The shadow stalker didn’t roar.

  It moved.

  The instant its eyes locked onto me, the forest snapped back into motion, already the thing was gone.

  It wasn’t retreating. Just circling, watching, calculating.

  My instincts screamed for me to move.

  Something ripped through the space where my head had been a heartbeat earlier. Wind tore past my ear. Barks exploded from the tree behind me, shredded into pieces.

  “Elias—!”

  Rok’s warning was cut off as the creature slammed into him.

  The impact wasn’t loud. But it was wrong.

  Rok flew sideways as his body carved a trench through the dirt and leaves before

  crashing into a tree hard enough to make the trunk crack.

  “Rok!”

  I raised the hammer on instinct.

  Nothing happened.

  No warmth, no sudden burst of energy. Just dead weight in my hands.

  The Shadow Stalker was already in front of me.

  Too close.

  Without warning its claws scraped across my chest. Pain flared across my body, the air stolen from my lungs as I stumbled backwards, barely staying on my feet.

  I swung.

  The hammer cut through empty air.

  It was gone.

  Next thing I knew something slammed into my ribs from my sides. I hit the ground hard, my breath tore out of me as the world started to spin. I tasted dirt as the ringing swallowed everything else around me.

  “Get up…” I urged myself.

  I tried, but couldn’t.

  A shadow fell over me.

  It crouched above me. Limbs bent at angles that could make someone’s stomach churn. Its body twitched, never still like vibrating with insatiable hunger.

  It struck again.

  I barely raised the hammer. Sparks flew as its claws screeched against the metal inches away from my face. Its weight crushing me into the ground. My arms shook. I couldn't hold it.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  It leaned closer.

  Too close.

  Its eyes burned brighter, head tilting as if mocking me, testing how long I’d last.

  I knew I wouldn't last much longer.

  Then—a heavy blur slammed into its side.

  “Rok?”

  He tackled the creature with a roar, both of them rolling across the clearing. Trees began to snap as the leaves vanished.

  For half a second, hope flared.

  Then the Shadow Stalker twisted its body.

  An impossible way no living thing should, Rok was flung aside as if he weighed nothing. Hitting the ground hard, coughing. Blood dark against the dirt.

  The creature didn’t chase him.

  It turned back to me.

  Slow. Deliberate. Like I was already its chosen victim.

  I pushed myself up, legs shaking, hammer trembling in my grip.

  Don’t expect to be saved.

  The rule echoed in my skull, cold and absolute.

  The Shadow Stalker crouched.

  Time stretched, my breath caught as every nerve in my body screamed RUN

  Then, it lunged.

  I twisted just in time, dirt spraying as its claws tore the ground inches away from my face. I sprinted forward as the branches whipped at me, catching my sleeves and drawing blood. Every step felt like it could be its last.

  A rustle behind me.

  The courier.

  A glimmer of hope. Small but beautiful.

  Shattered as he froze, eyes wide with terror. Then he ran—not to help, not even to guide, but straight into the forest, screaming like a child.

  Don’t expect to be saved.

  The words were sharp now, echoing into my mind with every pounding step.

  The stalker didn’t chase recklessly, it moved like a shadow, gliding through the trees. Calculating, anticipating. A swipe of its claws shredded a tree beside me. Splinters almost binding me as I nearly fell into a tangle of roots. Pain through my knees, but I dared not stop.

  Branches clawed at my arms. Leaves slapped my face. Dirt filled my mouth until I gagged. Each step forward was a battle, but every glance behind made my stomach drop. For something so big yet so silent its presence alone warped the sounds of the forest.

  I risked a glance. Just a second. Its eyes…absolute hunger, a living nightmare locked onto my soul. Staring, no hesitation, no mercy as it continued to crawl toward me.

  Branches tore at my clothing. My arms were scratched, my legs were aching, my lungs burning. I felt my strength draining away as the hammer felt heavy in my hands. The forest blurred with brown and green, the sounds of the stalker’s movement ringing louder as it moved around.

  I skidded around a tree, barely dodging a downward swipe. Splinters from the tree stabbed my skin. My breath was ragged. My mind and eyes were searching for a plan, anything that I could use. But the forest offered none.

  Another leap. The stalker's limbs bent impossibly as it landed behind me with zero sound. I turned a corner and nearly crashed into a low branch. Pain shot up through my ribs.

  “How long…How long must I keep this up for?” I kept repeating to myself.

  My body started to fade of its remaining strength as I glanced around myself, the courier nor Rok were around, as if they disappeared into the shadows.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  My chest tightened as a wave of desperation started to flow in. Every instinct in my body screamed alone, you are alone.

  My foot caught on a root.

  I stumbled forward barely catching myself against a tree. Pain flaring sharp and immediate, helping me just enough to realize how close I was to collapsing.

  The silence started to press in, thick and suffocating. The kind that meant it wasn’t chasing anymore.

  It was waiting.

  I pushed myself off the tree, legs trembling violently, forcing myself forward as the adrenaline began to fade away.

  “Don’t stop.

  If you stop, you will die.” I repeating to myself over and over again.

  A slow shift of leaves came from somewhere.

  Then another.

  Getting closer.

  Turning left all I saw was those red eyes. The same hungry eyes at the beginning, for what felt too long, the Shadow Stalker and I locked eyes. As it started to tilt its head around, waiting. But at this point. I didn’t care anymore.

  I didn’t run.

  Not because I was brave.

  But because there was no point.

  My legs were locked, my breath ragged, hammer hanging uselessly at my side as the Shadow Stalker stepped forward. One slow movement at a time. At that moment, it felt it—the point where the animal exhausted its will to live and stopped fleeing.

  “So this was it.” The thought wasn't loud. No panic or fear. But the thought of settling.

  I squeezed the handle of the hammer harder, knuckles aching, even though I knew it wouldn’t matter. I had swung, I had run, I had burned through every instinct I had left.

  And yet…it didn’t matter. I was in the same position I was when I first arrived here, in danger.

  The creature shifted its weight, claws sinking in the soil. Muscles coiling. As if it were signaling it was ready to end me.

  I closed my eyes, and forced myself to breathe.

  Once.

  Twice.

  I readied my hammer, if I was going to die, I definitely wasn’t going to give it the pleasure of an easy prey.

  The Shadow Stalker lunged.

  But.

  For what felt like slow motion, I could sense the movement from it, like I already knew what it would do.

  I didn’t have time to fully understand what I felt as something slammed into it from the side.

  No claws. No teeth. Just a solid, brutal impact that knocked the creature off balance mid-strike.

  The Shadow Stalker shrieked, not in pain, but in fury as it skidded across the forest floor.

  I staggered back, heart pounding.

  Rok stood between us.

  Blood streaked his side. His breathing uneven as one arm hung lower than the other. But his stance was wide and grounded. Weapon gripped with sheer force.

  He didn’t look at me.

  “Move,” he said. Sharply, leaving no room for argument. “I can’t block everything.”

  The Shadow Stalker recovered fast, circling again, its eyes switching between me and Rok. Calculating as if to add another one to its kill list.

  I didn’t move.

  Not because I didn’t want to.

  But because I felt differently.

  Rok shifted his footing, adjusting to the creature's angle. “When it strikes,” he muttered, “ don’t swing wild. Just—watch it.”

  Watch it?

  Rok readied his club as the Shadow Stalker lunged again, faster this time. Rok met it head on as the metal screamed against the claws. The impact drove Rok back a step, another step. But he held on.

  Barely.

  As Rok and the creature fought fiercely, I glared at it, as if time slowed again.

  Its attacks were wild—but precise.

  Just before launching another strike, I saw it.

  Not the whole thing. Just a fragment, but enough, the way the creature leaned before it struck. The half-second delay before it committed the attack.

  My chest burned. Not out of fear, but out of focus.

  “Elias!” Rok screamed as the Shadow Stalker continued its ruthless attack.

  …

  I could’ve left him…couldn’t I?

  The thought flashed through me, ugly but honest. Turn. Run. And never look back.

  Sure, I'd live to fight another day. Maybe grow and fight the Shadow Stalker another day and win. Or maybe have a party of my own.

  But if I did…I would’ve never forgiven myself.

  So against every urge I had, I shut my thinking down and moved toward them.

  The Shadow Stalker lunged again, claws screeching as Rok barely deflected the blow. The impact drove him on one knee. Rok, while strong. He’s too slow and too heavy. One more exchange like that, he wouldn't last.

  “Watch for the lean!” I shouted, words spilling out before I understood them. “It leans before the strike, hit it when it leans!”

  Rok didn’t respond.

  Not because he didn’t want to, because he didn’t have time to.

  The creature twisted its body, muscles coming, and I saw it again—that half-beat before the motion. The moment where it decided to attack.

  “Now!” I yelled.

  Rok swung late, too late.

  The Shadow Stalker’s claws tore across Rok’s already fragile club. The impact shuddered through him as spikes and splinters burst outward. Rok grunted, staggered but stayed standing. Barely.

  My call had been wrong.

  My chest tightened.

  Without time to improvise it had already begun to shift itself, again, that lean.

  “Wait—wait—NOW!”

  This time Rok moved early.

  Too early.

  The creature adjusted mid-air, its claws barely missing his throat as it scraped his shoulder instead. Blood sprayed, but fortunately the strike missed its mark.

  I knew if I messed up the next move, there wouldn’t be a Rok Elias.

  Time slowed. Not like before, this, this felt thinner. Fragile. Like it might snap any second.

  I stared at the creature as it landed, and for a moment, I could sense the scent of hesitation.

  The Shadow Stalker hissed, skidding sideways as it landed. Not hurt, but disrupted.

  That was it. That was all I needed.

  I stepped in.

  Not swinging wildly. Not charging.

  But focusing intently.

  I watched it.

  It leaned.

  I moved where it would be.

  The hammer connected with its side…not clean and not powerfully, but a real hit. The impact jarred my arms, rattled my bones as I put more force into than I could handle. The creature shrieked, more shocked than injured, stumbling a step as it twisted away.

  I hit it…didn’t I? The realization hit me harder than it should have.

  “Again!” I shouted, "breath burning.” Rok—don’t chase it! Let it come!”

  Rok coughed, clearly shaking, but shifted his stance anyway. Wide. Grounded. A sense of trust that could surely lead to his death.

  The Shadow Stalker lunged once more.

  I saw it.

  I moved.

  “Left! Swing the club to your left!”

  Rok followed the call on instinct.

  He swung what remained of his club with a roar, the broken club crackling into the Shadow Stalker’s forelimb mid-strike.

  Bones cracked and popped as the creature shrieked, staggering sideways. For the first time, it seemed to lose its balance.

  Rok grunted as the recoil tore through his injured shoulder, knees wavering—yet he stood standing.

  My heart continued to hammer, but not with fear. With focus.

  I could do this. If I stayed right here. At this moment. Watching. Calling. Moving. I could finally do it.

  Rok stood beside me, swaying, eyes locked on it while breathing hard.

  Still standing.

  And so was I…barely.

  The Shadow Stalker dragged its wounded self, eyes burning brighter as if it reassessed us, not as prey anymore. But as a problem it had created.

  Its movements were slower now, deliberate. Each step, each lean, each slight twitch of its head—it all seemed familiar to me. My chest still burned from the adrenaline, but my mind…my mind had cleared.

  I noticed the pattern. Small but subtle signs in its motions, almost like it paused before a strike, the way its shoulder twisted, the micro-shift in its weight. It was…so predictable.

  Not completely. Not enough to be safe. But enough to keep on.

  Rok groaned beside me, one arm trembling from holding his broken club. Blood streaked his side, but his eyes dared not leave the creature. His breathing ragged, yet steady, resilient. I realized something important. Rok was a strong being, he could take the hits. But he couldn’t think and fight at the same time. That was a void to fill. A void I would fill.

  “Listen to me,” I said. “Just—follow my voice.” I muttered under my breath, letting every nerve lock onto the Stalker’s twitching rhythm. “Now step with it! Move with its lean!” I shouted.

  The creature lunged. I moved with it, predicting the angle, stepping into its rhythm. My hammer struck its side, not perfectly or cleanly, but enough. Enough to make it stagger.

  I felt something surge in me then…a moment of clarity, a raw connection to the fight. The world didn’t slow down, but I could read it, predict it, and respond before it happened.

  Rok grunted as he followed my shouted commands. His swings were less precise than they needed to be, clumsy even, but combined with my calls, we moved as one. One mind, two bodies against this nightmare.

  A half-beat too early, a half-beat too late, every slight misstep could end us. But I adjusted. I memorized its motions, each lean, each twitch, each strike and feint, its pattern became a language I was learning to speak.

  I dared not to blink. Each strike. Each call. The Shadow Stalker stumbled more noticeably this time, claws scraping, muscles tensing, calculating…hesitating.

  For the first time, it looked uncertain… felt like how I felt, scared, terrified…Good, it deserves to be.

  I hit it again, cleaner this time, its side bowed, a grunt of shock mixed with pain.

  I glanced at Rok. Still standing. Breathing hard, knees weak, but still standing.

  I could do this. I could keep us alive.

  The Shadow Stalker hissed, dragging its wounded limb as it reevaluated its approach. But now, we weren’t the prey. We were a force it hadn’t counted on.

  I called again, sharper this time, voice steady. “Left! Step back, swing low!”

  Rok moved. I moved, the creature staggered.

  My body, especially my hands, shook uncontrollably with anticipation. I knew, truly knew, that if we focused, if we continued, we could finally end this.

  The Shadow Stalker screeched as it stumbled, claws carving deep furrows into the ground to stop itself from falling. It recovered, but not fast enough.

  I saw it then. Not the same pattern, but the opening.

  Its injured limb lagged half a breath behind the rest of its body. Every time it shifted its weight, it put the least amount of pressure on it. Like an animal that’s in pain. It was hurt—and it couldn’t hide it.

  “There,” I said, quietly but certain. “That leg. It can't plant it.”

  The creature lunged anyway, desperate, furiously. No feint this time. No hesitation.

  But a commitment, a commitment to chop one of our heads off.

  “Rok—brace yourself!” I shouted. “Hold!”

  Rok didn’t question it. He dug his feet in, shoulders squared, broken club raised more like a shield than a weapon.

  The Shadow Stalker crushed into him.

  The impact sent both of them skidding backwards, dirt and blood spraying. Rok roared into the pain as the force slammed through his injured shoulder, but he didn’t fall. He held. Held just long enough.

  That was all I needed.

  I sprinted.

  The world narrowed to motion and breath. I ducked under its reckless claws as I felt the air whoosh past my neck, and brought my hammer down with everything I had.

  Not at its head.

  Not at its chest.

  But at its joint.

  The hammer struck where the bone met muscle, where the wounded limb tried to bear weight it no longer could.

  There was a sound, wet, sharp, and final.

  The Shadow Stalker shrieked, a raw, broken noise that ripped through the clearing as its leg collapsed beneath it. It slammed into the ground hard, thrashing, claws tearing at everything except flash.

  It tried to rise.

  But couldn't.

  “Now!” I yelled, voice cracking. “Finish it!”

  Rok surged forward with a loud roar. He raised the shattered remains of his club with both hands and brought It down again and again, not clean, not gracefully but unstoppable.

  The Shadow Stalker shrieked then convulsed at once.

  Then stiffened.

  Silence fell hard and sudden, broken only by our heavy breathing.

  I stood there, hammer slipping from my numb, shaking fingers, staring at the still creature on the ground.

  It wasn’t moving.

  Not reassessing.

  Not adapting.

  Just…dead

  Rok staggered back a step, then another, before dropping to one knee.

  Neither of us spoke.

  Not because we didn’t want to, but because we didn’t have the energy to.

  The forest felt wrong. Too still, too quiet, a bit safe.

  I dragged in a breath.

  Then another.

  Each one burned worse than the last.

  “Let’s…” Rok tried to speak, but his voice cracked halfway through. He swallowed hard. “Let’s just…” he couldn’t finish as he started to collapse.

  “Rok—“ I screamed. Catching him before his fall.

  Pain flared up through my body as I gritted my teeth. Not only had I had to carry myself, I also had to carry a broad, strong Oni on my shoulders.

  The walk back blurred into pain and stubbornness. My legs moved out of habit and the last bit of remaining strength I had. Rok leaned heavier with every step I took.

  As I finally headed back into the cave, thoughts started to creep into my mind.

  “Just drop him, save yourself.” I gritted my teeth harder as I fought back against every survival urge that flared up, “ I can’t, I-I won’t. He saved me… I won’t leave him!” I kept reminding myself.

  As I kept moving forward I could see it, the lantern lights brightening up the dark cave.

  Relief hit me so hard as my vision started to get blurry.

  Fighting against myself to carry on forward, I couldn’t help but to hear voices. Voices that sound familiar.

  “What do you mean you left them ALONE!” A voice that sounded like Sylvia.

  “The thing just came down out of nowhere. We all scattered.” A voice that definitely sounded like the courier’s

  “You should’ve come immediately, not go into hiding then come back here!” She shouted.

  “I’m sorry I—“ the courier paused as his eyes widened when they landed upon us.

  Sylvia’s expression of fury and frustration turned into shock as she followed the courier's gaze.

  I stared at them with such open eyes, body shaking as I dropped Rok off me.

  “Elias—!” Sylvia said as she ran over.

  My knees gave out as my visions started to darken.

  I almost hit the ground until the hands of a few passersby caught me.

  “Get them inside, now!” Slyvia said sharply. “Some get the healer!”

  I barely registered her at first, but I knew it was hard to miss that pink hair.

  But as I continued to get swarmed at, I couldn’t help but to feel a vibration throughout my whole body. It didn’t feel physical, but instead something else.

  A faint blur started to shine in my pocket, just a faint blur, I saw it. The book. It started to light up blue. Like it was connecting to me telepathically.

  A man of many compassions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

  For the first time since the fight began, I felt something like comfort. “…Rok.” I muttered, as I looked at him.

  I blinked slowly. “Rule 3, don’t expect to be saved.” The memory replayed over snd over again. Maybe it was right. Maybe it could’ve been true. But will it happen? No…No it won’t.

  The last thing I felt was being lifted, carried to the nursery.

  The last thing I heard was screams, low, urgent screams.

  Then before I knew it. Everything went dark.