Kairos stared at the mysterious woman, his instincts screaming that something was terribly wrong. She stood in the shadows, her pale skin glowing faintly in the dim light of the strange forest. Her eyes, unnervingly calm and filled with a cold intelligence, locked onto him and Xia Muren with unnerving intensity. Every fiber of Kairos' being told him to tread carefully.
Xia Muren, her icy aura ready to strike, narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Guardian? Of what exactly?" Her voice was sharp, defensive. She wasn't someone who took kindly to threats, especially from a figure who appeared out of nowhere.
The woman tilted her head slightly, her smile unsettling. "This place is older than you know. You stand on sacred ground… ground that should have been forgotten."
Kairos' heart raced. The air in this place was thick with spiritual energy, but it was different from anything he'd felt before. It felt ancient, heavy with secrets buried in the depths of time. He realized now that their escape from the Outer Wastes had not just taken them to another part of the world—it had transported them to a realm or space beyond his understanding.
The Eclipse System remained silent, offering no hints, no explanations. It was as if even the system was unsure of what this place was.
Kairos glanced at Xia. They were in unknown territory, and the woman in front of them was clearly not someone to be trifled with. His mind raced, weighing their options. Could they fight her? Or would that be suicide?
"Look," Kairos began, his voice calm but steady. "We didn't come here on purpose. We used a damaged artifact. We're just trying to find our way back."
The woman's expression didn't change. "It matters not how you arrived. You are here now, and none leave without permission."
Kairos felt a cold sweat forming on his brow. "And what would it take to get that permission?"
The woman's eyes gleamed. "You must pass the trial of the Forgotten Woods. Only then will you be granted the right to leave."
Xia Muren's lips twisted into a frown, but she kept her stance poised, her icy aura subtly rising. "And if we refuse?"
The woman's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it. "Then the woods will consume you. Slowly. Painfully. And you will never leave."
Kairos' stomach tightened. He had no idea what this "trial" would entail, but it was clear they didn't have a choice. Fighting this woman seemed like a death sentence, and running wasn't an option either. They were trapped in a place that didn't obey the rules of the world they knew.
The Eclipse System finally chimed in with a single notification.
[System Notification: Trial of the Forgotten Woods Initiated]
Objective: Survive the Trial and Escape the Woods
Difficulty: Nightmare
Reward: Hidden Treasure of the Forgotten Woods, Potential System Upgrade
Failure: Death
Kairos swallowed hard. A "nightmare" difficulty trial? Of course. It couldn't be simple. It never was.
Xia Muren stepped forward slightly, still watching the woman warily. "And what does this trial involve?"
The woman raised a hand, and the strange symbols on the trees around them began to glow brighter. The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly, and the air grew colder.
"The woods will show you," she said softly, her voice like a whisper on the wind. "Survive the night, and you may find the key to escape."
Without another word, the woman stepped back into the shadows, her figure fading until she disappeared entirely, leaving Kairos and Xia standing alone in the eerie, glowing forest.
"Survive the night?" Kairos muttered, shaking his head. "That doesn't sound ominous at all."
Xia Muren, still calm but clearly unsettled, glanced around. "We need to stay on guard. This place… it's not natural."
Kairos nodded, his senses on high alert. The trees around them seemed to pulse with life, their twisted branches reaching out like claws. He could feel something in the air, something watching them from beyond the trees. It wasn't just the forest—it was as if the woods themselves were alive, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, a cold breeze swept through the clearing, and the temperature plummeted. Kairos felt the shift immediately. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as the world around him darkened. The shadows deepened, stretching across the forest floor as the dim light faded away.
And then, from the depths of the forest, came a low, guttural growl.
Kairos turned sharply, his heart pounding. The shadows moved unnaturally, twisting and warping as dark shapes emerged from the trees. At first, it was hard to tell what they were—shadows given form, creatures made of pure darkness. They moved silently, gliding across the ground with an unnatural grace.
Xia Muren's aura flared, the icy energy around her intensifying. "They're coming."
The Eclipse System lit up with another urgent message.
[System Alert: Hostile Entities Detected]
Danger Level: High
Recommendation: Eliminate or Evade
Kairos' pulse quickened. There were at least six of the shadow creatures, their forms shifting and flickering as they moved closer. They didn't seem to have distinct features—no faces, no eyes—just dark, twisted shapes that seemed to hunger for something.
"What are they?" Kairos whispered, drawing his dagger.
"I don't care," Xia Muren replied coldly, summoning her icy blue energy into her hands. "They're in our way."
One of the shadow creatures lunged, moving faster than Kairos had expected. He barely managed to dodge as it swiped at him, its form passing through the air like smoke. But where it touched the ground, the earth seemed to wither and decay, the life drained from it instantly.
Kairos gritted his teeth. This wasn't going to be a normal fight.
"Eclipse Inferno Palm!" he shouted, thrusting his hand forward as black and white flames erupted from his palm. The flames collided with one of the creatures, and for a moment, it shrieked, its form destabilizing. But then, with a sickening hiss, it reformed, the damage barely slowing it down.
"Damn it!" Kairos cursed, realizing these things were tougher than he'd thought. "Fire doesn't work on them!"
Xia Muren stepped forward, her expression calm but focused. "They aren't physical beings. You can't fight them like normal enemies."
With a graceful motion, she unleashed a torrent of icy energy, her Silent Moon Slash slicing through two of the creatures at once. The cold energy seemed to slow them, freezing their shadowy forms, but even then, they writhed and twisted, trying to reform.
"We need to find their core," Xia muttered. "They're bound to this place. If we destroy their connection to the woods, we can defeat them."
Kairos nodded, dodging another attack as he racked his brain for a solution. The system hadn't offered much help, but it did give him one crucial piece of information: the woods were part of the trial.
He scanned the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary—anything that could serve as a focal point for these creatures. And then he saw it, faint but unmistakable: a glowing symbol carved into one of the larger trees nearby, pulsing in rhythm with the shadows' movements.
"There!" Kairos shouted, pointing toward the tree. "That's their anchor!"
Without hesitation, Xia Muren launched herself toward the tree, her icy aura flaring as she prepared another strike. The shadow creatures seemed to sense the danger, and several of them lunged at her, their dark forms moving to intercept.
Kairos acted on instinct, summoning the last of his energy. "Lunar Void Steps!" His body shimmered as he phased through the shadows, reappearing just in front of Xia. With a roar, he unleashed a wave of flames, scattering the creatures long enough for Xia to reach the tree.
She didn't hesitate.
With a powerful slash, her Silent Moon Slash tore through the glowing symbol, shattering it with a burst of icy energy.
The effect was immediate.
The shadow creatures let out an unearthly wail as their forms flickered, then dissolved into nothingness. The oppressive energy in the air lifted, and the woods grew still once more.
Kairos collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. His body ached, and his spiritual energy was nearly depleted, but they had survived.
Xia Muren stood beside him, her expression unreadable as she surveyed the remains of the shattered symbol.
"One trial down," she said quietly. "But this is far from over."
Kairos looked up at her, exhaustion heavy in his limbs. "What next?"
Before she could answer, the mysterious woman's voice echoed through the trees once more.
"You have passed the first trial," she said, her voice soft but clear. "But the night is not yet over. Prepare yourselves… for the real test is about to begin."
Kairos' heart sank. If that had only been the first trial, then what came next?