People fear many things. The dark. Insects. Animals. The depths of the ocean. Death, hunger, sickness. But in this age, the thing people feared most could be summed up in a single word: Creatures.
Day 5
Nobody had slept before morning came.
When Raphael arrived, the fire was small, the forest was silent, and Mira was gone. Raphael understood — he read the scene the way you read a room, looked at their faces, looked at the crater, looked at the split tree. He didn't ask anything. He just sat down.
The two who came with him sat down too.
Lena was small, her hair short and neat, and the way she moved suggested she looked at everything before deciding anything. When she came over she didn't make eye contact with anyone — just assessed the situation, then leaned against the nearest tree.
Brom, on the other hand, spoke immediately. "That's it?" he said, looking at the crater. "How many vampires?"
"Five." Eren's voice was flat.
"You killed five?"
"Three. Two got away. One took Mira."
Brom started to say something else. Raphael's eyes moved to him. Brom stopped.
Oryn didn't say anything. He hadn't said a word since they arrived — probably hadn't said anything on the way either. He crossed to the other side of the fire, crouched down, and watched.
The night passed like that.
When morning broke, Dean got to his feet.
"Mira is in the forest." His voice was normal, the kind that delivers information. "The vampires have a base somewhere on this island — the nearest structure is the castle to the west. That's most likely where she is."
"Most likely." Raphael repeated.
"Yes."
"And the less likely option?"
Dean didn't answer. Not answering was the answer.
Eren stood up. His ribs still ached — last night, the slaad's body catching him, then the vampire driving him into the ground on top of that. He felt it on every deep breath.
Not broken. Just keeps being annoying.
"We're going." He reached for his pack.
"No." Rowan's voice came.
They turned.
Rowan was still sitting, leaning on his staff. His face wore that familiar expression — hesitant, turned inward. But something was different. His eyes had changed. Harder. Flatter.
"We can't go."
"Mira is there." Eren kept his voice level.
"I know." Rowan's voice trembled — but he kept going. "Last night we barely killed one lesser vampire. Five lessers attacked us, two got away. There were four of us and at least two of us were nearly spent." He paused. "Do you know what's in that castle?"
Silence.
"There's a clan. The clan has a leader. If we run into a leader-level vampire—" His voice cut off. He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Dean folded his arms. "What are you suggesting."
Rowan paused for a moment. Then he reached into his pack.
He pulled out two things.
One was a black root — not dry, still damp, as if it had been cut recently. Its blackness wasn't natural, it was too deep, like it had been absorbing something.
The other was a small crystal. Black, matte, the kind that took in light rather than reflecting it. No bigger than a thumbnail, but heavy — when Rowan held it, his fingers visibly tightened.
"What is that?" Raphael asked.
"The potion I drank was made from different materials. Sea crystal and a different variety of this root." Rowan set the root down. "But the principle is the same. When the root's essence and crystal dust combine, they produce magical energy. Temporary. But enough."
"How temporary?"
"I don't know exactly. An hour, maybe less." He swallowed. "But someone who drinks this potion will be brought up to a level where they can fight vampires. The magical energy channels open — no one normally feels this because developing them naturally takes months. This potion cuts that process short."
"Is it safe?" Lena asked. It was the first time she'd spoken — her voice was calm and clean.
"Probably."
"Probably."
"I studied it theoretically at the Academy. I haven't applied it." Rowan looked at the crystal. "But there's no alternative."
A long silence.
Eren looked at Rowan. Rowan was looking at the forest — he didn't want to go, that was obvious. He was afraid, that was obvious too. But he was sitting there with a black root and a crystal and talking about making a potion.
This kid is scared. But he's not refusing to go.
"Make it." Dean turned and started moving away. "We'll get ready."
Rowan set the root on a flat stone.
He pressed down with both hands — slowly, deliberately. A dark black liquid seeped from the root and dripped onto the stone. Not much, maybe ten drops. But the color was impossibly dense.
He took the crystal. He struck it with a small stone he'd pulled from his pack — once, twice. The crystal was tough but brittle; on the third strike it cracked. By the fourth it had become powder, fine black dust collecting in his palm.
He poured the dust over the liquid.
Something happened.
The moment the dust touched the liquid, a faint heat rose — invisible but felt. The color shifted, from pure black to a deep violet-black. The mixture settled and held.
Rowan looked at the stone.
"Alright." His voice was uncertain. "I think that worked."
Raphael leaned in. Looked at it. "How do we take it?"
"Dip your finger in and lick it. There's enough on the stone for three people."
Raphael put his finger in. Tasted it. Made a face. "Bitter."
"Yes."
Eren took his. It was bitter — genuinely bitter, burning at the back of the throat. But he felt something. Not long after. A warmth in his chest, a faint vibration in his arms. Unfamiliar, but not unpleasant.
Dean took his last. He didn't say anything. Just looked — at his hands, then at the forest.
Rowan set the stone aside. "One hour. Maybe a little more. During that time you'll have roughly the magical energy capacity of an average hunter." He paused. "It might not be enough against vampires."
"But we have a better chance." Eren picked up his pack.
Rowan didn't answer.
Brom got to his feet. "I'm coming too."
"You're coming." Raphael clapped him on the shoulder. "Oryn?"
Oryn was already standing.
Lena was the last to rise. "Do you have a route?"
"West." Dean had already started walking. "The castle is that way."
Seven people entered the forest.
Rowan was at the back. He gripped his staff, took one step, then another.
I'm scared.
But Mira is there.
He kept going.