The forest deepened as they walked, the air thickening into a damp haze that clung to every breath. The sound of their boots crunching through leaves was the only thing that kept the silence from swallowing them whole. The canopy above had closed tight, blotting out the sun until the world ahead was painted in perpetual twilight.
Nhilly trailed behind, hands tucked into his coat pockets, watching the group's unbroken rhythm. Celeste's quiet hum carried faintly through the stillness. Kael moved in precise steps beside her, his eyes flicking toward every shadow. Eli led the way swaggering, loud, entirely unbothered by the tension curling through the air.
It had been almost seven hours since they'd set out, and Nhilly hadn't said more than a handful of words. He preferred it that way.
Kael broke the silence first. "You know," he said, glancing over his shoulder, "no one asked if you actually wanted to enter the scenario with us."
Nhilly raised a brow. "I figured it was implied."
"It wasn't," Kael replied evenly. "If you want out, the path south will take you to a safe haven. About three days' travel, if you don't stop."
Nhilly smirked faintly. "Three days through this forest? Sounds relaxing."
Eli barked a laugh from ahead. "Relaxing? You wouldn't last three hours. Skeleton like you would be monster chow by sundown."
Nhilly's tone stayed calm. "Then I'll die doing what I'm good at."
Eli shot him a grin. "Which is?"
"Being inconvenient."
Celeste stifled a laugh. Kael just shook his head. Seris, walking at the rear, said nothing but Nhilly caught her watching him again, eyes sharp even in the dim light.
The forest changed as they went deeper. The trees twisted higher, their roots like coiled serpents rising from the ground. The air felt heavier, as if gravity itself thickened with every step. Even Nhilly's Star flickered faintly in response, his skin prickling with invisible pressure.
Seris slowed. "Stop."
The word left her lips with quiet authority. Even Eli paused mid-step. The atmosphere seemed to tighten; the soft buzz of insects faded into silence.
Seris raised a hand, fingers spread slightly. "Something's close."
A faint radiance began to bloom from her skin soft, lunar, almost ethereal. Her pupils turned white, faint rings rippling outward like ripples across still water.
Nhilly watched, transfixed. The forest around her seemed to shiver.
"Lumen Veil," she whispered.
Light obeyed her.
The labyrinth dissolved into lines and spectrums threads of luminous data etched across bark and blade. The world ceased to be physical; it became reflection, refraction, memory. Every particle of light that touched the environment whispered to her, feeding her vision in waves of shifting colour.
Kael's outline glowed faint blue. Celeste's shimmered with gold. Eli burned orange red, pulsing with wild, chaotic energy.
But far ahead, beyond the curtain of vines, something darker moved.
"There," Seris murmured. Her voice sounded distant, layered over itself, like she was speaking through the air. "Two hundred meters. Moving fast."
Her breathing grew shallow. The glow intensified. Nhilly felt the hair on his arms rise.
Celeste stepped forward. "Seris, that's enough"
But Seris didn't hear. Her gaze was fixed on the horizon, her voice quieter now, trembling. "The light bends around it. It's… enormous."
She gasped suddenly blood running from her nose. The glow around her faltered.
Celeste grabbed her shoulder. "Stop. You're over doing it again."
The light collapsed, and reality rushed back in a single heartbeat. The forest returned dark, silent, oppressive.
Seris wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. "I saw it clearly," she whispered. "Something's waiting ahead. Watching us through the light."
Eli grinned, drawing his sword. "Finally. Some excitement."
Kael's tone was flat. "That's not excitement, it's suicide. Did you see what it was?"
Seris nodded weakly. "A guardian beast. It's crouched near the gate. Nebula rank, by the look of the light it emits."
Nhilly frowned. "Nebula? I thought those were rare here."
"They are," Kael said. "And they don't wander near scenario gates by accident."
Celeste's voice softened. "The stronger the gatekeeper, the harder the scenario it guards."
"So, what you're saying," Eli cut in, "is the monster's core tells us how bad it's gonna be?"
Seris nodded. "Exactly. And this one's… bad."
"Perfect," Eli said with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "Guess I'll get a head start, then."
Before anyone could stop him, flames burst from his mouth propelling him forward, vanishing into the darkness with a trail of embers curling in his wake.
"Eli!" Celeste shouted.
Kael swore under his breath and broke into a sprint. "Idiot he's going to get himself killed."
Nhilly followed, though not out of concern. Nebula? This'll be worth seeing.
The forest erupted in sound a roar so deep it shook the ground beneath them. Leaves ripped from branches, swirling in the sudden gust.
When they broke through the last curtain of vines, they found Eli on one knee, blood streaking his arm. The ground around him was scorched black, steam rising from splintered trees.
And looming before him half-shrouded in shadow was the beast.
It was a Wyrmclaw a Nebula-ranked predator, its body built from muscle and fury. It stood nearly eight meters tall, hunched beneath the twisted canopy. Its limbs were thick and sinewed, ending in talons that carved trenches into the soil. Its body was draped in fur the colour of rotting bark, streaked with veins of dull crimson that pulsed like molten magma beneath the surface. Where its face should have been was a maw split too wide, ringed with jagged teeth that clicked together in unnatural rhythm. Above it, dozens of eyes blinked open scattered across its shoulders, chest, and skull, each one glowing faintly red like dying embers. It exhaled a wet, rattling growl that shook Nhilly to his bones. The stench of decay hit a moment later, thick and sour.
Eli staggered backward, flames licking weakly around his fists. "Yeah," he breathed, eyes wide. "That's definitely not stellar."
The beast lowered itself, claws digging into the earth, muscles coiling like drawn steel. Its many eyes fixed on the group.
Nhilly gripped Draco's Shroud tightly, the weight grounding him as his pulse thundered in his ears.
Nebula rank, he thought grimly. And it's just the gatekeeper.
Celeste raised her hand, light gathering at her palm. "Positions!"
The beast roared again deep enough to make the air tremble and lunged.