Kail's breath came in short, ragged gasps. The world around him blurred, the cold night air biting into his skin. The sight of his friends' bodies—lifeless, bloodied—ignited something deep inside him. A fire, a rage he had never felt before, swelled up from the pit of his stomach. It burned hot and wild, demanding release.
He could feel it clawing its way to the surface, like a beast awakened from slumber. "No... not again!" he snarled, his voice trembling with fury. His eyes snapped back to the wolf, its mocking gaze piercing him, as if daring him to try again.
With a guttural scream, Kail lunged forward, the wooden branch slipping from his grasp as his fists clenched. His vision tunneled, locking onto the beast. All he could see was red—nothing else mattered.
He moved faster than he'd ever thought possible, his body surging with a strength that didn't belong to him. It was wild, raw, and untamed. The wolf turned, ready to strike, but Kail was already on it. His fist collided with its snout, sending it skidding back.
A snarl ripped from Kail's throat—feral, animalistic. He didn't even recognize his own voice.
Before the wolf could react, Kail was upon it again, his fists raining down like hammers. Each blow felt like a release, the rage pouring out of him in waves. He hit the wolf again and again, feeling bones crack under his knuckles. The beast thrashed, yelping in pain, but Kail didn't stop.
He couldn't stop.
"You took everything!" he screamed, his voice breaking. He pounded the wolf's head into the ground, his vision blurred by tears. Blood splattered onto his face, warm and sticky, but he didn't care. He didn't feel the pain in his knuckles or the splintering of bones under his skin. All he felt was the overwhelming need to destroy, to make the wolf feel the pain he felt.
Even when the wolf's body went limp, Kail didn't stop. His fists kept coming down, over and over, each strike fueled by a bottomless pit of anger and grief. It wasn't enough. He needed more. He needed to feel its life slip away under his hands.
He was lost in this mindless, consuming rage.
Finally, his movements slowed, his fists falling weakly. He stared at the wolf's mangled, bloodied head, his chest heaving. The world seemed to come crashing back into focus—the sounds of the forest, the cold air, the silence of his friends' bodies lying nearby.
Kail's hands were shaking, drenched in blood—both his and the wolf's. He blinked, trying to clear the red haze from his vision. His nails were longer, sharper, and coated in dark blood. He stared at them, horrified. What had he done?
He took a step back, stumbling as he felt the unfamiliar strength drain from his limbs. His body felt... wrong. His muscles ached, his skin tingled with a sensation he'd never felt before—like something wild had been released, then forced back inside him.
He looked up, his eyes meeting Elara's.She was staring at him, her face pale, her eyes wide with shock and fear. The expression tore through him like a blade.
Kail looked around, seeing the scattered bodies of his friends. He'd been too late. His anger had come too late. The crushing weight of guilt hit him like a tidal wave, his face contorting in a mix of sorrow and fury.
"I... I couldn't save them," he whispered, his voice cracking. He felt the tears spill down his cheeks, hot and unbidden. The rage that had fueled him drained away, leaving only a hollow, aching void.
Kail's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. The blood on his hands blurred as his vision darkened. His head felt heavy, and the world around him began to spin.
"I'm sorry..." was the last thing he managed to whisper before the darkness took him. He collapsed, unconscious, the strange, primal energy that had surged through him now fading away completely.
___
The forest was silent once more, the only sound the soft rustling of leaves in the night breeze.
Kail jolted awake, gasping for breath. His heart raced as he took in his surroundings. The sunlight filtered through the canopy above, casting dappled light across the forest floor. The morning had already risen.
He looked around in a panic, expecting to see the lifeless bodies of his friends. But instead, he saw them lying in various states — some still unconscious, others groaning as they stirred awake. A few, like Dial and Xander, were already up, their faces pale and confused.
"We never moved," Xander muttered, his voice filled with disbelief. "We're still in the same spot as before."
Kail's mind raced. Everything they had experienced — the chase, the growling wolf, the blood — had felt so real. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shake the vivid images from his mind, but the sight of his friends being slaughtered lingered. His body trembled as he looked down at his hands. They were clean, not soaked in blood as he remembered.
Dial's voice snapped him back to reality. "Elara!" he called out, rushing to his sister's side. She was slowly coming to, her eyes fluttering open as she blinked away tears.
Kail scrambled over to them, scanning the faces of everyone he had been with. Relief washed over him when he saw each of them moving. They were all alive. It had been a nightmare — a shared illusion.
A slow, mocking clap pierced the air. Kail's head snapped up to see Onyx standing there, his posture relaxed, like he had just watched a casual show. His masked face turned toward the group, and he tilted his head.
"Congratulations to those who are awake," Onyx said, his tone as nonchalant as ever. "You managed not to let fear consume you entirely. You survived your own minds."
Kail's fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms. "It was all...fake?" he spat, his voice tinged with disbelief and rage. The feeling of helplessness, the desperation as he watched his friends fall one by one — it had felt so real.
Onyx's head tilted slightly as if amused by Kail's reaction. "Merely an illusion," he confirmed. "Born from your deepest fears. A test to see who could withstand it and who would crumble."
Kail's eyes darted to the children who were still unconscious, lying like discarded dolls on the ground. "And them?" he demanded.
Onyx glanced at the unmoving bodies, his tone indifferent. "They were too weak to begin with," he said coldly. "They failed."
A surge of anger rose in Kail's chest. His whole body trembled with it. They had been toyed with, manipulated like pawns. His jaw clenched as he felt the urge to leap at Onyx, to make him pay for what he had put them through. But a firm hand on his shoulder held him back.
It was Dial. He gave Kail a serious look, shaking his head slightly. "Not now," he muttered under his breath. "We need to figure out what's going on first."
Kail gritted his teeth but slowly stepped back, letting out a shaky breath. Dial was right. As much as he wanted to fight, they needed answers.
Onyx seemed to sense the tension and let out a light chuckle. "Save your anger for what comes next," he said, turning away from the group. "You have passed this trial. Now, follow me."
With that, Onyx started walking deeper into the forest, moving towards the mouth of a large, shadowy cave that lay ahead. The children exchanged hesitant glances, fear still etched on their faces, but they had no choice.
Kail took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing. He glanced back at Dial, Elara, and the rest of their group, feeling a protective surge swell within him.