They had journeyed through devastation. Even now, the trees stood crooked, their trunks tilted by the storm's force. Bent, but unbroken, they still anchored deep into the frozen earth.
And ahead, the familiar forest waited, patient and accepting.
They crossed that veil swiftly, stepping into the forest's quiet embrace. Their will remained sharp, driving them deeper, their goal to find Ecludia.
Now, beyond the storm's reach, the forest closed in around them. What was once a vast divide had become a dense, encircling wilderness.
The trees stood in a silence so dense it was suffocating. If not for their shared resolve, they might have been swallowed by it.
"...What about other survivors?" Serenity asked, trailing behind Evan and Zerin.
"What about them? Cain muttered, furrowing his gray brow as he brushed freshly fallen snow from his bare shoulder.
Serenity dropped her gaze to the ground, stepping carefully over a snow-draped log.
"They could help us."
Cain tilted his head and glanced at her as he stepped over the same log. "If anything, they'd kill us..."
"What makes you think that?" Serenity asked with a bit of confusion.
"Struggle for food," Cain replied flatly.
"Food? What does that have to do with anything?"
Cain sighed, "They'd eat us."
Serenity slowed, stopping for a beat. "Not everyone is some psycho, some people actually want to go back to humanity."
Cain shot her a fleeting glance, irritation rising. "What humanity? Do you think anyone cares about humanity when they are at death's door?"
Serenity scoffed, annoyed that he'd even question what she considered an obvious truth. She flicked her hair back, quickening her pace, moving ahead to join Evan and Zerin.
"Did you guys hear him?" she asked, walking beside them.
Evan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just give him some space. He needs time to settle, alright?"
Serenity paused, her brow furrowing. "S-sure..." She shook her head. "I expected something a little less insane," she muttered, casting a glance at Zerin who remained fixed on the Howler ahead.
He never said much. He was like a blank slate—completely void of any real personality.
That's what she felt from him: untouchable, intangible.
But deep down, she knew better. It wasn't just emptiness—it was concealment. He was hiding something. A side of himself that wouldn't stay buried forever.
Then he stopped. For a moment, she thought he had read her thoughts, her eyes widening. But then the Howler froze as well, mirroring him almost exactly.
The massive beast huffed, shaking its head as though trying to dispel something unseen that clouded its senses.
Then, without a word, Zerin stepped away from them, trudging through the snow, as if he saw something they couldn't—something hidden beyond the tightly clustered pines forming a wall to their left.
Cain finally caught up with Serenity and Evan, folding his arms as he watched. "What the hell is he doing?"
"Probably making sure we're going the right way," Evan said with a shrug. "Let him do his thing."
As he pushed past the pines, they saw Zerin come to an immediate stop—his body stiff, locked in place, eyes fixed on something below.
Before Zerin's eyes was a quarry—or something very much like it. Along the sides of the excavation were eight benches, step-like formations carved into the earth, descending roughly a hundred and fifty feet.
What caught his attention, turning his black irises to a scarlet red.
What was at its bottom was bodies. Hundreds, perhaps approaching a thousand. Not just human corpses, but also those of Nightmare creatures—beasts he had never seen before.
Cain, growing impatient, shoved past the pine boughs to follow Zerin. "So much for not losing the damn scent, and you—"
He froze beside Zerin. The irritation drained from his face, replaced by shock.
Moments later, the others emerged behind them—and fell just as silent.
All four stood motionless, captivated by the mass burial.
Serenity and Evan could only muster a few uncertain words before Zerin spoke up.
"Ecludia's not here."
He was certain, because the Howler was leading them to her and if that was the case it wouldn't have clearly walked past the burial.
While not hearing details, the certainty in his voice quelled Serenity and Evan's worries.
But Cain said nothing. He just stared. Then he took action.
Stepping off the cliff.
"Cain!" Evan shouted.
The fall should have meant death—but he didn't care.
A loud crunch racked through Cain's body as he struck the ground. He landed feet first, his bones shattering like porcelain.
His legs gave out. The impact surged upward, splintering his shins, then driving through his femurs. One femur burst through his hip and tore into his lower abdomen. Then immediately his torso folded, crumpling over onto the bloodied stone beneath him.
Zerin heart dropped. He didn't even hesitate. He just stepped off the cliff. He followed every moment of the fall, then came the sound—the sickening crunch—and then his vision wavered.
Serenity finally opened her eyes, and tears welled as she took in the scene. The damage was undeniable, though, it wasn't gruesome as the burial surrounding him had been. There was no blood, and that somehow made it worse.
Then, as if a switch had flipped, he moved.
His arms pressed against the ground, lifting him slowly. His shattered legs began to shift, bones cracking as they realigned themselves, until they supported him once again.
The rest of his skeleton followed suit, mending him back together. Though, his flesh remained torn in certain parts of his body, some places even hanging in strips.
Zerin's stare was fixed. He knew that feeling too well.
The dread that someone you love might be lying lifeless among a heap of corpses.
He relived that scene once again; he was now wandering the desecrated holy ground, picking through slaughtered bodies, praying she wasn't among them. Powerless.
Cain was doing the same searching, hoping his brother wasn't dead, silently begging he hadn't been tossed aside like waste.
Zerin opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. His lips pressed together. Finally, he forced something out.
"We'll set up camp."