---
Xaren stumbled over a tree root. He scanned the area carefully, hoping to find the younger boy.
Their supposed savior's laughter still echoed in the cave as Xaren ventured further away from the darkness. He had decided to leave the menace alive, unwilling to plunge into madness by giving in to anger and an unnecessary sense of justice.
He traveled for hours, moving in the opposite direction from where they had come earlier. When fatigue began to creep in, he heard the sound of rushing water—the first abiotic sound he'd encountered since entering the Dark Lands.
With newfound strength, he ran toward the sound, only to stumble again. This time, he toppled over something soft and fell to the ground. Turning to see what had tripped him, his gaze landed on a small mound of sand—with a pale, lifeless hand protruding from the side.
"Urgh." Xaren's stomach churned. Reality dawned on him—his days of merely running and hiding from Blood Blooms had made the Dark Lands seem far less hostile than they truly were.
He moved closer to the sand heap, brushing away the thin layer of dirt that concealed the body. Beneath it lay a familiar child, his dead eyes staring directly at Xaren. But Xaren neither flinched nor looked away.
Burying the boy in a proper grave would have been a heroic act. Avenging his death would have been even more so. But Xaren was no hero.
He dug around the sand heap, searching the surrounding area until he found his katana.
Further dishonoring the body, he searched the boy's pockets and checked his fingers. As expected, his ring was gone, and his pockets were empty.
Xaren retrieved his weapon and cast one last glance at the pale face before covering the body with sand once more. It was the best he could do for the boy—digging a proper grave here would only put him in danger.
Xaren continued his journey toward the sound of rushing water. With every step, the noise grew louder until he finally arrived at a small waterfall.
It was not grand, but in the midst of chaos, darkness, and madness, its sparkling beauty was amplified. Cascading down a rocky slope, the water shimmered in the dim light, an oasis of purity within the abyss.
Now, he had two choices: climb the rocky slope and continue traversing the Dark Lands, or follow the water's path. Neither option seemed to lead to a happy ending.
---
Encounter with the Blood Bloom
Slither.
Xaren froze.
A sliding noise echoed not far away, snapping him out of his reverie. He hadn't heard the Blood Bloom approaching, its movements masked by the waterfall's roar.
Holding his breath, he remained still, hoping the creature would pass him by.
But this one was different.
The massive Blood Bloom stretched out like a twisted, nightmarish landscape. Its deep crimson hue pulsed with a malevolent life of its own, tendrils slithering through the earth like colossal veins. Covering an area of miles, its twisted, irregular shape sprawled toward the horizon. Tiny, stump-like branches protruded from its stem, dragging along the ground like malformed limbs.
Xaren's heart sank. His chances of survival had just plummeted.
What made this Blood Bloom even more terrifying was its numerous pairs of eyes—scattered across its grotesque, bud-like structure.
They all blinked in unison.
At that moment, the biosync in Xaren's hand beeped.
> [Blood Bloom - Brute Rank.]
[You have encountered the highest rank of this species: The Mother Bloom.]
[Chances of survival are…]
[…Unknown.]
[Please retreat.]
[Please retreat.]
[Please retreat.]
The warning rang out in the darkness.
Both beings stood opposite each other.
Kenan immediately leaped backward, diving into the water with a loud splash. He swam low, desperately trying to escape the monster.
He knew for a fact—he stood no chance.
But the Blood Bloom had other plans.
A thick tendril coiled around Jesse's leg and yanked him away.
The creature slithered back into the shadows, dragging its latest prey with it.
Kenan swam upward, breaking through the water's surface. He crawled back onto land and collapsed onto the damp grass, gasping for air, his hand clutching his chest.
The fear of death lingered like an indelible stain on white clothing.
------
Slash!
The sharp sound of a blade cutting through soft flesh echoed in the darkness as Kenan burst out from the monster's innards.
Blooms—though terrifying—were nowhere near as dangerous as their evolved counterparts. But that didn't make them any less deadly.
The first time Kenan had encountered one, he had nearly been crushed to death, only barely managing to slice his way out.
Unlike Blood Blooms, which are aggressive, mobile predators, Blooms are their lower-tier relatives—non-motile, plants that relies on deception and brute force.
A Bloom appears as a large bulb of crimson layers of thick flesh, and a stem rooted deep within the earth. Its outer layer with a texture resembling raw muscle, pulsated faintly as if breathing. Its surface was covered in thin, hair-like appendages that swayed eerily, detecting movement like the sensory hairs of an insect. The top of its mouth was scrunched up, only opening up when it is about to devour its prey.
While it lacked the acidic secretions of a Blood Bloom, a Bloom was no less dangerous.
Inside, rows of blunt, bone-like structures, coated with muscles squeeze the unfortunate prey into a pulp, slowly extracting its nutrients. Instead of dissolving its prey, it compresses them—draining every ounce of sustenance before expelling whatever remains as a dry husk.
Unlike its monstrous counterpart, the Bloom does not actively hunt. It waits—silent, patient, and horrifyingly efficient.
But after being swallowed more times than he cared to count, he had learned. Now, escaping had become routine.
He wiped the slimy fluid off his arms and tattered clothes before stretching.
His hair had grown longer, tangled into an unsightly mess. His skin was pale, his frame thinner than ever. The Dark Lands had beaten him into something unrecognizable.
With no way home and his food supply dwindling, Kenan was on edge more than ever. He refused to end up like a certain someone, filled with unquenchable madness.
But he had memorized a certain part of this wretched place. He knew them like the back of his hand.
Katana in hand, he strode through the vast forest, his mind fixated on survival. His ability should have awakened by now, yet nothing had changed.
He came to a stop in front of a familiar cave.
Perhaps, inside, he would find something that could finally get him out of this wretched place.
---