The forest was alive with whispers. Ancient trees loomed overhead, their gnarled branches blotting out the afternoon sun. Roots coiled like serpents across the ground, and the air smelled of damp earth and hidden predators.
Teacher Vir stood at the edge of the clearing, his gaze sweeping over the nervous faces of his students.
"Today, your training begins in the field. No illusions. No simulations. The forest hides both prey and predator—your task is to survive, learn, and return." His voice was steady, but the weight of it pressed against every chest.
He divided them quickly.
"Mira, Group One. Arjun, Group Two. Aarav… Group Three."
No snickers followed. No whispered mockery. After Aarav's awakening of twin elements, no one dared underestimate him now. Respect, fear, and envy lingered in the glances sent his way.
Ravi clapped his shoulder with a grin. "Looks like you're finally where you belong."
Beside them, the newcomer Rahul stepped forward. His eyes were cold, his aura heavy. "Dark element," he said simply, his tone low. There was no warmth in him, only shadows.
Aarav gave a nod. "Stay close. Watch each other's backs."
The forest swallowed them whole.
---
Into the Thicket
The deeper they went, the quieter the world became. No birdsong. No insects. Just the crunch of leaves beneath their boots and the distant groan of shifting branches.
"This place feels wrong," Ravi muttered, sparks dancing unconsciously along his fingertips.
"Stay sharp," Aarav replied, scanning the trees. His water sense picked up faint vibrations in the soil—movement, large, deliberate.
Then the ground shook.
From the undergrowth burst a hulking monster, its form massive, its hide a grotesque blend of armored plates and bristling fur. Its eyes glowed yellow, hunger dripping from every step. A Dire-tier beast—a predator meant to slaughter squads, not students.
"By the gods…" Rahul whispered, the shadows around him stirring.
The monster roared, the sound shattering branches and rattling bones.
---
The Fight for Survival
It charged. The ground split under its weight.
"Scatter!" Aarav shouted. He leapt aside as claws gouged the earth where he'd stood. Water surged at his command, forming a whip that lashed at the beast's eye. The strike landed, but the monster barely blinked—its hide was too thick, its rage too deep.
Ravi hurled flames, a blazing arc that scorched across its flank. The creature bellowed, skin seared but not broken. It swung a massive paw, the air cracking with force. Ravi barely rolled aside, the claw carving a trench where his body had been.
"Keep hitting it!" Aarav yelled, but his voice strained with desperation.
Rahul stepped forward, shadows twisting at his hands. "Dark Bind!" Tendrils of black smoke coiled around the beast's leg, tightening, searing. For a moment, the monster staggered—then it tore free with a violent jerk, snapping the spell like a twig. Rahul staggered back, blood dripping from his nose.
The beast lunged at him. Its maw gaped, rows of jagged teeth closing fast.
"Rahul!" Aarav launched a torrent of water, slamming into the creature's head and knocking it just wide enough. Rahul collapsed to the dirt, trembling, saved by a hair's breadth.
The monster swung again, this time catching Aarav across the chest. The blow hurled him into a tree. Pain exploded through his ribs, breath stolen from his lungs. His vision blurred, but he forced himself up.
"Not… yet…" he gasped.
Ravi stood his ground, flames spiraling around him like wings. "Over here, you bastard!" His fire erupted, a falcon-shaped inferno slamming into the monster's jaw. The impact rocked the beast back—but it kept coming, fury undiminished.
Their attacks barely slowed it. Each spell chipped at the mountain, but the mountain roared back stronger.
---
Desperation
Aarav's mind raced. They couldn't overpower it. Not head-on. Then he saw it—the scar across its throat, half-hidden beneath its armored plates. A weakness, slim as a knife's edge.
"Throat!" Aarav shouted hoarsely. "Aim for the throat!"
Rahul's eyes flared. He gathered the last of his strength, summoning jagged spikes of shadow that stabbed upward toward the beast's neck. They pierced shallowly, making it rear in pain.
That was the opening.
Ravi screamed, pouring every drop of his mana into flame. The firebird roared louder, brighter, exploding against the weakened flesh. The stench of burning fur filled the clearing.
Aarav stumbled forward, summoning a blade of water sharper than steel. With a desperate cry, he drove it across the exposed wound.
The monster thrashed, bellowed—and then collapsed, its bulk crashing into the earth, shaking the forest floor.
For a moment, silence. Only the ragged breaths of three battered students remained.
They had done it. Barely. By luck, by desperation, by the narrowest chance.
---
Blood on the Leaves
Relief lasted only a heartbeat.
Ravi staggered, clutching his side. His body convulsed.
"Ravi?" Aarav rushed to him, fear surging.
Ravi's hand came away slick with blood—too much blood. It poured down his robes, dripping onto the roots below. His face turned pale, lips trembling.
"No… no, no, stay with me!" Aarav pressed the wound, but the blood wouldn't stop. It wasn't a simple cut. It was deep, deliberate, almost unnatural.
Ravi coughed, scarlet staining his lips. His eyes widened in pain, confusion—and then fear.
Rahul stood frozen, shadows still writhing faintly at his fingertips. His expression was unreadable.
"Aarav…" Ravi whispered, his voice breaking into a wet gasp. "I… can't—"
His words dissolved into a scream, raw and terrible, as more blood gushed forth, splattering across Aarav's hands.
In the distance, another roar echoed—this one far larger, deeper, enough to make the forest quake.
And in the unseen dark, somewhere beyond the trees, laughter rose. Low. Cold. Watching.
Ch 8 :- End
What do you think happened to Ravi?
And who did it ? Is their a traitor among them?