowed without light.
They did not walk like humans.
They dragged reality with them.
Kael stepped back instinctively. "What are those…?"
A whisper came from the wind.
Not animals.
Not human.
HUNTERS.
One of them tilted its head toward Kael.
And smiled.
🔥 KAEL'S FIRST FIGHT
The creature moved first.
It blurred forward faster than Kael could process.
He barely dodged as claws tore through the ground where he stood seconds ago.
Kael rolled, grabbed a broken branch, and swung—but the impact felt like hitting stone.
The creature didn't even flinch.
Kael's eyes widened.
"These things can't be killed…"
The hunter raised its hand.
Dark energy gathered.
Kael's body froze mid-step.
His muscles locked.
He couldn't move.
"Damn it—!"
🧝♀️ JEMILA INTERVENES
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Suddenly—
A stone spear pierced through the darkness, striking the creature's arm.
It staggered.
For the first time, it reacted.
Kael turned sharply.
From the trees, Jemila stepped forward.
Calm.
Focused.
Dangerous.
She held a carved bone blade in one hand.
Her eyes met Kael's for a brief moment.
"Get up," she said coldly.
Kael blinked. "Who are you?"
Jemila didn't answer.
Another hunter emerged behind Kael.
Her eyes shifted.
"Behind you."
Kael turned—
Too late.
⚔️ THE UNKILLABLE TRUTH
The creature struck.
But Jemila moved faster.
She jumped in, slashing across its arm. Black blood sprayed—but the wound began healing instantly.
Kael watched in shock.
"They regenerate…"
Jemila clicked her tongue. "No. They don't regenerate."
She grabbed Kael's arm and pulled him back.
"They simply don't die."
Another hunter roared nearby.
The forest responded.
More were coming.
🐺 THE TRUTH IS REVEALED
Kael stared at her. "Why are they after me?"
Jemila hesitated for the first time.
Then she answered:
"Because you fell from the Bloody Sun."
Kael froze.
"…You know about that?"
Jemila lifted her sleeve slightly.
The mark on her skin glowed.
Kael's eyes widened.
She continued,
"And because I exist… they never stopped hunting me either."
A silence passed between them.
Two cursed marks.
Two impossible survivors.
Two targets of a world that could not kill them—but would never stop trying.
🩸 THE DECISION
The forest shook again.
More hunters were closing in.
Jemila turned slightly.
"There's no escape if you stay here."
Kael tightened his fists. "I just got here… and I'm already being hunted."
Jemila looked at him.
For the first time, her expression softened slightly.
"You're not just being hunted," she said. "You're the reason they exist."
Kael didn't understand.
But there was no time to ask.
Jemila grabbed his wrist.
"Run with me… or die here."
A pause.
Then Kael nodded.
"…Fine."
And together, they ran into the cursed forest.