The situation was hopeless — or was it?
Surrounded by a hundred shadows, the elf, filled with terror, tried not to breathe at all, fearing that any sound he made would attract the horrors. Ragryno's mind quickly analyzed where the strongest shadows were and began constructing a route through which he might realistically escape.
'As usual, I've gotten myself into deep shit!'
Taking control of himself, Ragryno calmed the trembling throughout his body and exhaled as quietly as he could. He decided to listen to the sounds around him. There was mostly silence. The distant sound of a stream falling into a lake was the loudest thing he could hear. But he needed to hear more — how were the shadows moving? Were they making any sounds at all?
The young man then began concentrating his mana in his head, channeling it to his pointed, elongated ears. His ears started to emit a faint turquoise glow, but it seemed not enough for the shadows to notice him. His hearing sharpened instantly. Now he could hear everything around him, and most importantly, it was as if he had discovered entirely new, alien sounds.
The shadows hadn't been silent all this time. He began hearing them wheezing and grunting among themselves. They paid no attention to the elf. Those on the ground wandered aimlessly. Or so it seemed at first glance. Lying among the leaves, Ragryno spent five minutes simply scanning the creatures, trying to determine their behavior, and he somewhat succeeded.
It turned out the shadows were patrolling the area, possibly searching for something or someone. Ragryno assumed they were looking for him. But for some reason, they couldn't find him and mainly stayed about ten meters away from the young man. Maybe because he was using a minimal amount of mana, and they couldn't pinpoint his exact location?
'This might be my chance!'
At that moment, the young man decided to take a gamble. He needed to figure out if the shadows could see him with normal vision or if they perceived the surroundings through scanning.
He grinned and began to rise from the leaves as slowly as possible. His danger sense only lightly pressed on the back of his neck, indicating that he was somewhat safe. He sat up and even allowed himself to breathe calmly. But what should he do next?
He definitely needed to get out of this place. Concentrating again, the young man scanned the closest shadows and realized they hadn't reacted to him. Then he moved on to the next part of his plan, grabbing his bow and slowly standing up. His heart pounded at that moment, but fortunately, the shadows continued to ignore him. The area was shrouded in complete darkness, and if the young man wanted to escape, he'd have to use his hand as a light source.
But that seemed too dangerous, as he would have to channel a significant amount of mana into his hand to illuminate the area more precisely. Gritting his teeth, he took a few steps to the side, careful not to step on the campfire. His throat felt painfully dry, and his empty stomach only added to the discomfort of his situation.
Ragryno took a few more steps, but suddenly, his plan faltered, causing his heart to stop. One of the shadows near the lake suddenly stopped moving. The raspy sound it emitted sent shivers down Ragryno's spine.
'Did it sense me?'
Seconds dragged on endlessly, but for some reason, the shadow just stood there. Watching it, Ragryno realized his heart was beating even faster, and a cold sweat began to form on his back. His mana-enhanced hearing picked up faint footsteps from the other side. Another creature? It was getting closer to him.
'No time…'
The options were few: either he continued moving, hoping to slip by without the shadows chasing him, or he could take the risk and remain still, not moving at all. Maybe he should fight his way through the weaker shadows and just run? But what if the stronger shadows intervened?
With every step the shadow took closer, his body trembled. Almost imperceptibly, other shadows began shifting toward his position. His instincts screamed only one thing — "Run!"
But his mind kept him rooted in place, completely still.
'If I run, I'll most likely die...'
Out of desperation, the young man crouched down. He had to do something, had to somehow break through the ring of shadows and escape. He knew these shadows were slow, so he might have a chance. But how could he pull off something like that?
The shadows crept closer, and finally, gathering his resolve, the entire area suddenly glowed with a turquoise light. Ragryno, like a madman, began channeling a massive amount of mana into his hand to illuminate the area nearby. He became the only source of light in the impenetrable darkness.
And then he finally saw dozens of figures with the same dark green skin moving toward him. Their skin shimmered, making them almost translucent. Each approaching shadow looked different — some were short, some tall, some resembled animals. But right now, all of them relentlessly moved toward him.
The danger sense exploded with renewed intensity, and the young man realized that time had run out. He quickly got to his feet and sprinted. The other shadows reacted almost instantly, but fortunately, his guess about their speed was confirmed... or was it?
One of the shadows, which was rather small, rapidly approached him. Ragryno ran forward, dodging each shadow in his path and trying to keep his eyes on the road ahead and the ground beneath him. It would be a disaster if he crashed into a tree or tripped over a root.
His body felt invigorated from the rest he'd had, so he moved quickly.
But it wasn't enough, as the small, fast shadow moved toward him faster and faster. He had already put some distance between himself and the hundred other shadows, and now he was running straight through the darkness of the forest. His hand, constantly fueled by mana, was his only source of light in this black void.
Ragryno ran faster than ever before. The forest seemed to come alive, trying to stop him by force. Tree roots constantly loomed underfoot, and he barely managed to jump over them in time to avoid falling.
The feeling of being pursued grew only stronger. The small shadow clearly had no intention of letting him go, giving him no chance to catch his breath. It moved across the ground like a predator hunting its prey, zigzagging closer and closer. Its raspy breathing could now almost be heard right behind him.
'I won't make it…' the desperate thought crossed his mind.
But the situation became even worse when another danger appeared before Ragryno — a thick bush, forming a dense barrier. The young man sharply turned to the side, obviously slowing down, and because of that movement, the shadow managed to catch up to him. A wave of terror washed over the elf as he saw the swift silhouette of the small shadow right in front of him.
He didn't have time to react as the shadow thrust its hand into his chest, and the young man felt an incredible pain there. But it wasn't physical pain—no, not at all. It was as if someone had struck him on the head with a hammer, leaving him utterly stunned. His body refused to move, but through his eyes, he saw the small, insolent shadow pulling something out of him. It resembled a thin, red thread.
'What is it doing?!' the thought flashed through his mind.
He didn't know what it was, but his entire being screamed that he couldn't let the shadow finish. What happened next, however, shocked him even more. The shadow, which had been trying to pull the thread from his chest, suddenly jerked back, and tiny red cracks appeared all over its body. But that wasn't the worst part... It screamed. He had never heard such a voice before, and it sounded as if dozens of people were screaming at once.
The shadow writhed on the ground in agony, but soon it stopped, and the red glow around its body faded. That didn't mean anything good. In its hands, the young man saw a small, almost invisible piece of the red thread. It had managed to tear off that tiny piece, despite the immense pain.
The remaining thread quickly retreated back into the elf's body, as if it had never been pulled out in the first place. But the young man didn't like the fact that the creature had dared to take part of it. There was no time to think, so the young man quickly drew his small knife from his pouch and attacked the shadow.
Then it hit him—he had forgotten to coat his knife with the most important catalyst—his own blood. The blade passed through the shadow without causing any significant harm; in fact, it only seemed to startle it and... make it flee?
"Hey! Give me back... whatever you took from me!"
The young man's entire being burned with rage at the thought of someone stealing from him, and, as absurd as it was, their roles quickly reversed. But for Ragryno, this was far from good news, as the shadow was faster than him. However, a strange feeling began to grow inside his chest—rage overflowed his body, strengthening it. He was taken aback by it but remembered his first battle with the shadow.
Back then, too, his anger had been the key factor in his victory. But why was it so evident now?
He dismissed the thoughts as soon as he sensed the shadow moving even farther away from him, practically leaping across the ground at an incredible speed.
"Stop! Stop, I'm telling you!"
At first, the young man somewhat calmly demanded the shadow to stop, but with each passing second, he realized he couldn't keep up. The feeling of anger in his chest intensified even more. This wasn't right.
It had stolen something from him—something important. He couldn't understand what exactly it was, but it felt like a part of him. Something so valuable that it could be compared to life itself.
The forest scenery was changing rapidly; the trees became darker, and strange runes appeared on their bark. Ragryno didn't have time to inspect them, as all his attention was focused on the shadow. To his surprise, even the trees were thinning out, making it easier to run.
But that also applied to the shadow. It was now a good 10 meters ahead, and the gap was widening. The young man constantly used his mana sense to keep track of it, but now he could barely touch its presence. He didn't like this—not at all.
He wanted to tear the shadow apart for daring to take something so precious from him. His blood boiled with the rage of losing something so valuable. But one thing remained the same—the odds. His chances of catching the shadow were slim as it continued to increase the distance between them. To make matters worse, his head started to hurt from the constant mana control.
He had to stay focused, directing mana into his hand to illuminate the area around him.
Meanwhile, the forest grew more eerie and strange, but it didn't scare him—instead, the sense of danger only fueled his burning resolve to reclaim what was his. At least, until he felt something heading toward him from the right. It was magic, but not the kind he had felt before. Turning his head, he realized what it was.
An icicle.
An icicle was flying straight for his head. His eyes widened at the sight, and he wondered if this was some trick of the shadow. But how could he deflect something like that? And if he did, he would definitely slow down and lose the shadow with that small piece of his thread.
'Let it go? I'll let it go?'
No, he didn't want that. He didn't want to lose something of his own, because if he did, he risked never finding it again. Who knows, maybe shadows disappear completely by morning?
When the icicle was almost upon him, the young man quickly swung his wooden arm, which had been storing a large amount of mana. He released it in a single motion, and it was enough to shatter the icicle almost immediately. But it cost him the loss of the shadow and the inevitable defeat in their chase.
'Who the hell dared interfere?!'
The young man's rage quickly shifted. He suspected it might be the shadow, but his mana sense told him otherwise. Since he had used up most of the mana in his hand, the surroundings plunged back into darkness. But he could still use his sense. Three auras were approaching him rapidly.
He readied himself for a fight, cutting his wrist to coat the knife's blade in blood. The auras of these beings were strange and unfamiliar, but some seemed vaguely familiar… though not quite.
The auras were closing in fast, and the young man understood they had the advantage in numbers. They were all at the first rank, but he still believed he had a chance. Finally, the first attack came; Ragryno felt foreign mana appear behind him and quickly dodged to the side. Landing on the ground, the next attack followed almost immediately, and it was… a weapon? The young man barely raised his knife to defend himself, but the force behind the strike was monstrous.
He heard the sound of his knife's blade cracking, and his right arm's bones creaked unpleasantly. But he didn't lose focus and quickly channeled mana into his eyes, illuminating everything in front of him. What he saw left him stunned. A girl stood over him, wearing a leather cloak on her shoulders. But the most surprising thing was her silver hair, which the young man recognized almost immediately. The girl raised a silver sword over Ragryno, preparing to bring it down, but seeing the light in his eyes, she might have hesitated.
Ragryno wanted to say something, but the girl suddenly brought her weapon down, surprising him greatly. The elf, not expecting such an attack, raised his wooden hand in defense, feeling immense pain as the blade slightly entered it. Immediately after, Ragryno saw an unfamiliar young man with a two-handed axe. Without hesitation, he raised the axe like an executioner, aiming directly at Ragryno's neck.
"STOP!" a voice suddenly called from behind the two of them. Ragryno instantly recognized the voice and who it belonged to.
The axe blade stopped just a few centimeters from the elf's neck, making the young man swallow nervously. He heard quick footsteps approaching from behind the two figures, and in his eyes, Ragryno saw the figure of a red-haired young man, someone painfully familiar to him. But something had changed in that figure. Looking closer, Ragryno noticed that his old friend, Zack, now had strange pupils in his eyes, resembling the hands of a clock.
Ragryno involuntarily opened his mouth and said only one name.
"Zack?"
The man, whose eyes held clock hands, smiled faintly. He shrugged and sighed.
"Who else?"
The atmosphere immediately shifted. Ragryno turned his gaze to the silver-haired girl and saw a strong surprise on her face, but it quickly changed back to her usual cold expression.
"Livia, could you remove your blade from my hand?" the guy casually asked, still feeling the intense, throbbing pain in his wooden arm.
The girl looked slightly embarrassed, then awkwardly pulled the silver weapon from his hand. The pain almost instantly faded, and Ragryno noticed how the cut on his arm slowly began to heal.
Looking over at the guy with the axe, Ragryno saw him grimly inspecting the fallen elf, but since the darkness only revealed his eyes and a bit of his face, he quickly slung the axe back over his shoulder.
The elf let out a breath and sat up. For a few seconds, there was only silence, broken by the breathing of those who had just participated in the swift battle. But Zack wouldn't be Zack if he didn't start talking.
"Ragryno, what are you doing here?" the guy said, sitting down next to the elf, who had once again used his hand to illuminate the nearby area. Meanwhile, the big guy with the axe went to fetch the fourth member of their small group.
"Me? Oh, you know, chasing after a thread thief, and I see you guys are hunting people?" Ragryno said, clearly teasing his old friends.
Zack smiled guiltily and awkwardly scratched his head. Livia barely reacted, but Ragryno noticed a slightly apologetic expression on her face. Zack didn't wait and immediately started explaining.
"You know, when you've lived in the Forest of Shadows for five months, it's hard to tell who's human and who's not. So, we..." Zack didn't finish his sentence, as he saw the strong surprise on Ragryno's face.
How? How five months? Hadn't it only been a few days? Yes, he was knocked out after the fight with the shadow, but five months? What?!
"Something wrong?" Livia spoke for the first time, noticing Ragryno's stunned expression.
The elf sat in complete shock, thinking they were trying to prank him, but after looking at their faces again, a deeply unsettling feeling stirred in his chest.
"I... No way, are you telling me you've been in this forest for five months?" the elf stammered, his voice shaking.
Livia and Zack exchanged glances, then frowned.
"And you haven't?" Livia asked.
"No, damn it! I've only been in this cursed forest for two days, at most!" the guy said, his voice growing louder. Panic crept into his tone, and it was understandable. How could something like this even be possible?
"Whoa, whoa, calm down, buddy. I've got a bit of an explanation for that," Zack said, placing a hand on Ragryno's shoulder, making him flinch slightly.
"Then I'm all ears," the guy said, finally hoping to get some answers about what was happening in this forest.
Zack removed his hand and settled in more comfortably. As he was about to speak, Ragryno heard two people approaching them. Glancing over, he saw the one who had shot an icicle at him.
It was a fragile-looking girl, holding what resembled a small staff with a gray crystal at its tip. She had dark hair and blue eyes, which were now gazing at Ragryno with guilt. Without hesitation, she approached him and... bowed.
"Please forgive me!" she said in a soft, almost inaudible voice.
Ragryno raised an eyebrow at her. He wasn't used to receiving apologies from anyone, and it seemed like this situation wasn't as straightforward as he first thought. He didn't even know how to act in such situations and just awkwardly nodded, which earned him a mocking smile from Zack.
The guy with the axe also nodded slightly, his way of apologizing, and sat down with the others. The girl did the same, sitting next to the large guy.
"That's Catherine and Alex. They're with us in the search group," Zack said, deciding to introduce the two to the elf right away. Ragryno glanced at him and gave a weak nod.
"Search group?" the elf decided to ask. What exactly were they searching for?
This time, Livia responded. Ragryno noticed that her heavy gaze was focused somewhere in the sky, hidden behind the canopy of dark trees.
"Yes. A search group formed to find any survivors who ended up in the same situation as us. There were about five hundred people who got caught in the catastrophe caused by that monster. We even have a camp where everyone helps each other survive," the girl said, not taking her eyes off the sky.
Ragryno could hear the deep sadness in her voice. The faces of all the people darkened; it was clear that each of them remembered that terrible moment and the monster's attack. And if they really had been in this cursed forest for five months, they had likely gone through far more hardships than he had in two days.
"Alright, I think we can get back to what we were talking about. I'll keep it brief, though, since you've probably realized by now that there are far more dangers in the forest at night than during the day," Zack said, once again drawing everyone's attention to himself.
Ragryno silently nodded, signaling him to continue.
"So... As you know, I control time magic and have a pretty strong affinity for it, right? Well, over these five months, I've made significant progress, and besides using it in battle, I have one drawback. While you and others can feel a creature's aura using mana scanning, I can feel something else. Time. That's why we attacked you—your time felt strange to me."
Ragryno frowned, showing he didn't understand a thing.
"To put it simply—your time is very similar to that of the shadows. They don't live long, and every night they are replaced by others. I thought you were one of the shadows, and when the others said you had incredibly odd mana, we decided to attack, hoping to get some valuable loot from you, no offense. That's the first thing. Now, as for how you've been in the forest for two days while we've been here five months? The answer is both simple and impossibly complicated."
Zack's tone became much more serious, surprising the elf slightly, but Ragryno kept listening, absorbing what little he could comprehend.
"Time in the Forest of Shadows is archaic. It all depends on the specific point where the boundary between the world outside the forest and the forest itself intersects. I don't quite remember how you ended up here, could you remind me?"
Ragryno didn't understand much of what Zack said. But he could answer the question.
"That's impossible to forget, especially since it happened so recently. Honestly, I ran into the forest with my eyes closed, completely disoriented about where I was going. Only halfway through did I realize you guys weren't around, and I was surrounded by darkness."
Zack listened carefully, nodding. As soon as Ragryno finished, Zack started speaking.
"Then that's really bad. Livia and I also got separated and ran in different directions at first, but we quickly met up inside. We searched for you for a couple of days, but nothing worked. Tell me, what happened right after you entered the forest? Was there anything unusual?"
Ragryno frowned deeply and strained his mind as hard as he could. The only thing that came to him was the fight with the shadow, but he suspected that wasn't everything. After a minute, it hit him, and he immediately responded.
"I saw a large brazier standing in the middle of a clearing. That's where my first fight happened, where I got this," the elf said, raising his now-healed wooden arm.
Everyone looked at it, but unlike the others, Zack's face filled with incredible astonishment. No, more than that. Zack practically leaped toward him, grabbing his wooden arm and staring at it with wide eyes and an open mouth.
"W-where... Where did you find this?!"
Ragryno shrugged and answered.
"During the fight, I lost my arm. After I won, I passed out, and when I woke up, it was just attached to me."
Zack didn't take his eyes off the wooden arm, nodding. A wide grin spread across his face, growing larger and larger until he finally let go and spoke.
"Your arm is exactly five months old. The time around it is completely normal, which is why it felt so strange for me to sense you... Everything makes sense!"
Ragryno still didn't understand a thing, and his frown deepened. It felt like he had tried to learn alchemy with only leatherworking knowledge. Just as Ragryno opened his mouth to say something, he was interrupted.
"Guys, I get that this is all fascinating. But the shadows won't wait long, even if we are near the forest's edge. We need to get moving," Alex said, already on his feet, axe in hand.
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded, though Ragryno still looked slightly bewildered.
"Where are we going?" the guy asked casually, getting up with the others.
They all looked at him like he was an idiot, and Livia even giggled slightly, which was unusual. Zack placed a hand on his shoulder and, smiling, replied.
"In our camp, buddy, already forgot what I told you about it? Sure, you can stay here and make friends with the shadows, but I don't think they like you much," Zack teased Ragryno with a wide grin.
Ragryno brushed Zack's hand off his shoulder, shrugged, and decided to respond just as sharply. "Yeah, I guess the shadows aren't fans of wit, but they'd definitely have more fun with you. At least they'd be the only ones."
Then, he casually glanced at the others.
"Or maybe they're just looking for someone to chat with them about their 'Great and Unmatched' camp?"
With that, they headed towards the camp, which had been organized by his old friends.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, the small shadow that dared to steal a piece of the boy's soul sat on one of the trees. It was watching with amusement. Shadows had no souls of their own, so the moment he appeared, it desired nothing more than to possess his. And it got what it wanted… Not just any soul, but an incredibly powerful one! Though it was merely a thread of the whole soul, no, even less—a tiny piece of that soul.
But thanks to it, it would no longer vanish in the night and could grow stronger.
With such thoughts, the shadow began to consume the thin thread, in which incredible, raging power lay dormant.