CHAPTER 45: 42: THE LACK OF RESPONSE.

No response came, and Edward felt frustration bubbling up inside his chest.

He glared at Selene, who looked the calmest out of all of them.

"Where are we?" He repeated, harsher this time.

Selene placed a finger on her lips and shook her head.

The message was clear.

Don’t make noise.

"Wha...?"

He was distracted by the noise of growls, which was growing louder by the minute.

Panic rose within him once more, and he looked at the abyss of trees in-front of them, terrified at the prospect that he would find something staring back at them.

A long while passed like this, with Aria holding him. Calen who had gotten up and joined the man with the auburn hair, and Selene sitting next to them.

Edward was still so confused.

But he was sure of something.

Something was approaching.

He continued staring into the woods.

And then finally, he caught the glimpse of something moving in them.

A reddish light glinted.

And all hell broke loose.

Calen and the stranger were the first one to move, brandishing their swords and taking off into the thick of the woods.

Selene turned around in one swift movement, whispering something as she held out her wand.

Aria finally let go of him, whispering in his ears before simply disappearing from where she was sitting.

"Stay put."

The first screech erupted from behind the trees.

It was this gargly, wet noise, making Edward’s ear prickle and bones rattle. He clenched his teeth as the terror rising within him threatened to take over.

Whatever had made that noise, wasn’t a living thing.

It couldn’t be.

What kind of animal made that kind of a noise?

Then he finally saw it.

It glanced like a wolf at first look, if it was all shrivelled and grey. Then he saw wide tear in its belly, and the black puss that was slowly oozing out of it. It was baring its oversized teeth, snarling as it stalked closer to them.

Calen moved, and his sword flashed in a wide arc, taking off the head of the creature in one swift slash.

Another one jumped out from the bushes, and the stranger acted this time, his sword glowing with a red hue as he stabbed the zombie wolf.

Another one appeared next to Calen, and he twisted his body, cleaving the monster in half as he screamed out loud.

"There are more coming! We need to move!"

Selene whispered something again, and a bright ball of light coalesced at the tip of her wand before shooting off into the distance.

A slight pop could be heard.

Aria appeared next to the man with auburn hair, cutting the wolf that was lunging at his back in two with what looked like a rod made of brilliant white light.

More and more kept coming from the depths of the woods, and like a waterfall of dead zombified wolfs, Edward genuinely couldn’t see there numbers slowing down.

Aria, Calen, and the stranger acted as their vanguard while Selene shot darts of light into the sea of wolves.

All Edward could do was sit behind her uselessly as the four of them fought for their lives.

He felt the nausea rising up from his gut again, and felt the guilt starting to take hold of him again.

Then,

Ding!

[ Passive effect active: Clarity. ]

The moment of panic died down, and as the wolves lunged towards them and got cleaved by their swords.

A cacophony of screams was drowning the forest when Edward took a glance at the panel floating next to him.

Do something!

The blue screen flickered, and a few words reluctantly popped up.

[ Best I can do is enhance your physical capabilities. ]

Edward gritted his teeth.

You useless thing!

The panel pulsed indignantly.

[ I’m trying my best alright!? ]

He turned his attention back to the battlefield.

There was no blood anywhere in sight because of how shrivelled and dried the wolves were. Only a pile of corps and mutilated wolf limbs lined the ground, the three people still swinging their swords as more wolves jumped at them.

All he could do was sit and watch.

He felt so useless.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the sea of incoming wolves finally started to thin out a little.

It was a small difference at first, only giving them a few seconds of breath.

Then the gap widened more and more, until the numbers of the creatures had noticeably thinned out.

The auburn haired man said something to Aria among the screeches, and she gave him a curt nod before disappearing from her place again.

"Are you two alright?"

Edward jumped when her voice suddenly came from behind them, he quickly turned around, only to see aria standing there with her back turned to them.

"We’re fine." Selene responded immediately, her gaze still focused on the incoming hoard of creatures.

"We might be able to get out of here, Edward can you run?

He nodded and tried to stand up.

When nothing happened, he lurched his body once more, trying to move his legs.

But when he tried to push his hands against the ground, his arms trembled violently, and a cold numbness spread from his knees downward like he was sinking in mud.

He gritted his teeth and tried again.

Nothing.

His legs felt disconnected, like they belonged to someone else entirely. His breath started coming out in short, sharp bursts, fogging in the cold night air.

Selene flicked her gaze toward him, taking in the way his body tensed, the panic in his eyes. Her brows knitted for half a second—not irritation, but calculation.

She must have noticed the way his hands kept slipping against the dirt.

"Your mana flow is unstable," she said under her breath, eyes never leaving the incoming wolves. "If your body shuts down, forcing movement will only make it worse."

That did not help.

Not even a little.

The forest felt like it was pressing around him—the cries of the undead wolves, the metallic ring of Calen’s blade, the heavy sound of Aria cleaving through another monster with her strange weapon of light.

Every sound blurred together into a single, choking noise.

Edward swallowed hard.

His heartbeat began to pound in his ears, drowning out everything else. His chest tightened—tightened until it hurt—and he felt that familiar, awful squeeze at the back of his throat. His fingers clawed at the dirt beneath him, trying to ground himself, trying to pull himself upright again.

He couldn’t.

He just couldn’t.

"Come on... come on..." he whispered to himself, voice cracking as he jerked his legs again.

Still nothing.

Tears pricked the corners of his eyes—humiliation, fear, frustration all mixing until he couldn’t tell which was stronger. He felt useless, like dead weight dragging the others down. Calen was fighting tooth and nail, Aria was tearing through enemies like a blade of divine light, Selene was flinging spell after spell—

And he was sitting here.

Paralyzed.

A liability.

His hands trembled so violently he had to clutch them together.

Another wolf lunged from the trees; Aria’s blade shot past Edward’s cheek so close he felt the rush of air. The creature split apart with a wet crack.

"Edward." Aria’s voice, low and firm, came from behind him.

He jerked his head up.

"Can you stand?" she asked again, gentler this time.

He tried.

He really, truly tried.

He braced his elbows against the ground, pushed, felt something strain in his thigh—

But his legs remained limp.

His breath hitched.

"I can’t-" he whispered.

Aria didn’t react.

He tried again, harder, panic clawing up his throat.

"Aria, I... I can’t—my legs—they’re not—"

His voice broke.

Finally, he looked up at her, eyes wide and terrified, tears clinging to his lashes.

"I can’t stand..."