"You sleep well?" Ekhis’s voice was low but steady, not bothering to glance up.

  Akira nodded, still unsure how to approach the situation. “I’m alive, so yeah. I’m alright.”

  Ekhis grunted in acknowledgment, pausing for a moment to examine his work. “Good.” The man’s voice was silent yet held a lot of power. “I’ll be finishing up soon, once this is done we can move on to the Mist Gate.”

  “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?” Akira asked, his voice quiet as if speaking too loudly might draw the jungle’s predators to them.

  Ekhis didn’t pause in his work, the rough stone in his hand scraping against the wood with measured precision. “Half a day, maybe less if we keep a steady pace. The jungle gets denser as we approach the Mist Gate, though. The Gate itself though, is in the middle of a clearing.”

  Akira frowned, his brow furrowing. "A clearing? That sounds... exposed. If there's a monster guarding it, wouldn't that put us at a huge disadvantage?"

  Ekhis chuckled dryly, shaking his head as he continued to shape the spear. "You're not wrong. That’s why I haven’t gone there again.”

  Akira shifted uneasily, glancing around the dense jungle. The idea of facing another deadly creature so soon made his stomach twist. "What kind of monster is it?"

  Ekhis paused, his expression darkened as silence lingered for a while. “It’s not particularly big in size, although it is very smart and cunning. It’s the worst kind of monster, much worse than the big monsters you see in the jungle. I was lucky to escape alive from it.”

  He pulled up his tunic, the soft material offering no resistance as it revealed a scar that pierced through the man’s lower abdomen.

  Akira’s eyes narrowed, it wasn’t something most monsters would do, it was too clean to be from fangs or claws tearing flesh.

  The dark haired boy’s gray eyes lingered on the scar, his mind racing to understand its origin. It was a small, clean wound, almost surgical in appearance, like a blade had pierced through the man's flesh rather than a beast.

  The scar had healed, but the edges were still faintly raised, the tissue around it taut, as though the injury had been recent enough to leave its mark on Ekhis’s body.

  Ekhis caught Akira’s gaze and gave a grim smile. "Yeah, that’s from the monster I’m talking about. It doesn't use brute force like the others. It’s more... strategic. It waits, it watches, and it strikes when you least expect it." His fingers lightly traced the scar as he spoke, almost absently. “I was careless. I had finally found a way out, and then it ripped my hopes apart.”

  Akira took a step back, deciding it was best to stay out of Ekhis’s way for now.

  He found a spot nearby, his eyes scanning the jungle, every rustle of leaves, every movement of shadow setting him on edge. His body was rested, but his mind wouldn’t rest. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, not when the most dangerous thing they’d faced was still waiting for them.

  The minutes stretched on, each one feeling heavier than the last. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Ekhis stood, holding the newly crafted spear. It was crude but effective, long and sturdy, the stone, the same one Akira had on him when he met Ekhis, affixed to the end gleamed in the morning light.

  “Catch.” The bearded man said before tossing Akira his brand new weapon, and taking up his own. “We’re ready to go.”

  Akira caught the spear, the rough wood fitting comfortably in his hands. The stone tip gleamed, sharp and ready, though the weapon’s crude design still left Akira wondering if it could even harm such a monster. But there was no time to dwell on that now.

  The path to the Mist Gate lay ahead, and the promise of an exit, however uncertain, was enough to keep him focused.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Thanks.” Akira muttered, adjusting his grip on the spear. He glanced at Ekhis, who was already scanning the jungle ahead, his eyes alert, every sense tuned to the environment.

  “Let’s move.” Ekhis said, his voice low but commanding.

  The jungle around them was alive with the sounds of morning, birds calling out in the distance, insects buzzing, and the occasional rustle of something moving through the underbrush.

  They began walking, the dense foliage parting before them as they made their way deeper into the jungle. Akira kept his eyes on the ground, avoiding roots and uneven patches of earth, his ears straining for any sign of movement.

  He felt the weight of his new spear in his hands, a reminder of the looming danger, but it also gave him a small sense of control, something to defend himself with.

  Ekhis led the way, his movements fluid and efficient. He didn’t speak much, but the occasional glance he shot Akira suggested he was aware of the boy’s unease.

  Every so often, Ekhis would pause, crouch, and inspect the ground, checking for tracks or any signs of predators in the area.

  Akira followed suit, mimicking the older man’s careful steps, though his mind kept drifting back to the monster Ekhis had described, just could such a cruel monster look like? Would he even see it? After all, if it’s as ruthless and smart as Ekhis described it, it could kill him before he could even get the chance to lay eyes on it.

  …

  With each step they took, the sun climbed higher and higher, until it was a little ways past noon.

  It wasn’t long before the jungle began to shift again.

  The trees gave way to a vast clearing, just as Ekhis had described. Akira’s heart pounded in his chest as he stepped into the open space, his eyes immediately scanning the edges of the clearing for any signs of movement.

  The Mist Gate itself was nothing like what Akira had imagined. It wasn’t something grandiose or overwhelmingly terrifying.

  Instead, it was an ancient stone structure, covered in moss and grass as if it had been there for decades, with carvings of forgotten symbols that seemed to pulse faintly with a golden light. It stood in the center of the clearing, and in it a thick, gray mist, cascading from the top of the stone to the ground, swirling around as if it were alive.

  Near the structure stood another, smaller structure. It looked to be a strange gathering of rocks piled up in an oval shape, its length the size of a single person bed and so was its width.

  “What’s that?” Akira asked, a little confused by the second structure.

  Ekhis’s eyes darkened. “I don’t know, kid.”

  Akira’s eyes flickered between the Mist Gate and the pile of rocks, a feeling of unease settling over him. The gray mist seemed to swirl almost hypnotically, as if it had a life of its own. His grip on the spear tightened, his senses sharpening, as every nerve screamed that something was wrong.

  “Alright kid, you take the lead and I’ll cover our asses, the monster won’t strike until we’re close to the Mist Gate. You’ll pass through it first and I’ll follow directly after.”

  The thin boy took his first step, and it was quickly followed by another and another.

  Akira’s breath came in shallow bursts as he took step after careful step toward the Mist Gate. The air around him grew thick with the swirling gray mist, the scent of damp earth and decaying vegetation filling his nostrils.

  He could feel the weight of the spear in his hands, though it gave him little comfort against the rising sense of dread.

  However despite how close he got, the monster did not come.

  “Are you sure there’s even a monster here, Ekhis?” Akira asked, not bothering to turn around to face the older man.

  In that moment he got close to the Mist Gate, maybe five meters or so away before a voice popped into his mind.

  It wasn’t just any other voice, it was soft and gentle, like a small angel whispering into his ear. “Congratulations on reaching the Mist Gate hunter, in order to achieve passage, you must meet the condition to pass.” It was the same voice he heard when he woke up, but what did it mean? What did it mean, complete one condition?

  “Take the life of another hunter.”

  Suddenly he felt something hot piercing through his back.

  Akira looked down slowly at his stomach to see the tip of Ekhis’s spear. How did it get there?

  Wait...

  The boy’s breath became shaky, coming out in hurried bursts and his knees weakened.

  Ekhis stood behind him, his face unreadable, his hand still gripping the spear's haft. “Sorry kid, it was either you or me.” The man pulled his spear out of the boy’s body with a sickening squelching sound of Akira’s blood and flesh.

  Akira’s knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground, his breath shallow and ragged. Pain radiated from the wound in his chest, sharp and burning. His vision blurred as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

  Ekhis stood above him, his expression cold and unreadable, the weapon still clutched tightly in his hand. The mist swirling around them seemed to pulse with an eerie rhythm, as if it were feeding off Akira’s confusion and fear. The world around him seemed to grow distant, like he was trapped in a dream from which he couldn’t wake.