Keon trudged forward beside Stella, his arms crossed as he let out an annoyed sigh. The night air was cool, and the dim moonlight barely illuminated the rough terrain they walked across. Despite the danger still lurking around them, something else was bothering him.
"Hey," Keon grumbled. "You keep calling me 'kid.' I have a name, you know."
Stella glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. "And?"
Keon narrowed his eyes. "And you should use it. It's Keon."
Stella smirked slightly, but her tone remained indifferent. "You're still a kid, though."
Keon clicked his tongue. "I'm seventeen. Not exactly a little kid anymore."
Stella scoffed. "Seventeen is still a kid. You're not even legal for half the things in Silvent City."
Keon groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, yeah, but at least call me by my name. What if I kept calling you 'woman' all the time?"
Stella rolled her eyes. "You already do."
Keon blinked, then coughed. "Okay, fair point. But still, at least 'Stella' sounds better than 'woman.'"
She shrugged, clearly not moved by his argument. "Fine. Keon. Happy now?"
Keon smirked. "Ecstatic."
For a moment, there was silence between them as they continued walking through the wilderness, the faint sounds of nocturnal creatures echoing in the distance.
Then Stella sighed, shaking her head. "You really are a weird kid, Keon."
Keon groaned loudly. "You just had to add 'kid' again, didn't you?"
Stella chuckled, giving him a teasing glance. "What can I say? It suits you."
Keon grumbled under his breath, but secretly, he didn't mind as much as he pretended to.
Keon glanced at Stella as they walked, his footsteps echoing softly in the quiet of the forest. The journey had been long, and though he had grown used to the strange world around him, the uncertainty of where they were heading still gnawed at him.
"Hey, Stella," Keon asked, trying to mask the impatience in his voice, "how much farther is it? I'm starting to feel like we've been walking forever."
Stella, a few paces ahead, didn't turn to face him immediately. She kept her gaze on the trail, her long coat swaying gently with each step. After a brief pause, she responded, her tone calm but slightly cryptic as always.
"We're getting close," she said, her voice steady. "But the last stretch will be the most difficult. Stay alert."
Keon raised an eyebrow, frustration bubbling beneath his calm facade. "Difficult? You've been saying that for hours. You sure you're not just trying to mess with me?"
Stella smiled slightly but didn't answer. Instead, she continued onward, her pace steady and unfazed.
Keon sighed, muttering under his breath. "Great. Well, if the 'difficult' part involves more of those freakish monsters, I'm going to need a break"
Keon was about to say something else when Stella suddenly held up a hand, her fingers forming a quick, commanding gesture. Without a word, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes scanning the dense trees around them.
Keon froze mid-sentence, his mouth still open. He glanced at Stella, confusion flickering across his face. "What's—"
She raised a hand to her ear, silencing him. Then, with deliberate calm, she pulled out a sleek, black gun from her belt, the metal gleaming under the dim light filtering through the branches.
Keon's heart skipped a beat. He knew this wasn't just for show. "Stella, what—"
"Quiet," she whispered, cutting him off. Her gaze shifted, intense and focused, as her finger hovered near the trigger.
Keon swallowed, sensing the weight of the situation. Whatever was out there, it was close.
As Keon stood there, tension coiling in the air, a sudden chill crept down his spine. A flash of white—then another. And another. Dozens of white eyes flickered in and out of existence around them, like blinks in the dark. Each one glowing faintly before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Keon with a growing sense of unease.
"Stella..." he muttered, but his voice faltered as his feet shifted, the ground uneven beneath him. He was barely standing on his own now, his body relying on her for support. His vision blurred, unable to track the movements around them as the white eyes flickered sporadically.
Stella, however, was unfazed. Her body remained perfectly still, gun in hand, eyes scanning the surrounding shadows with sharp focus. Keon could feel her strength—this woman wasn't just human. She was something more, something enhanced. The way she moved, how she adjusted to the darkness—it was like she could sense everything before it even happened.
But even for her, the beasts were difficult to make out. She could only barely see the outlines of the creatures—large, menacing, but always shifting in and out of the shadows like phantoms. The blinking eyes made it impossible to track them for long.
"Stay close," she whispered, her voice low but clear, as she subtly guided him forward, her hand firm against his shoulder. "They're all around us. Don't make a sound."
Keon wanted to argue, wanted to move, but his legs were shaky, his vision still unreliable. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay calm. The white eyes continued to blink in the corners of his sight, taunting him with their presence.
The beasts were near. He could feel them, even if he couldn't see them.
Stella's eyes flicked over to Keon, her gaze calculating, as the blinking white eyes grew more frequent, more unsettling. She held her breath, listening to the subtle sounds of movement in the shadows. The beasts were closing in, and time was running out.
"Keon," she murmured, her voice steady but laced with urgency, "can your barrier protect us if we're attacked by multiple enemies?"
Keon straightened slightly, despite the lingering weakness in his legs. He could feel the weight of her question, but a surge of confidence welled up within him. He had been in tight situations before, and his Rift Barrier had more than proven its worth. He remembered the obsidian howler—a creature so powerful it had nearly torn him apart—but the barrier had sent it flying, breaking its momentum completely.
Without hesitation, he met her gaze. "Yes. Anything." His voice was firm, steady. "The Rift Barrier can handle it. I'm confident it'll hold—no matter how many come at us."
Stella studied him for a moment, her expression unreadable. She had seen him fight before, had witnessed the strange power behind his barrier, and there was a quiet trust in her eyes now. But she didn't let down her guard. She simply nodded, tightening her grip on her weapon.
"Alright. Stay close," she said, her tone no-nonsense. "When they strike, we move."
Keon, despite the pounding of his heart, felt the familiar surge of power within him, the Rift Barrier humming softly at the edges of his mind. He was ready.