Solan hit the forest floor with a bone-jarring thud.
The impact should have killed him, but the crimson energy coiled around his legs like a spring, absorbing the shock before dissipating into the damp earth. He tumbled through thick ferns and silver-leafed bushes, finally coming to a stop against the roots of an ancient, glowing tree.
The plasma blade flickered and died. The marble hilt turned back into the obsidian orb, which sat silently in his palm, cold as ice.
"Damn it..." Solan gasped, clutching his right arm.
The orange runes were still glowing faintly under his skin, but they weren't beautiful anymore. They looked like chemical burns. His hoodie was shredded, and his chest felt like it had been kicked by a mule. This was the "Stellar Bleed"—the physical toll of using a Constellation his body wasn't built to hold.
The Silver Woods lived up to its name. The trees had bark like polished chrome, reflecting the purple nebulae above. The grass glowed with a soft, eerie blue light. It was beautiful, but Solan could hear the clicking.
Click. Click. Click-clack.
From the shadows of the silver trees, dozens of glowing red eyes emerged.
Shadow Husks.
They were the bottom-feeders of this world—beasts made of solidified smoke and malice, shaped like starving wolves with elongated, jagged limbs. They were attracted to the scent of "Star Energy," and Solan was currently radiating it like a flare.
"I don't have time for this," Solan muttered, trying to stand. His legs buckled.
A Husk lunged, its smoky jaw snapping inches from his face. Solan rolled, grabbing a sharp piece of silver-wood branch from the ground. He stabbed it upward, piercing the creature's chest.
The Husk didn't bleed; it evaporated into black mist. But ten more took its place.
[ENERGY DEPLETED: 12%] [INITIATING EMERGENCY ABSORPTION]
As the black mist from the dead Husk hovered in the air, the Obsidian Orb in Solan's hand began to glow with a hungry, predatory light. A vacuum-like force pulled the mist into the orb.
Solan felt a jolt of electricity go through his spine. The pain in his arm dulled. The runes flared bright orange once more.
"So that's how it works," Solan realized, a dark grin spreading across his face. "You don't just give me power. You want me to feed you."
He stood up, the obsidian orb melting back into the jagged marble hilt. The crimson plasma blade ignited, casting long, bloody shadows against the silver trees.
"Come on then," Solan challenged the pack of monsters. "I'm hungry too."
The Silver Woods erupted in a symphony of growls and the hum of vibrating plasma. For the first time since he arrived in this world, Solan Vantex wasn't running.
He was hunting.