In that split second, Dera's mind raced, his thoughts a whirlwind of panic and desperation.
There was nowhere to run. Not backward—those deadly spiked woods would crush his bones in an instant.
Definitely not to the left or right—those razor-sharp arrows glinting menacingly in the moonlight promised a swift and agonizing death.
And certainly not forward—the large, spinning shurikens looked like they were forged specifically to slice him into unrecognizable pieces.
Calling out to Shadow was useless too; the voice in his head had gone eerily silent, abandoning him in his most critical moment. If Shadow had taken over his body just once more, dodging these traps would have been child's play. But no—Dera was alone.
Not that it was anything new to him. Even when his family was alive, loneliness had always followed him like a shadow, an unwelcome companion he could never shake.
But now wasn't the time for brooding. He had only one option: escape. Either he leapt upward with everything he had, or he bent low, low enough to dodge both the shurikens and the spiked woods.
He chose the latter.
In one fluid motion, he sprinted forward and launched himself upward, executing a perfect backflip just as the traps collided with each other.
CLANG!
The sound of metal crashing against wood echoed through the forest, but Dera didn't linger to admire his narrow escape. He landed lightly, his feet skimming the ground with surprising ease.
His eyes widened in shock. His body felt unnaturally light, almost weightless. The backflip had been effortless, his movements smooth and precise, as though his limbs belonged to someone else.
"I feel... so light," he muttered, staring down at his hands, flexing his fingers. His muscles responded with an ease and fluidity he had never known.
"Was it... because of the evolution?"
Before he could process the thought—
PEW!
A sharp whistle cut through the air as an arrow flew past his face, missing him by a hair's breadth.
His heart raced, his instincts kicking in. He didn't have the luxury to lose focus—not here, not in the Black Forest.
Clenching his fists, Dera steadied himself, dropping into a low stance, his sharp eyes scanning the surrounding darkness.
"Hey Shadow!" he shouted, his voice raw with frustration. "Why the hell aren't you answering? You said you were made to assist me, so assist me! goddammit!" Dera shouted.
{...}
Still no reply.
"Shadow, you know if I die, you're going to die too," he pointed out, his tone growing sharper.
Finally, the silence broke.
{I've been with all nine incarnations before you. What makes you think you're the last one?}
Shadow's voice was as cold and detached as ever, devoid of emotion. Yet, beneath the icy tone, there was a faint edge—something akin to bitterness or regret.
Dera had expected that answer, but hearing it aloud sent a chill down his spine. At least Shadow had responded, confirming he wasn't in some kind of sleep mood or something.
{And what killed them was me... letting them be in charge.}
The words hit like a hammer, heavy and final.
{I won't repeat the same mistake again. This time, I am in charge. Now...Do you understand?}
Shadow's voice was both a threat and a warning, carrying a sharp will to survive that made Dera uneasy.
"Fine, fine... I understand," Dera muttered. It wasn't like he had a choice. Not here, not surrounded by death at every turn.
With that, the argument was settled.
{Now focus.}
Shadow's voice broke through his thoughts like a whip.
{I want you to channel your Aura—slowly—into your eyes. Do that, and you'll activate Observation Aura.}
"H-huh? Can't you just take control of my body like you did before and dodge the traps for me?" Dera asked. It would've been so much easier.
{I can't do that right now—not for a while. Even if I could, how will you learn anything if I keep controlling your body. You need to figure this out, you idiot?}
Dera clicked his tongue, annoyed.
'Tsk... and all that talk about being in charge,' Dera thought, a mocking smirk tugging at his lips.
{Focus, goddammit!!}
Shadow's yell echoed in his mind, sharp and commanding.
"Alright!" Dera yelled back, shutting his eyes tightly.He tried to calm his breathing, his mind honing in on the task.
He began concentrating, pulling at his Aura. The raw energy surged within him, but directing it toward his eyes proved agonizingly difficult. It felt like trying to thread a needle with trembling hands.
{Control it. Steady your flow.}
Shadow's voice was firm, echoing in Dera's mind.
He was still struggling, his Aura wild and uncooperative, but then he remembered.
The fight with the lycan—the way Shadow had focused all his Aura into his fist before delivering that devastating blow.
It had been his body that Shadow controlled after all, and if he could replicate that exact same pattern, directing the Aura to his eyes instead, maybe he could do it too.
Gritting his teeth, Dera focused harder. Slowly, he directed the flow of Aura through his veins, willing it upwards, inch by inch toward his eyes.
The effort was agonizing, like trying to push against an invisible wall.
But then—
A spark.
His Aura clicked into place, rushing into his eyes like a flood breaking through a dam.
As soon as Dera opened his eyes, they glowed an intense, radiant blue, illuminating the dark forest around him.
{Hmm... that was fast,}
Shadow sounded genuinely surprised.
"Would it kill you to just compliment me for once?" Dera grumbled, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
{Hmm... maybe it would. Now focus.}
"Tsk.." Dera sighed, annoyed, but before he could respond, his left hand moved instinctively. Without thinking, it shot up and gripped something inches from his head.
His eyes widened in shock as he glanced at his hand. An arrow. His left hand had caught an arrow mid-flight, its sharp tip mere millimeters from piercing his skull.
"W-what the...?" he muttered, his voice trembling slightly.
{Tsk... it's not enough. You have the ultimate observation weapon in your body. I want you to use it.}
"What? Me? Where?" Dera asked, scanning himself, perplexed. Surely, he would have noticed if he'd been carrying something that extraordinary.
{It's in your forehead. In other words, your Fin.}
"Oh," he murmured, raising a hand to touch the sharp horn jutting from the right side of his forehead. He had forgotten it was even there.
{Focus your Aura into the Fin while still maintaining the Aura flow in your eyes.}
The instruction was daunting. Controlling Aura in two separate locations wasn't just difficult—it was nearly impossible for someone as inexperienced as him.
But he tried. Slowly and methodically, he directed the raw energy toward his Fin, all while keeping his eyes alight with power. It was a grueling process, like balancing on a tightrope in a storm. But after what felt like an eternity...
It clicked.
Shadow was surprised again. For a novice to achieve this in mere minutes was beyond impressive.
"I... I can see it... All of it," Dera whispered, awestruck.
The world around him transformed. It was as if the moon itself had descended, bathing the forest in a soft, ethereal blue hue.
Every shadow, every detail was illuminated, the darkness rendered powerless before his gaze. His vision extended far and wide, piercing through the dense foliage with ease.
CLING!
[You Have Awakened Your Aura Sense.]
Dera smirked. With this newfound power, he could finally escape this cursed forest.
He shifted into a runner's stance, his glowing blue eyes piercing through the darkness and his Fin radiating an otherworldly energy.
Summoning another portion of his Aura, he directed it to his legs.
Shadow, observing from within, was speechless. Three locations now…
BOOM!
Dera launched forward, the sheer force of his takeoff cracking the ground beneath him. He moved like a blur, weaving through the dense trees with astonishing speed.
PEW!
Two arrows shot out from the shadows, one from the left and the other from the right, both aiming directly for his head.
But with his enhanced vision, he saw them coming long before they reached him. Effortlessly, he snatched both arrows mid-flight without breaking his stride.
Suddenly Dera stopped abruptly, skidding to a halt. His Aura Sense flared with a warning as a barrage of ten arrows surged forward, converging on him in a deadly arc.
"Not today," he muttered under his breath.
In an instant, he redirected the Aura from his legs to his fists, his glowing hands moving with blinding speed. He punched the arrows out of the air, shattering them into splinters that scattered like rain.
Without wasting a second, Dera resumed his sprint. He smashed through wooden spikes as if they were brittle twigs, dodged spinning shurikens with fluid precision, and maneuvered past every trap the forest threw at him.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he burst out of the forest, leaving the cursed darkness behind.
"Phew… I made it," he said, his chest heaving as he slowed to a walk. Ahead, the old man's manor loomed in the distance, a welcome sight after the hell he'd just endured.
{Oi… do you want to be mistaken for a Venom and killed, you moron?}
Shadow's voice echoed sharply in his mind, snapping him out of his relief.
"Oh, right, the transformation," Dera muttered, realizing how he must look.
He relaxed his Aura, letting it rest deep inside of his body in a steady wave. The Fin on his forehead slowly retracted, disappearing beneath his skin. The strange, black, tattoo-like symbols that had spread across his hands and neck faded into nothingness, leaving him looking human once more.
At the old man's manor, the atmosphere was tense. The old man and Eva had been waiting anxiously, their nerves stretched thin as the first rays of sunlight began to creep over the horizon.
"Are you happy now, Grandpa? You've killed that kid for your selfish ambition to make a name for our sect!" Eva's voice was sharp with anger and grief.
The old man lowered his head, guilt weighing heavily on him. He had truly believed that Dera was The One, that Dera could survive the forest. Had he been wrong?
"You don't know that, Eva. I'm sure he's still alive," the old man said, though his voice wavered with doubt. Did I let my greed condemn him to death? He hesitated. Should I go check?
Eva's expression hardened. "Look around, Grandpa. He's not here, and the sun is already rising. He's dead!" she snapped, her voice breaking.
Just then, a faint noise echoed from the forest. Both their heads snapped toward the sound, eyes wide with hope and disbelief.
From the edge of the forest, a figure emerged. His steps were steady, his posture exuding strength and determination.
There he was...
The One.