>>Amber

My mind raced, trying to figure out what kind of creature could possess such a terrifying gaze. The darkness seemed to press in around us, the air growing colder and heavier.

"Do you think it's another corrupted animal?" Serena asked, her hand gripping mine tightly, her voice filled with fear

"I-I-I don't know," I said, my voice shaking. "But," My voice got meek, "What animal is that tall?"

Suddenly, the eyes began to move, shifting slightly as if whatever they belonged to was getting ready to advance.

My blood ran cold

"We need to get out of here," I said urgently. "Now."

Serena nodded, her face pale. "Which way?"

"Anywhere but here," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Just move."

We scrambled out of the tree, our movements frantic and uncoordinated. The eyes continued to follow us, unblinking and relentless. As we bolted into the forest,I felt like something was behind me, yet I couldn't hear any footsteps.

"Faster, Serena!" I urged, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn't dare look back, the ominous feeling that was eating me inside was enough to keep me running.

What was that?

Just what the hell was that!!?? The presence was demonic?! Like a monster hiding in plain sight!!

We ran through the underbrush, branches scratching at our skin and leaves whipping past our faces. It felt like the eyes remained a constant presence, never wavering, always watching. The fear was almost paralyzing, but the adrenaline kept us moving.

As we pushed deeper into the forest, the darkness grew even thicker, our vision obscured by the dense foliage.

Serena looked back first, and once she did, I did it as well. The eyes finally disappeared from view, but the sense of dread lingered. We had no idea what that creature was or why it was here, but one thing was clear: we were in far more danger than we had realized.

"We can't stop," I said, my voice trembling with exhaustion and fear. "We have to keep moving until we find a safer place."

Serena nodded, her eyes wide with terror.

As we ran through the forest, the darkness seemed to close in around us, making it difficult to see where we were going. My heart pounded in my chest, and every nerve in my body was on high alert. The adrenaline coursing through my veins was the only thing keeping me moving forward. Serena and I pushed through the underbrush, the rustling leaves and snapping twigs sounding unnaturally loud in the oppressive silence.

Suddenly, my foot caught on something hard, and I stumbled forward. I hit the ground hard, letting go of Serena's hand in the process, the impact sending a jolt of pain through my knee and elbows. I did let Serena go but because I fell, she stumbled too, although she somehow managed not to fall.

For a moment, I lay there, winded and disoriented, trying to process what had just happened.

"Amber!" Serena's voice was frantic as she turned back and ran to my side. "Are you okay?"

"I-I think so," I said, wincing as I pushed myself up slightly. My knee throbbed painfully, and I could feel a warm trickle of blood where the skin had been scraped. "I tripped on something."

I looked down, trying to see what had caused me to fall. At first I didn't notice it, and it took me a moment to process what I was seeing.

!!!

My breath caught in my throat, and a cold, clammy sensation spread through my body.

"Bones?" I frowned,Lying in the dirt, partially obscured by leaves and underbrush, were human bones. The skeletal remains were neatly stacked on top of each other. The bones looked fresh yet there was no sign of any meat or blood on it.

"What's wrong?" Serena came over to look at the bones too but the more I stared at it, the worse I felt.

They weren't animal bones.

These belonged to a human.

A human child.

"Serena," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Look."

Serena's eyes followed mine, and she gasped, her face paling. "Oh, no. This... this is..."

"We need to get out of here," I said, my voice shaking. "Whatever did this... it could still be nearby." I didn't say it, neither did Serena.

But deep down we both felt that the deed was done by whatever we saw when we were hiding in the tree.

Serena nodded, her hands trembling as she reached down to help me up. I winced as I put weight on my injured knee, but Serena supported me, her grip firm and steady.

"Come on," She urged. "We need to keep moving."

With Serena's help, I managed to stand, though my leg protested with every step. We moved more cautiously now, the discovery of the bones adding a new layer of urgency to our escape.

I was so disoriented, I forgot I could heal myself.

As we continued through the forest, I couldn't shake the image of the bones from my mind. Who had they belonged to? How long had they been here? And what kind of creature could have done something so terrible? Even when animals eat, they leave a mess.

But these bones were licked clean and stacked so nicely on top of each other.

We continued through the forest, and it wasn't until my knee throbbed painfully with each step that I remembered the power I possessed and realized I could heal myself. I placed my hand over the injury and concentrated, feeling the warmth of my healing energy flow through me. The pain subsided, and the wound closed, leaving my knee as good as new.

"Thank you, Serena," I said, grateful for her support. "I'm healed now. We can move faster."

Serena nodded, and we picked up our pace.

After being lost for so long, our prayers were finally heard.

The forest seemed to grow thinner, the oppressive darkness giving way to faint traces of light filtering through the trees. As if fate finally had mercy on us, we saw distant lights from the city, indicating that the exit was near.

"We're almost there," I said, hope rising in my chest. "Just a little further."

We pushed forward, our breaths coming in ragged gasps.

My throat was burning at that point but the sight of the city lights was a beacon of hope, guiding us through the thinning forest. When we finally broke through the last line of trees, we found ourselves at the edge of the forest, the lights of the city shining brightly in the distance.

As soon as we crossed the last tree, we stopped, panting like dogs, we looked around the place.

...

But my heart fell once I scanned the area.

No one was there to greet us. The area was deserted, everyone had left. There were no tents, no tables, no parasols.

Nothing.

All the nobles, the royalty, the servants, the guards, everyone had left.

All except for one figure standing a short distance away.

"Ahin!" I called out to him but he was already making his way over to us.

Ahin hurried over, his expression a mix of concern and relief. "Amber, Lady Serena! Are you both okay?"

"We're fine now," I said as my knees gave out and I ended up falling. It startled Ahin but when he saw that I had sat down he relaxed. Serena sat down as well and began to take deep breaths, "But did everyone really leave without us?" I looked at him, "No one cared to stay and see if anything went wrong?"

He kneeled down beside me, "Yes... They said the time limit was till midnight so..." He looked apologetic.

"There's no reason for you to be sorry, Ahin," I let out a deep breath. He's the only one who waited for us after all. Everyone left but he remained.

I let out a scoff, and then looked at Serena

She sat quietly, "How come your family didn't leave any guards for you?" I couldn't help but ask. She is the Duke's only daughter after all.

She turned her head to look at me, "He didn't want me to volunteer," Her voice was hoarse, "But I did it anyway, so this must be his way of 'disciplining' me."

"Hmm,"

So he left his daughter without any guards? What an idiot.

...

We looked at each other, then simultaneously looked at the forest.

A shudder went down both of our spines

***

The journey back to the palace was a blur of exhaustion and relief. Once inside the grand halls, Serena and Ahin left to go to their own rooms, leaving me to make my way down the familiar corridors toward my bedroom.

As I approached my room, I saw Illaris coming from the opposite direction. She looked pale and drawn, her eyes dark with fatigue. Why the hell does she look like that? I heard she came back before the sun set.

She's looking as if she was about to collapse.

"Why do you look like you're going to die?" I said as we both reached our bedroom doors.

Illaris stopped in her tracks, her eyes narrowing as she turned to look at me, "You think it's easy dealing with miasma-corrupted creatures? I did my part, and it took everything I had."

"Everything you had?" I scoffed, my anger rising. All she did was purify the targets who pretty much came to her. I heard all about it when we came back to the castle. She didn't have to run around like we did. She didn't encounter any corrupted beasts like we did either. She and Lyal stayed in the outer layer of the forest and went back in daylight.

They didn't go through the terrors we did.

I knew the moment I heard about it. The game was rigged. I don't know who was behind it, but it was planned and that's why almost all the target went to them

But what about what happened to us?! We got lost, and then got stuck in a life or death situation. Both Serena and I are inexperienced and we were fighting for our lives!

"Yes, I ended up healing eight targets, and you didn't even get one!" I had never seen her get angry before, nor had I ever heard about it. But she looked like she was on an edge today.

"We fought our way through that forest, facing who knows how many corrupted animals, and barely made it out alive. You, on the other hand, seem to have had the luxury of an early return. Lyal was probably the one who rigged the game and gave you an easy win."

"Luxury?" Illaris's voice rose, her hands trembling with barely suppressed rage. "You have no idea-" She paused, her eyes wandered to look at something behind me, "You know what, forget it.: She then looked at me again, "Just because you lost, doesn't mean you can come and fight me like some pathetic loser." She turned to look at her door again and grabbed the door knob, "I have no reason to talk to people like you. You didn't do anything the whole match and roamed around the forest to relax."

!!!

A rush of anger surged through me.

What?! Is she out of her mind? We went through shit today! And because of that we came back so late and yet not a single person is here to listen to us. Only a few servants were awake who offered us food but neither one of us had any appetite after what we went through.

Serena and I are both horrified. If it wasn't for Ahin, we might not have made it back to the palace. He held both of our hands, made us stand up, made us walk slowly, hired a carriage for us and brought us all the way back.

We both are so terrified, we couldn't even tell Ahin about what we saw and she's saying we relaxed there?!?

The fear and horror of what I'd experienced in the forest, the constant threat of corrupted creatures, the sight of those hollow eyes in the darkness. It all came flooding back, and I felt an overwhelming urge to lash out.

"You're so infuriating!" I shouted, stepping forward and shoving Illaris with all the pent-up frustration and fear I had been carrying, "You have no idea what shit we went through today!!" I was angry because there was a chance that what we went through might have been planned.

I didn't expect her to fall, but she stumbled back, her eyes wide with surprise.

She fell to the ground with a thud, and to my shock, a soft, glowing light emitted from her body upon impact. It was as if the very essence of her being was reacting to my push.

???

I stood there, frozen, watching as the light flickered and then dimmed and then vanished.

What the hell!?!?

I looked at the other saint. She lay there motionless with her eyes closed.

...

"Illaris..." I started to say, but she didn't react, "Illaris," I walked closer to her, "Hey," My heart raced, a mix of guilt and panic flooding through me. "Illaris!" I cried, dropping to my knees beside her. "I didn't mean to— Hey!! Wake up!!"

But the words felt hollow. I had meant to push her, to vent my anger and fear, but I hadn't meant for this to happen. I placed a trembling hand on her shoulder and then moved her body,

"Illaris,"

She didn't move at all.

That's when I noticed someone run away from the corners of my eyes. I shot my head up to look at the corner of the corridor.

Shit!

Someone had seen the whole thing