Night had fallen. Team Alpha needed shelter — they couldn't risk traveling further under the moonlight. Not with monsters roaming these lands after dark.
They still had miles to cover, but time wasn't on their side. The moon hung high, silver and cold. They had no choice but to stop. Their camp was set on a rocky patch far from the forests flanking their path. A fire crackled at the center while their horses were tied to a boulder some distance away, restless and uneasy.
Ares looked toward the flames, his voice low."Seems like we've got one more day before we hit Arizona."
"Yeah… we're almost there,"Gabriel replied, though his tone lacked any excitement.
The group was quiet. The air was heavy — fear written on every face… except Reynar's.
He finally broke the silence."Why do you all look like someone died?"
Sara blinked at him. "What do you mean?"
"You all look scared. Aren't we supposed to be the strongest team or whatever?"
Gabriel glanced at him with tired eyes. "Look, kid—"
"We're the same age," Reynar interrupted, frowning.
"And you still act like a damn child."
"How so?"
"Are you so strong that you don't care?? Or are you just a dumbass?"
"What??"
Gabriel's voice grew sharp."Yes, we're scared. That's normal. We're about to hunt a damn Aracna in the fucking forests of Arizona. It doesn't get worse than this."
Reynar raised a brow. "What's this 'Aracna' you're all so scared of?"
Gabriel stared at him, the firelight casting harsh shadows over his face.
"You really don't know?"
Reynar shrugged. "No one told me shit."
Gabriel exhaled sharply, then leaned forward, voice low — almost a whisper.
"It's not just some overgrown spider, Reynar. It's a walking massacre. Limbs like blades, moves like smoke. Eyes that don't see you — they read you. Your fear, your heartbeat, your next move."
The others stayed silent, eyes locked on Gabriel. Even the crackling fire seemed to dim.
"It doesn't kill because it's hungry," he continued. "It kills because it can. Because it enjoys the process. You ever seen someone get flayed alive by a whisper of shadow? I have. The first time I saw an Aracna… there were ten of us. Only three made it out. Two of them are still in a psych ward, and the third—" he tapped his chest, "—is sitting right here, trying to keep you alive."
Reynar frowned, his cocky edge fading a little.
"That thing wears a mask. A pale one. No eyes, no mouth. Just red ink down the middle like a bloody tear. And when it appears… it doesn't make a sound. Not until it's too late."
He looked Reynar dead in the eye.
"So yeah, we're scared. And if you had any damn sense, you'd be scared too."
A silence settled in, heavy and suffocating. Only the wind dared to move.
---------
The fire crackled quietly, and the silence stretched. No one spoke. The fear still lingered, heavy in the air like smoke.
Ares cleared his throat. "Guys?"
They all looked at him.
"Let's get to know each other better."
Sara sighed. "And why would we do that?"
"Come on," Ares said, trying to sound upbeat. "We're in this together. Everyone should know a little about their comrades. Could save our lives out there."
"Sounds fun," Reylla said brightly, raising her hand. The white-haired girl smiled—soft, innocent. Almost out of place in a moment like this.
Reynar blinked. It was weird seeing her smile now.
"Well, I'm Reylla. I'm an Initiate. I came to the Bastion two years ago… and I like strawberries. Oh, and I'm a Manifester—my specialty is barriers."
"What's a Manifester?" Reynar asked, squinting.
Gabriel groaned. "You seriously don't know anything, do you?"
Ares stepped in. "A Manifester converts their mana into a specific form or construct. Like Reylla—she turns hers into defensive barriers."
Reynar nodded slowly, like he understood, though his face still looked blank.
"Alright, my turn," Ares said. "I'm also an Initiate. I like chocolate, and my class is Specialist. My skill is called 'Wraith Eye.' It lets me detect the weak points in an enemy—physically, magically… sometimes emotionally."
"Emotionally?" Sara raised a brow.
"Yeah, it's complicated," Ares shrugged. "But useful."
They continued around the circle.
Maria was next—short, muscular, and quiet. "Strength's my thing. Enhancer class. I fight up close."
Sara added, "I'm a Sniper. Mana-imbued bullets. Long-range support."
Then came Gabriel, but before he could even finish a sentence, Reynar leaned back against a rock and closed his eyes.
He was already asleep.
-----
The morning came gently, the sky painted with soft pastels as the group stirred from sleep, preparing for what lay ahead.
"It's quiet today, isn't it?" Reynar was the first to break the silence, his voice low but steady.
Gabriel let out a humorless chuckle as he adjusted his gear. "With what's waiting for us ahead, a peaceful morning feels like the calm before the storm."
"Come on," Reynar replied with forced cheer, "that's not the mindset we need right now."
"We're going to die and you—"
"HEY! Both of you, shut it and move!" Sara snapped, her patience clearly thin. "You're both getting on my nerves."
They continued in tense silence, the road stretching beneath the hooves of their horses. The golden wheat fields swayed gently under the morning sun, and the breeze felt light—almost deceptively so. It gave the illusion of peace. But beneath the surface, everyone could feel the unease building.
Then Ares pointed ahead. "Guys! I see the forest on the horizon."
But before excitement could rise, Maria's voice cut through the moment, soft and serious. "Listen carefully," she said as their horses slowed. "That place... the Forest of Arizona... it's not normal. Time doesn't flow right in there. One wrong step and you'll lose your sense of direction. People vanish in there. Stay close. Don't wander."
As they approached, the world around them began to change.
The once bright sky dimmed under a veil of thick clouds. The forest loomed ahead like a living nightmare. Twisted trees clawed at the sky, their gnarled branches stretching outward like the hands of the dead. Mist curled around the roots, slithering across the ground like it had a mind of its own. Shadows clung to the crooked trunks, and the air grew cold—unwelcoming. The path into the forest was narrow, winding, and slick with moss-covered stones, as if warning them not to enter.
Several other groups were already there, gathered in silence near the tree line. Some looked confident, others nervous, their faces lit only by the pale blue light filtering through the fog. A few were whispering strategies. Some stared into the forest's depths, as if already haunted by what might be inside.
One thing was clear: no one was entering lightly. And not everyone would make it out.
As they arrived at the tree line, the murmurs began almost instantly. The other gathered teams turned to look, some with curiosity, others with thinly veiled contempt.
"Look, it's Team Alpha…""That one's new, isn't he?""I hope they don't make it out alive.""They need to die.""It's because of them we're here to die in this cursed place…"
Sara clicked her tongue in annoyance, shooting daggers at the crowd. "Tsk. So annoying."
As they dismounted their horses, a man stepped forward from the crowd. He looked average enough—average height, tousled brown hair, a sword slung over his back. But the way he carried himself had a certain smugness, a kind of rehearsed confidence.
"Hello," he said with a half-smile. "I'm Ermes. May I speak with your captain?"
Maria stepped forward without hesitation. "Speak."
"I'm here to offer an alliance," Ermes said.
"A what?" she replied, brows slightly raised.
"I want your team to join forces with ours. We've already formed an alliance with over ten groups. With your strength, we'd be unstoppable."
Maria narrowed her eyes. "And if someone kills the Arcana… who gets the credit?"
"The team that lands the final blow, of course," Ermes said casually. "But we all contribute. It's a group effort."
Reynar crossed his arms. "And what if the others die unfairly? Get used as bait, or worse?"
Ermes' smile widened, dripping arrogance. "Then they die. It's their fault for being weak."
Gabriel stepped forward, fists clenched. "You son of—"
"Stop!" Reylla grabbed Gabriel's arm and shoved him back. "There's no point. He's not worth it."
Maria exhaled slowly, then looked Ermes dead in the eyes. "I'm sorry. But like you said—weaklings don't survive. And we won't carry dead weight."
With that, she turned and signaled the team. Without another word, the six of them walked past the crowd of watching teams and disappeared into the shadows of the forest—leaving Ermes behind, seething.
A soldier from his group cautiously stepped beside him. "What did they say… Ermes?"
But Ermes didn't answer. His face was twisted with fury, his fists trembling.
"You… fcking btch!!" he growled, staring into the fog, as if trying to burn Maria's back with sheer hatred.
---------
The moment they stepped past the tree line, the world changed.
The forest swallowed them whole—branches twisted like claws overhead, casting sharp shadows under the pale moonlight that pierced the dense canopy. The air grew colder, heavier, like it carried centuries of whispers. A low mist rolled along the uneven ground, coiling around their boots like it didn't want to let go.
No one said a word at first.
Even Reynar, who always had something to say, stayed quiet. The silence of the forest was unnatural. Not a single bird. No wind. Just the sound of their own footsteps pressing into damp earth and snapping twigs.
Gabriel's hand hovered near the hilt of his blade. "This place is cursed," he muttered.
"It's not cursed," Maria said, though her voice was quieter than usual. "It's the Arcana's domain. Be focused."
They pushed deeper.
The deeper they went, the more the forest seemed to close in. The trees were ancient, gnarled and bloated, their roots like petrified serpents. Occasionally, they'd pass remnants of others who came before—abandoned weapons, a shredded cloak caught on a branch, claw marks carved deep into bark.
Sara looked up at one massive tree. "This thing… it's watching us," she whispered.
"No," Reynar said, forcing a grin. "If it was watching us, it would've already eaten us."
"Not helping," Reylla hissed, her grip tightening around her staff.
Then they found something—tracks.
Large. Deep. Unnatural.
Three clawed toes sank inches into the soil, like something massive and agile had passed through. The prints were irregular, like it didn't walk on two or four legs—but moved differently, erratically.
"This is it," Maria said. "The Arcana's trail."
Ares knelt beside the tracks, running a gloved finger along the edge of one. "Fresh. It's close."
No one cheered.
They all looked ahead, deeper into the black heart of the forest. Each of them knew that from here on, it wasn't just about killing a monster.
It was about surviving it.
They moved in silence now.
The kind of silence that suffocates, that wraps around the throat and squeezes until you forget what air is supposed to feel like. The forest grew denser the deeper they went, the trees twisted in unnatural ways, their trunks cracked and warped like they had been screaming for centuries. Moss draped from above like wet, rotting curtains, and the stench of decay clung to everything—sickly sweet, like something long dead yet not quite done dying.
Sara paused, her eyes scanning the dark canopy. "It's… too quiet."
"No birds, no bugs," Reynar murmured, swallowing hard. "No life."
The fog thickened around their feet, slithering through their armor and clothes, making everything damp and cold. It was hard to breathe. Harder still to think. It was like something unseen was watching them from just beyond the veil of mist—something that enjoyed the fear.
Maria suddenly raised a hand.
Everyone froze.
A sound.
A low, rumbling growl—not like an animal. Something else. Something older. Like the earth itself was warning them.
Gabriel drew his spear without a word.
Ares tilted his head. "Did you hear that?"
A moment passed.
Then another.
CRACK.
The ground shook.
A massive tree, at least two dozen meters high, toppled in the distance with a sickening groan. Not cut. Not fallen naturally. Ripped from the roots.
Something huge was moving.
Reylla pointed.
At first, the others didn't see it. But then the mist shifted, and it was there.
Charred trees. Burned ground. A trail of destruction—scorched and blackened, like something had breathed fire upon the land and moved through it like a god of ruin. And further up the path…
Bones.
Dozens. No—hundreds. Charred, broken, some crushed to powder beneath something massive.
The Arcana's trail was lost now. This… this was something else.
And then they felt it.
The heat.
It rolled over them like a wave—intense and dry, searing the skin, cracking the lips. Reynar staggered back.
"What… what the hell is this place…?"
Another sound. Not a growl. A breath. A deep inhale, so powerful it pulled leaves and ash from the ground like the world itself was being swallowed.
And then—
Two red eyes blinked open.
Glowing like embers in the dark.
And slowly, very slowly… something massive began to rise from behind the veil of flame and shadow. Horns twisted like spires into the sky. Scales darker than obsidian shimmered beneath the orange glow of its breath. Wings, torn yet terrifying, spread out, fanning fire and smoke.
It wasn't the Arcana.
It was something far worse.
It opened its mouth, lined with rows of molten, jagged fangs—
—and the forest shook with a roar that shattered the trees and split the earth.
To be continued…