Flames Among the Trees
The mountains never slept.
Even at dawn, the peaks whispered with cold wind and distant roars, the sound of beasts claiming territory and blood. Snow clung to the highest ridges, while the forests below breathed with life—dense, ancient, and dangerous.
Eseren moved through them like a shadow.
Her feet barely touched the branches as she leapt from tree to tree, body light, balanced, precise. Each movement was calculated. Each breath measured.
Daniel watched from a rocky outcrop above, arms crossed, aura restrained to nothing more than a presence. His eyes never left her.
She was different now.
Since the incident in the cave, the girl who once struggled to stand after a battle had vanished. In her place stood a huntress—sharp-eyed, controlled, and burning with barely restrained eagerness.
Blaze Bang rested in her hands.
To anyone else, it still looked like burnt, lifeless wood. Cracked. Old. Worthless.
But Daniel could feel it.
A slumbering inferno bound to her soul.
Eseren drew the bowstring slowly.
Her mana stirred.
Mana—the magic core within her—flowed like liquid fire through her meridians, feeding the bow. The crimson veins along Blaze Bang pulsed faintly, responding to her intent.
She exhaled.
"First level…" she whispered."Blaze Blast."
The forest screamed.
Dozens of arrows manifested in an instant, formed of condensed flame and mana. They launched forward in an endless barrage, tearing through the trees like a storm of death as the explosion took place.
The beast horde never stood a chance.
More than one hundred and twenty monsters had gathered below—feral wolf-beasts, armored boars, horned lizards, and grotesque hybrids warped by the mountain's mana density. They had been moving together, drawn by instinct and hunger.
Now they panicked.
Arrows rained from above, piercing skulls, burning through hides, exploding on impact. Bodies fell in waves, blood spraying across bark and stone as the monsters screamed in pain.
Eseren didn't stop moving.
She jumped.
A branch bent under her foot and snapped back as she launched herself forward, flipping mid air, releasing arrows in every direction. Her agility was unreal—assassin-like, fluid, lethal.
A horned lizard leapt at her from below.
She twisted sideways, landed on a tree trunk, and loosed a single arrow point-blank.
"Blaze Explosion."
The arrow detonated inches from the beast's face.
There was no scream.
Only a thunderous blast that erased the monster entirely, leaving scorched earth and raining gore.
Eseren landed lightly, eyes blazing.
"Again."
The beasts tried to flee.
Some turned and ran, crashing through undergrowth in blind terror.
Eseren's lips curved into a sharp smile.
"You don't get to leave."
She drew back the bowstring, mana condensing into a single arrow—heavier, denser, far more dangerous.
"Second level…""Blaze Mirage."
She released.
The arrow split into dozens mid-flight—each illusion identical, each radiating killing intent. The fleeing monsters screamed in confusion, unsure which direction meant death.
It didn't matter.
Every illusion struck.
Necks snapped. Chests caved in. Spines shattered as fire and force tore through them. Monsters collapsed mid-run, bodies skidding lifeless across the forest floor.
Some begged in distorted roars.
Some tried to crawl away.
None succeeded.
Above it all, Daniel finally moved.
He stepped forward, his shadow stretching unnaturally long.
"Vorrath," he said calmly.
The air behind him warped.
A dark, formless presence spilled outward—hungry, silent, obedient. As beasts died, their blood rose unnaturally, siphoned into the void-like entity.
Daniel did not interfere.
He did not strike.
He simply allowed Vorrath to consume.
Blood vanished. Essence drained. The battlefield grew eerily clean, as if the forest itself feared what lingered.
Eseren landed near the center of the carnage, chest rising and falling.
Her mana reserves dipped dangerously low.
But her eyes shone with exhilaration.
"So this is what it feels like…" she murmured.
Blaze Bang pulsed warmly in her hands.
More, the bow whispered.You are ready for more.
She clenched her teeth.
"No. Not yet."
Daniel appeared beside her without sound.
"That was enough," he said. "You pushed your core close to collapse."
She glanced at him, sweat streaking her brow. "But I could've—"
"And you would've paid for it later," Daniel interrupted evenly. "Power doesn't forgive recklessness."
She exhaled slowly.
Then smiled.
"…Still. Did you see them run?"
Daniel nodded. "I did."
The forest was silent now.
Not a single beast stirred.
Trees stood scorched and broken. The ground was stained dark where blood had soaked in before being taken by Vorrath. The mountain had witnessed slaughter—and remembered it.
Eseren leaned against a tree, finally letting the exhaustion hit her.
"I was itching for a fight," she admitted. "I needed to know if it was real."
Daniel looked at Blaze Bang.
"It's real."
He turned his gaze back to her.
"And dangerous. You've only unlocked the surface of what that weapon is."
She met his eyes, serious now. "Then I'll master it."
A low rumble echoed in the distance—another horde, perhaps, or something worse.
Daniel rested a hand on his sword.
"We move before nightfall," he said. "The capital isn't far. And after today…"
He glanced at the battlefield.
"…the mountains will remember you."
Eseren straightened, Blaze Bang resting easily across her back.
Let them remember.
She was done being prey and now, she's the predator.