Ray crashed through the underbrush, lungs burning, aura pounding in his legs like fire. He didn't notice where he was going until the trees around him thickened again, shadows swallowing the light.
He wasn't headed toward the village.
He was running deeper.
"Damn it—no, no, no—" he choked out, skidding to a stop against a moss-covered trunk.
Kiba barked frantically, squirming in his arms.
Ray looked around as dread flooded his stomach. The air was colder here. Still. The kind of stillness that meant something bigger owned this part of the forest.
And then he heard it.
A heavy inhale.
Like the entire forest was breathing behind him.
Ray's blood froze. He didn't have to turn around to know the beast had followed him.
"I screwed up…" he whispered. "I seriously screwed up…"
Kiba pressed closer, trembling. Ray swallowed hard, forcing the panic down, shoving it into some dark corner of his chest where he could deal with it later—if there was a later.
"Okay. Okay—Kiba, listen to me." His voice wavered. "You need to get out of here."
Kiba whined, shaking his head against Ray's chest.
Ray grabbed kiba face gently but firmly, making him look up.
"I'm gonna distract it. You need to run. Find Kael, or Joren, or literally any of Dad's friends. Just—just get someone here."
Kiba whimpered louder, paws pushing weakly against Ray, refusing.
Ray forced a shaky smile.
"Hey… you will be able to get out of this forest easily than me ok. And it won't chase you if I keep its attention."
"…Plus, someone's gotta tell Dad I did something stupid again."
Kiba's ears pinned back.Ray inhaled sharply, then set Kiba down on the ground.
"Go," he whispered.
Kiba didn't move.
Ray's throat tightened. "Kiba. Please."
Behind them, the beast's claws dug into the earth—huge, gouging sounds that echoed like distant thunder. A low growl vibrated through the roots beneath Ray's feet.
Ray forced himself to turn, heart thrashing against his ribs.
The creature stepped into view—obsidian scales glinting like broken glass, magenta eyes blazing with hunger. Saliva dripped from its jagged maw. Its tail cut through the air in violent, twitching arcs.
Ray couldn't breathe.
Every instinct screamed at him to run again. To hide. To beg the universe for a redo.
But he didn't run.
He planted his feet, fists clenched so hard his nails bit into his palms.
I'm an idiot.I'm a complete, certified idiot.
Who the hell tries to fight something like this empty-handed?
A hysterical laugh bubbled in his chest, but he swallowed it down.
"Kiba," he whispered again, eyes fixed on the monster, "if you stay, we both die. If you go, at least I've got a shot."
He risked a glance down.Kiba stared up at him.Then it let out a sharp, angry bark—as if cursing the situation just as much as Ray was—and bolted into the trees.
Ray exhaled shakily.
"Good boy."
Then, more bitterly, under his breath:
"…and I'm the biggest moron alive."
He spread his stance, aura instinctively gathering in his limbs, heat crawling up his spine.
The beast crouched low, muscles coiling like drawn wires.
Ray's heart hammered.
He cursed the world for the hundredth time—this violent place, Kael's lessons, the screams in the woods, the cruel systems, everything.
He cursed himself for running the wrong way.
For being unarmed. For freezing. For daring to think he could have a quiet life here.
The beast lunged.As Ray braced himself.
"I really hate this world," he muttered
Ray didn't have time to think.
The beast crashed into him like a landslide given life, a wall of obsidian scales and killing intent. Ray threw himself sideways at the last second, aura flaring in his legs, the impact missing him by inches as claws split the earth where he'd been standing.
He hit the ground, rolled, sprang back up.
His lungs burned. His thoughts were a frantic blur.
Move. Move. Move or you die.
The creature roared, magenta eyes snapping toward him with savage precision, and Ray bolted deeper between the trees. Trunks blurred past him as he zig-zagged, refusing to run in a straight line. Every footstep was a gamble, every breath a prayer.
A claw swept past his back, close enough that he felt the air peel.
Ray ducked behind a tree just as the beast's tail smashed into it. The trunk exploded into splinters. Bark rained down like shrapnel. His ears rang.
Okay that's— that's way too strong—
He sprinted again, weaving through the forest, using trees as cover, forcing the beast to maneuver rather than simply bulldoze him.
The creature's footfalls shook the earth behind him.
Ray leaped over a fallen log—misjudged the landing—and stumbled.
The beast pounced.
A massive claw slammed down toward him.
Ray's instincts snapped.
His aura surged—not into his limbs, but out of him, wild and unrefined. The air around his palm warped, twisted—
—and the beast's claw stopped inches above his chest.
Not by its own will.
Ray held it suspended with sheer, terrified force.
Telekinesis sparked around his hand like shimmering heatwaves, struggling, trembling.
Ray's eyes widened. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me—"
The beast snarled, muscles bulging as it pushed against the invisible hold. It was stronger. A lot stronger.
Ray gritted his teeth, screaming through the effort. The world around him wobbled; his vision blurred at the edges. Every second felt like it was tearing something inside his head apart.
"Move… you damn… thing!"
The beast lunged harder.
Ray's telekinetic grip cracked like glass