The air had changed.
Heavier. Hungrier.
Moss clung wetly to the trees like damp skin. The mist thickened, curling in tendrils around branches and crawling over the ground, dimming the light until everything took on a pale gray hue. The sky, no longer visible, had vanished behind layers of thick clouds and leaves, turning the world into a muted canvas of green and silver.
Xue Mo stood in a clearing of crooked trees and disturbed roots. Blood dripped steadily from the tear in his side, soaking into his belt and darkening the hem of his robes. His leg ached. His shoulder was stiff. But his eyes, sharp. Unwavering.
Across from him, the Brightclaw Raptor prowled.
Its breaths came in ragged bursts. Steam hissed from its nostrils. A long gash across its flank leaked viscous, dark blood. Its left wing hung at an awkward angle, but its steps had not slowed. Its eyes gleamed with primal malice, lips pulled back to reveal needle-pointed teeth, slick with spittle and red residue.
They circled each other, man and beast, wounded, relentless.
Xue Mo's lips were cracked. A cut above his brow dripped down the side of his face. He adjusted his stance slowly, wincing as pain flared across his ribs. His grip on the sword was steady, though his movement had slowed down. He had been fighting too long.
The raptor let out a low, rattling growl.
KRAAAAA!
The Brightclaw Raptor shrieked and launched itself forward in a flurry of talons and wind.
Xue Mo moved just before impact, rolling left as one razor-sharp claw gouged the ground where he had stood.
THUD!
CRACK!
Dirt and rock exploded upward.
He came up into a crouch and retaliated with a quick upward slash.
CLANG!
The blade struck armored feathers. Sparks flew.
Xue Mo narrowed his eyes.
"Its armor isn't as strong on the underside."
The raptor lunged again.
He dodged, barely. Talons grazed his ribs, tearing through cloth and skin.
SLICK!
Blood sprayed, but he didn't cry out.
He slid backward into the mist, vanishing between trees. The beast hesitated, then gave chase.
---
For the next stretch, the forest became a maze of movement and violence.
Xue Mo used trees to block strikes, misled the raptor with sudden direction changes, and baited attacks to study its rhythm.
CRACK!
A low-hanging branch exploded beside him as the beast's tail slammed into it.
SWOOSH!
Xue Mo rolled again, threw a smoke pellet, and vanished behind a mossy boulder. The raptor sniffed the air and screeched in frustration.
Xue Mo peeked out. Blood trailed from his forearm. His sword's edge was dulled. His breathing shallow.
He pressed his back against the rock. Reached into his belt.
Three poison beads.
He loaded them into the hollow edge of his blade and prepared.
"Just a little longer..."
The beast found him again. This time it struck low.
THUMP!
THUMP!
CRACK!
Xue Mo jumped high, flipping over the strike, but a talon clipped his leg midair.
THUD!
He hit the ground hard, rolling once, coming up limping.
The raptor prowled closer.
He threw his sword.
WHISH!
The weapon spun end over end. The raptor dodged it easily.
Too easily.
Xue Mo smiled.
He wasn't aiming for the kill.
He darted left, toward the stream they'd passed earlier.
The beast gave chase.
---
He led it to a clearing where the fog hung heavy. The air smelled of mint and rot.
There, he'd seen a sinkhole.
He ran along its edge. Just enough to guide.
The raptor lunged.
He turned and skidded under the strike, slamming a powder pouch into the ground.
BOOM!
Smoke and flash.
The raptor flinched. One step wrong.
CRACK!
CRUMBLE!
It fell halfway in. Not deep enough to trap, but enough to disorient.
Xue Mo leapt atop its back.
SCHRAK!
His blade plunged into its exposed joint.
The beast thrashed.
BAM!
BAM!
He held on, barely. Its tail caught him once in the ribs.
CRACK!
He felt something break.
He didn't let go.
He pulled the blade free and stabbed again.
STAB!
And again.
STAB!
GRRRAAAAGH!
The beast surged upward, throwing him off. He landed hard, gasping, blood pouring from his mouth.
But the raptor staggered.
It looked at him. Eyes dimming.
Then it turned and fled, wings dragging.
It didn't come back.
---
Haah... haah...
Xue Mo lay on the forest floor.
Breathing.
Alive.
Broken.
He stared at the treetops until his vision stopped spinning. Then, slowly, he sat up.
He would live.
He looked down at his side.
Not all of him was unbroken.
But enough.
His lips curled faintly.
"It'll remember this too."
The forest was silent again.
He took a breath, then stood.
He rinsed his wounds in a nearby stream. Bandaged the worst with strips from his robe. Ate bitter root to numb the pain. Found dry bark and stuffed it into the sole of his damaged boot.
Every movement hurt.
Each step was a small rebellion against exhaustion.
He limped along the tree line, favoring his right leg. The ache in his ribs deepened with each breath. He paused often, leaning on his sword like a cane.
The sun had begun to set, or perhaps rise—he couldn't tell through the canopy. Colors barely shifted in the sky.
Insects buzzed. Far off, a branch snapped. Something else moved in the underbrush, but it didn't come near.
He sat on a stone beside the water for nearly an hour.
He didn't think. Didn't rest. He just breathed.
Haah... haah... haah...
And then, without speaking, without turning back, he walked.
East.
Into the fog.
Toward a path where no one would follow.
And the forest, once more, grew still.