The fire flickered low as the girl finally stirred. Her eyes snapped open, and for a heartbeat, that fierce, warrior-like intensity returned. But as she realized where she was, she slumped back against the mossy bed, groaning.
"Ugh... I feel like I was chewed up by a dragon and spat into a swamp," she said.
The young man rushed to her side, offering the stone bowl. "Drink this. It's fish soup. I... did my best with it."
She took a sip, made a face like she had swallowed a lemon, and then sighed. "It's terrible. Truly. But I suppose it's just thought that counts." She looked at him, her red eyes regaining their spark. "You didn't run. You actually stayed and played nurse. I'm impressed."
"I have questions," the young man said, his tone turning serious. "The mark on my back. You cried when you saw it. You said you've been looking for me. Who am I? What is this place?"
The girl's expression shifted instantly. She looked at the cave ceiling, suddenly fascinated by a stalactite. "Questions? Oh, look at that rock! Very pointy. Very interesting."
"Don't do that," he pressed. "You know something. Tell me."
"Listen, kid," she said, waving a hand dismissively, "information in our world is expensive. Besides, you're not ready for the 'Great Destiny' talk. It usually involves a lot of screaming and existential crises. Let's just focus on the fact that you're alive and I'm not dead."
"At least tell me your name," he pleaded.
She smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Nope. Giving out names creates 'bonds,' and bonds are messy. Since your hair has that weird shimmer in this light I've decided. I'm calling you Goldy."
"Goldy?" he deadpanned. "I saved your life, and you're naming me after a pet fish?"
"It suits you!" she said, her energetic 'big sister' persona returning in full force. "You're rare, you're shiny, and you seem to have a very short memory. Perfect."
"My name is not Goldy."
"Whatever you say, Goldy. Now, help me sit up. We have a giant problem to discuss."
The atmosphere turned heavy as they looked toward the narrow entrance of the cave. The rhythmic thud of the Voiceless Arbor could still be heard outside. The
monster wasn't leaving; it was patrolling, waiting for them to emerge like mice from a hole.
"He's still out there," the young man said, gripping the Moonlight Dagger. "And if we go deeper into this cave, we might stumble into something even worse than that tree-man."
Amanda,though she hadn't given her name yet, nodded grimly. "It's filled with things that don't need eyes to hunt. We're trapped between a tree and a dark place. Or rather, a dark tunnel and a very angry salad."
"We can't fight him head-on," the young man noted. "Even with your fire, you're too weak to move like you did before."
"True," she agreed, tapping her chin as a cold, sharp light returned to her eyes. "The poison he used was Level B poison. It was nasty, but it wasn't his own power; he found it somewhere. The good news is that my body has already developed an immunity to that specific strain. It's nearly impossible for a creature of that
caliber to have a second trump card hidden in its bark."
She stood up, her movements still a bit stiff but radiating a newfound ferocity. She checked the edge of her blade, the steel reflecting the red glow of her eyes. "I'm confident I can take him now. I'm going out there to kick his ass and turn him into mulch. You stay here. Don't come out until I tell you it's safe. I don't want to have to save 'Goldy' a third time."
She slipped out of the cave like a shadow, her boots making no sound on the stone. The young man waited for a heartbeat, his pulse drumming against his ribs, before curiosity and worry overcame his common sense. He crept toward the cave entrance, keeping low to the ground.
Outside, the air was already thick with the scent of smoke. The girl didn't waste time with a greeting. She lunged from the darkness, her hands moving in a complex weave of power. "Burn!" she hissed.
An explosion of crimson light erupted as she cast a huge storm of Fire. A massive, spiraling pillar of flame engulfed the Voiceless Arbor, the heat so intense that the nearby rocks began to crack.
The giant roared, a vibrating, hollow sound, as its wooden limbs blackened and curled. She moved through the flames like a spirit of vengeance, her sword leaving trails of white-hot embers as she carved through the monster's trunk.
She was winning; the beast was being demolished, reduced to a heap of glowing coals.
But then, the world went cold.
A scream ripped through the forest, not a roar of pain, but a high-pitched, nauseating shriek that felt like needles piercing the young man's brain. It was a terrifying scream.
The monster began to change. The smooth, featureless mask of its face started to warp. Two sunken, angry pits tore open to form eyes, and a jagged, lipless maw split across its jaw, emitting a foul-smelling black vapor.
The most horrific change, however, happened on its chest. The thick bark of its main trunk tore open in a vertical slit, revealing a massive, wet eye. The pupil was a jagged diamond, and the iris was a bruised purple. It was an evil eye, one that looked as though it held all the malice and darkness in the world. As the eye locked onto the girl, the flames around the monster began to flicker and die, smothered by a sudden, oppressive weight of pure dread.
[THE BOSS HAS ENTERED A NEW STAGE]
[PLAYER STAGE - PROFICENCY LEVEL 0%]