Renji was running, his footsteps echoing on the stony road, his breathing growing heavier. The village was already far behind him, yet his heart would not calm. He stopped suddenly, leaning against a tree, sweat streaming down his temples.
He didn't know where he was going.
He didn't know where he was supposed to arrive.
Ubik had only told him "Marvek," but the road was unfamiliar. He had never been to this part of the kingdom, and the paths all looked the same, identical fields, scattered woods, low hills rising in the distance.
—"Northeast…" he recalled the fisherman's voice. "But where is northeast if I don't even have a compass? What if I choose the wrong way? If I take the wrong path and stumble into a patrol?"
He looked at his crumpled map, but it was of no use. It had been made for ordinary travelers, not for fugitives who had no time to search for signs or landmarks. The lines and symbols blurred before his weary eyes.
Renji pulled his hood further down over his face and slowly sank onto the tree root. He tried to breathe deeply, but his thoughts would not leave him. The image of the man in the old cloak kept returning to his mind.
"Renji…" he whispered, repeating his own name as if to confirm it had truly been spoken.
How could that man have known who he was? No one in the village had seemed to recognize him, the fisherman knew nothing, and everything had appeared calm. And yet, the stranger had called his name… without hesitation.
—"What if he was sent by Kaede? Or… by the Empire?" Renji bit his lip. "Maybe they're already tracking me. Maybe they knew I'd pass through the village and were waiting. If I hadn't given him food, maybe he wouldn't have said anything. But then… why thank me? Why warn me?"
Renji clenched his necklace in his palm, feeling his cold vibration. It gave him no answers. Only the oppressive silence of the forest surrounded him.
A bird screeched suddenly from a branch, making him flinch. He pulled out his broken sword, though he knew it was useless.
—"I don't understand… that man… what did he really want? If he was an enemy, why ask for food? If he was a friend… why hide under a cloak and scare me like that?!"
He covered his face with his palms, exhaustion overwhelming him. All he wanted was a clear direction. A road he could walk without questioning every step, without wondering if he was being followed. But reality was different: he was alone, lost, and every person he met could either be his salvation… or his end.
—"I have to decide… Do I take the main road to Marvek, risking being seen, or try to slip through side paths and get there slower? If that man really warned me… maybe he wanted to help. But what if it was just their trick to mislead me?"
Renji raised his eyes. The sun had already risen above the hills, casting sharp light across the fields. He no longer had time to hesitate.
And yet… his steps faltered.
After several minutes of walking, his eyes caught a dark opening between the rocks. A cave, hidden by vegetation, his mouth gaping like a cold refuge.
"There… if I go deep enough, no one will see me. I can stay hidden during the day, and at night move again," Renji told himself, his heart beating slower at the thought of rest.
He slipped inside, the cave's chill enveloping him immediately. He lit a torch with the flint from his pack. His footsteps struck the stone, the echoes magnifying each movement.
But soon the silence broke.
A low scraping sound, like a claw against stone, made him stop. From the deep darkness, two reddish eyes opened, fixing on him. A shape detached from the shadows: a massive cave bat, his wings as wide as a man, his matted fur and sharp fangs gleaming in the torchlight.
The creature let out a piercing screech that rang through the cavern.
Renji froze.
—"A… Morlith…" he recalled the name from the old folk tales. It wasn't a legendary monster, but it was deadly to those unlucky enough to meet it. The bat fed on blood and was strong enough to bring down a weary human.
He drew his broken sword. The chipped blade gleamed faintly, as if it too was afraid.
The beast spread his wide wings, shaking them with a sound like heavy cloth. Dust and small stones fell from the ceiling.
—"If it attacks… I have nowhere to run. If it screeches louder, it could attract more creatures…" Renji thought, his heart pounding so hard it hurt.
The bat lunged, his wings striking the air like great sails. Its fangs flashed, ready to tear his throat. Renji threw himself to the side, feeling the monster's claws slash his arm, ripping his sleeve. The pain jolted him awake.
He sprang up and thrust with his sword. The chipped blade didn't go deep, but enough to wrench a furious shriek. The bat thrashed, lifting itself and trying to trap him with his wings, as if to smother him.
Renji dropped back, rolling across the rough floor. The torch fell, the flame flickering but not dying. In a desperate move, Renji snatched it up and rammed it into the bat's face.
The creature screamed again, blinded by the light and fire. In that instant, Renji lifted his sword and drove it into his chest, piercing the tangled fur. A dark jet splattered his hands as the bat collapsed, thrashing until his body grew still.
Renji's breath came in ragged gasps. He leaned against the cold wall of the cave, his hand still trembling on the sword's hilt.
—"I fought… a giant bat… and I'm still alive…" he muttered, almost laughing from the shock.
His eyes rose to the corpse sprawled before him, wings half-spread. It was huge, enough flesh to feed him. And Renji's stomach was already knotting with hunger.
He approached slowly, the torch lighting the beast's massive body. The smell was heavy, feral, yet… it was still meat.
—"If… I cut it and cook it…? It could feed me for days. But… what if his flesh is poisonous? Or too bitter?…"
His hand went to his stomach, which growled loudly. His eyes clung to the beast, as if the answer to his question was hidden in his scorched skin and matted fur.
—"Should I risk it… or move on?" he whispered, the torch shaking in the dense darkness.
Renji bent over the creature and inhaled deeply. The smell was heavy, metallic, with a bitter edge that twisted his gut. Still, hunger urged him on.
"If this meat kills me… at least I won't die starving," he whispered, forcing courage into his voice.
With weary movements, he pulled out the small knife from his pack and began cutting through the tangled fur. Black blood oozed slowly, filling the cave with a suffocating stench. His stomach churned, but he forced himself to continue.
He gathered some dry wood from the entrance and lit a small fire, covering it with stones so the smoke wouldn't escape. He laid the meat on a piece of rusted metal, like an improvised pan. The fat sizzled, the sound making him bite his lip with impatience.
But the smell… it was strange. Not like normal game, an odd mix of burnt meat and mold.
Renji tore a small piece and lifted it to his mouth. He hesitated. His heart beat harder than it had during the fight.
He chewed slowly. The taste was bitter, the texture strange, almost leathery. He spat it out at once, coughing.
—"Ugh… I can't eat it like this."
He looked again at the fire. Hunger gripped his stomach, and the meat now looked a little more roasted, crisp at the edges.
—"Maybe if I leave it longer, the taste will change…" he murmured, though he hardly believed it himself.
The silence of the cave pressed down. The flame flickered, casting dancing shadows on the walls, while the meat continued to sizzle.
Renji picked up another small piece. He stared at it as if trying to read his fate in it.
—"Is this my salvation… or the beginning of the end?"
He bit into the roasted piece. The meat was like a dry strap of leather. The taste, though less bitter than before, still had a strange sour-bitter edge, as if he were chewing moldy grass.
He swallowed with difficulty, feeling it catch in his throat. He forced himself to drink from his nearly empty flask, pushing it down with effort.
For a moment, his stomach rebelled, as if ready to reject everything. Renji braced himself against the stone, ready to vomit. But… the feeling passed.
He placed a hand on his stomach. The hunger had lessened. Slightly, but noticeably.
—"It works…" he said, almost in disbelief.
He took another bite, then another, much slower. He listened to his body with each swallow, waiting for dizziness or pain.
Nothing. Only the foul taste, but his stomach thanked him.
Renji inhaled deeply and leaned back, sword by his side. The fire crackled softly, shadows dancing on the walls around him.
His eyes grew heavy, exhaustion and the eased hunger dragging him toward sleep.
Yet, before drifting off, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He lifted his gaze to the bat's corpse. In the flickering firelight, for a moment, he thought he saw his wings shift slightly, as if still alive.
Renji blinked.
The body was inert. Only the flames had played tricks on him.
But from the cave's depths came a faint echo, another bat's cry.
This time, he wasn't alone.
Renji clenched his sword and swallowed hard.
—"No… I can't stay here!" he shouted, fear flooding his body.
He leapt up, torch trembling in his grip, and dashed toward the cave's narrow exit. Behind him, the beating of wings filled the air, the noise rising into a collective screech.
As he ran, his stomach grew strangely numb, the taste of bat meat flooding his mouth again. The cave walls seemed to shift, shadows stretching like living forms with red eyes, laughing or screaming, blending with his own imagination.
—"I have to… I have to get out…" he whispered, voice shaking.
Each step grew heavier, but survival instinct pushed him on. At last, the fresh morning air hit him. He stumbled out of the cave, his torch falling onto the wet stones.
His breath was ragged, his lungs burning, his legs barely holding him. He dragged himself across the meadow in front of the cave, eyes dazed in the harsh dawn light. Hallucinations still shimmered in his mind, red shadows, wingbeats, echoes of fear.
He stopped, trembling, and raised his eyes toward the forest ahead. His eyes were dry, his face streaked with sweat and dust. In the distance, he saw a thin stream trickling among the rocks. A river.
—"I need… I need to wash… to get this out of my head…" he murmured, moving toward the bank.
He bent down and splashed cold water on his face, feeling the chill awaken his senses and clear the hallucinations, if only a little. The drops fell heavy on his forehead, his cheeks, carrying away the lingering terror from the cave.
Renji breathed deeply, feeling more awake, though his heart still pounded madly. The sickness of what he had eaten and the hallucinations hadn't vanished completely, but he was alive—and, for the moment, safe.
—"I must keep going… I have to reach Marvek," he told himself. "But… I've never been here before. Never…"
With one last glance at the cave behind him, Renji set off northeast, following the river's course that might provide water, and perhaps a safer path to the city.
He knew he still had a long journey ahead, and every step could prove decisive.