The night air was thick, a suffocating blanket that clung to the skin.
Aiden's chest still burned from the fight with the Steelhide Bear, his body heavy with exhaustion, but his legs carried him forward. Rest would have been the wiser choice — perhaps even the only sane one. But sanity had stopped guiding his steps long ago.
He needed to know what lay further in.
The forest whispered to him in a way it hadn't before. Every rustle of leaves, every subtle shift of the wind carried weight, like unseen eyes were following his every step. His new strength after breaking into Rank 4 sharpened his perception. The world itself seemed clearer, louder, as though a veil had been pulled away.
But that clarity also revealed something else.
Fear.
The forest ahead was not just dark. It was dense, as if the air itself had thickened into tar. Shadows pooled unnaturally around the roots, stretching further than they should.
Even the beasts were absent. Not a single growl, not a single glowing eye.
The absence was worse than the danger. It meant something higher sat here.
Aiden slowed his pace, hand on the hilt of his sword. Sweat trickled down his temple. His body urged him to turn back. His instincts screamed that stepping further was a mistake.
And yet…
His foot pressed into the soil, one step after another.
---
The ground trembled.
A low, rolling vibration coursed through the forest, making the trees shudder and loose leaves drift down like black snow.
Then came the howl.
It was no ordinary beast's cry. It was deep, primal, like the groan of the earth itself, echoing through the canopy. The sound pressed into Aiden's chest like a crushing weight.
His knees buckled.
His breath hitched as every nerve in his body screamed to flee.
The howl stretched on, shaking birds from their nests, sending smaller creatures scattering in terror. The trees seemed to bend with its force.
Aiden gritted his teeth, sweat pouring. He forced his legs to remain steady, even as his muscles twitched with instinct.
"Rank…" he whispered, voice raw. "That has to be… Rank 6."
---
The presence was suffocating.
Even without seeing it, Aiden knew. His body was a fragile twig before a storm, his blood chilled by instinctive terror. The difference between Rank 4 and Rank 6 wasn't a step — it was a chasm.
He finally understood why the village's hunters never ventured this deep. Why even the bravest whispered of Blackwood's heart with dread.
And for the first time since awakening his Devourer, Aiden felt powerless.
His hunger, usually roaring for more, shrank back, coiling inward like it too feared what lurked ahead.
The forest went still again. No more tremors. No more sound.
But the silence was worse.
Because now, he knew it was aware of him.
---
A snap of a branch.
Aiden's head whipped toward the sound.
Between the trees, two glowing eyes shone. Not yellow like the Shadowfangs. Not red like the lesser demons in whispered tales. But pale white, cold, and merciless.
The creature didn't step into the light. It didn't need to. Just its gaze was enough to make his hands shake.
Aiden drew his sword anyway, every muscle taut, his breath shallow.
The thing moved closer. Just one step, and the trees seemed to bend with it. The weight of its aura pressed on him like boulders piled atop his shoulders. His chest burned, his vision blurred.
And then…
It stopped.
The pale eyes narrowed, the weight pressing harder. For a moment, Aiden thought he would be crushed.
Then, just as suddenly, the presence receded.
The eyes vanished into the dark. The forest's silence lingered a heartbeat longer before the night sounds slowly crept back in.
---
Aiden collapsed to one knee, chest heaving, his sword sinking into the dirt.
Every part of him shook — not from fatigue, but from the raw reminder of what lay above him.
He clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms.
"That… that's what true power feels like…"
His voice was hoarse, half awe, half despair.
If it had chosen to strike, he would have been erased in an instant. His Rank 4 meant nothing before such a creature.
For a long while, he knelt there, trembling, struggling to force his breath back under control. The hunger inside him stirred again, timid, whispering faintly:
Devour. Grow. Catch up.
He dragged himself upright. His legs screamed, but he forced them to move. Retreat was his only option. Staying longer would be suicide.
---
By the time he returned to the village, dawn was breaking. The faint orange glow painted the sky, but its warmth couldn't chase away the memory of those pale eyes.
He stumbled into the square, bloodstained, face drawn pale. Villagers stared, whispering louder than ever. His appearance had become a spectacle now, one half feared, one half despised.
Mira rushed toward him, worry etched deep in her face.
"Aiden—! What happened to you?!"
He didn't answer at first. He simply dropped to a bench, leaning his sword against his shoulder, staring at the rising sun with hollow eyes.
Finally, he whispered:
"I saw something I couldn't touch. Not even close."
Her expression faltered. She didn't understand. How could she?
But he did.
If he ever wanted to walk freely in this world — if he ever wanted to control his fate instead of cowering before pale eyes in the dark — he would need to climb.
No matter the cost.
---
That night, as he lay in his bed, sleep refusing to come, he thought back to the demon's seal buried beneath the forest.
The whispers. The hunger. The pale eyes.
They were all connected.
And he was caught in the middle.
His fists tightened around his sheets.
I'll climb. Even if I have to drown in blood. Even if I have to let this hunger consume me.
Aiden closed his eyes, the vow carved deep into his soul.
Because somewhere, deeper still, he knew:
That Rank 6 beast… was not the only nightmare waiting.
---