Zami froze mid-step, his heightened senses flaring as an eerie sensation washed over him—countless unseen eyes were fixed on him. His silver gaze narrowed, scanning the dense, broken forest around them. The air seemed heavier, almost suffocating, as though a malevolent force lurked just beyond sight.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. He grabbed Kiyo with his free arm, pulling her close against his chest, and bolted forward with inhuman speed.
"Hold on," he said firmly, his low voice cutting through the tense silence.
A split second later, a volley of arrows whistled through the air, their deadly points striking where they had just been standing. Some were tipped with fire, leaving brief trails of orange light in their wake as they embedded themselves into the cracked, ashen ground.
"It's not safe here," Zami muttered, his voice calm but urgent. "We need to find shelter."
He darted between charred trees, his powerful legs propelling him with inhuman precision and speed. The forest was alive with danger—arrows continued to rain down in relentless waves, some glancing off tree trunks, others narrowly missing as Zami weaved through the chaos.
Kiyo clung to him tightly, her small hands gripping his cloak as her wide, terrified eyes darted around. "Why are they doing this?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Zami didn't answer immediately, his focus on evading the deadly projectiles. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something descending rapidly from the sky. His sharp instincts kicked in, and he muttered, almost incredulously, "Catapults?"
A massive boulder came hurtling toward them, a trail of dust and ash in its wake. Zami didn't slow—his katana gleamed as he unsheathed it mid-sprint. With a precise, lightning-fast slash, he cleaved the boulder clean in half, the two halves crashing harmlessly to either side of them.
Still holding Kiyo securely, he pushed his body even further, his muscles coiling and releasing with explosive power as he accelerated through the forest. The rain of arrows followed relentlessly, but Zami's movements were too quick, too calculated, for any to find their mark.
Finally, his sharp eyes spotted a cave entrance ahead—a dark, jagged opening in the side of a rocky hill. Without hesitation, he dove inside, his boots skidding against the stone floor as he came to a halt. He set Kiyo down gently, drawing his katana and scanning the entrance for any sign of pursuit.
The arrows ceased, and the forest grew eerily quiet. The only sound was the faint crackling of distant fire from the flaming arrows that had struck the trees outside.
Kiyo slumped against the cave wall, her breathing uneven. She glanced up at Zami, her black eyes wide. "Are we... safe now?"
"For the moment," Zami replied, his voice calm but his gaze fixed on the cave's entrance. He sheathed his katana slowly, his movements deliberate. "But they're organized. Whoever—or whatever—they are, they'll come again."
Kiyo wrapped her arms around herself, her small frame trembling slightly. "Why are they after me?"
Zami turned to look at her, his sharp features softened by a faint flicker of thought. "That's what we need to find out. But for now..." He crouched near the cave entrance, his back against the wall as he kept watch. "Rest. I'll keep guard."
Kiyo hesitated but eventually sat down, curling into herself as exhaustion began to take over.
Outside, the forest remained eerily still, but Zami's senses told him this was only a temporary reprieve. Whoever their attackers were, they wouldn't stop so easily.
And as the faint glow of the distant firelight illuminated the mouth of the cave, Zami's resolve hardened. He didn't know who these enemies were or why they pursued Kiyo, but one thing was clear—he would not let them take her.