The oppressive silence of the forest weighed on me like a shroud. Every step forward was met with the creak of strained wood, the crackle of unseen twigs snapping beneath my boots. My senses sharpened, body tensed, I didn't want to meet the creature that had made that sound.

Moving deeper into the dense brush, I snapped my gaze at every shifting shadow, every flicker of imagined movement. The forest remained unnaturally still. No chirping, no skittering —just an endless void of soundless tension. Then I saw it.

A footprint.

Embedded deep into the earth, far too large to belong to any human. It stretched before me, vast enough that I could lay within its boundaries and still not touch the edges. My breath hitched. Whatever left this mark wasn’t just big—it was massive.

I glanced down at my holo-watch, fingers flicking through its glowing interface. Port Lenning was only a mile away. The direction? The same as the creature’s path. My grip on my sword tightened. First the burning men, then the flying beast from before, and now… this. Whatever it was, it dwarfed the others.

Following the deep impressions, I pressed on. The trees seemed to lean closer with every step, their skeletal branches reaching for me like grasping fingers. The ground darkened, the canopy overhead knitting together so tightly that only ribbons of blood-red light seeped through, illuminating the forest floor in eerie patterns. Fallen trees and shattered rocks littered my path, each obstacle a testament to the sheer force of whatever passed through here.

The darkness thickened, swallowing my surroundings. I exhaled, pressing a button on my holo-watch. A small yet potent beam of white light flared to life, carving a path through the suffocating gloom.

That was when I saw it.

The footprints ended at the base of a towering tree. But where had the creature gone?

I hesitated, breath shallow. Something that large couldn’t just vanish. I tangled my watch upward, its glow revealing the gnarled bark of the tree. Then—

Two enormous, bulging black eyes peered down at me.

My blood ran cold. A face—grotesquely smooth, eerily infant-like—clung to the  massive trunk, blending perfectly with the bark. Its skin rippled, mimicking the rough texture of the wood, as though the tree itself had grown a cancerous, living tumor. Where a mouth should have been, a long, segmented proboscis hung like a grotesque appendage, twitching slightly as if sensing me.

I forced my hand toward my sword, inching my body around the tree, muscles coiled, ready to strike or flee. But as I rounded the trunk, I saw nothing the monster had not left its spot on the other side of the tree. Relief flooded me.

Then after making my way a bit further in the forest I held my breath and turned back.

And unlike before this side of the tree was no longer barren, the monster moved.

It  circled the trunk in perfect silence, its blackened eyes locked onto mine.

A rush of terror shot through me. Before I could react, it lunged.

The creature’s gangly limbs unfurled, its mouth opening impossibly wide to reveal concentric rings of serrated teeth. It was all bone and sinew, its pale, stretched skin barely clinging to its grotesque frame.

I threw myself to the side, sword slashing upward in desperation. My blade bit deep into its face, carving a long, oozing wound. A guttural groan rumbled from its throat—the same sound I had heard before.

I didn’t wait. I ran.

The forest erupted behind me as the creature pursued, its heavy limbs shaking the ground with every step. I weaved through the crooked trees, forcing my body through gaps barely wide enough to fit. My breath burned, my muscles screamed, but I didn’t dare slow.

Then—silence.

I risked a glance over my shoulder. Nothing. It had given up? No. That was impossible.

Turning forward, my stomach twisted in horror.

The creature stood directly ahead, waiting. Its elongated arms stretched wide as if ready to embrace me.

I had seconds to react. If I could sever its proboscis, it wouldn’t be able to bite. Maybe even scare it off. Gritting my teeth, I gripped my sword tighter and lunged.

My blade sliced through the air, severing the appendage with a sickening squelch. The creature recoiled, its mutilated mouth spilling thick, black blood onto the forest floor. A piercing, inhuman shriek tore through the trees as it thrashed in agony.

I didn’t wait to see what it would do next.

Breaking free of the treeline, I burst into a vast, open field filled only with tree stumps. Sunlight struck my eyes, momentarily blinding me. But I couldn’t stop. Port Lenning was close.

I sprinted through the field of stumps, every breath a ragged gasp. My mind screamed at me to look back, but I resisted—until I reached the outskirts of the town.

Slowly, I turned.

The creature stood at the edge of the forest, half-hidden behind a massive tree, watching me. Its wounded face still bled, yet it did not pursue. It only watched.

Waiting.

I swallowed hard. There was no time to dwell on its unnatural behavior. I had a mission to complete. And I was already behind schedule.