The forest was alive with its usual discord, a symphony of sounds that I had long since grown accustomed to. Leaves rustled under the gentle wind, birds called warnings to one another, and the distant howl of predators echoed faintly through the trees. But something about the day felt different. The air was charged, heavier than usual, and my instincts hummed with unease.
I crouched by a stream, cupping water in my hands to wash the blood from my knuckles. The beast I had slain earlier, a wolf-like creature with too many teeth and eyes that glowed unnaturally, lay lifeless a few meters away. It wasn't unusual to find such creatures this close to the clearing where the tear had appeared ten years ago. The forest around it had become… unstable, and so had its inhabitants.
That instability had become my life. A life I hadn't asked for, but one I had accepted.
The sound of a scream shattered the uneasy calm.
My ears twitched, honing in on the direction. It was a human voice, female, high-pitched and raw with terror. I straightened immediately, the weight of the tension snapping into focus. My instincts screamed at me to ignore it—humans meant trouble, and I'd learned long ago that trouble wasn't worth courting.
But I couldn't ignore it. Not this time.
The scream came again, closer now, accompanied by the crashing of something massive through the underbrush. Whatever was chasing her wasn't human, and the faint tremor I felt beneath my feet suggested something far larger than anything that should have been in this part of the forest.
I moved, my steps silent but swift, weaving through the trees toward the commotion. The sounds grew louder as I approached—panicked breaths, snapping branches, and the guttural snarl of something monstrous.
The girl broke into view first, her figure small and fragile against the backdrop of chaos. Her hair was tangled, her face streaked with blood and dirt. She ran with a desperate determination that I recognized all too well, but her body was faltering. Her steps grew uneven, and I could see the fear in the way she kept glancing over her shoulder.
Then the beast appeared.
It was massive, a grotesque amalgamation of man and pig, with bristling fur, jagged tusks, and crimson eyes that burned with mindless rage. I had seen creatures like it before, remnants of the forest's corruption. This one was larger than most, its presence radiating a palpable malice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
The girl stumbled into a clearing, her momentum carrying her into a roll before she came to a stop. I saw the way she clutched her ankle, the pain clear on her face as she struggled to rise. But she couldn't move fast enough. The beast was on her, raising a massive clawed arm for the killing blow.
I didn't think. My body moved before my mind caught up, instinct and training guiding me.
Ice.
The spell formed in an instant, my hands moving with practiced precision as I summoned the cold from within. A sharp crack echoed through the clearing as a jagged spike of ice erupted from the ground, impaling the creature mid-strike. It let out a gurgling roar before collapsing, its body frozen solid.
The girl's eyes snapped open. Her expression shifted from terror to confusion, then to awe as she stared at the frozen beast. Her gaze moved to me, wide and unblinking.
"Madam, are you injured?" I asked, stepping into the clearing.
She didn't answer at first, her eyes fixed on me as though she couldn't decide whether I was real or another threat. I understood her hesitation. Harrin like me weren't a welcome sight in this part of the world. Most humans only ever saw us as slaves, collared and broken under their rule. To see one free, wielding magic no less, was enough to unsettle even the bravest.
Her lips parted, her voice trembling. "I… I think my ankle is twisted."
I nodded, keeping my movements slow as I approached. She flinched slightly as I crouched beside her, but she didn't stop me. Her ankle was swollen but not broken. That was fortunate—more for her sake than mine. If it had been worse, I wasn't sure I could spare the energy to heal her fully.
"You'll be fine," I said, standing and glancing at the remains of the beast. "You're lucky I was nearby. That thing would've torn you apart."
Her gaze followed mine, lingering on the frozen carcass. "Who… Who are you?"
I hesitated. Names held power, even in simple exchanges, and I wasn't in the habit of giving mine freely. But something in her wide, frightened eyes softened my resolve.
"Nathan," I said simply. "And you?"
"Lyra," she replied after a moment, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded, filing the name away. "Can you walk?"
She shook her head, her hand tightening around her ankle. "It hurts too much."
I sighed, scanning the forest around us. We couldn't stay here. The beast's death would attract scavengers, and I didn't have the energy to fight off another threat.
"Wait here," I said, rising to my feet.
Her eyes widened, panic flashing across her face. "Where are you going?"
"To find something for you to lean on."
She didn't argue, though the fear in her expression didn't fade. I moved quickly, finding a sturdy branch and stripping it of smaller twigs with my knife. The forest seemed to press in around me as I worked, its shadows darker and its silence heavier than usual.
When I returned, Lyra looked as though she might bolt at any moment. I handed her the makeshift crutch and helped her to her feet, ignoring her wince of pain.
"There's a path about a mile from here," I said, guiding her toward the edge of the clearing. "Follow it east, and you'll reach the forest's edge by nightfall. From there, the road will lead you to the nearest village."
She stared at me, her brow furrowing. "You're not coming with me?"
"No." I glanced back toward the heart of the forest. "I have... other things to take care of."
"What kind of things?"
Her question hung in the air, but I didn't answer. She didn't need to know about the corruption I was trying to contain, or the weight of the past I carried.
"Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly, her voice soft but insistent.
I paused, turning back to face her. The question lingered in my mind, heavier than I expected. Why had I saved her? It would've been easier to stay hidden, to let the forest claim her as it had so many others. But as I looked into her eyes, the answer became clear.
"Because I could," I said quietly.
Without waiting for a response, I turned and slipped back into the forest, the shadows swallowing me whole.
As I moved deeper into the woods, the unnatural stillness returned, but I barely noticed. My thoughts lingered on Lyra, on her fear and her determination to survive. She had a chance to escape, to return to a life that wasn't tethered to this cursed place.
I couldn't say the same for myself.
The forest had claimed me long ago, and it wasn't finished with me yet.