The first creature lunged.

  Nero barely had time to react. His body twisted instinctively, the blade slicing up in a blur. A sickening shhk split the air as the edge met flesh, cleaving through muscle and bone. The creature let out a snarl, its momentum carrying it forward as blood sprayed from the wound.

  Another set of claws raked toward him from the side. Nero wrenched himself back, his pulse a frantic drumbeat in his ears. He could hear them—circling, their ragged breaths closing in.

  ‘Too many. Too fast.’

  Sinthos’s voice wrapped around his thoughts. “You hesitate, and you die.”

  Nero’s grip tightened. He had no time to fear, no space for doubt. He surged forward, blade spinning in his grasp as another creature leaped. He caught it mid-air, steel tearing through its chest, the impact reverberating up his arm.

  He barely had time to breathe—another one leaped at him. Nero sidestepped just as the claws sliced through the empty air where he’d stood a heartbeat ago.

  ‘Behind.’

  The warning rang sharp in his mind.

  Nero reacted without thinking, pivoting on instinct alone.

  His blade came up just in time—edge met claws. The force sent a jolt down his arm, nearly knocking the weapon from his grip. He wouldn’t win a battle of strength against them.

  So he didn’t try.

  Nero shifted with the momentum, letting the creature’s weight carry it forward. As it stumbled past, his blade lashed out, carving a deep gash along its flank. A shriek tore through the air, but he had no time to finish it.

  Out of the corner of his vision—there.

  Nero barely ducked in time, claws slicing through the air above him. He shot back up, but didn’t see the other one lunging towards him.

  It hit him like a crashing wave—hard and fast. The creature’s claws scraped across his side, tearing through his flesh, but the pain was distant, lost in the haze of the battle.

  He didn’t stop. With a growl, he shoved the creature off, drawing strength from some deep well within him. In a fluid motion, he twisted and snatched the sword he had dropped. His fingers closed around the hilt as he felt another presence closing in—an intense weight bearing down on him from the side.

  He spun just in time, raising the sword to block the incoming strike. The blade got caught in between the creature’s claws, the shock of the collision reverberating up his arm. For a moment, they were frozen, locked in a standoff. Nero’s muscles screamed, his grip tightening on the hilt, but the creature’s claws were like iron, and its strength overwhelming. Panic began to rise in his chest, but there was no time for fear.

  With a swift, decisive motion, Nero released the blade, letting it slip from his grasp. The creature lurched forward, thrown off balance by the sudden absence of resistance. Before it could react, Nero summoned the sword back to his hand, his grip tightening around the hilt as his instincts took over.

  In one smooth thrust, he drove the blade deep, the tip sliding through the creature’s flesh with a sickening squelch, burying itself through its back and piercing into its chest.

  The creature let out a final, strangled hiss before crumpling to the ground beneath him.

  The remaining creatures hesitated. They backed off, eyes never leaving him, their movements slow and calculating. A brief, tense silence filled the air as they circled him, waiting for the next move. Nero could feel their gaze on him, cold and assessing, as they deliberated the best way to strike.

  He cursed under his breath, bracing himself for round two. He raised his sword, preparing for the next attack. But then, a sudden, powerful presence surged toward him—fast.

  ‘Where?’ He spun on his heels, searching the space around him, but saw nothing. And then he felt it.

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  ‘Below?’

  The ground trembled beneath his feet, sending a jolt through his body as if something massive was about to strike. Before he could think, he jumped—far higher than he thought possible, twenty feet—at least.

  But as he soared through the air, the earth below him cracked wide open. A monstrous roar shook the air, and a massive, burrowing creature erupted from the ground—its clawed limbs thrashing, its sleek, segmented body writhing like a serpent. Dirt and debris rained down as it rose.

  The smaller creatures that had been circling Nero froze, their bodies still with terror. A high-pitched wail tore through the air, and they scattered in a frenzy, vanishing back into the darkness.

  Nero’s gaze fixed on the massive beast before him, and the truth hit him like a blow. The creatures that had circled him earlier weren’t the monsters the man had warned him about—this was the monster. The others were mere scavengers, drawn to feed on whatever this beast left behind.

  Without thinking, he shot his hand out, desperate for anything to hold on to. His fingers brushed branches from a nearby tree, just within reach. Gripping it tight, he swung his legs up, using the momentum to pull himself higher.

  His breath came in shallow gasps as he settled onto the branch. He had no intention of fighting this thing; he didn’t think he could.

  He cast a quick glance downward, searching for anything that could give him an edge. The forest around him was dense with overgrown vines, rocks, and scattered debris, but none of it felt like it could hold the creature back. His mind raced as he tried to think of a plan, but there was nothing, no clear escape.

  The creature reared back, its claws scraping against the earth with a terrifying screech, and for a moment, Nero thought it might charge. His heart skipped a beat, and he reflexively tightened his grip on the branch.

  And charge it did. The creature roared as its massive body rammed against the tree he was taking refuge on. The impact sent a shockwave through the branches, sending a violent tremor up the trunk. He barely had time to react before the force of the creature’s strike sent the tree crashing to the ground, its trunk splintering apart.

  Nero was thrown from his perch, flailing through the air. His heart leaped into his throat as the ground rushed up to meet him.

  In a desperate motion, his hand shot out. Reaching for something—anything—to grab hold of, his fingers scraped the air, empty and cold. Then, as if on instinct, a tendril of dark energy—the same power that oozed from his sword—extended from his fingertips.

  The shadowy strand whipped through the air, flickering with cold, pulsing energy. With a violet snap, it wrapped around the nearest tree, sinking into its bark like a vine and anchoring him midair.

  His body jerked with the force, but the energy held him firmly. Below him, the tree he’d just been on crashed to the ground, splintering with a deafening crack.

  Nero’s mind raced. He couldn’t stay on the tree for much longer, his grip on the dark energy was weakening, the tendril unraveling slowly. The creature was still advancing—charging for another attack, its massive form crushing the underbrush.

  His heart pounded in his chest as his eyes darted around, searching for an escape. His gaze locked onto a gorge, a jagged gash in the earth just ahead, cutting through the forest like a scar. The gap looked wide, but the creature was nearly upon him. He had no choice.

  With a surge of energy, Nero released the tendril from his hand, the darkness fading as he pushed himself from the tree. He leapt toward the nearest trunk, reaching out his hand. His fingers brushed the air, and in a flash, another tendril of dark energy shot from his palm, slamming into the bark with a crack.

  He didn’t have any time to get his bearings, as the creature roared again, beginning to charge forward.

  ‘No time.’

  His breath was shallow, his body already screaming for rest, but his mind was clear. This was it.

  With a final glance at the creature—its monstrous eyes locked onto his—Nero pushed off the tree, leaping with all his might. Time seemed to stretch as he soared through the air, his body weightless for a brief moment. Below him, the jagged gorge opened up like a yawning abyss.

  Then, his feet slammed into the far edge of the gorge, his body jolting violently from the impact. He barely managed to catch himself, his fingers scraping against the loose rocks as he stumbled forward.

  Regaining his balance, he turned around to see the creature looming at the edge of the gorge. Its massive body shifted restlessly, its gaze locked on Nero.

  After a few tense moments, it turned around and retreated back into the forest, its massive form vanishing into the shadows.

  Nero let out the breath he had been holding, his shoulders slumping in an involuntary release. He dropped onto his butt, exhaustion crashing over him like a wave.

  He stared at the forest’s edge, half-expecting the creature to return, but there was only silence. The sound of his breath was the only thing that filled his ears, each inhale and exhale heavy and uneven.

  For a while, he just sat there, a silent reward to himself for getting out of that mess. His body ached in places he hadn’t known existed, but it was a comforting kind of pain, the kind that reminded him he was still alive.

  Finally, he sighed deeply and rose to his feet. The gash at his side still burned, he touched it gingerly, tracing the jagged line with his fingers. It wasn’t fatal, but it would need tending soon. His mind didn’t linger on the pain, there were more important things to think about. Food, water, shelter. He needed to keep moving. Time was slipping away, and he couldn’t afford to slow down now.

  And so, he pushed forward, deeper into the unknown.