It peered down at its fallen opponent, keeping its guard up.
Wode wasn't dead.
Not yet.
But its other prey was closing in on the forest border.
At their current pace, it would take no more than ten minutes before he was beyond reach.
Be sure of one prey, or—get both later.
Called by its instincts, the choice had already been made.
It spread its wings wide, and launched into the air—leaving a crater behind, before the dirt could even settle on its wings.
Speed was to its advantage—capable of flying in short bursts.
It glided past the trees on the roadside, using the branches below to launch itself forward whenever it slowed.
This was its hunting ground.
It would reach Tjer before he could leave the forest.
I clung to the horse's back—my arms still trembling as I clinched the reins.
My decision kept repeating in my head, but it was obvious,
It's too late now...
The only thing left for me was to trust Wode.
I felt defenseless.
No longer able to sense essence—I had lost my given senses.
My enemies before had always been ordinary humans—against them, essence was an unnecessary weapon.
Only now—in the wider world—did I understand how much it mattered.
The rumbling beneath me grew heavier.
Each impact came sooner than the last,
Why did we speed up? Is it even able to keep this up for long...?
"We're almost there," I whispered into its ear as I stroked its mane.
Each stride kept coming faster than the last,
It had no intentions of slowing down.
"Neigh!" The horse cried out.
Did it hear something?
Out of nowhere, the world in front of me spun.
With a strong hit that pulled me out of it.
I stared down the ditch we had just missed—saved by the tree that stopped us
Why did it jump lef— I lifted my gaze.
Blood flowed down my left leg.
It's not mine...
It was the horse's—its eye had been cut open.
I ran my hand through its mane—which was colored red by its own blood—and said,
"Thank you... you did great."
I lifted myself off its back, and jumped down onto the road.
I reached for my handle with my trembling hands, missing it twice before I held onto it.
How can I do this...
The Kludd stood before me—readying its next strike.
"Calm down... breathe..." I muttered between ragged breaths.
Even Wode has been taken down... I refused to acknowledge it, but it was a result I expected from the start.
My arms trembled harder as my hands tightened around the handle, and I drew my blade.
I will take it down. I was unsure whether I could believe even a single word of what I said.
A booming sound—
And before I even registered it—the beast was already in front of me.
I dove to my right in the same instant.
Shit, not fast enough.
I wedged my blade in between us right before it could hit me.
The steel rang, while I landed on the roadside.
That same sound woke me up.
I got back on my feet.
I won't let Wode's sacrifice be for naught.
Huh...?
In the same instant I folded under the weight of my own blade, unable to find my balance as I found myself on the floor again.
A cold shiver ran through my arms, and I lowered my gaze.
"AGHHHH!"
My eyes started to blur—all I could see was the red spread beneath me.
I dropped my sword in the pool where I sat—surrounding me.
I reached for my left side with both hands—but only my right hand could reach my side.
I forgot about its other weapons...
Not just the wings. Its claws and jaws were part of it too.
I looked down at my wounds, my breathing quickend.
It wasn't just my side, my left arm had been taken as well.
Are those my... bones...
I turned my head away, forgetting about the Kludd that stood on the same side.
I spun my head back.
It had already left the ground, approaching me.
I could no longer feel my left arm—the two cuts had torn through the muscles, and all else.
I dove down the ditch on my left.
I could feel my blade cutting me as I held it against my body with my right hand.
I landed on my left, and started rolling down the ditch—clenching my teeth through the pain.
The moment I stopped rolling, I pushed myself upright using my blade.
I was surrounded by trees on all sides.
I desperately searched for a solution around me.
I was barely able to lift my blade any longer.
It had become too heavy.
Fighting is not an option anymore...
I put all my weight on my right leg, and rushed towards the closest tree that was a fit.
As I moved I could hear the huffing of the approaching beast behind me.
I knew it. From the first moment the beast arrived, I heard it.
It used every moment it found to recover, and it had recovered enough to finish its wounded prey.
I looked at the state it was in, and one thing became clear,
I have just one chance.
I leaned with all my weight against the tree I had chosen, and faced the Kludd head-on.
The sounds of the branches cracking—louder with each step it took.
Until there was nothing.
I dove.
Followed by a blast behind me.
Splinters exploded through the air—nearly reaching my eyes.
When the shock passed, I stood there empty handed, eyes widened,
It worked...
A long howl followed the moment the Kludd felt it.
Shivers ran over my skin as the scraping filled the air—struggling to free itself from the tree it was stuck in.
I knew it would try it again.
The instinct to go for the left side of my neck...
A faint smile crept across my face, basking in the sunrays that found me.
It was stuck with its left side into the tree trunk, unable to move.
Its left side had gone numb, with the cold steel that had ran through its body, severing all the muscles on it cut through.
I saw that my moment had arrived, and staggered toward the ditch—making my way back up.
My knees scraped against the cold, solid dirt as I stumbled over the exposed roots.
I continued to drag myself upward/
Clutching anything my hand could hold onto—roots, branches, thorns—it didn't matter.
As long as I reach the top.
"Huff... huff... huff..." I lay my body out on the road I had reached, struggling to catch the burning breaths.
The shivers I felt of the sounds it made, woke me back up—forcing me to continue.
Before it frees itself.
With each step, my body began to adjust—still hunched over, but it started to feel natural.
I learned how to move like that.
Please be fine...
I limped towards the horse I had left behind, and it slowly came into sight as I approached it from behind.
The familiar iron smell crept in first,
It's too late...
Each step made it clearer—no bites were taken, but the horse was already dealt with.
"So…rry…"
The word could barely pass my lip, something catching them in my throat.
I lowered my eyes, unable to look at it while I passed it.
I need to make it. I lifted my head up, and gazed down the road.
The end could be seen in the coming horizon.
The view in front of me started filling with birds that fled from the trees on my right, followed by bangs that came from the spot I had left behind.
The sound of a heavy object cutting through the air—branches breaking into one another.
It was followed by a loud crash—then silence.
Did it pull the entire tree out of the ground?...
No, it doesn't matter... it has freed itself.
I increased my speed as if the sound itself gave me a push forward.
It was a gamble now—something outside of my ability.
Light began to break through the horizon ahead,
Just a bit more... almost...
It would take about half an hour to reach it.
I wasn't even sure whether I could hold on that long.
I kept going.
Sunrays grew bright enough to blind me—
"HOWL!"
The sound tore through the air, a sound filled with hunger.
My eyes were still adjusting as I turned around.
The beast stood behind me—it had made its way up,
How far is it...?!
Even through my blurred eyes I could see its figure.
As a drop fell down my cheek, feeling the corners of my lips turn upwards.
It's still far away...
It hadn't even passed the horse yet,
Where I had been fifteen minutes ago.
I will make it before it reaches me... I even have time to spare.
I moved to continue ahead—but the glimpse of it moving held me back.
It shattered all the hope I had built.
It surged forward at three times my speed, driving off its hind legs, hauling itself along with its remaining wing simultaneously.
It was as if the injuries did not limit it at all.
This is going beyond just prey and predator.
A feeling that something else drove it forward.
Something deeper.
I can't die now... My eyes widened as I looked at the faraway horizon.
I dropped down, copying its movement—pulling myself forward with my right hand, while my feet pushed me forward.
It's working.
Unable to gauge the speed I was going at now
It felt faster than before—that was all I needed.
"Kuhh..."
My chin slammed into the road, scratching it open.
I had misjudged the motions.
I continued.
I crawled forward, forgetting my dignity,
Forgetting my humanity.
I had slipped too far, the only thing in front of me was the road, and I lifted myself back up.
The taste of blood slowly spreading as tears welled up.
Don't stop...
Blood still dripped down my nose,
It can't end like this!
Memories had started to flash by,
Memories of a lost past—ones I wished to forget.
I could hear it, tearing through the dirt as it made its way over,
Closer...
And.
Closer...
One more push was all it needed to reach me.
This isn't essence...
It was pure desperation.
That was the surge of energy I felt.
I pushed my self forward—each push stronger than the last.
But it was all in vain.
As a sharp shadow appeared in front of me.
I rolled away, and the dirt compressed behind me.
Please... someone... help me...
Nothing came.
There was nothing to help me here.
Not in this lonely forest.
It slowly turned to face me—exhausted from all it did on its birthday.
It readied its claw again.
"NOOOO!" I used my body to swing everything around—even my left arm.
There was nothing left for me.
I had gambled it all away.
Tears burned my cheeks as the salty taste reached my mouth.
Both arms settled next to me, and I looked up at the claw that grew larger—descending.
I give up.
The claw wasn't moving, everything felt slowed down—even I was unable to move.
There was no way to change my fate anymore.
Its wings and body covered me from the stray rays that reached me before.
"Sorry wo—"
A flash.
One bright enough to darken the sight ahead of me.
Followed by the same ringing that had woken me up once before,
Sparks rained down my face.
My eyes adjusted to the warm light that cut through the shadows.
A flaming light.
I was heard.
Followed by the sound of flesh being torn apart.
"How long has it been already?"
For a heartbeat Wode had almost given in to an urge—the urge to let everything go.
All in front of him was darkness.
Until a speck of light had appeared in front of him—it was the promise he made,
The boy will survive.
The veil lifted from his face, and the world returned as it was.
He felt the cold dirt pressing against his cheek, against his cooled body—and the burning pain the wound that sprouted from the wound.
How bad is it...?
A shock tore through him—like lightning driving into his veins.
It tore through his body, forcing him to move.
But he was already doing all he could.
"There is no way..."
Warmth started spreading through his chest again.
His essence had come back to him.
It's too late... damn it!
Tjer's essence was still spread thin, but it appeared clearly to Wode.
It was alongside the Kludd's.
But I can still reach him.
A surge of confidence rose from somewhere he didn't recognize.
It was unfamiliar, but clear.
It's reliable.
It was not empty hope.
It was certainty.
His sight started to change,
Dirt slipped down his face as he raised his head, the shape of trees slowly returning as they lifted upward.
His body moved—guided by something deeper.
The movements were his, and all he willed happened.
But he wasn't the one conducting.
Who cares.
A gift had been bestowed upon him—his only choice was to embrace it.
He gathered all essence in his legs, while he already moved forward—faster than he had ever gone before.
Can I still make it...? Insecurity still dwelled within him—quelled by the embrace from the warmth within him.
He believed it.
Trusted it.
He fully embraced it.
He did not resist it anymore.
He became one with it.
It wasn't him anymore.
Control was given away.
Who cares.
The only thing that mattered was its objective.
Light flooded his vision—
A familiar, yet distant sight appeared—a memory just out of reach.
The horizon appeared into my sight again—filled with blood raining down.
Wode did sur—
The thought died.
It was an obvious lie.
It wasn't just the Kludd's blood that flew through the air.
I looked down at the spatters of blood on me, and turned to my right—at the trail of blood leading to me.
He forced himself here—just to save me...
He cut the beast down from its crown to its left wing.
That single strike was enough to settle the debt.
I jumped forward, and caught him with both hands just before he fell.
His strength faded as he spoke,
"Ron... my boy..." He reached his hand out toward the empty air in front of us.
"Live your life... my boy." His gaze had left the open field.
It was turned towards me, but he missed mine.
His hand found my lap, after he had raised it—reaching for my cheek.
He seems at peace...
A faint smile rested on his face—one I had not seen before, carrying narrowed eyes with a single tear caught between them.
I cleared my throat, and gently lowered him to the ground.
Whether he could hear me, or not—I still murmured,
"I hope you are where you want to be. Thank you, Wode."
Silence.
That was all there was.
I kept looking down his face as something caught my eye.
What...