CHAPTER 47: IF I DIE (1).

Hours had passed.

Nero leaned against a massive tree trunk, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The forest around him was quieter now, the sounds of the stampede faded to distant echoes.

He’d lost track of time.

His legs trembled beneath him, threatening to give out. The Divine Elixir had kept him going long past when he should have collapsed, but even its power had limits. Beyond that, he had burned through all of them.

He let out a deep sigh.

He was exhausted.

But more importantly, he was alone.

The Abominations that had been chasing him were gone. Most of them, anyway. He could still hear movement in the distance, the sounds of creatures fighting and feeding on each other.

Nero allowed himself a moment to rest, his back pressed against the rough bark of the tree. His hands shook as he reached for his waterskin, taking a long drink of the purified water.

It tasted like life itself.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and forced himself to move. He couldn’t stay still for long.

The forest around him was alien now, nothing like the outer edges where he’d made his camp. The trees here were ancient, their trunks twisted and gnarled with age. The dark leaves overhead formed a canopy so thick that the darkness bleeding in from the gaps in the crown seemed lighter than the surrounding darkness

The ground beneath his feet was soft and spongy, covered in a layer of moss that muffled his footsteps. Strange fungi grew in clusters at the base of the trees, glowing faintly with a sickly green luminescence.

Everything about this place felt wrong.

But at least it was quiet.

Nero moved carefully now, his exhaustion forcing him to slow down.

He paused at the edge of a small clearing, his eyes scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. Nothing stirred. The only sound was the faint whisper of wind through the dark leaves high above.

Nero’s hand went to the Veil of Darkness tucked in his satchel.

He pulled the black woven fabric free and draped it over his shoulders like a cloak. The moment it settled against his skin, something changed.

The air around him seemed to shift, becoming heavier, darker. The shadows reached out to embrace him, wrapping around his form until he felt almost invisible.

Nero took a cautious step forward, then another. The forest remained still. Silent.

Nothing reacted to his presence.

He allowed himself a small breath of relief. The lesser Abominations wouldn’t be able to sense him for now.

For the next day, he was a ghost.

He began moving again, choosing his path carefully. He needed to find his way back to the outer edges of the forest. He needed to get back to his cave to prepare better

But without the sun to guide him, without any landmarks, he was lost.

He’d have to trust his instincts. Trust that if he kept moving in one direction, he’d eventually find his way out.

The hours crawled by.

Nero moved through the forest like a shadow, his footsteps silent on the mossy ground. He passed by creatures careful not to stir them. The potential Seals of Sin he could gain was absolutely not worth it.

The Veil was working perfectly.

For the first time since the chase began, Nero felt something close to hope. If he could just keep moving, keep his head down, he might actually survive this.

He rounded a massive tree trunk and froze.

Ahead of him, the ground dropped away sharply. A ravine, its edges jagged and crumbling, cut through the forest like a wound.

Nero approached carefully, peering over the edge. The bottom was lost in shadow, too deep to see. The sound of running water echoed up from the depths.

The river.

The corrupted river that cut through the forest and led to Malady’s Garden.

He’d found it by accident, stumbled onto the very thing he’d been planning to follow. His eyes widened,

’If I can follow it in the opposite direction, I can make my way back to the outer edge again!’

His heart thumped violently against his chest.

This was it.

He had found his way out!

He gritted his teeth as his mind began to churn,

’I can’t follow it from all the way up here. Damn it.’

Despite the obvious limitations, this truly was a silver lining in a sky filled with dark clouds.

Nero turned away from the ravine, and began digging through his satchel for his map. Maybe he would be able to finally get his bearings.

That’s when the dread hit him.

It came out of nowhere, a sudden overwhelming sense of wrongness that froze him in place. His breath caught in his throat. His skin prickled with goosebumps.

Something was here. Something was very close by.

Nero’s hand went to the Silver Blade, his fingers wrapping around the hilt even as his eyes scanned the shadows around him.

The world around his stirred lightly. The shadows moved indiscriminately in the darkness.

Nero trembled.

Darkness... The shadows... They were moving!

Something struck him.

The attack came from above and behind, impossibly fast. Nero barely had time to register the movement before something slammed into him with the force of a landslide.

Pain exploded across his back and shoulder as he was thrown forward, tumbling across the ground. He hit the mossy earth hard, the air driven from his lungs.

He rolled to his feet on pure instinct, the Silver Blade already drawn and raised.

And there it was.

Its single eye fixed on him, unblinking. Its mouth hung open, revealing rows of sharp teeth dripping with rancid acid. The dark carapace plates covering its body gleamed dully in the faint light.

And around it, shadows swirled like living things.

The Veil of Darkness hadn’t protected him.

This thing had found him anyway.

Nero’s back hit something cold.

It was the wind.

He glanced behind him without taking his eyes off the creature.

The ravine.

He was trapped between the creature and the drop.

There was nowhere left to run.

His hands trembled as he raised the Silver Blade, his exhaustion crashing back over him like a wave. The Divine Elixir’s effects were long gone. His body was barely holding together.

But he had no choice.

If he wanted to survive, he had no choice.

He had to fight.