Kai was surprised and said, "Destroy everything you built? That guy knows as much as you do, Ashen."
Ashen replied shortly, "No. He's better than me. He destroys those things silently, and even I can't notice it."
He paused for a moment, his tone serious: "But that can wait. Right now, we have to deal with what's tailing us."
They both stopped. I froze too. Kai put me down on the ground. I asked, "Tailing? Is it… the mother one?"
Kai shook his head, "No. The young ones."
Suddenly, a flame flared up. I turned my head and saw Ashen holding a burning branch. But there was nothing here that could make fire. I guessed it was that white powder Ashen used before.
A twisted laugh echoed from the darkness. Two creatures started stepping out. Just like Kai said, they were smaller, shorter than the mother, but still smelled dangerous.
Kai whispered, "Just two. We can handle that."
Ashen reached into his pocket and took out a curved bone with several tiny holes.
Ashen glanced at me, "Cover your ears."
I obeyed.
Ashen turned to Kai, "Quick and clean."
Kai bent down and picked up a stone. He smiled, "Got it."
The two creatures screamed and charged at us, seemingly annoyed we showed no fear.
Kai got into a pitcher's stance, swung his arm, and threw—the throw was so strong the flame on Ashen's branch immediately went out.
Though the light vanished, I still clearly heard the impact and heavy bodies hitting the ground. But the other one kept rushing forward.
Then that sound echoed—the strange, piercing, painful sound that reminded me of being chased when I first came to this world. It came from the bone in Ashen's hand.
He was blowing into it. The sound shrieked like it wanted to tear my brain apart. Even with my ears covered, I felt dizzy, numb all over, barely standing. The monster was the same—it screamed but was worse off, thrashing on the ground like it was crazy.
The flame flared up again—this time without any help. Ashen just raised his hand to the branch and it caught fire by itself. I began to wonder—could Ashen… actually call fire?
When I looked back, I saw Kai tightly holding the screaming monster in pain from the sound. He strained, twisted hard—and tore its head off.
Black blood sprayed out.
The other one—the one thrown before—had lost one side of its face and lay still.
After killing the two monsters, Ashen said nothing. He held the burning branch forward and began drawing on the ground. The flame left a bright red streak on the earth, as if it was burning the air itself.
I watched carefully. When he finished, I recognized the familiar symbols: signs meaning "don't hear," "don't smell," and "don't see" that I had seen and heard about in the base. But this time, unlike the previous ones—I saw this symbol was bigger and drawn with fire.
The symbols flickered, the flames dancing as if they had their own heartbeat.
Ashen stood up calmly, "Alright. Everyone, stand on a symbol."
I stepped forward and stood on the "don't see" symbol. Kai walked over to the "don't hear" symbol.
Ashen took the last one—"don't smell." His voice lowered:
"Now follow the symbols."
I closed my eyes, feeling the world around me disappear.
Kai raised his hands to cover his ears.
Ashen… took on the hardest part.
Don't smell—or maybe… don't breathe.
When he finished, Ashen said in a strangely serious tone:
"No matter what happens… don't step outside the symbols I drew. And absolutely do not break the rules of the symbol you're standing on."
No sooner had he finished… than it came.
Strange sounds began echoing—not clear what, but definitely moving toward us. I couldn't see anything since my eyes were shut tight, but I heard growls, trees being uprooted, a giant body sweeping through the forest. The ground trembled beneath me, as if warning… as if whispering a familiar name:
The Elderwood Beast.
Then suddenly—everything stopped.
Silence.
A suffocating silence.
But my instincts did not silence. They screamed. They told me it was right in front of me. Just a few steps away. Watching… sniffing… waiting.
I don't know why…but in that moment, curiosity ignited in me like a flame. Part of me wanted to open my eyes, wanted to see it. Wanted to know what it was doing.
But then I remembered Ashen's words.
I… didn't do it.
I kept my eyes shut tight.
Though my whole body trembled. Though something was whispering right next to my ear with icy breath.
I tried not to think about it anymore. Only thought of Ashen.
He was standing on the "don't smell" symbol—which meant he couldn't breathe.
I don't know how long Ashen could hold on, but one thing I was sure of: following the symbols in that circle made the monster unable to detect where we were. Then suddenly, a loud noise rang out—it seemed like it ran away. I didn't dare believe it was true. I didn't dare open my eyes. Inside me rose a fear that if I opened them, not only me, but Kai and Ashen would die.
I held still until I heard Ashen's voice:
"Alright, Mira. It's gone."
I slowly opened my eyes. Kai and Ashen were looking at me.
Kai said, "It's temporarily safe."
I whispered, "It's gone?"
Kai nodded, "Yeah. But only temporarily."
I was confused, "Temporarily? Does that mean it will come back?"
Ashen answered, voice heavy:
"Yes. It marked us as prey. And once it does that… it won't stop until it catches us."
I murmured, "Is there a way to escape it?"
Ashen answered coldly, "There is one way."
I immediately asked, "What way?"
Ashen's voice was decisive: "Kill it."
Those words made me freeze. But Ashen didn't let me calm down. He stepped forward, handed Kai a whistle, then said:
"I'll go find it and injure it as much as possible. Kai, take Mira to the Sinkhole. I'll lure it there, so be ready."
Kai nodded, "Alright. Let's go, Mira."
He came over and lifted me up again, this time saying nothing, only gently said to Ashen:
"Don't die."
Ashen didn't turn back, only said:
"That should be for you."
Then Ashen crouched, took a run-up. In a flash, he disappeared into the night.
I murmured softly:
"So fast…"