The speed in which Arin's and Kael have started running to get to the top side of the beast was so strong.“I must complete this.” Arin said as he kept running.Suddenly, the system notification appeared, its interface unfolding in his vision with unusual clarity, more detailed than before, almost as if it had recalibrated its own urgency in response to the forest’s behavior.SYSTEM UPDATE“Navigation instability detected.”“Route integrity: 31%”“Recommended direction: recalculating…”“Warning: current trajectory may not lead to target entity.”Arin’s steps did not slow at first. His body moved on instinct, pushing forward through broken terrain and fractured air currents that seemed to shift whenever he tried to focus on them. The forest around him still looked consistent at a glance, but now, under the system’s warnings, he began to notice subtle contradictions.The path he had chosen earlier—what he was certain was forward movement—no longer aligned with the internal directional m

Varyn’s hand hovered in the air as he stood still, his eyes scanning the thick, suffocating layers of Darkveil Forest. The trees loomed unnaturally close on every side now, as if the forest itself was narrowing its space around them, forcing them into uncertainty.He slowly pointed toward the right.“This way,” Varyn said firmly. “The ground markings are slightly fresher here. If Arin passed through, it’s more likely he went deeper from this angle.”Lyra immediately shook her head, stepping back and pointing in the opposite direction.“No,” she countered sharply. “You’re wrong. The distortion in the soil pattern shows heavier energy displacement on the left side. That’s where the trail bends.”Varyn frowned.“That’s not a trail, Lyra. That’s a misleading pressure shift. You’re interpreting interference as direction.”“And you’re ignoring the energy residue,” she snapped back. “We are not guessing in here, Varyn. We are reading what the forest is showing us.”Varyn exhaled sharply, fru

Arin had been running faster than before, leaving no trace behind him except broken leaves and disturbed silence. The forest swallowed his movement as if trying to erase even the idea that he had passed through it. But even in that speed, there was no clarity, no final answer, no place where he could settle his thoughts. Everything inside him felt divided, torn between what he wanted to chase and what was calling him back.“If I go back, I might be stuck by my own decisions. What will I do?” he asked himself again, slower now, his steps finally stopping beneath a tall tree. His chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to steady his breathing. The question didn’t leave him. It lingered like something alive inside his mind, pressing harder every time he tried to ignore it. It made him upset, not just because of confusion, but because he knew there was no simple escape from either direction.“My glory might still not find me. Not even what I am pursuing. I really need to make things work

Lyra and Varyn had barely stepped back into the stronghold before the weight of what they had just heard settled fully on their shoulders. The journey home, which should have brought relief and a brief moment of peace, instead delivered chaos wrapped in bloodless war signals. The news of Arin’s men being captured by Kael’s forces, and Sereth’s return from what was believed to be death, turned everything upside down.The hall was quiet after the guard’s revelation. His chest still heaved as though he had run through fire itself just to deliver the message. Varyn stood motionless for a moment, his jaw tight, eyes narrowed as he processed the words again in his mind.“Sereth…” he repeated slowly, almost as if testing whether the name still carried weight in the living world. “I thought he died that very day.”The guard swallowed hard. “He was saved by an unknown man… but he killed him afterward. He is alive, my lord. And he leads Kael’s men now.”A cold silence spread across the room.Ly

A violent roar exploded across the ridge as one of the beasts lunged from the darkness.Arin barely reacted in time.The creature crashed into the rock formation where he had been standing moments earlier, stone erupting outward from the impact. Dust burst into the air while deep claw marks tore through solid rock like paper.Arin rolled sideways, his boots grinding hard against the uneven ground before he forced himself upright again.Then he finally saw it clearly.The beast was massive.Its body resembled a wolf twisted by something unnatural. Black armored fur covered its frame while jagged bones protruded along its spine like sharpened blades. Its eyes glowed with a deep crimson light, and every breath escaping its mouth carried heat like smoke from burning metal.Another growl emerged behind him.Then another.Arin’s expression hardened.Three of them.The system immediately reacted.SYSTEM ALERT: HOSTILE BEAST UNITS CONFIRMEDTHREAT LEVEL: EXTREMERECOMMENDED ACTION: SURVIVEAr