The desert stretched on and on, the heat biting even as the sun began to sink low. The air shimmered, and every step of the horses kicked up clouds of dust that clung to their skin. Kael's lips were cracked, his throat dry, and his arms felt heavy just from holding the reins.
"Ahh…" he groaned, wiping sweat from his forehead. "How much farther is this village? I don't have any energy left. This desert—it feels like it spreads until the end of the earth."
Maverick, walking beside his horse in his smaller cat form, looked up with sharp eyes. "We cannot rest here. Who knows if the soldiers are still chasing us? If we stop in the open desert, they'll see us easily. We must keep moving."
Kael let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. His body begged him to collapse, but Maverick's words made sense. He tightened his grip on the reins and forced himself to keep going.
Hours passed. The pale sands gave way to patches of rough stone, then scrub grass. Finally, on the horizon, a dark green line appeared. Kael blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"A forest…" he breathed, his voice filled with relief. "Finally, we see a forest!"
The horses quickened as if sensing shelter ahead. Kael felt strength return to his weary body, if only a little.
But as they drew closer, Maverick suddenly lifted his tail and flicked his ear. His golden eyes sharpened. "Shhh. Silence."
Kael slowed his horse, confused. He lowered his voice. "Why? What happened?"
"There's something roaming around this forest," Maverick said, his tone grim. "Something you cannot handle."
Kael's grip tightened around his sword hilt. "What… what is it?"
Maverick's eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. "Who knows? But it's dangerous. We'll leave the horses here. It's safer."
They tied the horses to a low branch just at the edge of the forest. Kael slung his bag over his shoulder and carried his sword at his side. Together, they stepped under the shadow of the trees.
The air changed immediately. Cool, damp, and heavy with the smell of moss, the forest felt alive in ways the desert never could. Insects hummed, and faint rustles echoed between the trunks. Kael felt his heart beat faster.
Deeper they went, until the path forked into two. Both were dark, winding roads—one veering left, swallowed by thick underbrush, the other curving right, where the trees grew straighter and taller.
Kael frowned. "Which road do we choose?"
Maverick studied the two paths, his tail swishing. Then he looked at Kael. "We'll cover more ground if we split up. You go left, I'll go right."
Kael hesitated. "But… how will we meet again if something happens?"
Maverick's gaze softened for just a moment. "That is the problem."
Kael thought, then reached into his bag and pulled out a small, thin flare. "Don't worry. If you're in danger or find something important, fire this. And if I find something, I'll do the same. The smoke will guide us back."
Maverick's whiskers twitched, amused. "Clever boy."
They stood in silence for a moment, then nodded to each other.
"Stay alive," Maverick said simply, before turning down the right path.
"You too," Kael whispered, gripping his sword tighter, before stepping into the shadows of the left road.
The forest swallowed them both.
And the deeper they walked, the more the silence grew heavy, as if the forest itself was watching.
The forest swallowed Maverick as soon as he stepped onto the right path. The thick canopy above blocked even the faint glow of the crimson moon, leaving only patches of pale silver light scattered across the ground. His footsteps were silent, yet his presence seemed to stir the stillness around him.
Maverick glanced over his shoulder once, in the direction Kael had gone. A rare flicker of doubt crossed his cold expression.
"Left for him, right for me," he murmured. "If fate wills, we will meet again. If not…" He let out a low chuckle, "perhaps destiny has chosen a crueler road."
"Kael," he whispered to himself, "you think you are ready to walk the same path as me… but you don't yet know the weight of the darkness chasing you." He clenched his fist slightly, his nails scraping his palm. "And me… I am nothing more than a cursed flame. A power that destroys all it touches. Even if I wished to protect you, would you survive… or fall into madness with me?"
A rustle came from the bushes. Maverick stopped. His eyes darted toward the sound, but the forest went still again. He smirked faintly.
"Something lurks here. Not beast, not soldier… something older, something that remembers blood."
The path twisted into a small clearing. Here, the ground was covered in strange red flowers that seemed to bloom unnaturally in the dark. Maverick bent down, brushing his fingers across the petals. They were warm… too warm, as if pulsing with life.
"Bloodshade blossoms," he muttered. "They only grow where death has been soaked deep into the soil. Hmph