The giant refused to relent.
Blue lightning tore through the forest again and again, each strike shrieking through the night, scorching bark, and splitting trunks. The air itself seemed to convulse, trembling beneath the storm of power.
"Left!"
Xylo's cry cut through the chaos. Xavier twisted sharply, the bolt grazing past his shoulder before detonating against a pine. The tree erupted, splinters hissing into the snow as flames licked upward.
They didn't stop.
"Right!"
Another flash. Xavier hurled himself sideways, the lightning smashing into a boulder ahead. The stone split with a thunderous crack, fragments scattering across the frozen ground like shards of glass.
For a heartbeat, Xavier and Xylo locked eyes — horror mirrored in both. One direct hit, and neither would survive.
"We have to lose him!" Xavier's voice tore through the cold, ragged with exhaustion.
"I know!" Xylo's reply was frantic, his gaze darting through the blur of trees. "I'm trying to think—"
"Left!"
Xavier veered again. The ground where he had been moments before erupted in steam, snow vaporized by the bolt's fury.
"How far are we from the portal?" Xavier demanded, his words clipped between breaths.
"I… I don't know exactly." Xylo's face tightened, grim. "…It's a good thing Raiden took Elra. If he'd stayed behind…" He swallowed hard. "I don't think even he could defeat someone like that."
Before Xavier could answer, his foot caught. A root, hidden beneath the snow.
"No—!"
His balance vanished. The ground dropped away beneath him. Both of them tumbled over a rocky ledge, rolling violently down the slope before crashing onto the forest floor below.
Xavier hit hard, pain lancing through his shoulder. Snow clung to his face as he gasped, lungs burning.
"…Ugh…"
He forced himself upright, blinking through the haze. "Xylo!"
"I'm… here…"
The weak voice answered from nearby. Relief surged through Xavier. Ignoring the pain in his legs, he staggered over, lifted Xylo onto his back, and limped deeper into the forest.
Every step was agony. But stopping wasn't an option.
Then — between the trees — a dark opening appeared. A cave.
Xavier didn't hesitate. He rushed inside, dragging thick vines across the entrance, weaving them together until the mouth of the cave was hidden in shadow. Only then did he lower Xylo onto the cold stone floor.
Silence pressed in. Their breathing was the only sound, heavy and uneven. Xavier leaned against the wall, rubbing his aching leg, his body trembling from exhaustion.
After a long pause, Xylo whispered, "…We can't keep running. He's not going to stop chasing us."
Xavier exhaled slowly, his voice low, weary. "…Yeah. I know."
The giant dropped from the ledge in a thunderous crash, the impact shaking snow loose from the branches and sending a shiver through the earth itself. Powder billowed outward, swallowing the forest floor in a pale haze.
He rose with deliberate weight, shoulders rolling back, golden eyes sweeping across the silence.
The trail was gone.
Snowfall had thickened during the chase, smothering every mark Xavier had left behind. The forest stood blank and watchful, as though it had conspired to erase him.
The giant's brow furrowed. A slow breath escaped, calm yet edged with amusement.
"…Very well."
His voice carried like a low rumble through the trees.
"Hide, then."
Inside the cave, Xavier crouched low, a curtain of tangled vines barely shielding him from the outside world. Through narrow gaps in the foliage, he watched the giant standing just a stone's throw away, every muscle in his body tense. One wrong breath, one stray movement, and the giant would spot him. The tension was nearly suffocating.
A faint rustle of cloth behind him drew his attention. A fragile tug at his shirt made him turn to face Xylo, who had pulled himself closer, his face ashen and his voice a strained whisper.
"…Xavier."
"What?" Xavier's response was a mere whisper, his eyes flicking back to the giant outside.
"You need to leave me behind." The cave walls seemed to tighten as the words hung in the air.
Xavier's brows knit together, disbelief flickering across his face. "…What?"
"You heard me." Xylo managed a bitter smile. "You can see it, can't you? We're not getting out of this together. He's not after you. He's after me. If you leave now… you still have a chance."
Xavier's jaw tightened, and he crouched beside Xylo, refusing to move. "What are you talking about?"
"Would you stop pretending?" Xylo snapped, his frustration bubbling over. "You've been throwing your life away since the day I met you. What do you think you're doing this for? A medal? A trophy? No one's going to thank you for this, Xavier. No one."
Xavier's silence deepened, his gaze steady. "…You wouldn't understand."
"Then make me understand!" Xylo's voice cracked, his desperation raw.
"It doesn't matter," Xavier said quietly, his tone unwavering. "I'm getting you out of here."
"No," Xylo insisted, shaking his head. "You're risking everything for someone who's already dying. Listen to me!"
Xavier's hand closed suddenly on Xylo's shoulder. The movement was sharp; his hair slipped forward, strands falling across his face as he leaned in.
The dark cave held its breath. A faint draft stirred the vines at the entrance, carrying the cold inward. Against that muted light, Xavier's figure stood like a silhouette, his back framed by the world outside. Then his eyes began to change. A slow, emerald deep, rising from within.
Xylo's gaze locked on him, caught by that glow. His chest tightened as Xavier's grip pressed harder, grounding him in place.
"I'm getting you out of here…" Xavier's voice was low, each word deliberate, heavy with resolve. "…even if it kills me."
The silence pressed down, broken only by the faint whisper of wind through the vines. A single tear slid down Xavier's cheek, vanishing into the dark.
Xylo's breath faltered. Whatever this was, it didn't feel like heroism. It felt heavier, sharper — a dangerous certainty that left no room for doubt.
Xavier's breath misted faintly in the cold air as he pressed closer to the vines. The giant's shadow loomed beyond, vast and immovable, like a mountain that had chosen to walk. Every motion of that colossal frame carried a dreadful calm, a predator's patience that gnawed at Xavier's resolve.
Behind him, Xylo's labored breathing rasped against the stone. The sound was faint, fragile—like a candle guttering in the wind. Xavier did not need to look to know the withering had advanced further. Time was no longer a luxury; it was a blade at their throats.
The feather blade trembled in his grip, not from fear, but from the weight of decision. He could remain hidden, let the giant's hunt stretch into hours, perhaps days. Yet each moment stolen would only tighten the noose around Xylo's life. The choice was cruelly simple: act now, or lose him forever.
Xavier's gaze narrowed. The vines swayed gently, whispering with the wind. Beyond them, the hunter's eyes scanned the forest floor, unhurried, certain. Xavier's pulse steadied into a rhythm that matched the snowfall—soft, relentless, inevitable.
He lowered his stance further, muscles coiling like drawn bowstrings. The cave seemed to shrink around him, the silence pressing against his ears until only the beat of his heart remained. He thought of Xylo's voice, and let it anchor him.
" There is no way im dying in this new world, Ive been given a second chance at life; I won't die this easily."
One strike. One opening. That was all he needed.
Xavier exhaled, the sound vanishing into the hush of winter. His blade angled forward, catching the faint glimmer of moonlight that filtered through the vines. Determination hardened in his eyes, a fragile flame daring to burn against the storm.
The storm of his thoughts was louder than the wind. He could not overpower the giant. To fight him head‑on was madness.
His eyes narrowed. He pictured the fragile points in and on the body—the bend behind the knee where tendons strained, the inner arm where veins pulsed close to the surface, the hollow of the shoulder where muscle met bone, the arteries on the neck. If he could weaken him from there, at least let him bleed out quickly; this fight might turn in his favour.
But that won't work if he's seen.
With his arms stretched out, he called forth his soul bone. Under his command, thick blue fog quickly began erupting out into the surroundings of the night. It was later on that the giant noticed his vision was getting blurred by this fog
"Something doesn't feel right." He thought.
The Soul Bone's mist thickened, curling around trunks, swallowing the forest in a haze of blue. The giant's silhouette loomed through the fog, lightning flickering across his massive frame.
Perfect. Xavier moved.
He burst from cover, blade flashing low. Steel carved across the back of the knee. Blood sprayed, dark against the snow. The giant staggered, his roar shaking the haze.
A hand like a falling tree swept down. Xavier vanished into smoke, reappearing at the giant's side. His blade slashed across the forearm. Another spray of crimson. Another roar.
Lightning cracked, splitting the ground where Xavier had stood. Stone erupted, shards scattering like shrapnel. He dodged, rose, and lunged again—this time toward the cheek. The blade bit deep, carving through muscle.
The giant reeled, fury boiling in his eyes. Yet Xavier did not relent. In that moment He was smoke, he was shadow. Each strike bleeding weaking the hunter down one cut at a time.