Evening settled over the forest like a slow-moving shadow.

The Night Hunters had searched the forest for hours… but found nothing.

Near the destroyed transport, a Night Hunter mage approached Ravenn, shoulders tense.

“Sire… it’s almost evening,” the mage said.
“We’ve found no clue. Our weapons are drained, and that boy destroyed our fuel reserves. We must retreat. We need to reach our base before nightfall.”

He lowered his voice.

“We can’t survive the night in the forest. Our men are exhausted.”

Ravenn’s jaw clenched.
His visor glowed faintly as he thought.

“…We have no choice,” he finally said.
“Retreat. We’ll find them later.”

The Night Hunters pulled back, disappearing into the distance as the last sliver of sunlight dimmed.

Inside the Underground Shelter

Ashren lifted his head.

“It’s almost evening,” he said.
“We can’t stay here forever… and we can’t go back to the village.”

He looked toward the sealed hatch.

“We need to go somewhere safe before nightfall. You stay here—I’ll go check if they’re still nearby.”

The princess grabbed his wrist.

“Wait.”

She unfastened the silver bracelet from her arm and placed it gently into Ashren’s hand.

“Take this.”

Ashren blinked. “Your bracelet?”

“It’s imbued with tracking magic,” she said.
“It belonged to my mother. It reacts to Night Hunters. If any are near us… it glows.”

Ashren looked at her, stunned by the trust.
“…Thank you.”

He slipped the bracelet on and climbed out of the shelter.

The forest above was quiet.

The bracelet remained dull—no glow.

Ashren moved carefully, checking the trees, the ground, the sound of the wind.

Clear.

He returned to the shelter.

“It seems they left,” Ashren said.
“The bracelet didn’t react once.”

The princess let out a tired breath.
“…Good.”

Ashren nodded.
“We need to move quickly. I grabbed some fruit while checking around. You didn’t eat anything earlier, right? We’ll need strength to travel.”

They shared the fruit in silence.
Then, without wasting time, they climbed out of the shelter and began moving away from the ruins of Edger.

Heading North

The sun was sinking—its crimson glow stretching over the trees.

Ashren hurried ahead.

“There’s another village north of here,” he said.
“My friends mentioned it once. If we move fast, we can reach it before dark.”

The princess kept pace, dodging stones and roots.

They followed a narrow path along a clear-water canal.
The fading sunlight reflected off the surface like molten gold.

Ashren paused for just a moment, staring at his reflection.

“Whoa… I’ve never seen the water look like this.”

But the moment didn’t last.

“Come on,” he said, pointing toward a small wooden bridge.
“We have to cross.”

The princess suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

“Ashren—don’t go near the water.”

Before he could ask why, a small fish burst from the surface, snapping another fish in its jaws before diving back down.

Ashren’s eyes widened.
“Okay… good point.”

They crossed quickly.

Trees thickened around them, rocks rising on both sides—a natural valley.

Then they froze.

Two lines of shapeless, small monsters shuffled across the valley path, moving like a silent parade. Their goo-like forms sloshed with every step.

Ashren whispered, “It’s not even fully dark yet… why are they out?”

The princess’s voice shook slightly.

“These smaller ones… they come early. They gather in groups before their night hunt.”

The last creature in the line suddenly turned—
Two empty, hollow eye-spots locked onto them.

Ashren’s blood ran cold.

“Oh, no—RUN!”

The creature shrieked and charged toward them.

Ashren grabbed a large rock and hurled it.
The rock slammed into the creature, splattering part of its body.

The monster shrieked louder—an awful, echoing sound.

Ashren winced.
“Ugh! That noise! But it’s slow—we can outrun it!”

They sprinted through the valley, dodging boulders and roots, finally breaking free into open rock terrain.

They didn’t stop running until the monster’s shrieks faded in the distance.

Panting, they leaned against a stone wall.

The princess lifted her head.
“Ashen… look!”

Up ahead, tucked between rocks, a faint light shimmered.

They approached it cautiously.

There was an entrance, carved into the rock—glowing faintly from within, like someone lit torches inside.

Ashren stepped closer.

“A cave? No… something else.”

The princess’s eyes widened the moment she saw the carvings around the door.

“Oh no…” she whispered.

Her voice trembled.

“This is not good…”

To be continued…

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