Finn trudged through the warm, green hues of the summer forest, each step accompanied by the bickering of Holly and Flint behind him. He tried to tune them out, but their voices carried through the crisp evening air, sharp and persistent. Something about proper sword techniques—and honestly, Finn had heard enough to last a lifetime. This was one of those moments where he questioned everything: why he stayed on the farm, why he didn’t just go back to the shores, and most of all, how his brother had managed to put up with this ragtag bunch of overly opinionated sprites.

  “You’re holding it wrong again,” Holly jabbed.

  “I am not!” Flint shot back. “This is how Reed taught me. Plus, how do you hold a sword wrong? Just point the sharp end at whatever you want to kill, right?”

  Clay swooped overhead, his white feathers catching the last rays of sunlight as he glided between branches. His prosthetic wing gleamed, working smoothly after weeks of adjustments. He seemed truly happy to be able to fly again, and he’d rarely used his sprite form since getting his new wing.

  Ivy, Rock, and Maple walked just behind the bickering sprites, all three focused on what seemed to be a solitary conversation Ivy was having with herself.

  Reed walked at the back of the group, completely absorbed in untangling a fishhook, his blue hat pulled low over his eyes, oblivious to everything going on around him.

  “Would you two quit it?” Finn called over his shoulder. “You’re giving me a headache.”

  The forest had grown quieter as they ventured deeper, the trees casting long shadows across their path. Ivy suddenly stopped, and with her, Rock and Maple, all three looking alarmed.

  “Wait,” Ivy said, her voice cutting off the bickering between Holly and Flint. “Something’s... wrong.”

  She turned to Rock. “Do you feel that aura?”

  Rock’s expression grew somber and he nodded, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword—a weapon Finn had never seen him wield. Like Finn, Rock had always preferred his animal form in times of trouble, yet even he seemed unnerved by the sudden, creeping darkness now coiling around them. Finn could feel it too, though he couldn’t quite believe it. Corruption had been killed years ago, but the powerful aura of darkness was undeniable. He was back.

  The sprites fell silent, drawing their weapons quickly. Even Clay landed silently on a low branch, his bright eyes scanning the darkness. Maple looked terribly frightened—more so than usual as she moved closer to Reed.

  Finn paused, sensing the aura more fully now. It felt different than it had all those years ago. Dark, but not malicious. Why was it so familiar?

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  “Wait a minute,” Finn said, narrowing his eyes at the darkened space between the trees. His heart pounded as the realization dawned. This presence… it wasn’t Corruption. No, this felt entirely different. Familiar, but in a way that made his blood run cold.

  He swallowed, not sure if he should feel ecstatic or fearful as his mind raced back and forth. It couldn’t be.

  From the deepening shadows between the trees, a massive bear emerged. The beast’s outline was hazy as if made from living darkness, but its green and purple eyes were unmistakable. The figure moved into the fading light, and Finn’s breath caught. The bear—twisted, cloaked in tendrils of darkness—was achingly familiar, yet profoundly changed. It was as if his brother had been transformed into pure shadow, shaped by something ancient and dark. No longer the sprite Finn remembered, he now seemed an embodiment of Corruption itself, using his brother’s animal form but with none of the warmth that once lived within it.

  The dark, looming shape seemed to ripple, shifting as if formed from smoke. Finn froze, watching the figure condense, shrink down, the shadows peeling away to reveal a familiar face—a face he’d thought he’d lost forever. Woods was there, standing just as Finn remembered, his mouth turned upward into the same rare smile that Finn had come to miss desperately.

  “Hello,” Woods said, his voice as calm as if they’d just met for an evening stroll.

  Finn felt his heart stutter as he let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He’d faced dangers, beasts, and shadows before, but nothing compared to the sight before him now. His brother was back. Alive. A little different, sure, but it was Woods, and it felt like his entire world had been turned on its head.

  The other sprites stood frozen, every face wide-eyed, mirroring Finn’s own shock. Woods looked around at each of them with quiet amusement before his gaze landed on Clay, still in owl form.

  “What’ve you got there, Clay?” Woods asked, his voice easy, like he hadn’t been dead for weeks.

  Finn’s breath caught in his throat. What if this wasn’t actually Woods, but a cruel trick of Corruption? Finn narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, suddenly wary.

  Clay’s wings trembled slightly as he extended them outward. The metal caught the fading sunlight, and the prosthetic reflected the light back to the trees, dancing on the trunks.

  Woods chuckled softly and nodded in approval. “Think you can take to the skies with that?”

  Clay let out a hoot, and a shimmer of pride lit his yellow eyes.

  At last, Reed broke the silence, his voice barely a whisper. “Is it... really you, Woods? Matt told us... that you died.”

  Woods turned to Reed, his expression softening. He bowed his head in respect, the shadowy form wavering in the dying light. “It’s me, Reed. And I did die,” he said, his voice layered with warmth. “But somehow, I took the place of our old friend, Corruption. I assure you, he didn’t mind.” His smile broadened, like sunlight breaking through the clouds. “Guess I just can’t stay away from this place. From all of you.”

  With those genuine words, every doubt in Finn’s mind was dispelled. It truly was his brother. He was back.

  Woods’ words broke the tension like a dam giving way. The group erupted in joyous cheers, disbelief replaced by elation. Finn was the first to move, stepping forward to wrap his brother in a hug, quickly followed by Reed, Holly, Ivy—all of them rushing forward, piling onto Woods in an avalanche of hugs and laughter. Woods staggered slightly under the weight, but his laugh was deep and genuine as he embraced them all, each one finding their place beside him again.