The forest wasn't quiet—it breathed.
Every tree in that place had a rhythm, a thrum I felt deep in my bones. Leaves shimmered not with wind, but as if responding to some inner pulse. When I stepped forward, vines curled away. When I whispered, the air changed temperature. The forest was alive, aware.
I had been here for what felt like days, though time seemed to lose its meaning. There was no sun, only a shifting sky of deep violet and gray, swirling like it was alive with its own kind of purpose. My body felt lighter, stronger. The mark on my hand pulsed faintly, always there, always watching me.
I kept moving. It was the only thing I could do. The more I walked, the more I realized the forest was playing with me, toying with my every step. The trees would shift if I stopped too long, blocking my path, forcing me to change direction. The ground beneath me seemed to breathe with every step I took, sending shivers up my spine.
I wasn't alone.
That much was certain.
I had caught glimpses of things in the distance—flickers in the shadows, eyes peering from behind branches, creatures moving in ways that defied logic. The air smelled like something alive, like damp earth and burning wood, but there was something else in it too—something that hinted at decay.
But it wasn't the creatures that made my skin crawl. It was the mark on my hand.
It pulsed every so often—throbbing, like it had a life of its own. The first few times it happened, I thought I was imagining things. But now, it was a constant presence. I could feel its power, but it was more like a whispering voice in the back of my head—"Adapt. Evolve. Survive."
I didn't know exactly what the mark was doing to me, but I had a suspicion: it was changing me, bit by bit.
I stepped deeper into the heart of the forest. The trees grew taller, more twisted, their roots like fingers reaching from the ground. The air grew thick, humid, and heavy. I heard the buzzing of unseen insects, the rustling of something large and unseen moving through the brush.
Suddenly, the forest stilled.
A strange pressure settled on me, and I felt my pulse quicken. The mark on my hand flared with heat. I couldn't explain it, but I knew—something was coming. Something big.
I barely had time to react.
A shape broke through the trees, moving so fast that I barely registered it before it was on me. A blur of sleek muscle, a shadow with no eyes and no mouth—just a body built for speed. It was like nothing I had ever seen. A creature of nightmare, its skin shimmering with a dark, oily sheen, as if it had been made from the very shadows of the forest itself.
It lunged.
I barely had time to dodge, twisting my body at the last second. The creature's claws raked through the air, missing me by mere inches. I stumbled, caught off balance, but I didn't fall. I couldn't afford to.
The Adaptive Soul surged to life inside me. I didn't even think about it—I just reacted. The fear that surged through me turned into something sharper, more focused. My legs moved faster, my heart thundered in my chest. My grip tightened on the knife I'd taken from the other Called.
I wasn't just running from this thing anymore. I was hunting it.
I darted to the left, my heart pounding as I used the trees for cover, forcing the creature to chase me in unpredictable patterns. Every step I took, I could feel the forest shifting around me, the air growing thicker, the ground beneath me more unstable. The creature was relentless, its movements a blur of speed and rage, but I wasn't the same anymore.
Every time I narrowly dodged its strike, I felt the mark on my hand pulse again—stronger this time. My body was changing, adapting to the fight. The fear that had once crippled me was now a source of power.
I reached for the knife, feeling the weight of it as my hand closed around the hilt. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this, but there was no choice now. The creature closed in on me, claws extended, mouth open in a silent snarl. I knew that if it reached me, I wouldn't survive.
I turned to face it head-on.
For a moment, everything seemed to slow. My heartbeat, the pulse of the forest, the beating of my own blood in my ears. The world around me felt like it was drawing in close, and I was at the center of it all.
With a yell, I lunged forward.
I drove the knife into the creature's side, twisting the blade with all my strength. The thing let out a low, guttural growl, but I didn't stop. I kept pushing, the blade sinking deeper with every thrust, until its body crumpled beneath me, collapsing into a heap of shadow and broken limbs.
For a moment, I just stood there, panting, feeling the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. I wiped the blood from my face—though I wasn't sure if it was mine or the creature's.
But something was different. The forest was still. Too still.
I felt the weight of the mark on my hand again, and this time it wasn't just a pulse. It was a sensation, like something had changed inside me. I had passed some kind of test.
The thing that had been hunting me was gone. But the forest hadn't released me yet.
I could feel eyes on me.
The Adaptive Soul had responded. It had twisted my fear into something sharper, something dangerous. And though I had survived this encounter, I knew this was just the beginning. There would be more trials ahead.
And I would have to evolve to meet them.