Selena's chest heaved in and out as she struggled to breathe from the anxiety poisoning her senses. Her eyes were fixed on the shadowy mass, slowly slithering toward her. She used her arms to drag her body backward, trying to add as much distance between her and that thing.

The middle of its body split open, revealing massive sharp teeth. "What's the matter? We're almost done with the game," it grumbled in a deep tone.

Selena's heart rate accelerated when the shadowy mass violently shook. Long limbs resembling legs tore out of its body that had jagged nailed claws at the end of them.

Now I remember. This was the trial that Dante was talking about. Did the demon blood make me forget that detail? she thought while clenching her jaw to contain her emotions as the thing got closer and closer to her.

Selena's face paled when the creature swung one of its claws at her.

Slam!

Selena rolled to the right, hoping to remove herself from its attack range. A small yelp escaped her throat when she felt something sharp glide across her left cheek. The warmth of her blood battled against the cold as it trickled out of the cut. Using the strength in her arms and legs, she propelled herself back up and ran as fast as she could.

Damn it. How did that thing manage to hit me? I was sure I had moved myself far away enough to avoid that attack, Selena thought in a panic. Her lungs gradually started to burn with each inhale as she refused to stop running at any point.

I should check how close it is. That way, I can think of a way... Selena's thoughts drifted off when she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open in shock when she realized it was practically breathing down her neck with how close it was.

A pained scream was dragged out of her throat when its claw struck her back. The strength of the swing sent her tumbling forward. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as her body trembled from the pain that shot through her. With shaky limbs, she forced herself back up.

Selena sucked in a deep breath to calm down her heart that was thrashing around inside her chest. She extended both of her palms out and focused. She ground her teeth in frustration when she didn't feel a single drop of magical energy. You have to be kidding me! she screamed inside her mind.

How am I supposed to beat it if I can't even summon a key?! At this rate, I'm a sitting duck, Selena thought as she clenched her hands. Every muscle in her body tensed up when she heard it crawl up behind her. Her eyes darted over to the ground when she saw a tree branch sticking out of the snow. That'll have to do, she thought, biting into her lower lip.

The air shifted as the monster prepared to throw another attack her way. Timing it perfectly, Selena dove forward to avoid it. She planted her hands firmly on the ground and threw herself back into a series of backflips to give herself enough room to enact her plan. On the fourth one, she gripped onto the branch, ripping it out from the snow.

After gracefully landing on her feet, she threw it with all her might. The branch drove straight into one of the creature's eyes, staining the white color of the snow with scarlet.

Screech!

Selena covered her ears when it let out a deafening howl. She turned on her heels and sprinted off. That should buy me enough time to escape, I hope, until I can attempt to use my powers. Looks like the forest ends right here, she thought as she narrowed her eyes.

Zoom!

Selena's blood ran cold when she felt the ground vibrate underneath her feet. She hesitantly glanced behind her only for fear to stab into her nerves. Her face scrunched up when the creature rushed at her at inhuman speed with its mouth open wide, revealing the rows of teeth it had.

When Selena stepped on the next patch of snow, her weight moved forward as the ground crumbled away, catching her by surprise. Her body twisted around as she helplessly plummeted downward. The last thing she saw was the monster trying to reach for her, only for it to howl in frustration when it missed her.

Wait? Won't this kill me! This can't be happening! D-did I really fail? Selena yelled inside her mind. The only she could do was watch the cliff become blurrier as it faded off into the distance as her body continued to descend.

Splash!

The bitter cold forced a scream out of Selena as she plunged into a river. The water embraced her, keeping her as its prisoner. She desperately flailed her arms out, trying to reach toward the surface.

Selena clutched her throat as water entered her airways, setting her lungs ablaze. Regardless of how hard she fought to escape the watery prison, an unseen force kept her in place.

She struggled to keep her eyelids open as they became heavier as exhaustion settled in. Selena saw the world around her become painted in darkness. Unable to fight anymore, she allowed herself to drift into the void that consumed her.

The weight-crushing Selena's chest suddenly disappeared, leaving her feeling like she was floating. The water crawled up in the back of her throat, causing her to cough violently. Once it left her system, she hungrily breathed in as much air as possible.

Her eyes weakly fluttered open. "Am I dead?" Selena mumbled as she stared at a gray wall littered with tiny pieces of snow. The closer she inspected her surroundings, the more she realized she was inside a cave.

"Thankfully not, but if you stayed in that water any longer, you would have," a male spoke out to her, causing her eyes to widen.

Selena's eyes widened when hearing the familiar voice. She quickly sat up, only for her eyebrows to furrow in confusion. "Wait, you're that guy from this morning who gave me directions," she stated in disbelief.

No, wait, that can't be right, Selena thought. She narrowed her eyes at him before shaking her head in annoyance, "You're just another hallucination, but you don't seem very demonic to me," she pointed out.

"I'm wasting my time talking to you. I bet it's only a matter of time before that thing ends up finding me again, and I still can't use my powers," Selena whined as she hugged herself to provide any warmth to her shaking form.

"What do you mean?" the man asked as he tilted his head in confusion. "You are the one who got yourself out of the water by slightly using your powers," he mentioned as he walked closer to her.

"What!" Selena blurted out. She turned her head sharply to look up at him. She shook her head before she got up. "Yeah, right. Like I trust you or anything else in this hellish nightmare," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"The weight that disappeared was you preventing any more water from entering your lungs using your powers. Just channel it again," the man explained, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

Selena's face contorted in terror when she heard rocks falling into the water from outside the cave, followed by the rumbling sound of heavy footsteps.

A chuckle left the man's throat. "Better get moving or think of something fast because if that thing catches you, it'll eat you from limb from limb," he said as his lips curved into a sinister smile that sent shivers up her spine. After saying this, he disappeared in the blink of an eye, making her believe he was just another part of whatever this demon blood was doing to her.

Selena let out a tiny squeak when something weighing a ton lept down from above and slammed into the snow outside the cave. Her heart sank when she saw a massive shadow slowly approach the cave. She raced away from the entrance and chose to head to the passage closest to the left.

Relief washed over her when she saw a light up ahead. The second she made it outside, the bright light made her blink, and the moment she did, her heart pounded against her chest.

T-that can't be right. That's impossible! Selena thought when she was in the center of the clearing as if she had never jumped off the cliff.

She sucked in a shaky breath. Calm down; I should use my time away from that thing to try to summon my powers. He did say I was able to do it earlier, she thought, not believing she was actually considering what he said.

Selena closed her eyes. She blocked out her surroundings, allowing sweet silence to hug her. She pictured the sound of the water sloshing around her when she tried to swim upward earlier.

Her eyebrow twitched when the sound of running interrupted her concentration. She tried her hardest to ignore it and continue what she was doing.

"You have it. Now bring it forward," the man's voice danced around her mind like an uninvited guest.

Listening to his words, Selena extended her hand forward, only to be greeted by a blinding light that coated her vision in white.