Orion and Liora followed the footprints leading away from the burned village. The forest grew darker with every step. The trees twisted like they were trying to hide secrets. The wind whispered, but not in a friendly way.
Liora touched the bark of a tree and frowned. "These marks… claws. Huge ones."
Orion slowed down. "So the attackers weren't ordinary humans."
The path suddenly split—left toward a narrow canyon, right toward a deep valley. Orion bent down to study the ground. The footprints went in both directions.
A trap.
He looked around. The forest was too silent again.
Then—A faint click.
Orion shoved Liora aside just as arrows rained from above.
They rolled behind a fallen log. Liora had already pulled out her small knife. Orion stayed calm, scanning the trees.
Shadows moved between branches. Not animals. Not human either.
One of the attackers leaped down, landing in front of them. Its body was like a human, but its skin was gray, and its eyes were glowing yellow. Sharp claws extended from its fingers.
It hissed, voice broken like cracking stone:"Leave this place. The heart of the world is not for you."
Orion didn't fight immediately. Instead, he asked, "Why did you attack that village?"
The creature paused, confused by the question.
"To keep outsiders away… from the north. From the truth."
"What truth?" Liora demanded.
The creature tilted its head. "The truth that your kind cannot handle."
Then it attacked.
Orion grabbed the creature's arm before it could strike. Unlike before, when he had fought ordinary bandits, this time something strange happened — his hand glowed faintly with blue light.
The creature screamed and stumbled back, clutching its burned arm.
Orion stared at his hand, shocked. "What… was that?"
Liora looked just as surprised. "Your power. It woke up again."
But there was no time to understand it — three more creatures jumped from the trees.
Orion and Liora fought together. She moved fast, cutting deep with swift strikes. Orion blocked attacks with his arms, and every time he made contact, blue sparks burst from his skin.
The creatures screeched and finally retreated, jumping back into the shadows of the forest.
Silence returned.
Liora placed her hand on Orion's shoulder, breathing heavily."You're changing. And it's not just strength. This power… it feels ancient."
Orion didn't answer right away. He could still feel the strange energy in his body — like a sleeping star awakening inside him.
He whispered quietly, almost to himself:
"If this power is waking up, then it means the danger ahead is far greater than I thought."
Liora looked toward the north, where fog covered the mountains."That's where the answers are. And that's where the next battle waits."
Orion nodded."For the village. For the girl. For the truth… we keep moving."
Together, they walked deeper into the unknown — toward the north, toward the heart of the world, and toward a truth that might change everything.