"We're nearly done," I said. "Just a few more zones to clear."
He didn't reply. Just gave a lazy nod, eyes scanning the treeline. His form was relaxed, but his senses were sharp. I could feel it too. Something was off.
It wasn't the silence. It was the weight in it.
Like something was holding its breath.
Then I heard it.
The faintest crunch of leaves from the left.
I turned.
Nothing.
Then right.
Still nothing.
But it was too late.
The first ocelot struck from behind. Silent, fast, almost invisible against the foliage. My armor caught the brunt of it, but the impact sent me skidding back. Jackal spun, raising his blade just in time to parry the second, its fangs flashing as it twisted mid-air.
"Five," he said calmly, already moving.
They came out of the green like ghosts. Not quite cats anymore. Their bodies were stretched unnaturally long, limbs moving at odd, liquid angles. Their fur was patchy, veined with mana-glow that pulsed in time with their breath. Their eyes shimmered like polished jade. Too bright. Too aware. Their size was nothing to scoff at either. These weren't just big cats. They were weapons.
One darted low, aiming for my legs. I stepped back and brought my blade down in an arc. It twisted away mid-motion and the Hellflame grazed its shoulder, sending a burst of steam into the air.
I marked its midsection with Brand. The light flared, and it dropped instantly, dead before it could take another step.
Another pounced at Jackal. He didn't block.
He leaned into it, catching the beast with his off-hand and slamming it into the ground before driving his sword through its chest. He grinned as it thrashed, feeding.
That left three.
And they were faster now. Learning.
Circling.
We closed ranks back to back without needing to say a word. Their growls were quiet. Too quiet for creatures that size.
Then they lunged again.
I activated Brand.
A golden mark flared to life on the ocelot's forehead just as it leapt for my throat. It hadn't even reached me when the symbol seared through fur and bone, pulsing once.
It died instantly, folding in mid-air like a puppet with its strings cut.
Jackal got stuck with the other two. They were chipping away at him, faster than before.
I was about to intervene, but then they activated an ability. Their claws extended, coated in mana like blades.
I kicked Jackal to the side and backed away.
The one Jackal had killed, or so it seemed, rose again.
It regenerated.
Finally, something that was putting up a fight.
They attacked in a frenzy, all three of them, forcing us to back away further, adjusting for their new reach.
But that was not enough for them to end us.
It was time to kill them.
I intensified the Crown around me, letting it rise in invisible coils. My blade caught with Hellflame, rippling hotter and brighter than before.
Then I flashed forward. "Ember Step."
I reappeared at the front line, blade already swinging.
One head fell clean.
Jackal kicked the corpse toward the others and moved in with it, slashing through the chaos.
I did it again.
"Ember Step."
This time I appeared behind them, cutting one clean through at the waist. Its body split in silence, steam rising where Hellflame cauterized flesh.
The last one came for me.
It didn't make it.
Its jaw met Jackal's fist, and the blow stopped it cold.
Then he stepped forward and drove his blade through its skull, straight through the center.
A moment passed, then Jackal looked at me.
"Mana powered ocelots. They were decently strong, quite fast as well," Jackal commented, brushing blood from his knuckles.
"How many days do we have left before the aircraft arrives?" I asked.
"Uh... I think it's around two. Should we make a report? I could climb the trees and try to send a signal that everything is going smoothly." He glanced up at the dense canopy above, already judging handholds.
"Go for it, I'm waiting down here."
After we made the report it was time to finish up.
We moved through the jungle, cutting through the last sections of mapped terrain. Some of the rainforest monkeys took an interest in us, mana-changed like everything else in this place.
Oddly enough, the ones that had clearly undergone heavy mutation, the larger ones with gleaming eyes and mana-threaded fur, were the friendly ones. They watched from above in silence, sometimes shadowing us through the canopy, but never aggressive.
It was the smaller ones that caused trouble.
Barely altered, barely relevant, but loud and persistent. They threw fruit, twigs, and occasionally whole plants in our direction. One even hurled what looked like a glowing root. Mostly harmless, but irritating.
Jackal got hit in the head with a spiky seedpod and muttered something about starting a monkey purge.
I thought they were nice. Funny, even. A strange kind of company.
We pressed on, weaving through the thick underbrush and occasional broken trails that we had already passed. This part of the jungle was familiar by now. Roots we'd stepped over more than once, broken branches marking where we had fought or passed days before.
The air was different, though. Still damp, still dense, but quieter in a way that didn't match the tone of the rest of the jungle. It wasn't the stillness of peace. It was the stillness of something held back.
We moved slower now. Not cautious, just... attentive.
Something didn't add up.
Jackal looked around, his voice low. "Does it feel like we're walking through a memory?"
It did. The path, the trees, the moss-covered rocks, everything matched where we had already walked. But something had changed. Slightly. Subtly. Like the jungle had shifted while we weren't looking.
Then I noticed it.
A break in the foliage. A patch of shadow where none should have been. We both turned toward it at the same time.
A cave entrance.
Set low against the slope of a hill we hadn't noticed before, the opening looked like it had been there for centuries. Moss hung in veils across its mouth, and the rock around it was marked with strange growths. Fungus, vines, and faint ridges like something had carved its surface with time and intention.
Jackal frowned. "That wasn't here before."
"No," I said. "It wasn't."
"We've walked this path at least four times."
"I know."
We approached carefully, but not hesitantly. Whatever it was, it had hidden itself well. Too well.
Jackal tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "You think it's spatial?"
"Could be," I said. "Or a veil. Something woven into the land."
We stood at the edge of the mouth in silence, letting the air drift from within. It wasn't musty like a cave should be. It was cool. Fresh. Breathing.
We didn't need to say anything.
We just looked at each other, nodded once, and stepped inside.