Zach shouted, "Look out!"—startling the two kids.
They turned toward the direction of the voice and saw him sprinting toward them.
Panic seized their young faces as a monstrous figure darted closer—its pace quick, its teeth glinting in the light.
As Zach saw the beast charge towards the kids, his body suddenly moved with a speed he never thought he had.
He didn't think—he just ran. He couldn't let it harm them.
They were just kids.
The monster's claws stretched forward, ready to snatch the girl.
Zach leapt forward, bo staff in hand.
As he got close, he used his bo staff to halt the approaching creature and pushed it back a couple of steps.
He turned to the stunned children and barked, "Run!"
Without wasting a second, they ran.
They didn't know where they were going—only that they needed to leave this place.
The forest offered no paths, only wild roots and shadows, but fear drove their feet forward.
If they lingered, the beast might track them.
Now alone, Zach faced the creature.
Its skin shimmered like synthetic plastic, sleek and cold under the light, almost reptilian in texture.
Its eyes were hollow yet alert, glowing with predatory focus.
Its body was large—slightly bigger than a normal leopard, but unnaturally still.
Zach's eyes narrowed.
A leopard would retreat if wounded, not waste time.
"This thing isn't like that," Zach thought grimly.
"It's not hunting for food—it's hunting for a reason or there just might be no reason at all"
For a moment, silence reigned.
And in that fleeting moment, Zach questioned himself.
Why did I charge in? Why not just shout from a distance and hide?
But the question held no weight now. The kids were safe.
And he had already made his choice.
The air was thick with tension. Zack stood between the beast as the children his behind a large bolder ,just out of sight , the beast walked in stride like an elegant being critizing it's new larger meal.
Zach stance defiant but wavering. The creature towered—an amorphous mass cloaked in dark, semi-liquid flesh that shimmered like polythene under light. Its every movement rippled unnaturally, oozing danger.
Suddenly some strange liquid started materializing around the beast .
They seemed to be made from the same material as it's plastic skin .
What how is this even real .Zach thought.
He had never seen a creature do something like that , it doesn't make sense.
The liquids around that were still flowing suddenly coellenced into blades of plastic.
Then.
It fired right at him , he instinctively dodge the attack and the blades went deep in the tree just behind him .
Fear struck Zach but he quickly regained his focus as the monster was preparing another similar attack .
At this rate all Zach has to do was dodge the attack for a while while he came up with a plan to escape this creature from the depth of nightmares.
As if realizing his plan the beast suddenly started attacking sporadically in all directions .
It's conjuring of those plastic blades has also increased Zach managed to weave and dodge through most of them
One slashed across Zack's arm, and he winced, blood staining his sleeve. Still, he didn't fall.
"
The monster hissed, a shrill, bubbling cry that echoed through the clearing. Then, it lunged.
Zack's legs buckled under the weight of his fear and fatigue, but as the next strike neared, something shifted. Ok now it's gotta work. He thought as he closed his eyes and uses his ears. Time didn't slow, but his senses sharpened. He closed his eyes—just for a second—and felt. Not with his hands. Not with his eyes. But with something deeper.
The vibrations. The very rhythm of air and earth. Faint at first… but present.
The creature's next strike came from the left—a spinning whip of liquified blade. Zack ducked, narrowly avoiding it. Another came low, and he sprang upward, leaping into a sideways roll as dust exploded from the cracked ground. The crowd of watching teens gasped.
"He's sensing it," whispered one of them.
"That's... not normal," said another. "He's from the base plane. He shouldn't be able to—"
Zack gritted his teeth. His body ached; blood dripped from fresh wounds on his arm and shoulder. He was fighting a losing battle. The monster's attacks became erratic—dozens of tendrils, blades, and darts shot toward him in frenzied waves. Some struck. Many missed. He stumbled, his knees buckling under him.
The rune-tech suddenly began to glow faintly from his bag—an ancient artifact had always been with —glowed faintly.
Then—without warning—it pulsed.
A low hum rippled through the earth like a forgotten chord plucked from the strings of nature itself. Trees groaned. Leaves rustled without wind. And suddenly, from deep within the forest, roots stirred. Bark cracked. The ground trembled with wild intention.
As Zack collapsed—his consciousness slipping away—the rune at his chest released a final, resonant pulse.
The creature reared back for a final blow... but the forest answered.
Roots erupted like spears. Vines shot from the trees, thick and pulsing with green energy. They lashed out with the fury of a thousand storms, coiling around the creature's limbs and body. The beast shrieked, its limbs flailing, but the vines tightened—pulling it down, down—until it was buried waist-deep in the earth, its shrieks muffled by layers of living wood and writhing greenery.
The air settled.
Zack lay unconscious, the rune still dimly glowing upon his chest, as if proud... or mourning.
The children emerged from their hiding place, cautious at first, then sprinting to his side. One knelt, placing a trembling hand on his shoulder.
"He… saved us," she whispered.
"But he's one of us," said another. "Just... not awakened."
"No," said the eldest, looking at the bound monster and the unnatural vines. "He's something else entirely."
From deep within the pendant, the rune's ancient core whispered to the forest once more. The trees bent slightly, their branches swaying with silent reverence.
Zack may have passed out—but the artifact he carried had only just begun to awaken.