Selene glanced at Lucien's sleeping figure, his breathing uneven, his face tense even in rest, as if the nightmares refused to let him go, and a faint sadness settled in her chest;
she lowered her gaze, fingers gently tightening around his sleeve before letting go. "He looks worse than before…"
she whispered, her voice barely above the silence, but Nyx didn't respond at first, her eyes fixed somewhere in the dark, distant and unreadable.
"…He won't last like this," Nyx finally said, her tone calm, almost indifferent, yet heavy with truth, causing Selene to hesitate for a moment before forcing a small, fragile smile.
"He will," she murmured softly, as if trying to convince herself more than anyone else. The silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable, before Selene slowly stood up.
"I'll gather some wood… we need a fire," she said, glancing once more at Lucien's exhausted form, his body worn down to its limits, and something in her expression tightened. Without waiting for a reply, she carefully reached into his bag, taking a small herb pouch and a dagger, her movements cautious, almost apologetic.
"I'll be back soon," she added gently, turning to Nyx, who only watched her in silence. Then, without another word, Selene stepped away into the darkness—unaware that the moment she left… something else began to move.
The forest swallowed Selene the moment she stepped away from the shore.
The air changed.
Thicker.
Quieter.
She tightened her grip on Lucien's dagger, the cold metal biting faintly into her palm. The pouch of herbs brushed softly against her side as she moved, each step careful, measured.
Just wood..
But her gaze wouldn't stay still.
The trees pressed in too close, their branches twisting together above her, choking out the starlight. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the ground, shifting when she wasn't looking directly at them.
Selene exhaled slowly.
"…It's nothing."
The words felt hollow.
A low branch caught her attention, and after a brief hesitation, she climbed—slowly, carefully—her fingers scraping against rough bark.
Higher.
Just enough to see beyond the suffocating canopy.
And then—
She froze.
Far in the distance…
something stood.
It loomed in the distance, vast and silent—its outline jagged, unnatural, like a scar carved into the night.
For a moment, Selene couldn't breathe.
Because she was certain—
absolutely certain—
that something within it was looking back at her.
Not from the forest.
Not from the shadows.
From the tree itself.
Her chest tightened sharply.
"…No…"
The word barely left her lips.
A cold sensation crept along her spine, slow and deliberate.
Selene blinked—
And for a split second—
she could have sworn one of its branches had shifted.
Not with the wind.
Not naturally.
But toward her.
She flinched and quickly climbed down, her movements no longer careful—too fast, too uneven. Bark scraped her hands, but she barely noticed.
Her heartbeat was loud now.
Too loud.
"It's just… a tree…"
But even as she said it—
she knew it wasn't.
She shut her eyes briefly and raised her hand, whispering under her breath, calling out to the spirits.
A faint glow flickered.
Then—
nothing.
It vanished.
No response.
Selene's eyes snapped open.
"…What…?"
Her breath grew shallow.
There were always spirits.
Always.
Even in the quietest places.
But here—
there was nothing.
The silence around her deepened, pressing in from all sides.
"I need to go back…"
She moved quickly now, gathering wood with trembling hands. Branches snapped louder than they should have, each sound making her flinch.
Hurry.
Just hurry.
Before leaving, she hesitated—then set a few small traps along the ground. Simple ones. Subtle.
Just in case.
Just in case something followed.
She turned.
And began heading back.
Faster.
A soft flutter broke through the silence.
Selene froze, her head snapping toward the sound.
A hummingbird hovered nearby, its wings barely visible in the dark.
She stared at it.
It felt… wrong.
Out of place.
"…Hey…"
Her voice softened without meaning to.
The bird darted away.
Selene stepped after it, pushing through branches, her focus narrowing—
Then—
Her foot caught.
She stumbled forward with a sharp gasp, crashing to the ground. The wood scattered, snapping loudly as it hit the forest floor.
The sound echoed.
Too far.
Too long.
Selene didn't move.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest.
Slowly—
she lifted her head.
The forest had gone completely still.
No insects
No wind.
No bird.
A cold dread settled deep in her chest.
"…No…"
Then—
A scream tore through the forest.
Distant.
But unmistakable.
Selene's blood ran cold.
"…Lucien—!"
She scrambled up instantly, grabbing the dagger, abandoning everything else as she ran.
Branches tore at her sleeves, her breath broke into panicked gasps, her thoughts collapsing into one—
Please—
The darkness seemed to close in around her as she ran.
Please don't let me be too late—
And far behind her—
deep within the forest—
something shifted.
Sleep took Lucien slowly.
Like something pulling him under.
Not gently—
but inevitably.
Darkness.
Not the quiet kind.
Not the empty kind.
This darkness… breathed.
The air reeked—iron, rot, something burned and old.
Lucien stood still.
His body wouldn't move.
"…Lucien…"
The voice came from above.
Familiar.
Wrong.
His eyes lifted.
And his chest stopped.
Two figures hung in the void.
Suspended.
Twisting slightly, as if caught in a wind that didn't exist.
His parents.
Their bodies limp—
their necks bent at impossible angles—
faces pale…
eyes open.
Staring at him.
"…Lucien…"
Their mouths moved too slowly.
Too wide.
As if something inside them was learning how to speak.
"Why… didn't you save us…?"
The rope creaked.
A wet sound followed.
Lucien tried to speak—
but nothing came out.
Behind him—
something dragged across the ground.
Slow.
Heavy.
He didn't want to turn.
He knew.
He knew—
But he turned anyway.
His sisters stood there.
Or what was left of them.
Their bodies trembled unnaturally, movements jerking, delayed—as if their limbs didn't belong to them anymore.
And their eyes—
No.
Where their eyes should have been—
there was only darkness.
Empty sockets.
Wet.
Bleeding.
Their heads tilted.
Too far.
Too sharp.
"…Brother…"
The voices overlapped.
Distorted.
"…It hurts…"
"…Why did you let it happen…?"
They took a step forward.
Their feet dragged.
Bones cracked softly under their own weight.
Lucien staggered back
but the ground wasn't there.
The darkness swallowed his footing.
"You chose this."
The voice came from everywhere.
From inside him.
From the mark.
His shoulder burned.
Suddenly—
violently.
Lucien gasped, grabbing at it—
The skin split.
A jagged, blackened mark spread across his shoulder, pulsing like something alive beneath his flesh.
Cracks of red light bled through it.
"You belong to it now."
The pain surged—
unbearable—
tearing through his body—
And then—
Lucien screamed.
His eyes snapped open.
Cold night air slammed into his lungs.
His body jerked forward, breath breaking, heart hammering violently in his chest.
"…Hah—!
His hand flew to his shoulder.
Warm.
Wet.
He looked down.
Blood seeped through his fingers, dripping slowly from the jagged curse mark burned into his skin.
"…No…"
His vision blurred for a second.
Then—
something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too empty.
Lucien's head snapped up.
"…Selene?"
No answer.
"…Nyx?"
Nothing.
They were gone.
Both of them.
His heart dropped.
Then—
A scream.
Sharp.
Close.
Real.
Lucien's body moved before his thoughts did.
He forced himself up, ignoring the pain tearing through his shoulder, and ran toward the sound.
Branches snapped under his feet as he pushed through the forest—
And then he saw her.
Nyx.
Alone.
Standing in the dark.
Her body trembling—
silent tears running down her face.
"Nyx—?!"
She didn't respond.
Didn't look at him.
Her gaze was fixed ahead.
"…She's… fighting…"
Her voice cracked.
Lucien followed her line of sight—
And his blood ran cold.
Selene.
She was barely holding her ground.
And in front of her—
Something wrong.
It towered over her, its body a twisted mass of flesh and bark, like a tree that had rotted and learned how to move.
Its limbs were too long—
bending in too many places—
dragging across the ground with a wet, scraping sound.
Its surface pulsed.
Breathing.
And embedded within its torso—
half-formed faces pressed outward, stretching the skin—
mouths opening and closing silently.
Watching.
Its "head" tilted—
and split open.
A vertical maw lined with jagged, uneven teeth peeled apart with a sickening crack.
Selene dodged just as it lunged, the ground shattering beneath its weight.
"Lucien—!"
Her voice broke.
Relief.
Fear.
Both.
"I'm here!"
Lucien rushed forward—but the creature moved instantly.
Too fast.
One of its limbs shot toward him, twisting mid-air.
Lucien barely reacted in time, throwing himself aside as it slammed into the ground where he stood.
The impact shook the forest.
His breathing sharpened.
Too strong.
Too fast.
The creature lunged again, its many limbs crashing down where Lucien had stood a moment ago, the ground splitting under the impact as wood and dirt scattered.
Selene slid to a stop beside him, breathing uneven. "It's getting faster…"
Lucien didn't reply immediately, his eyes fixed on it, watching the way its body shifted, the way the flesh didn't move in sync. "…It's not the body."
The fairy flickered near his shoulder, its glow unsteady. "I told you, you're not hitting the real part—"
"I know," Lucien cut in quietly.
Another strike came, faster this time. Selene moved first, deflecting one of the thinner limbs, but the force pushed her back several steps.
"Then where is it?" she asked, her voice tightening.
Lucien narrowed his eyes. The creature's many eyes blinked—but not together. One of them, buried deeper within the mass, lagged behind the others, just slightly.
"…There."
Selene followed his gaze, her breathing still unsteady, then gave a small nod. "…I see it."
The creature let out a wet, distorted shriek, its body shifting as if it had realized they'd found something.
"Selene," Lucien said, his voice low but firm, "I need an opening."
She didn't hesitate. "Fine… just don't miss."
The creature lunged again, and this time Selene ran straight toward it.
"Hey—over here!"
She struck at its limbs, not aiming to damage but to provoke, forcing its attention onto her. The creature reacted immediately, its mass twisting, multiple arms crashing down around her. She dodged one, then another, but the third caught her side and sent her sliding across the ground.
"Selene!" Nyx's voice came from behind.
"I'm fine!" Selene called back, pushing herself up despite the strain. "Now, Lucien!"
He was already moving. Slipping through the chaos, he kept low, ignoring the burning pain in his shoulder as it flared again, the mark pulsing under his skin.
The whisper brushed against his mind, quieter but sharper. Let it out.
Lucien clenched his jaw. "…Not now."
The creature shifted toward him too late. Selene moved again, forcing it, driving her blade into its outer layer and twisting just enough to disrupt its form.
For a brief moment—
that hidden eye was exposed.
Lucien didn't hesitate.
He stepped in, closing the distance in a single motion, his focus narrowing until nothing else existed but that point.
One strike.
Clean.
Precise.
The dagger drove straight into the eye.
The creature froze.
Then it screamed.
Not from its mouth, but from everywhere at once, its entire body convulsing as the mass began to collapse inward. Its limbs thrashed wildly, losing all coordination as if something holding it together had just been torn apart.
Selene quickly pulled back, grabbing Nyx and dragging her further away. "Lucien, move!"
But Lucien didn't step back. He held his ground, his grip tightening around the dagger as thick, dark fluid began to crawl up the blade toward his hand.
The mark on his shoulder burned hotter.
The whisper returned, louder now. Finish it.
Lucien's expression hardened. "…I will."
He twisted the dagger deeper.
The eye ruptured.
The creature's body collapsed completely, folding into itself as the mass shrank and dissolved into a dark substance that seeped into the ground, leaving nothing behind.
Silence followed.
Heavy and unnatural.
Lucien staggered back a step, pulling the dagger free as his breathing turned uneven.
Selene rushed toward him. "Lucien, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said, though his voice was strained.
Nyx watched quietly, her gaze shifting from where the creature had vanished to his shoulder. "…It reacted to you."
Lucien didn't answer. The mark was still there, faintly pulsing.
The fairy hovered nearby, its glow dimmer now. "You shouldn't have stayed in contact that long."
Lucien glanced at it briefly. "…It's dead."
The fairy hesitated. "…For now."
Selene frowned. "What does that mean, for now?"
The forest remained silent, too silent.
Lucien looked toward the deeper part of the forest, his expression tightening slightly. "…This place isn't normal."
Nyx nodded. "…There's more."
A faint chill passed through the air.
Selene exhaled slowly, steadying herself. "…Then we leave as soon as we can."
Lucien didn't argue, but as they turned, his gaze flickered once more toward the darkness beyond the trees.
For a moment—
he felt it again.
Something watching.