Felix edged his way down the cliffside, fingers aching as they clung to every crack he could find. Pebbles rattled free beneath his boots, tumbling into the abyss below before vanishing into the thick curtain of mist.
Above, the abominations hadn't left. They prowled along the ledge, their jagged screeches scraping against his nerves. A few dared to crawl down after him, claws biting into the stone, but most pulled back when the rock began to crumble beneath their weight. Still, they lingered, waiting. Watching.
"Seriously?" Felix hissed through gritted teeth, his voice strained. "How tasty could I possibly be for you to keep drooling up there?"
The monsters shrieked in reply, as if mocking him. Dust rained down, sprinkling across his hair and coat. Felix swallowed hard, forcing himself to keep moving, searching for the next foothold.
The mist thinned the farther he descended, and finally—finally—he caught a glimpse of what lay beneath. Water. A lake, its dark surface rippling faintly in the pale light. Relief fluttered in his chest… but it was quickly buried by dread.
How deep was it? Would it break his fall—or break his body instead?
Felix's gaze flicked between the cliff face, the monsters above, and the uncertain waters below. His options narrowed with each passing second.
He blew out a sharp breath, shaking his head. "What are the odds?" he muttered bitterly. Then, with a hollow laugh: "There are no odds."
He braced his boots against the rock wall, coiled tight like a spring. For one dizzying heartbeat, he hesitated. Then he pushed off with everything he had.
The world dropped away.
Wind howled in his ears as he soared through the open air, coat whipping wildly behind him. For one terrible moment, the cliffside raced past in a blur and the black surface of the lake yawned wide below.
"I take it back!" he shouted, panic tearing from his throat.
The water surged up to meet him.
He struck with a resounding crash, the murky depths swallowing him whole. Darkness closed in as his body tumbled through the cold, stinging water. His lungs screamed as he clawed upward, arms thrashing, until at last he broke the surface with a desperate gasp.
Felix spat water, dragging in ragged breaths. "Never—" he wheezed, coughing as waves slapped against his face, "—again!"
The lake heaved around him, black and silent, its depths concealing whatever might lurk below.
Felix dragged himself out of the lake, collapsing onto his back at the muddy shore. His chest heaved, each breath ragged, but a hoarse laugh clawed its way out of his throat.
"Not yet, you bastards," he wheezed between gasps. "Not yet!"
The laugh died quickly as a crawling itch spread across his skin. Frowning, Felix propped himself up and glanced down. His eyes widened. Dozens of leech-like things clung to him, their translucent bodies swelling with dark ribbons of his blood.
"Son of a—get off me!"
He ripped them free one by one, their slick bodies writhing in his grip before he hurled them back into the water. They writhed once more, then slithered into the murky depths. Felix shuddered, wiping his arm furiously.
"Nasty little freaks…"
Once he was sure he was clean, he leaned back and caught sight of the sky. The gray heavens had dimmed to a deeper shade, the sun bleeding black across the horizon. Night was coming—and in this place, night would be no ally.
"I need shelter," Felix muttered. "Being out here in the dark… yeah, that'd be suicide."
He forced himself to his feet, wincing at the sting in his thigh. His eyes scanned the crimson canopy until they settled on a giant tree that dwarfed its neighbors, its trunk like a gray pillar reaching toward the bleeding heavens.
"That'll do."
Felix trudged to it and jammed his dagger into the bark. Using his threads to steady himself, he began the climb. Twice he nearly slipped, his boots skidding on slick patches of moss, but after a grueling ascent he pulled himself onto a thick branch high above the forest floor.
He slumped against the trunk, letting his legs dangle as the mist swirled far below.
"At least I'm safe from whatever's crawling around down there…" he muttered, though the unease in his tone betrayed his own doubt.
Reaching into his coat, Felix drew out two small gems. They pulsed faintly in the fading light, their surfaces a dark, oily purple streaked with veins of black. He smirked, though the expression was tired.
"Glad I snagged these…"
He remembered the grisly work of pulling them from the abominations' corpses as he collected his arrows. Now, resting high in the tree, he turned them over in his palm.
"So… I'm supposed to eat these, huh?"
The gems looked more like poisoned fruit than sustenance—alien, uninviting, and faintly alive. Felix grimaced.
"Yeah… definitely not on the cafeteria menu." He sighed, lifting one toward his mouth. "Bon appétit."
As Felix bit into the gem, it shattered almost too easily, like brittle glass. A rush of metallic liquid flooded his mouth, thick and acrid, coating his tongue with a taste so foul it nearly made him gag. His throat convulsed as he forced it down.
The burn hit instantly.
It spread like fire from his throat into his chest, then through his veins, searing every nerve as though his blood had been replaced with molten iron. Felix doubled over, clutching his stomach, gasping through clenched teeth.
"Damn it—it burns!"
The sensation built until it felt unbearable… then, just as suddenly, it began to ebb. The fire dulled to embers, leaving behind an aching heaviness that slowly gave way to something else—something stronger.
Felix exhaled a long, shaky breath, sweat running down his temple. He laughed bitterly under his breath. "One more to go."
He lifted the second gem, staring at its dark, pulsating glow. With a grimace, he crushed it between his teeth. Again, the vile taste. Again, the flood of pain. But this time he knew what to expect. He held on, enduring as the fire raged through him.
When it finally receded, he slumped against the trunk, chest heaving. And yet… beneath the exhaustion, he could feel it. His body felt denser, steadier, alive with a strange vigor. His threads pulsed faintly, more responsive, almost as if they were eager. His whole being hummed with the faint promise of power.
It wasn't much, but it was something.
Felix allowed himself a thin grin as he stretched out on the thick branch, eyes half-lidded. Tomorrow would mean more walking, more fighting, more running for his life. If he was lucky, he'd still be breathing by sunrise.
"Well," he muttered to the dark forest below, "here's hoping I don't end up as monster chow."
He shut his eyes, the mist curling lazily beneath him, and let exhaustion finally drag him under.
But sleep did not come easily.
The branch beneath him creaked whenever he shifted, and every groan of the ancient wood reminded him how far he would fall if it gave way. Below, the forest breathed—a low, endless whisper carried on the mist. At first Felix told himself it was the wind, but the longer he listened, the more it sounded like voices. Faint. Indistinct. Too numerous to count.
His grip tightened on the branch. Great. Either I'm going crazy, or the trees really are talking.
He pulled his coat tighter around him, pressing his back to the trunk. The gem's energy still lingered in his body, prickling along his skin like a swarm of ants, settling into his muscles and bones. For a moment, he let himself imagine what it meant—if he could keep collecting these things, eating them, surviving long enough to adapt… maybe he'd stand a chance in this place.
Or maybe it was all a slow poison, hollowing him out from the inside until there was nothing left but another abomination.
Felix shut his eyes and cursed under his breath. "Positive thoughts, genius. Real inspiring."
A sharp sound snapped his eyes open—a crack of bark from somewhere below. He froze, every nerve taut. The mist churned faintly between the trees, and for an instant, he thought he saw a pale shape drifting through it. Too big to be a man. Too slow to be one of the leech-creatures.
It lingered, half-hidden, then dissolved into the fog as if it had never been there.
Felix's heart thudded against his ribs. He gripped his dagger, threads twitching at his fingertips, but nothing followed. The forest returned to its restless silence.
He forced himself to stay still, counting his breaths until his pulse slowed.
Keep it together. They're watching. Always watching.
Eventually, exhaustion clawed its way back in. His eyelids drooped despite himself. The last thing he saw before drifting off was the crimson canopy above, its leaves trembling in the night breeze like a forest on fire.
Sleep came in fits and starts—shallow, uneasy. He dreamed of water swallowing him whole, of jaws gnashing in the dark, of voices whispering from within the gems he had consumed.
When dawn finally bled into the sky, pale and sickly, Felix jerked awake with a sharp inhale. His body ached, his throat dry, but he was alive. And in this place, that was victory enough.
He stretched, wincing at the stiffness in his muscles, and peered down at the forest floor. The mist had thinned slightly, though it still clung to the roots of the trees like a living thing.
"Alright," Felix muttered, pushing himself upright. His pendant weighed heavy in his pocket, waiting to guide him deeper into this nightmare. "Day two in hell. Let's see if I can make it to day three."
He climbed down, boots finding careful purchase against the bark, and landed lightly on the damp soil below. The air was cold, sharp in his lungs. Somewhere in the distance, a shrill cry echoed—part bird, part something far worse.
Felix pulled his bow free, set his jaw, and stepped into the mist.
As the forest swallowed him whole.