Lana and Zai were facing each other as they slept, curled within the warmth of the glowfang's fur.
Lana's eyes fluttered open.
Zai was already awake — staring at her.
She flinched. "WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?" she gasped, voice sharp and hushed.
Zai blinked, unfazed. "Why? What's wrong?"
Lana gave him a deadpan look, then rolled her eyes.
They carefully slipped out from the sleeping pile of pups and the mother glowfang, not wanting to wake any of them. Around them, the rest of the pack lay peacefully, horns glowing soft sky blue.
Lana whispered, "So… the Shapeless Forest. Care to tell me more about it?"
Zai nodded slowly. "Well… as the name suggests, it keeps shifting. Like it can't decide what kind of forest it wants to be. Trees fall, rise, merge — like it's made of different worlds colliding. But this place…"
He glanced at the tunnel walls. "It hasn't changed at all. That's unusual."
He gave her a smirk. "Oh, and speaking of strange… any reason the glowfangs think we're their pups?"
Lana shrugged, smirking back. "Just a theory, but… when the squirrel made that noise, the glowfang's horn turned yellow — maybe a defense reaction.
Then when it saw us, it turned red — anger, threat.
But when it was asleep, it was glowing blue. Peaceful.
Maybe that's their calm state. Like you Swans—when you heal, you glow in blue shades, right?"
She paused, squinting at him. "Wait. That brings me to something—why didn't you just calm it down with your powers?"
Zai sighed. "That's not how it works, Lana. Swan powers aren't just 'press-a-button' magic. And this illusion feather?"
He tugged lightly at the feather. "It's suppressing my energy big time."
Lana crossed her arms. "Then you better get used to working around it. You need to learn how to bend the feather's limits to your will. Do you even know how to hide your essence without it?"
"…No."
"I'll teach you later. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here."
Zai tilted his head. "By the way… how much do you know about the Eclipse Forest? Have you even been there?"
Lana gave a half-shrug. "Only what Swan taught me." She brushed the question away. "Anyway. Do we just… start checking tunnels for a way out?"
Zai looked around. "There are too many."
They both paused as a tunnel caught their attention — wider than the others, with a ring of rocks at its mouth, and a shimmering trail of colorful glowing liquid snaking along the floor.
Zai's gaze narrowed. "That has to be it."
They stepped inside and followed the glowing line. Hours passed. The silence was heavy, broken only by the sound of their boots on stone.
Zai cleared his throat. "Okay… just a thought. What if there's something in here even bigger than a glowfang? I mean, look at the size of this tunnel. What if it's their leader or something?"
Lana didn't stop walking. "We're not turning back now. We're deep in. If there's a leader, I'll just do another glowy show."
Zai raised a brow. "And if the glow show doesn't work this time?"
Lana halted, spun to face him. "Ughhhh." She took a breath. "Zai, stop overthinking. Got a better idea? Say it."
He stayed silent.
She turned back — but then felt his hand grab her wrist.
She froze. Her breath caught — not because of him, but because a low growl slithered through the air around them.
A deep, echoing sound, more vibration than noise. Their body froze. Their eyes twitched. The growl brushed their ears like a nightmare whisper
From the darkness, it emerged — a glowfang far larger than any they had seen. Its horns glowed only red. There was no peace in it. No hesitation. Only violence.
Zai yanked off his illusion feather. Energy pulsed around him. He pulled Lana behind and drew his sword in one motion.
Lana summoned her dagger and zai drew his sword. No words were needed now.
The beast didn't attack — not yet. It stared at them, massive eyes glowing with fury.
Zai muttered, "You're not removing your feather for this fight?"
Lana's gaze was fixed. "Zai… look behind it. See that structure? Looks like stairs… and above that—"
She pointed. "A portal. It's guarding the exit."
Zai's eyes narrowed. "Then we bypass it. We don't need to fight. We just need an opening."
He looked to her. "Got a plan?"
"I might."
They whispered quickly, forming a rough plan. No time for anything else.
Suddenly, the glowfang lunged — jaws open wide, exactly as predicted.
Lana and Zai sprinted straight at it, side by side — waiting for the final moment.
Then—
Lana veered left. Zai went right.
In the blink of an eye, they slid under its massive body — the ground trembling beneath its weight.
The creature blinked, confused. It twisted its head around — too slow.
They were already halfway to the stairs leading to the portal.
The glowfang shrieked, then charged, claws scraping the tunnel walls.
Zai shouted, "RUN!"
They sprinted full-force — and the beast closed the gap.
It leapt—
But something blocked it.
A growl echoed through the cavern.
The mother glowfang — the one who had sheltered them — stood between them and the beast, her body firm and determined.
She roared, horns flashing crimson red. Staring at the beast straight in the eyes
She shielded them behind her bulk, standing firm.
Zai tapped Lana's shoulder and nodded toward the portal. "Let's go. Slowly."
But Lana yanked him down. "Crawl. We can't risk setting it off again."
They dropped to their elbows, crawling behind the mother's legs toward the glowing light ahead.
Then — the larger beast howled, furious.
It slammed a massive palm into the mother, sending her flying across the tunnel. Her hornlight blinked out as she hit the stone.
Lana and Zai froze, eyes wide. The red-horned glowfang turned toward them, rage renewed.
Without hesitation, they rose to their feet, weapons drawn.
They were so close to the portal — but could they just leave the mother glowfang behind?
Zai whispered, "I know what you're thinking."
Lana's grip tightened on her dagger. "Glad we're on the same page."
The glowfang lunged — head low, fangs aiming to crush them.
They dodged.
Zai slashed its right eye.
Lana struck its left.
It screamed in fury, black fog pouring from its wounds like cursed smoke. The beast thrashed blindly, swinging claws, blinded by pain, or maybe by whatever darkness festered inside it.
Lana and Zai rushed to the mother glowfang, who lay bleeding on the ground.
Zai knelt and summoned his healing energy. Light poured from his hands.
The beast roared again — but it couldn't see them anymore. It could only see the light of the portal.
It stumbled toward it, obsessed, circling it like prey it couldn't grasp.
The mother glowfang stirred. With what little strength she had left, she rose — without wasting a second she scooped Lana and Zai onto her back.
she ran, fleeing the tunnel and the beast still spiraling in madness behind them…