The first step into the Black Soil Forest felt like stepping into another world—a world that didn't want us there.
The trees loomed tall and gnarled, their jet-black bark twisted into unnatural shapes. Their roots sprawled across the forest floor like veins, tangled and pulsating with a sinister energy. The air was heavier here, as though the forest itself pressed down on us, making each breath feel labored and thick. The soil underfoot crumbled at the slightest touch, a dark, brittle powder that coated my boots.
Pyre stood a few paces ahead, his silhouette sharp against the dim light filtering through the canopy. "This place isn't for the weak," he said, his voice calm but cutting. He turned his head slightly, one crimson eye gleaming in the dimness. "I hope you're ready."
"I've been ready," I shot back, my voice betraying more confidence than I felt.
He chuckled—a low, knowing sound that only made my nerves worse. "Good. Because you'll need that arrogance to keep you alive."
The wolf padded beside me, its fur blending seamlessly with the shadows. It let out a low growl, its nose twitching as it caught the scent of something foul in the air. I glanced at it, my unease growing. If the wolf was wary, then whatever was out there had to be bad.
Pyre came to a stop and turned to face me. "Your task is simple: kill 500 crawlers."
I blinked, certain I'd misheard. "Five... hundred?"
"Five hundred," he repeated, crossing his arms. "And no shortcuts. You'll face them, one by one, until the last one falls."
I stared at him, my stomach churning. "Why?"
"To survive," he said bluntly. "You think the world will go easy on you? You think the monsters out there will care how tired you are, how scared you are? No. They'll tear you apart the second you falter. This isn't just training, Ash—it's life."
I wanted to argue, to tell him this was insane, but the look in his eyes silenced me. Pyre wasn't giving me a choice.
It didn't take long to find them. Or rather, for them to find me.
The first crawler emerged from the shadows like a nightmare come to life. It was massive, its bloated body a hideous mix of red and black, covered in oozing pustules that dripped green fluid onto the forest floor. Its segmented limbs moved with unnerving precision, clicking against the soil as it advanced.
And its face... I couldn't even call it a face. It was a grotesque cluster of mandibles and glowing, lidless eyes that seemed to bore into me.
The crawler let out a guttural screech and lunged.
I barely dodged in time, the sharp edge of its limb slicing through the air where my head had been. My heart pounded, adrenaline surging through my veins as I scrambled to regain my footing.
The wolf darted forward, its claws slashing at the crawler's side. The creature screeched again, its body convulsing as green fluid sprayed from the wound. I seized the opening, leaping forward and driving my claws into its neck.
The crawler thrashed, its limbs flailing wildly, but I held on, tearing through its tough hide until it finally collapsed in a twitching heap.
I stepped back, panting, my hands coated in the creature's foul-smelling blood.
"One down," I muttered. "Four hundred ninety-nine to go."
They came in swarms.
For every crawler I killed, it seemed like two more took its place. Their screeches filled the air, a haunting cacophony that echoed through the forest. Each battle pushed me closer to my limit, my muscles screaming in protest as I fought to keep up.
One particularly large crawler pinned me against a tree, its mandibles snapping inches from my face. The wolf lunged at its side, but the crawler shook it off with ease. I gritted my teeth, driving my claws into the creature's neck, but its hide was tough—too tough.
I felt its sharp limb slice across my side, pain exploding through me as blood poured from the wound. But I couldn't stop. I couldn't let it win.
With a desperate roar, I grabbed a jagged rock from the ground and smashed it against the crawler's head. The creature staggered, its movements faltering, and I seized the opportunity to tear its throat out.
The crawler collapsed, its body twitching as green fluid pooled around it. I dropped to my knees, clutching my side as I gasped for air.
"Damn it..." I muttered.
The days blurred together, each one a relentless cycle of blood and pain.
I stopped counting how many crawlers I'd killed. There was no point. All that mattered was surviving the next fight.
But as the battles dragged on, something changed. I started to notice patterns in their movements—the way they lunged, the way they circled before striking. I learned to anticipate their attacks, to exploit their weaknesses.
I became faster, more precise. My strikes hit harder, my dodges became smoother. The pain never went away, but I learned to push through it, to let it fuel me instead of holding me back.
The last swarm was the largest yet.
They came at me from all sides, their screeches deafening as they closed in. I darted between them, using the trees for cover as I fought to keep up. The wolf was a blur of motion beside me, its claws tearing through crawler after crawler.
But it wasn't enough.
One crawler managed to grab me, its sharp limb slicing through my arm. I bit back a scream, twisting out of its grip and driving my claws into its head. Green fluid sprayed everywhere, burning my skin, but I didn't care.
Another crawler lunged, and I barely dodged, grabbing a fallen branch and using it to hold the creature back. It snapped the branch in two, but the distraction gave me enough time to slash at its neck, bringing it down.
The forest was chaos—a blur of blood, claws, and screeches.
When the last crawler fell, I collapsed to my knees, my body trembling with exhaustion.
The forest was silent again, save for the sound of my ragged breathing. My vision blurred, my body aching in ways I didn't know were possible. But I'd done it.
Pyre emerged from the shadows, his expression unreadable. "Not bad," he said, his tone laced with amusement.
I glared at him. "Not bad? I almost died!"
He chuckled, pulling me to my feet. "But you didn't. That's what matters."
As we left the forest, I glanced back at the carnage behind me. The black soil was littered with crawler corpses, the air thick with the stench of blood and decay.
I wasn't the same person who had entered this place. I was stronger. Tougher. But at what cost?
Pyre's voice broke my thoughts. "Rest up. The next challenge will be harder."
I sighed. Of course it would.