The trees were silent again.
No winds .no birds. Just tension in the air-thick like fog before the storm.
Althea gripped her spear tighter. Aveline stood behind her,eyes flickering from tree to tree, as if the forest were watching.
And maybe it was.
The boy who had blue eyes was gone.
No sound. No goodbye.
Just vanished, like fog pulled into code.
"I don't trust this place, "Aveline whispered.
Althea didn't answer. She already stepped forward, pushing through the tall grass.
That's when they saw it.
A tall shaped...half-hidden behind a curtain of shimmering vines. It breathed slowly like a sleeping animal. But It wasn't asleep. And it wasn't breathing.
It eyes opened-not eyes but disks turning, scanning and the forest seemed to bend around it.
Althea raised her weapon.
The thing didn't move.
Aveline voice cracked."What if it doesn't want to hurt us?"
Then it spoke.
"I am the listener. "
"I am the learner. "
"Show me the truth ."
And it moved .
Not fast .not loud but wrong. The way it twisted made Aveline stomach turn.
Althea struck first-a simple swing testing its skin. The blow landed....but instead of pain the monster paused ,shimmered and reshaped that part of the body into something stronger.
It had learned.
Aveline gasped.Did it just....copy you?"
"Yeah,"Althea said through clenched teeth, "it's watching everything, "
She slashed again- this time from the behind. The monster turned its back and let the hit land.
And it grew an extra arm where she struck.
"It's learning how to fight us ,"Aveline said.
"It's not just copying . it's getting better ."
They tried everything thing: dodging, flanking, switching weapons.
But every move was met with a smarter counter. Every weakness closed.
By now the monster had six limbs,a tail and skin that glitch - stone,harder than anything they'd seen.
Althea heart pounding.
Aveline panting.
Neither of them knew what to do.
"Stop hitting it the same way!"Aveline cried,
"It's like... every time we repeat ourselves it grows stronger! "
They fell back behind a cracked stone pillar,breathing hard.
"I hate this ,"Althea muttered. "We're not warriors."
"We're not ,but we're here, "Aveline said.
"And this thing isn't going to stop."
They peeked behind the stone. the monster had stopped attacking, it was... watching them again, as if it was waiting.
"Let try something new,"Aveline said.
"Not strong...just strange. "
Althea stepped out slowly. Her spear lit up but she didn't strike. She spun it in the air ,weaving slow shapes.
Aveline joined her - not attacking, but moving, spinning, ducking, stepping strange and erratic.
Confused.the monster flickered.its limbs retracted, its pattern began to shake.
"Keep it off rhythm, "Aveline said "Don't let it read us."
For a moment-just for a moment- its core flickered.a red glow ,barely visible beneath its chest plates.
But they didn't strike yet .
Because they knew....
It wasn't over.
It was only learning slower now .
But it would adapt again.
Althea lowered her spear
Aveline narrowed her eyes.
And from somewhere deep in the forest, far beyond the glitching trees,the mural boy watched.
Hidden, waiting.