The group woke up to the dim glow of morning light filtering through the canopy. The air was damp, and the faint scent of decay lingered.

  As the group stirred awake, the weight of exhaustion was evident in their sluggish movements. The tension from the previous day still clung to them like a heavy fog. Their supplies were dwindling, their morale even more so.

  Diego was the first to stand, his sharp gaze scanning their surroundings. "We move soon," he said simply. No one argued.

  Rain stretched his sore limbs, feeling the stiffness settle into his bones. His mind lingered on st night's conversation with Emily. He stole a gnce at Diego, who was already checking his bde. The man had barely slept, if at all.

  Emily sat nearby, running her fingers through her tangled hair. Her expression was unreadable, though Rain could sense the unease in her posture.

  As the group packed up, one of the men muttered, "We're running low on food." His voice cked the energy to sound truly concerned, just tired.

  Diego nodded. "We'll look for something on the way."

  They continued south, eyes scanning for anything edible—fruits, animals, but there was nothing. The deeper they went, the more fruitless their search had became. The forest was dense, yet devoid of anything useful.

  They walked for hours, but no matter how far they went, they found nothing of worth.

  Grayson exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair. "We've been walking for hours, and what do we have to show for it? Nothing. No food, no water—just more damned trees." He kicked at a stray branch, his frustration barely restrained. "At this rate, we’ll starve before we even make it out of here."

  Diego gnced at Grayson but kept his voice steady. "We’ll find something. This forest is unpredictable, but it’s not barren. We just have to keep moving."

  Grayson’s tone was firm as he asked, "And if we don’t find anything?"

  Rain, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. "Compining won’t put food in our hands. If we’re starving, we just have to work harder to find something before it’s too te." He met Grayson’s gaze. "We’ve made it this far. We’re not dropping dead now."

  Grayson lifted his head and when he was about to respond, he suddenly froze. His gaze locked onto the trees, his expression shifting from frustration to sheer terror. The others followed his line of sight, and their breath caught.

  The trees were changing.

  The air grew heavy, thick with an unnatural stillness. The trees around them changed—leaves curling inward, their color draining to a lifeless gray. The sight was all too familiar.

  A hush fell over the group, tension crackling in the air. Then, they felt it—deep tremors rippling through the ground beneath their feet. Something massive was moving.

  A sound followed, one that sent a chill down their spines. It was deep, eerie, like waves crashing against jagged cliffs, yet yered with the chime of a distant, sorrowful bell. The moment it reached them, their bodies seized up, an instinctual fear gripping their limbs.

  They had experienced the same event happening before their eyes once already.

  The Withered Canopy

  As the group instinctively took a step back, they saw it.

  A towering creature loomed over them, its massive form blending eerily with the withered trees. Its many eyes gleamed with an amber glow, unblinking and alien. Its gray skin had the rough, gnarled texture of bark, making it seem as though the forest itself had birthed it.

  It was a Guardsman

  Its many eyes locked onto them, their amber glow intensifying. The light spilled across the forest floor, illuminating the group as if caught in a spotlight.

  Diego’s voice wavered, caught between urgency and disbelief. It wasn’t a shout, nor a whisper—just a single word, heavy with the weight of inevitability.

  “Run.”

  And in that instant, the forest exploded into motion.

  Rain funneled all his essence into his legs, the surge of power propelling him forward in an instant. The ground blurred beneath him as he burst into motion, his instincts overriding any lingering hesitation as he ran away.

  Rain looked back and saw the group scattering in all directions. His breath caught as the towering creature advanced, each step sending tremors through the ground. Its massive form loomed over one of their own—the elderly man they had saved before, the one from Bryan's group. The same old man Rain had spoken to before the expedition began.

  The old man was weak and slow, while the guardsmen moved with unnatural speed. As he tried to flee, his foot caught on a rock, and he stumbled, crashing to the ground.

  The old man let out a cry. Rain was too far to hear it, but he could read the words on his lips—Help me.

  Then, the creature's massive foot came down. There was no sound, no crunch that reached Rain’s ears. Just the sight of the old man vanishing beneath it.

  Rain turned away and looked forward, he was disgusted—disgusted at the world.

  ‘He was a sacrifice.’

  Rain clenched his fists as he ran, forcing himself not to look back. The old man’s death wasn’t just inevitable—it was necessary. A sacrifice. One life so the rest could flee.

  If it hadn’t been him, it would’ve been someone else. Maybe even Rain himself.

  ‘That’s all survival is, isn’t it? A constant exchange. A game where the stakes are lives, and the only rule is to keep moving.’

  ‘The weak fall so the strong can walk forward. The slow are left behind so the faster can outrun death. It’s not cruel. It’s not evil. It just is.’

  Survival demanded sacrifice. It always had. And if Rain had to weigh a stranger’s life against his own, if it meant his best chance to escape, then there was no question.

  Rain felt the weight of it all settle in his chest—sorrow, guilt, but no regret. The old man’s death was cruel, unfair, but necessary. A sacrifice so the rest of them could flee. A sacrifice so he could live.

  ‘If I stopped for him, maybe I would’ve been the one under that foot. Maybe someone else would’ve had to make that choice, to leave me behind. Would they hesitate? Would they mourn me?’

  ‘No. They would keep running. Just like I did. Because that's what survival demands.’

  He clenched his fists, forcing himself to keep moving. He hated this. Hated that it had to be this way. But what choice did he have? If he had stopped, if he had tried to help, he would’ve died too. And then what? Another wasted life. Another broken body left behind in this merciless forest.The moment you stopped to mourn, to falter, was the moment you died.

  And Rain wasn’t ready to die.

  ‘He was a sacrifice. A cost paid for the rest of us to move forward.’

  ‘For me to move forward.’

  ‘I’ll carry this weight. But I won’t stop. Not for him. Not for anyone.’

  Guilt gnawed at him, but he swallowed it down. He had no regrets, none at all.

  The old man was dead. But Rain was still running. That was all that mattered.

  Rain could feel the tremors from the creature’s steps growing weaker. The further he ran, the fainter they became, like distant thunder rolling away.

  As he ran, the gray trees gradually regained their color, fading back to green. The oppressive atmosphere that had gripped the forest began to loosen its hold, yet the weight in Rain’s chest remained.

  Rain ran for what felt like an eternity, his legs burning with exhaustion, yet he didn’t dare stop. Only when the st traces of gray faded from the leaves did he finally halt, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths.

  He turned, scanning the trees. No figures emerged from the shadows, no voices called out to him.

  He was alone for the very first time in this forest.

  "I ran, I survived. But now... I'm alone." Rain talked to himself, his breathing heavy.

  He looked back at the direction he ran from.

  'I don't know where I am anymore.'

  His gaze stayed fixed on that path.

  'Did the others get away? Or did that thing get them?'

  He looked at the surrounding area, noticing how the light was starting to fade. Night was approaching.

  ‘I need to move. Standing here thinking about them won’t change anything.’

  His gaze dropped to the ground, covered in fallen leaves and scattered sticks.

  ‘I survived. Now, I just have to keep surviving.’

  He gathered the leaves and sticks from the ground, selecting a few sturdier ones and carving them down to use as a fire starter. He had never started a fire from scratch before, but on the first day of the expedition, he had watched the others do it. Now, it was his turn to try.

  Rain knelt on the forest floor, arranging the dry leaves and smaller twigs into a loose pile. He picked out a sturdy stick and a ft piece of wood, carving a small groove into it using his dagger.

  ‘This should work…’

  He set the stick in the groove and began to twist it between his palms, his hands moving faster as friction built up. At first, there was nothing—just the dull scrape of wood against wood. His arms ached, but he forced himself to keep going.

  Minutes passed. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Then, a thin wisp of smoke curled up from the groove. His heart pounded. He leaned in, blowing gently, coaxing the ember to life. The dried leaves darkened, then suddenly, a flicker of orange.

  A spark.

  Rain carefully fed it with more twigs, shielding it from the faint wind. The fme grew, crackling softly in the dimming light.

  He sat back, watching the fire take hold. It wasn’t much, but it was warmth, it was light. More than anything, it was proof—proof that he was still alive.

  Rain stared into the flickering fmes, the warmth brushing against his skin, but his mind was elsewhere.

  ‘I can’t stay here for long…’

  He gnced at the trees around him, their green leaves swaying gently. The forest had returned to normal, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Other monsters were still out there, somewhere.

  ‘I need to find the others. If they survived, they’re probably thinking the same thing.’

  Rain sank deeper into thought.

  ‘South. We were heading south before that thing showed up. If Diego and Emily made it out, they’d try to regroup in that direction…’

  He exhaled slowly. It was a gamble, but staying in one pce was worse.

  His fingers idly traced the hilt of his sword. Water wasn’t an issue—he could make some with essence—but food, on the other hand…

  ‘I’ll have to start hunting soon.’

  Hunting was an option, but chasing prey burned too much energy. He had never made traps before, but he needed something efficient—something that wouldn’t exhaust him before he even caught a meal.

  'I've hunted before, chased down prey… but I've never made traps.' Rain exhaled, watching the fire flicker. 'I'll give it a try tomorrow.'