The vines lashed around them sharp.relentless.alive.
"Move!" Sian shouted.
No hesitation.
They surged forward as one—forcing their way through chaos. Branches cracked underfoot, vines snapped past their faces like whips, and the ground beneath them shifted—subtle, sickening—like something breathing beneath the soil.
James scanned fast, counting."Everyone's here?"
Sian's gaze cut across the group—Zoya. Riya. Yug. Astha.Sreyan. Xingxing.
Kiupa—
His expression hardened."…Where's Riju?"
Kiupa doubled over, coughing violently.
"That bastard…" he rasped. "Left me…"
"I'm here."
The voice slipped through the chaos.Everyone turned.
Riju stepped out from between the trees
—and instantly something felt wrong.
His hand hung low.
Blood dripped from his fingers slow, steady.
Sian moved first.
"Hey!are you okay? Stay with us."
Riju lifted his head.
Pale. Calm. Breathing steady.Eyes—too sharp. Too aware.
"I'm fine," he said quietly."Listen..."
A vine snapped toward them—
Sreyan twisted aside. "We're kind of busy right now!"
Riju didn't look at him."Everyone… stay close."
A slight pause in his voice.
Then—
his hand moved toward his pocket.
Slow.Unsteady.He winced just barely—as his fingers dipped inside, like even that small motion hurt.
For a second—
it looked like he might not manage it.
Then with visible effort—
Riju pulled out a small, black card.
Its surface pulsed faintly—etched with shifting symbols that seemed alive.
The air around him… changed.
"Give me three minutes," he said, quieter now—but firm.
"I'll activate an invisible card."
James frowned. "And that does what?"
"It will make us invisible," Sian answered instantly.
"No sound. No presence. Fifteen minutes."
A vine slammed into the ground—right where Riju had been standing.
He didn't move.Didn't flinch.
"We will survive," he said.
That was enough.
"Protect him!" Sian snapped.
The formation collapsed inward—tight, defensive.
And the forest attacked.
Vines lunged from every direction—
James smashed one aside.
Sreyan yanked Kiupa back.
"You're not dying after all this, got it?!"
Kiupa wheezed. "Not… planning to…"
—
A vine shot straight for Astha—Too fast.Too close—
Yug stepped in front of him—blocking it, forcing it aside.
"You stay behind me."Astha didn't argue.
He reached forward—and took Yug's hand.
"Okay," he said flatly. "I'm very weak."
Yug froze—just for a second.
Then pulled him closer.
—
A few steps away—Sreyan saw it.
And he is like " _"
Because moments ago—
he had seen Astha moving through the vines
effortless. precise.Like it was nothing.
Like it was a game.
And now—
"…Yeah," Sreyan muttered, ducking another strike,
"I'm not buying that for a second."
—
"Two minutes," Riju said.He crouched slightly—
pressing the black card against his palm.
His hand trembled.Just once.
Then stilled.
The symbols ignited.
Faint—then brighter.
The air warped around him—like heat bending reality.
The forest reacted.
The vines grew frantic—faster, sharper, hungrier.
A cluster surged toward Riju—
"Not happening!" James stepped in, smashing them aside."Hold the line!"
Zoya tightened her grip on Riya's hand.
"Stay close."
"I'm not going anywhere."
—
A giggle echoed.Closer.Circling.
Watching.
—
"Thirty seconds!" Riju called.The glow flared
the air pulsed—And the forest snapped.
Vines struck from everywhere at once—wild, desperate—
"Get ready!"
—
And then—Silence.Instant.
The vines froze mid-strike—hung in the air—
before slowly retreating.
Sliding back into darkness.Gone.
The forest stilled.Too still.
Riju exhaled slowly, lowering his hand."It's done."
His eyes swept over them—sharp. Urgent.
"We have fifteen minutes."
A beat.Then—
"Run."
No one questioned it.
They moved fast, together into the darkness .
They ran.Fast. Silent.
The forest warped around them—shadows twisting, branches clawing, roots shifting underfoot like something alive.
Something unseen paced them.
Close.Too close.But the silence—
That was worse.
It followed.Waiting.For now.
"You bastard—!"
Kiupa lunged, grabbing Riju by the collar and yanking him back hard.
"You left me!"
Riju staggered, barely holding himself upright. Blood streamed faster from his hand now, dripping in dark.
"No…" he breathed, voice tight. "I didn't."
"Hey—leave him," Sian snapped, not slowing. "We've got ten minutes. Move."
Kiupa froze—just for a heartbeat—then shoved Riju forward.
They kept running.They had to.
Because behind them—
The forest felt… aware.
Like it remembered them.
Riju's steps faltered.Once.Twice.
His breathing turned ragged, shoulders sinking with every step. The blood loss was catching up—
Fast.Too fast.
"Riju..?" Zoya glanced back, fear flashing in her eyes.No response.Sian saw it instantly.
In one swift motion, he caught Riju before he collapsed and pulled him over his shoulder.
"Keep moving," Sian ordered, voice tight but steady.
Riju didn't resist.Couldn't.
His body went slack. Breath shallow.Too pale.
They pushed deeper.Faster.Further Away.
A few seconds later—
Riju went completely still.Sian felt it.
His jaw tightened.
"Damn it…"
"He passed out?" James asked, glancing over.No answer.
Sian just adjusted his grip and ran.The path split ahead.Two directions.
Both wrong.
"Yug," Sian called, sharper now. "Which way?"
A beat.
Yug didn't slow. Didn't look back.
"…Right."Simple.Certain.
Astha slowed.Barely his eyes flicked down—Blood drops.
Then up—Broken branches.
Then back—That sound again.
A faint giggle.
Closer now.Not random.Tracking.Learning.
His expression didn't change—
But something clicked."Wait," he whispered.
Without breaking stride, Astha bent slightly and grabbed a thick, jagged branch from the ground.
Heavy.Rough.Useful.
His eyes scanned once more—
Riju's blood.A perfect trail.A perfect mistake.
She turned sharply—
And hurled the branch deep into the left path.Far.Hard.
It crashed through bushes, snapping twigs, dragging across the ground—
Smearing blood across leaves as it went.
A louder trail.A better one..He didn't look back.
"Right way," he said, breath controlled. "Now."
Sian trusted him.No hesitation.He shifted direction instantly.
The others followed.Behind them—
The giggle stopped.Tilted.Listening.
Choosing.
Then—It moved.Not toward them.Toward the noise.Toward the blood.
Astha exhaled slowly.
"Huff… huff… keep moving," he muttered. "Don't slow down."
Zoya glanced at him, realization dawning.
"You tricked it…"Astha didn't answer.
His eyes stayed forward.Cold.Calculating.Relaxed
And then—
They saw it.The starting point.
A faint break in the suffocating darkness ahead—familiar, unreal, like a memory waiting to be reached.
"Do you see that—?" James breathed.
No one answered.
They didn't need to.Hope hit all at once.
Sharp.Dangerous.
They ran faster.
Branches thinned.Shadows cracked apart.
The air shifted—
Lighter.Real.And then—They burst out.
Out of the forest.Onto the pathway.
No one stopped.Not immediately.
No one trusted it.
Not yet.
Their breaths came heavy, uneven, eyes still locked on the forest edge.
Waiting.Listening.Behind them—
The forest stood still.Silent again and watching.
And deep within—That giggle returned.
Soft.
Amused.
Patient.
Like it knew—They hadn't escaped.
Not really.
_
Riju's eyes snapped open.
He was lying down.Everyone stood around him.Watching too closely.Too carefully.
Like he wasn't one of them anymore.
A voice broke the silence.Cold.Knowing.
"So… you're not a newcomer."
No one moved.No one spoke.
Sian continued—
"You've already cleared a game."A pause.
Then—"Treasure Hunt."
All eyes locked onto Riju.
He didn't sit up.Didn't panic.Just answered slowly.
"...Yes."