Two months ago.
Hayel was walking through the forest all alone.
Not his brightest moment. The sun was about to set, and yet he still hadn't found his way back to the village he lived in.
The forest was beautiful, though. The last rays of sunlight sheepishly slipped between the trees, painting the green spring leaves in soft gold. It should have been peaceful.
But it wasn't for him.
He could die here. There were all kinds of abominations lurking in these woods. He wasn't much safer in the village either, but at least there were a few guards sent by the Order.
So why was he being this reckless?
He hadn't run away from home. He wasn't chasing some life-changing adventure to become a hero. He had simply decided that taking a little walk deep into a forest filled with monsters was a good idea for a fifteen-year-old who couldn't even hold a weapon properly.
A dumb idea. Even for him.
He knew the forest near the village well enough, but today he had felt… adventurous. So he went deeper. Much deeper.
He didn't know how to use a weapon, so he hadn't brought one. It wasn't like he ever needed one before. The only thing that had ever attacked him was a small monster he could outrun.
But that had been near the edges of the forest. Not here. Not this deep.
It had been a funny day, actually. Layla had been with him, and they were trying to climb a tree. He couldn't even remember what they had talked about, only that he had been laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. He'd been so distracted that he hadn't noticed the little fiend hiding in a nearby bush.
The moment it leapt at his face, he had screamed and run, Layla right behind him.
Only later had he noticed the blood running down his cheek. Thankfully, it hadn't scarred.
Those small monsters weren't particularly dangerous. Most people could outrun them. Still, they were strong enough to kill a normal person—especially if that person tripped, froze, or got unlucky with where they were wounded. Their legs were short, but their bodies were deceptively powerful.
They are also quite ugly.
When it attacked him, it had misjudged the distance it could jump.
I guess they aren't that smart either. He thought bitterly.
Back then they had been close to the village, so running had been easy.
If something attacked him now…
I guess I'll just run in whichever direction… Or die. Who knows what even lives out here.
So he kept walking. There wasn't much else he could do anyway.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't anxious. Walking alone through an unfamiliar forest was not on the list of things he wanted to experience before he died.
Eventually, he noticed a narrow trail ahead. A thin line cutting through the trees in two directions. It gave him a small, fragile sense of hope.
The problem was that he didn't know if he should go left or right.
After standing there for a few minutes, he chose left at random. He tried to remember the guards' stories about hunting monsters near the village, hoping some detail might help him recognize the path.
Sadly for him, nothing did.
So he walked, guided only by a whim and growing unease.
How long had he been walking? One hour? Two?
The sun had already set. Darkness wrapped itself around the forest, leaving only the dim glow of the moon and scattered stars filtering through the branches.
The air grew colder.
That was when it truly hit him that he had made a terrible mistake.
He slowed and glanced at the trail ahead. He didn't recognize it. It was too dark to see clearly now. The moon hung above the trees, casting faint silver light over the forest, making everything look distant and unreal.
It was… strangely melancholy.
Then Hayel's body froze.
Everything around him had gone completely still.
No insects. No rustling leaves. No wind.
Nothing.
And there was something standing in front of him.
It was huge. Lanky. Dark, like a piece of night that had been given a shape. Its outline was unclear, its body blending into the surrounding shadows, but he could still make out the long, bony limbs that hung too low, almost brushing the ground.
Its round eyes stared straight at him.
White. Empty. No pupils.
It didn't blink.
Neither did he.
His bones went cold. His heartbeat sped up so violently it hurt. His breath caught in his throat, refusing to move.
It was staring at him.
And he was staring back.
Something tore into his mind without warning, sharp and invasive, flooding his thoughts all at once.
Don't look…
Don't look…
Don't look… Don't look…
DON'T. LOOK. DON'T. LOOK.
STOP LOOKING.
TURN YOUR FUCKING HEAD AWAY!
A sharp pain exploded behind Hayel's eyes. He groaned and almost stumbled, vision swimming.
Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run, to run as fast as he possibly could.
As the pain forced his thoughts back into place, Hayel finally moved.
He dashed to his right.
He had never run this fast in his life.
He didn't know if the abomination was following him. He couldn't hear anything. He couldn't risk turning around to check.
Cold air clawed at his lungs. His legs burned, threatening to give out beneath him. His vision felt wrong, distorted, as if the world itself had shifted slightly out of place.
He could feel every single heartbeat pounding through his body. Too fast. Too loud. So fast it made him wonder if his heart might simply give out.
Then he saw it.
A graveyard.
It was large, stretching farther than he could see in the darkness. Not a single soul in sight. Overgrown grass swallowed the ground, brushing against crooked tombstones that stood unnaturally close together.
In the center stood a small stone temple, worn and silent.
Hayel squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as the pain still lingered behind them.
The forest remained still.
Too still.
His legs finally gave out. He collapsed forward and began to vomit violently onto the cold ground, his whole body shaking.
He tried to steady his breath, seemingly a futile attempt.
His head spun. His skin felt icy.
What should I do…? What… What am I going to do?
His legs refused to obey him. His body trembled uncontrollably, as if something inside him had cracked and couldn't be put back together.
After a long moment, he forced himself to lift his head.
And it was there.
Its tall body towered over one of the graves.
Its back was slightly hunched, long arms hanging low, its hands nearly touching the ground.
Only its head was turned toward him.
Those white eyes—empty, unblinking—were fixed directly on him.
Watching.