That fact hamred in her mind with every heartbeat, every near-miss, every mont where a burning tree ca within ters of her body.
Her heart pounded like a war drum. Fear of death clawed at her thoughts despite her best efforts to suppress it.
She'd been foolish. Completely, utterly foolish to enter this place without enough lives. Without the safety net that separated experienced awakeners from corpses.
'I should have turned back as soon as we entered,' she cursed herself internally, her eyes tracking the imnse number of trees pressing in around them.
'Idiot! I'm such an idiot!'
Her gaze flickered to Moon, who kept pushing forward relentlessly, casting spells with no rest, his face set in concentration. His power had made her confident, too confident. He'd killed three apex predators of Lunaris Island, and that success had made her complacent about her own limitations.
But this was different.
Being surrounded by darkness, by hundreds—perhaps thousands—of enemies even if most were clones, was terrifying in a way the previous battles hadn't been. This wasn't hunting dangerous beasts. This was being hunted by an entity that laughed at their efforts, that sacrificed its minions without hesitation, that had turned the entire forest into a weapon.
And that though settled over Selene like ice water: If things beca truly dire, would Moon leave her behind?
He wouldn't sacrifice himself for a temporary teammate. No sane awakener would. He'd cut his losses and run, using his power and his multiple lives to escape while she died alone in this cursed forest.
Her goals, becoming a respected awakener, proving her worth, showing *him* that he'd been wrong about her, all of it would end here. The person she wanted to prove wrong would be right. She wasn't strong enough. Wasn't careful enough. Wasn't good enough.
These grueso thoughts hit harder than any tree would.
No matter how powerful her teammate was, if it wasn't her own power, she couldn't afford to be complacent. She couldn't rely on soone else's strength when her life was on the line.
She had to survive this on her own rit.
"Moon!" Selene called out, determined beneath the fear that threatened to eat her alive. "I'll take the left flank! You focus on pushing forward!"
She didn't wait for his response. Her mana flared as she conjured a wall of flas to her left, creating a temporary barrier between them and the advancing Tree Clones on that side.
Moon glanced at her, and nodded his head.
Then they were running again, fighting again, pushing away from the burning forest while that terrible laughter echoed all around them.
And Selene made a promise to herself: She would survive this. Not because Moon was strong. Not because she got lucky. But because she was strong enough to survive on her own.
Crack!
Two empty vials—stamina-replenishing and mana-replenishing potions—hit the forest floor, discarded by Selene who had just consud their contents to continue her spell output.
The potions began to work their magic, mana and stamina returning in a cool rush that pushed back the exhaustion threatening to overwhelm her. Her mana reserves slowly returned, filling the depleted channels with fresh power.
Moon continued pushing through the countless trees that threatened to overwhelm them, his spells creating temporary gaps in the tide of Tree Clones. Initially, the fight had been difficult, Selene had struggled to keep pace with his relentless advance, struggled to match his pace while managing her own survival.
After so ti, Selene began to pick up the pace. Her spells and actions beca more decisive. The pressure that had been mostly on Moon's shoulders began to decrease as Selene stepped up to try match his intensity.
Her flas burned hotter now. The fireballs she conjured grew larger, and more powerful.
Her wind magic blew faster, creating gusts strong enough to topple advancing trees before they could close the distance, scattering embers into clusters of enemies.
The number of trees around them began to lessen considerably.
What had been an overwhelming attack beca manageable as two powerful fire-wielders worked in concert rather than one carrying the other. They moved in sync now—Moon clearing the path forward while Selene protected their flanks, both of them fanning the flas they'd spread across the forest floor into an ever-expanding inferno.
"It stopped, the laughter." Moon said suddenly, his voice cutting through the roar of flas. Selene noticed it too. The terrible, mocking sound that had echoed through the forest had fallen silent.
The darkness that had dominated the Rotten Pine Forest was no longer absolute. The firelight they'd created pushed back the shadows, and now—for the first ti since they'd entered—sunlight began filtering through.
The canopy above them was no longer as thick. Burning trees had fallen, creating gaps in the diseased foliage that had blocked out the sky. Natural light pierced through those openings, illuminating the forest floor in golden shafts that seed almost dreamlike after so long in darkness.
The silence was no longer overwhelming. It had been replaced by the constant crackling of flas, the groaning of falling timber, and the sound of their own haggard breathing—normal sounds that felt almost mundane compared to the quiet that had preceded them.
The remaining Tree Clones kept their advancent, constantly trying to hurt Moon and Selene.
Clouds of smoke rose into the air, carried upward by the heat of the fires and then scattered across the island by the strong winds both awakeners had created.
In the Heretics' settlent, Yara sat by the central campfire, her hands moving automatically through the motions of preparing at for cooking. Around her, Gratis and the other Savi warriors they'd rescued busied themselves with similar tasks—cleaning at, tending fires, organizing supplies.
But Yara's mind was elsewhere.
It had been occupied with thoughts of Selene and Moon the entire ti since they'd departed for the Rotten Pine Forest. Despite their obvious strength, despite the power they'd proved against the island's apex predators, she couldn't shake the worry that gnawed at her chest.
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