The Ape’s roar didn’t rely echo through the ancient forest... 11aqit shattered the air itself, a deafening explosion of raw agony and fury that rattled leaves from the canopy and sent birds exploding upward in blind panic. The sound vibrated deep in my chest, rattling my bones and making my teeth ache.
Its massive body convulsed violently, every sinew and muscle seizing in grotesque, uneven spasms. Sothing inside it had clearly broken loose, like a primal force had been unleashed and was now tearing the creature apart from within. Its claws lashed out blindly in wide, devastating arcs, slicing through thick tree trunks as if they were nothing more than brittle twigs. Deep trenches gouged the earth, sending showers of dirt, roots, and splintered wood flying in every direction. The once-still clearing transford into pure, frenzied chaos within seconds.
For one heart-stopping split second, no one understood what was happening.
"What have you done?!" Kaden’s voice sliced through the madness, sharp with accusation and edged with fear. He leaped backward just in ti as one of the Ape’s enormous claws slamd into the ground where he had stood monts earlier, the impact sending a shockwave that nearly knocked him off his feet.
"I just wanted to help!" I snapped back imdiately, my heart hamring so violently against my ribs that I could barely hear my own words. My pulse thundered in my ears, a frantic drumbeat matching the creature’s destructive frenzy.
Because from where I stood, frozen in place, it really did look like I had just made everything exponentially worse.
The others didn’t voice the accusation aloud, but I could read it clearly in their expressions and postures. Theo hesitated mid-motion, his usual steady confidence fracturing for the first ti. Lyra froze mid-step, her lithe fra tense as a drawn bowstring.
Even Ivy’s sharp features tightened, not with outright fear, but with rapid, cold calculation, as if she were ntally reassessing the entire situation... and along with it.
Fantastic, I thought bitterly. I try to be useful for once and sohow manage to upgrade the monster. Love that for . Truly.
"Did we tell you we needed your help?" Ivy asked, her voice cold and cutting as winter steel.
"I..." I blinked once, twice, glancing helplessly between the rampaging Ape and my now-empty hand. "...I didn’t an..."
Kaden looked like he was physically wrestling with reality itself, his face flushed with frustration and disbelief. "You... what... no..." He jabbed a finger toward the Ape as if the beast had personally betrayed him. "It was already going crazy! You made it worse!"
The Ape staggered again, its movents growing more erratic. A strange, choking gurgle tore from its massive throat as its body jerked unnaturally, limbs flailing with decreasing coordination. It was as if its own body had turned against it, the powerful muscles no longer obeying whatever dark instinct had driven them before. Its claws scraped uselessly against the torn-up ground, carving shallow, pathetic furrows. Its thick legs buckled beneath its colossal weight.
And then....
It collapsed.
Hard.
The impact was cataclysmic. The ground trembled violently beneath our feet, a dull, resonant thud that reverberated through the forest floor like a dying heartbeat. A massive cloud of dust and debris billowed upward, swirling around the fallen giant’s body as it lay motionless, the embedded blade in its neck catching the faint dappled light like a grim trophy.
Silence followed.
Thick. Heavy. Confused. Almost reverent in its uncertainty.
For a long, breathless mont, no one moved. No one dared speak. We simply stared, at the monstrous corpse, at the blade buried deep in its thick neck, and then, inevitably, at .
"And she really helped," Elion’s voice cut through the stunned quiet at last.
Calm now. Dangerously calm. Almost amused.
Everyone turned toward him.
He wasn’t looking at the Ape.
He was looking directly at , his gaze steady and unreadable.
"...because now it’s dead."
The words landed differently than expected, carrying a weight that settled deep in my stomach.
A heavy pause stretched between us all, thick with unspoken questions.
Theo released a slow, asured breath, his shoulders finally relaxing. "It’s... actually dead."
Lyra nodded faintly, though her wide eyes remained fixed on the creature as if it might rise again at any mont just to spite us. Kaden blinked rapidly, processing the sudden shift in reality.
"...Wait."
And just like that, the entire question shifted in the air around us.
Not
What have you done?
But....
How did you do that?
I folded my arms across my chest instinctively, forcing my expression into sothing carefully neutral, even as my mind raced.
"Maybe I’m just talented," I said flatly, my voice steadier than I felt.
Inside, however, my thoughts churned like a storm-tossed sea.
That voice... clear, certain, almost knowing.... still echoed in the back of my mind. I didn’t like it. Not even a little. It felt foreign. Invasive. Like sothing ancient had brushed against my soul and left a mark I couldn’t scrub away.
Ivy stepped forward first, approaching the Ape’s massive carcass with cautious, asured steps. Her sharp eyes scanned every inch of the fallen beast, precise and analytical, confirming what the rest of us were still struggling to fully accept.
It was dead.
Completely. Irrevocably.
She glanced back at over her shoulder. There was sothing new in her gaze now... still no warmth, never that... but a flicker of reluctant recognition. As if she had finally placed in a different category than before.
"You got lucky," she said dismissively, brushing the entire event aside like it held no real significance. Then she straightened, brushing dirt from her hands. "Let’s move. We didn’t co out here to admire corpses. We need food if we’re going to survive another night in this gods-forsaken place."
We are back to cold, practical survival.
Good.
Less thinking about mysterious voices and impossible feats.
More focus on not dying.
Behind her, Thorne’s voice sliced through the fragile mont like a freshly sharpened blade, cold, controlled, and laced with unmistakable danger.
"You almost got us all killed."
The words weren’t directed at .
They were aid squarely at Ashriel.
I followed his gaze.
Ashriel stood a few asured steps away from the Ape’s body, his broad chest rising and falling with slightly heavier breaths than usual. My twin blade remained gripped firmly in his hand, though the one buried in the monster’s neck now claid the grisly spotlight. He looked... worn. Not weak or broken by any ans, Ashriel didn’t break easily.... but undeniably touched by the ordeal, as if the fight had extracted a heavier toll than he would ever admit.
And still, he said nothing.
No response. No acknowledgnt. Not even a flicker of irritation crossed his stoic features. Thorne’s accusation seed to slide off him like rain on oiled leather.
Thorne stepped closer, his posture radiating barely contained fury. "I’m talking to you."
The air around us shifted subtly yet perceptibly. That sa strange, suffocating tension crept back in, crawling along my skin like invisible fingers of unseen power awakening once more. The forest itself seed to hold its breath... the usual rustle of leaves fading into an unnatural hush.
Ashriel slowly lifted his head.
This ti, he looked directly at Thorne.
No words. No verbal warning.
Just that piercing, unwavering look.
Sothing invisible tightened between them, thick and electric. The space separating the two n felt wrong.... heavy, distorted, as though the very fabric of the world had paused just long enough for sothing ancient and dangerous to slip through the cracks.
And for one chilling split second, I had the strangest, most unsettling feeling deep in my gut...
That if Ashriel truly wanted to...
Thorne wouldn’t walk away from this mont the sa.
Perhaps not at all.
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