The world outside the village felt colder, darker, heavier. The horizon was jagged, broken by cliffs and fallen stones, and the faint black sky pressed down on me like a weight I couldn't lift.
I kept my eyes on Xeno. He walked ahead as if nothing had happened, the shovel resting casually over his shoulder. But I knew. I knew what he had done. The Sepharion wasn't just stopped… it was gone, destroyed.
I couldn't look away. My stomach twisted at the memory, but I also couldn't help the strange relief that it was dead.
"Are… there more of them?" I asked quietly.
Xeno didn't answer immediately. He didn't need to. I could see the tension in the air, the way the shadows seemed to twitch at his presence.
"Always," he said finally. His voice was calm, flat, but carried a weight I couldn't name. "Some are fast. Some are clever. Some… can't even be seen until they're already on you."
I shivered. My hand brushed the worn handle of my own small knife,useless, but at least something to hold onto.
We walked in silence for a while, the jagged rocks and broken earth stretching endlessly. The wind whispered through cracks and crevices, carrying with it a faint, unnatural chill.
And then I heard it, a low, wet clicking. Slow at first. Hesitant. Curious. Waiting.
I froze.
Xeno stopped, tilting his head slightly, listening.
The sound grew louder, moving through the rocks. My breath caught. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. I didn't even want to.
A shadow emerged, flickering like smoke. I could see only a glimpse at first ,elongated limbs, claws scraping against stone, dozens of glowing eyes spiraling over a slick, green-black body.
Another Xenophore.
Xeno stepped forward without hesitation. I stayed behind him, heart pounding, eyes wide.
The creature hissed, a wet, hollow sound that made my stomach churn. It lunged. Faster than I could follow, faster than I could even think.
And Xeno met it.
He didn't hesitate. He didn't flinch. He moved with the same terrifying precision as before, the shovel catching claws, striking limbs, parrying and slamming with deadly accuracy. The Xenophore twisted and shrieked, but every attack met Xeno's control.
I felt the horror in every strike. The way the creature moved, intelligent and vicious, and the way Xeno danced through it like a shadow made flesh.
Finally, with one fluid motion, he struck the heart. The Xenophore screamed,a sound that chilled me to my core and then collapsed.
Silence returned. The only sound was my own ragged breathing.
I looked at Xeno. His blindfolded face betrayed nothing. Not relief, not satisfaction, not even fatigue. Just… stillness.
I realized then, fully, that Xeno was not like anyone I had ever known. He could fight the monsters that haunted this world and yet he carried something else, something I couldn't name.
We continued walking. The land grew darker, the shadows longer. Jagged cliffs rose on either side, and I could feel the weight of the world pressing in.
Xeno didn't speak. I didn't ask. The silence between us wasn't uncomfortable. It was… necessary.
Somewhere ahead, beyond the cliffs and broken earth, I knew there were more dangers. More Xenophores. And something else. Something Xeno had not told me.
But I had made a choice , to follow him. To survive. To see the truth.
And somehow, I knew… nothing would ever be the same.
The jagged cliffs stretched endlessly before us, shadows pooling in the cracks and broken earth. The world had grown colder since we left the village, heavier somehow, as if the darkness itself weighed on my shoulders.
Xeno moved ahead, calm, silent, the shovel resting across his back. I kept my eyes on him, unable to look away. What he had done to the Sepharion… it replayed in my mind in flashes, the speed, the precision, the way it simply fell under his control. I tried not to think about it, tried to push it away, but the memory clung to me.
"I… I don't want to keep just following you," I said finally, my voice quiet enough that only he could hear. "I want to… I want to learn. I want to survive. I can't just watch anymore."
Xeno didn't answer at once. He tilted his head slightly, listening to the wind, to the shadows. His blindfolded face betrayed nothing, but I could feel him weighing me, testing my resolve.
"Training… is not simple," he said finally. "It is not about swinging a weapon, or knowing how to fight. It is about seeing what others cannot, anticipating what is hidden, understanding the dangers before they strike."
I nodded. "I know. I want to try anyway."
He studied me a long moment, then gave the faintest nod. "Very well. We will begin when the path allows it. Not now. Not in the open."
I exhaled, a mix of relief and nervous anticipation. Before I could ask what he meant, a soft sound came from the rocks ahead ,deliberate footsteps, careful, measured.
A figure emerged slowly from the shadows. A man. Tall, thin, with a hood drawn over his head, moving with a careful, deliberate gait. His robes were patched and worn, but his presence was… commanding. Every step made me feel like the world had shifted slightly, like he had already seen what we were before we arrived.
"Travelers," the man said, voice calm but carrying an undercurrent of authority. "You walk dangerous paths for those who are unprepared."
Xeno didn't respond, only tilted his head slightly, listening. The air seemed to bend subtly around him, though I didn't understand why.
"I am Kael," the man continued. "I have watched these lands for a long time. I have seen what is born from human sin, and I know what may follow you."
I swallowed. There was something in his presence that felt… dangerous. Knowledgeable. Unforgiving. Yet somehow, I felt drawn to him.
"Kael…" I said, stepping slightly closer, voice soft. "We… we are trying to survive. I want to fight, to defend myself. To be ready. Can you… help me?"
Kael's eyes, sharp and calculating, flicked to Xeno, then back to me. "Help you?" he asked. "You wish to learn to survive in a world that has forgotten mercy… but do you understand what you are asking? It is not simply strength that will save you. You must see. You must anticipate. You must understand the darkness itself."
"Yes," I whispered, feeling my chest tighten. "I want to learn. I want to be ready."
Xeno's hand brushed against mine briefly, a silent acknowledgment and the shadows around us seemed to shift again. I felt a flicker of something I couldn't name.
Kael nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. "Very well. But know this: training will not make you safe. It will not make you strong enough to face everything. You will still be tested… by the world, by its monsters, by what you fear in yourself. And some of the lessons… will be painful."
I swallowed hard. Painful… I understood that already, but I nodded anyway.
"Tomorrow," Kael said, "we begin at first light. The path is long, and the world does not wait for the unready."
Xeno didn't speak. He simply adjusted the grip on his shovel, calm, unreadable, always watching.
And in that quiet, I felt the first real spark of determination inside me. I wouldn't just follow him anymore. I would learn. I would survive. And somehow… I would stand beside him.
The wind whispered through the cliffs, carrying with it the faintest echo of clicking far below. I shivered, knowing the Xenophores were always waiting.
But now… I felt, for the first time, ready to face them.