Chapter Two: Something Is Wrong With This Place
The wind sliced through the trees, thick with the scent of damp earth, and something off. Zai stood motionless, finally steady, when a gust tore past him, tugging at strands of hair that fell across his face.
A glint caught his eye. Silver.
He froze. Grabbed a fistful. "No way…"
Shimmering strands ran through his fingers like threads of metal. "No, no, no… this wasn't here." His voice cracked. "My hair was black. What is this silver witch-crap?"
He twisted in place, gripping his head. "If Dad sees this, he'll think I dunked my skull in cursed powder."
His breath hitched. Something was wrong. With his hair. His body. Everything.
And then he felt it, that weightless pressure behind him. Like breath on his neck. Like eyes without a face.
He spun. Fists clenched. "Who's there?"
Silence.
Just wind. Trees. Shadows.
But the sensation clung to his skin like smoke. His gut screamed: run.
This time, he obeyed.
"Nox!" he roared, tearing through the forest. "Nox, answer me!"
No reply. Just the hiss of leaves, the caw of strange birds, and the far-off screech of something that didn't belong to nature.
Zai pushed harder. His legs moved like springs, his breath steady even at full sprint. He was faster than he remembered. Lighter. Each step smoother, sharper. But he had no time to process that.
The forest was warped.
Birds looked down from twisted trees, too many eyes glowing dimly, or none at all. One had feathers like glass and a beak like a dagger. A lizard skittered past on two legs, upright like a man, tongue flicking toward him as it vanished behind a stone.
"What is this place?" he muttered, slowing for only a moment. Something in the trees hissed and vanished. Something else just watched.
Eventually, breathless, he dropped beneath the roots of a gnarled tree. Blood crusted his mouth. His tunic still showed where Nox's blade had cut him. But the pain? Gone. No sting, no throb, not even soreness.
"I got hit," he whispered. "I bled. I should feel it."
His pulse didn't match his panic. His wound hadn't scarred. And yet, the tunic was still torn.
Then came the boom.
A deep crack, louder than thunder. Trees shuddered. The air trembled. Something massive was nearby. Moving. Growling.
Zai rose slowly, crept through brush, and peered past the edge of a slope.
Two monsters clashed below.
One, bear-shaped but massive, bigger than any house. Its body was coated in jagged stone, fused into its hide. With each strike of its paws, the earth split and boulders rose like fists. Roars shook the treetops.
The other, a tiger wrapped in flame, sleek and fluid. Fire curled from its fangs and claws. It moved like lightning, every swipe hurling arcs of heat. The very ground cracked and hissed beneath it.
Zai crouched low. "They're not after me… but they're getting close."
He bolted left. A massive slab of stone missed him by inches, smashing into a tree behind him and splintering it.
His body moved before thought. Reflexes sharper than ever. He ducked, rolled, landed with precision that felt… unnatural.
Still panting, he whispered, "What is happening to me?"
He moved carefully, weaving through crushed trees and seared grass. The battle raged on. Tremors shook the ground. Then… silence.
Zai peeked out. The titans had fallen.
The bear-creature lay still, thick hide cracked, eyes dim. The tiger, coiled in a pool of flickering embers, trembled with its last breath. Neither moved. Whether they both lost or killed each other didn't matter.
What mattered was that they were no longer tearing the world apart.
Yet nothing else in the forest dared to come near them.
Zai stepped out, instincts screaming. The air around the bodies felt heavier, dense, like a presence pressed against his chest. He ignored it. Curiosity shoved fear aside.
He crouched near the bear first. Its fur was scorched, stone hide broken in places. But it didn't bleed, not red. Instead, a black ooze seeped from its wounds. As he watched, its body began to shimmer. Evaporating. Slowly. Silently.
"What the hell…"
He turned to the tiger. Fire still danced along its ribs in fading flickers. He reached toward its shoulder.
A claw lashed out. Too fast, too late to duck.
Pain flared across his cheek. He stumbled back, clutching his face as blood spilled down his neck. His vision blurred, breath sharp.
It wasn't just the cut. It was the humiliation.
Rage ignited in his chest.
No scream. No retreat.
He snapped a thick branch from the tree beside him, the sound echoing loud and sharp.
His hands felt too strong. His grip too firm. Muscles moved like they belonged to someone else. He charged, raising the branch, CRACK.
It shattered on contact. The tiger didn't even flinch.
Zai's eyes met its fading ones. No hatred. Just fading light. He didn't care.
"I should leave you to die."
He stepped forward and, without hesitation, drove a clenched fist into the side of its throat.
A clean, dull crack.
The beast exhaled. Slumped and laid still.
Zai stood over it, breath ragged, blood dripping freely, but the rage was gone. In its place, pity. And something colder, Guilt.
"What did I just do…"
That's when it happened.
A glowing panel flickered into view.
Not magic. Not a spell. Something else. Lines of faint light, text etched like glass.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
{Congratulations. You have slain a Tier 5 Beast: Ember-claw}
{Echoverse System initializing…}
{Analyzing user…}
Zai froze. Tried to blink it away. Swiped at it, turned his head, yet It followed.
"What is this…?"
The screen pulsed.
{Analyzing kill…}
{Target: Emberclaw – Tier 5}
{Power signature detected…}
{Echoverse System syncing…}
Core activation suspended. Awaiting host stability…
...
Then it vanished. Gone, not a trace left.
Zai stood silent. Blood on his face, shirt soaked. Hands trembling. Eyes wide.
"Am I going crazy?" He thought.
He looked back at the bodies. Or what was left.
The bear's corpse had dulled, fur brittle. The tiger's flames had dimmed to ash. Their bodies cracked, dried like mummified husks. But just near the chest of each was a glow.
Faint. Subtle. But there.
Zai leaned closer. The bear first. A glint buried deep, near its heart. Brown. Solid. Humming faintly.
He hesitated, then reached in.
Fur parted like dried leaves. No resistance. His hand closed around something warm.
A crystal. Brown, yet glowing like molten earth under firelight. It pulsed.
He turned to the tiger. More careful this time.
Same result. His fingers slid in without struggle. Another crystal came free. Orange. Alive with heat. Like a flame captured in stone.
Zai stepped back, staring down at the glowing fragments in his palms.
"What are you?" he whispered.
No answer.
Just wind.
And the distant echo of a world he no longer recognized.