Chapter 52
Written by Bayzo Albion
She paused behind me, her fingers grazing my shoulder—light, testing. I felt the warmth through my shirt, a spark of connection amid the tension.
"Be careful with pretty words," she whispered. "They can cost more than blood."
"I've paid in both—mine and others'," I said evenly.
She stepped in front, leaning so close our breaths mingled, her eyes gleaming with hunger. The scent of her—lavender and something sharper, like ambition—filled my senses.
"Let's see, then," she said with a predatory smile, "who crosses the line first."
Her gaze lingered, defying propriety, and she exhaled slowly, the air between us crackling.
"I've been wondering," she continued, "are you bluffing, or truly willing to risk it all?"
"Does it matter to you?"
"No," she replied, the word layered with implications—curiosity, challenge, desire. "I want to know how far you'll go... with me."
Her finger traced my lips lightly, teasing, daring me to react.
"Predators should share their kills sometimes," she whispered, her voice a blend of mockery and invitation.
I grinned. "Then let's not waste time."
Her hand slid to my neck, pulling me in, and the world dissolved in a fierce, lingering kiss—a prelude to what we both craved. As passion ignited, boundaries blurred, and we surrendered to the heat, knowing this was no conquest, but a pact between equals.
When the first light of morning filtered through the curtains, I lay awake, listening to her steady breathing beside me. Her body warm against mine, the sheets tangled in evidence of our night. It felt like a truce in a brewing storm, two hunters circling, bound by mutual intrigue. But in the quiet aftermath, doubts lingered: Was this alliance, or the start of a deeper game?
– – –
I stepped out of the house, drawing in a deep breath of the forest's humid, clinging aroma—a heady mix of damp bark, rich decay, and faint, distant blooms that lingered on the tongue like a forgotten memory. Without hesitation, I teleported deep into the heart of the wilderness, the world blurring around me in a rush of green and shadow.
My hands plunged into the soft earth, scooping out the first pit with grim determination. At the bottom, sharpened stakes gleamed menacingly, coated in a thick, greenish poison that released a cloyingly bitter scent, sharp enough to sting the eyes. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I worked, the soil cool and gritty against my skin, each handful a step toward survival—or so I told myself.
"Help out, you lazy bum! Forbidden technique—Cloning!" I shouted, channeling the energy within me.
In moments, there were two of us, mirroring each other's movements like shadows come to life. Over the next four hours, we dug a dozen deadly traps, lining them with those poisoned spikes and carefully camouflaging the edges with fresh leaves and scattered debris. The forest watched in silence, its ancient trees standing sentinel as we toiled, the air growing heavier with the promise of dusk.
"Why the rush?" my double panted, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, his chest heaving from the exertion.
"Night's coming soon," I replied, testing the edge of the last stake with my thumb—it drew a tiny bead of blood, sharp as a predator's fang.
"And that's worth all this frenzy? What if something else falls in—not a monster, but a person?"
"These are for dumb beasts," I brushed him off, but a nagging doubt wormed its way into my mind, twisting like a thorn. "Though... you might have a point."
"How low you've sunk," a melodic voice cut through the air, icy enough to send a shiver racing down my spine.
I whipped around, heart pounding. The Forest Queen perched on a branch overhead, as if she'd sprouted from the wood itself, her eyes blazing with undisguised contempt. Her presence filled the clearing, the leaves around her rustling faintly, as though the forest itself echoed her disdain.
"What can I say?" I shrugged deliberately slowly, masking the irritation bubbling inside me. "The world's heading toward its end."
"This is underhanded and dishonorable," her voice trembled—not with weakness, but with barely contained fury that made the air crackle. "I'm disappointed in you."
I held her gaze without flinching, and in that charged moment, I realized my traps, poisons, and schemes meant nothing if she decided I'd crossed an unforgivable line. The weight of her judgment pressed down on me, heavier than the earth I'd just displaced.
"It's them or us. No middle ground," I said, locking eyes with her, willing her to see the necessity in my words.
"Where's the power of friendship? Of love?" my double interjected lazily from the sidelines, leaning against a tree with crossed arms. "Can't we just live in harmony with the monsters?"
"We are not like them," the Forest Queen declared, her words sharp as a verdict handed down from on high. "Their nature is to destroy; ours is to endure. Harmony with a predator ends when hunger strikes. I've turned a blind eye to your tricks before," her stare sharpened to a blade's edge, "but this... this crosses the line."
"I'm taking the straightforward path," I countered, biting back my frustration. "Isn't that the essence of intelligence—finding the most efficient solutions?"
"Efficient for whom?" She stepped closer, her voice laced with a threat that sent a chill through the underbrush. "For you? For your victory? Or for those you're willing to sacrifice without a second thought?"
"The one who wins is the one willing to go all the way."
"Then our paths diverge here," her tone turned frigid, like a winter gale sweeping through the leaves. "Coward. Dishonorable. Human."
"Better a living coward than a dead hero," I shot back, refusing to break eye contact, the tension between us thick enough to taste.
"You're wrong," she closed the distance, so near I could feel the warmth of her breath mingling with the cooling air. It carried the faint scent of wildflowers and ancient wood, a stark contrast to her words. "To live as a coward is to be dead already."
We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, two warriors sizing up the arena, knowing the next move could shatter everything. The forest held its breath, the distant calls of birds fading into an oppressive quiet.
Her final word hung like a curse before she vanished in a whirlwind of dry leaves, the air humming with residual energy. The forest's scent now mingled with a bitter tang of loss, and I stood frozen, staring at the empty space where her fiery eyes had burned into mine. A strange hollow formed in my chest—not guilt, not anger, but a cold realization that I'd just redrawn the power map of this world, and not in my favor.
"Well, you're screwed now," my double drawled, whistling low. "Lost the most powerful ally in the region... all over a few pits."
"At least we'll stay alive," I muttered, but the words rang empty, echoing in the growing shadows.
He smirked, shaking his head. "Alive... but now we've got an enemy on this side of the woods who knows every shadow and every whisper of the wind. And that enemy is a queen."
I clenched my fists, gazing into the darkening thicket, the leaves rustling like conspirators. "Then I'll have to become something she fears more than the monsters."
Night was indeed falling, the shadows from the trees stretching like black tendrils toward my traps. Deep in the forest, something stirred—the quiet, ravenous hunger I'd set all this up for, coiling and ready to unleash.
"Alright, my eternally whining sidekick," I said, brushing dirt from my palms with a finality that felt forced, "time to head home."
"Hold up," he pulled shimmering threads from his pocket, "let's hang some magical signs on the way out: 'Caution! Monster Traps Ahead!'"
"Not a bad idea," I agreed, etching warning runes into the bark with focused intent. "A touch of humanity in this madness."
"Ah..." he sighed dramatically, feigning melancholy as he glanced around. "This is hardcore mode alright. And for it, we lost a real beauty. What a shame... a damn shame."
I paused, not turning, and spoke into the encroaching darkness: "I know you're still here, Forest Queen. Tell me: when the strong mercilessly crush the weak, is that fair? Honorable?"
The air before me shimmered, and her voice responded, cold and almost inhuman, echoing from the void: "The weak are guilty of their own frailty. Nature knows no mercy."
"You've never known what it's like to be weak," I gripped my fists until my knuckles whitened, the strain pulling at my muscles. "To be a target your whole life. To lose everything, over and over."
"And your point?" Impatience laced her tone, like a predator tiring of the chase.
"Your pride will be your downfall," I whispered fiercely, each word aimed like a dagger into the night. "You've risen too high."
Her laughter cracked through the air, brittle and sharp as ice fracturing underfoot: "Time will tell who's right."
"Yes," I turned away, tossing the words over my shoulder like a challenge, "and you'll see me become the strongest. Not because of nature... but in spite of it."
In that instant, the shadows seemed denser than the night itself, wrapping around me like a shroud. I knew this wasn't our last exchange.
That marked the end of my final conversation with the beautiful ruler of the forest.
My double whistled again: "Man, you really did it. Threw away the mightiest ally around... all for some principles."