I didn't stop running until the buzzing faded behind me.
Branches slapped my ears, roots grabbed at my feet, but I kept going until there was only my heartbeat and the wind.
Then I slowed.
No hum. No chase. Just silence.
For half a second, I thought that meant safety.
Then I noticed the color of the trees.
Everything that had been green and gold was now gray-blue. The air was thick, still.
The forest wasn't just dim—it was dark.
Night had fallen.
When did that—
I turned slowly, ears twitching. The forest felt different now.
Still. Heavy.
Shapes where branches should be. Eyes that might've been leaves.
Something creaked out there, deep in the trees. Not wings. Not wind.
Yeah… okay. That's new.
A low shuffle came from my left. Then a snap from behind.
My fur puffed up on instinct.
I glanced down.
The Aqua Bloom in my paws was glowing bright blue, clear as day.
Oh, nice. Beacon mode. In case the big scary monsters needed some directions.
I tried to cover it, but the light just leaked through my fur.
A wet croak echoed somewhere behind me. Closer now.
Instinct hit before logic.
[Burrow]!
My claws moved on their own.
Dirt flew. Cool, damp soil clung to my paws as I dug fast—faster than I thought possible.
Each scoop muffled the forest more. Each breath came shorter.
I wriggled in, dragging the Bloom close to my chest until the world above was gone.
The earth pressed in, quiet and cold. My heart pounded against the dirt.
Silence.
Just my breathing.
For a while I stayed there, letting my lungs catch up. Dirt clung to my fur. The Bloom's glow painted faint blue across the tunnel walls.
Still alive. Temporary win.
The silence stretched—the kind that makes you start hearing things that aren't there.
I pressed my paw to my chest, feeling the Bloom pulse against it—slow, steady, like it didn't care what I'd just run from.
Then the thought hit me.
Her.
She was still back there. Fever climbing. Barely breathing.
Every second I sat here meant she had less of a chance.
I looked toward the way I'd come.
No. The Vespa swarm would still be sweeping that route. Going back through the surface was suicide.
There's got to be another way.
The Bloom's glow shimmered faintly against the dirt. I watched the light slide across the walls.
Underground, sound didn't travel far. The air was cooler. Quieter. Safer.
…Safer.
My claws twitched against the soil. The dirt shifted easily, soft and heavy.
The idea started small—a spark that turned into a full thought.
What if I didn't go back over the Green?
What if I went under it?
I glanced down at my paws.
I mean, I'm a bunny after all!
…
…I'm a bunny… after all.
[Reminder: Burrow skill available]
Yeah, yeah, I know, I thought sourly.
Anyway, if I could dig toward her, I could dodge the Vespa swarms completely. No open ground, no scent trail. Just dirt and luck.
The only problem was distance—and how long I could keep this up before the tunnel caved in or I passed out.
If I was going to pull this off, I needed to be stronger. Faster. Something.
I pulled up my status screen.
[Status]
Species: Lesser Horned Rabbit
Level: 8 / 10
HP: 50 | MP: —
Stats:
Vit – E | Str – E | End – E+ | Agi – E+ | Int – C– | Wis – E | Lck – E+
Skills:
[Thrust Lv.5], [Greater Hop Lv.3], [Appraisal Lv.7], [Burrow Lv.1], [Stealth Lv.5],
[Hop Step Lv.7], [Bite Lv.2], [Listen Lv.2], [Parry Lv.3], [Flash Horn Lv.3], [Limit Break Lv.1], [Wall Hop Lv.3]
Titles: [Guardian], [Novice Exterminator], [Outnumbered], [Marked], [Fractured], [Defiant]
[Attribute Points: 1]
[Skill Points: 1]
I stared at the screen.
Endurance was capped. Of course it was.
That left Strength or Vitality.
More strength meant faster digging—and maybe less dying if the tunnel fell on my head.
Decision made.
But first I dug myself deeper into the burrow, tucked the Bloom safe against my chest, and focused.
[Attribute: Strength → E+]
The rush hit instantly—like lightning through fur. My muscles twitched, claws sparking with restless energy. I bounced off the tunnel walls like a fluffy pinball.
Ghk—! Still… better… than outside.
After catching my breath, I pulled up my skill list.
Now for the real fix. [Burrow] alone wouldn't cut it; I needed something smarter.
Something that could tell me where to dig, where the ground might collapse, how to actually make this work.
Scrolling… there.
[Earthsense Lv.1] — Grants instinctive awareness of soil density, air pockets, and underground vibrations.
That would do it.
[Skill Learned: Earthsense]
The notification blinked.
Then came the headache—the kind that makes you question why a certain crazy old man would design you like that.
Ah yes. Growth. My favorite form of brain damage.
The pain ebbed, leaving a weird buzz behind—like my skull had learned echolocation the hard way.
The tunnel suddenly felt different.
I could sense faint lines running through it—dense patches, roots, weak seams.
Nice. I rubbed my forehead. The dirt radar works.
I tightened my grip on the Bloom.
Hang on, girl-I-don't-know-but-am-risking-everything-for, I thought. The Bunny Express is on its way.
*
*
*
Claw, claw—push with the hind legs, pack behind.
The rhythm settled in quick.
The soil was soft and cool, smelling of roots and rain.
Each scrape echoed ahead—dig, breathe, push.
[Burrow] let me dig efficiently, getting farther with less strain while [Earthsense] traced ghost-lines through my head—dense patch left, root cluster above, faint hollow below.
The motion turned almost meditative.
For the first time in hours, the fear dulled.
[Burrow Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Burrow Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Earthsense Lv.1 → Lv.2]
The notifications blinked past as I kept digging.
Roots shifted. The earth breathed around me.
[Burrow Lv.3 → Lv.4]
[Burrow Lv.4 → Lv.5]
[Earthsense Lv.2 → Lv.3]
I didn't stop. The rhythm carried me.
Just keep digging. Easy part.
The Bloom's glow pulsed gently against my chest, its light bouncing off the dirt walls.
Then [Earthsense] pinged something.
A hollow space just beneath my tunnel—broad, empty, quiet.
I slowed, adjusting my angle, packing the walls tighter. The seam didn't feel unstable, just soft.
It's fine. Plenty of support.
I was wrong.
The next shove sent a ripple through the ground.
The soil shifted with a low groan—first the ceiling, then the floor.
My claws hit air.
Oh no—
The tunnel dropped out beneath me.
I fell, clutching the Bloom.
Dirt turned to air, air to stone. The world spun once, twice, then slammed back hard.
Oof.
Pain flared through my spine. I lay there, blinking spots out of my eyes.
Nope… no support.
The Bloom rolled beside me, still glowing, unbothered.
Its light spread across the floor—and kept going.
The cavern wasn't just one room. It stretched into other tunnels, splitting off into a web of paths that disappeared into the dark.
Stone pillars rose from the floor like roots frozen mid-growth, glittering faintly with crystal veins.
Water dripped somewhere, echoing down a dozen unseen corridors.
The air was cold and wet. It smelled old.
I picked myself up, legs shaking.
The Bloom's light caught the wall beside me.
Carvings painted scenes across the stone.
Figures of men and beasts side by side, kneeling before seven hooded shapes carved high into the wall. Behind them, the sky itself seemed to twist, chiseled sun and moon sharing one horizon.
I followed the story along the wall.
The carvings shifted from unity to chaos—the sky cracking, rivers darkening, men and monsters at war.
The light turned jagged, the hooded figures falling apart.
Then the last panel ended in scars.
Deep claw marks had torn through the stone, shredding the final shapes like a page ripped from history.
A pulse ran through me before I could finish the thought.
Not pain exactly—more like my nerves had woken up all at once. A cold prickle spread from my chest down to my paws.
Recognition hit. Too late.
[Title Activated: Marked]
[Passive Triggered: Residual Awareness]
The mark beneath my fur throbbed once, sharp and certain.
My breath caught. The air around me went still.
The Bloom's light flickered.
At the far edge of its glow—something moved.
A shape, too faint to make out, standing just beyond the light's reach.
Every muscle locked. My body refused to move.
Then the pressure brushed against my thoughts.
A presence, cold and deliberate.
Down, down you go… little rabbit.
No sound. No echo. Just words inside my head—soft, curious, wrong.
The Bloom's glow wavered again.
A sound followed.
Half-breath, half-voice.
…hhuhhuhhuh…
That broken, rasping laugh.
The same one from the clearing.
The same one that never really left my head.