There were only legends of forest guardians awakening,

  ancient beings tasked with restoring balance to the forest.

  Witnessing one in real-time was something that happened

  once in a lifetime, if you survived long enough to tell the

  story.

  And right now, that was the least of our problems.

  The guardian was moving fast, and it was heading straight

  for Tarnath. At this rate, it would reach the village long

  before we could. There was only one option. We had to

  intercept it and redirect its path, before it caused

  catastrophic damage.

  I glanced at Doug. No words were needed. He gave a firm

  nod, he was in.

  I turned to the others. “I understand if you want to bow

  out now. We completed the mission. But Doug and I are

  going after the guardian.”

  Ciara scoffed and strode toward me, a knowing grin on

  her face. “You really think that lowly of us?”

  Lloyd let out a breath, shaking his head. “You all are

  crazy, you know that.”

  It was decided.

  The ground trembled beneath us as we raced toward the

  danger, pushing against the flow of dozens of species

  fleeing in the opposite direction. Each step brought us

  closer to the growing roars and the deafening crash of

  trees falling like dominos.

  We had little intel to work with. The guardian’s form

  changed depending on where it awakened, meaning we

  had no idea what we were about to face.

  Doug spoke as we ran, giving us a crash course in

  survival.

  “Its biggest threat isn’t its firepower or abilities. It’s

  regeneration, almost instant. If we don’t expose its core,

  we won’t even scratch it.”

  I clenched my fists. Even though I was closer to my Eid

  now, we were fresh off a battle and running low on

  supplies.

  We had to be smart about this.

  Because this was going to be hell.

  We slowed as we neared the guardian’s domain. The

  forest here had been leveled, trees uprooted, soil torn

  apart, and not a single sign of life in sight. A dead zone.

  We split up to encircle our target, intending to apply

  pressure from all sides until an opportunity for a decisive

  strike appeared.

  Then, the guardian emerged.

  It crashed through the remaining trees, stepping into the

  destruction like it owned it. Its bark-covered body creaked

  with every movement, the deep grooves in its exterior

  resembling battle scars. From within its eye sockets, a

  glowing green light pulsed, radiating with ancient fury.

  The moment it spotted us, it roared, a thunderous sound

  that shook the earth beneath our feet. In response,

  humanoid wooden constructs rose from the ground like

  puppets with no strings. With only one directive, attack.

  With no sense of self-preservation, they charged.

  We deviated from our original formation. Doug and Ciara

  took the clones, holding them back while Lloyd and I

  focused on the guardian itself.

  The battlefield erupted into chaos.

  I summoned roots—larger, faster, more vicious than

  before. Four massive, tentacle-like vines lashed out,

  parrying and skewering the guardian. If one was

  destroyed, another emerged, stronger, fiercer, adapting.

  Lloyd moved like a missile, darting through the

  battlefield, his steam propelling him as he sliced through

  the guardian’s limbs and intercepted wooden branches

  before they could strike me from my blind spots.

  He was already replicating techniques we had just

  witnessed from the mirror beasts. Though not flawless,

  calling him a fast learner would be a massive

  understatement. He stumbled, caught himself and was

  adapting to trying techniques he’d just witnessed.

  Watching him adapt so quickly was both awe-inspiring

  and unnerving. It was as if he absorbed their abilities

  through sheer instinct alone. If he keeps this up, I can’t

  imagine how dangerous he’ll become.

  Doug and Ciara were in a war of their own. She alternated

  between crushing the clones with her gauntlets and

  obliterating them with her hammer, while Doug flipped

  between precise bow work and melee combat, his arrows

  were thinning the horde just enough to keep them from

  overwhelming them.

  But even they couldn’t hold out forever.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Lloyd had already severed the guardian’s arm and leg.

  But no core, only regeneration. Worse, the guardian was

  adapting to our synergy, swatting Lloyd away mid-attack

  and growing angrier. Its next roar rippled through my

  chest, raw and primal.

  More wooden clones emerged. Too many. I destroyed

  some, but for every one that fell, another replaced it. We

  needed time. A sinking feeling twisted in my gut. Heavier

  than fatigue, more primal. Something was wrong.

  Suddenly, everything around me vanished. I stood in a

  colorless void, surrounded by nothing but white…until I

  turned. Behind me stretched a vast, still lake—black and

  endless, like it swallowed light. It lapped at my heels,

  silent and watching.

  My body was still in the fight, I could feel it. But here,

  something else was moving.

  Something hungry.

  It edged towards me slow and deliberate. Not with

  footsteps…but with presence.

  Could this be my eid?

  I blinked—and I was back. The battle still raged. No time

  had passed. But the feeling lingered. Something had seen

  me.

  I needed to change how things were going soon.

  I had an idea, a risky one.

  No time for doubt. I reached into my pouch and threw out

  four thick seeds.

  The moment they hit the ground, the battlefield changed.

  From the soil, four massive carnivorous plants erupted,

  towering over everything. Their jagged mouths snapped

  open, revealing rows of serrated teeth dripping with thick

  sap. These weren’t just weapons, they were beasts. Just as

  aggressive as the guardian itself.

  Before bonding with my Eidolon, I never could’ve

  controlled them. They would’ve attacked

  indiscriminately.

  Now, they were mine.

  Two of them had clusters of smaller heads, snapping in all

  directions like hydra vines, while the other two had long,

  coiling tendrils, grabbing and crushing the wooden clones

  effortlessly.

  The battlefield tilted in our favor.

  Lloyd slashed through the guardian’s torso, and for a

  fleeting second—we saw it.

  The core.

  “Did you see that?” Lloyd landed next to me, steam rising

  from his blade. “Pelvis. Left side.”

  I relayed the info to Doug and Ciara. Doug was down to

  his last few arrows. Fatigue was setting in. We had one

  shot at this.

  I told Doug to be ready with his combustion arrows.

  While Lloyd and my plants held off the guardian, I

  focused on conjuring something I’d only theorized—

  never tested.

  I blocked out the battlefield.

  Blocked out the roars.

  Blocked out everything except what I needed to create.

  The ground trembled. Roots twisted together, spiraling

  upward, interlocking like muscle and bone. Wood

  hardened, groaning as it solidified.

  When I opened my eyes it was ready.

  Not a bow, a ballista.

  A massive organic siege weapon, mounted into the earth

  itself, its frame reinforced with layers of interwoven vines

  and roots, pulsing with energy.

  Doug’s combustion arrows had been fused into a single

  massive bolt, thick as a tree trunk, primed for one

  devastating shot.

  Doug gave the signal—a whistling arrow that streaked

  through the air, followed by a burst of glowing light,

  blinding the guardian for an instant.

  Lloyd saw the opening and vanished in a burst of steam,

  ricocheting around the battlefield like a phantom.

  Three slashes.

  The core was exposed.

  Doug’s voice cut through the chaos—“Cloud, now!”

  I gritted my teeth, gripping the massive vines wrapped

  around the ballista’s controls. It was too heavy to aim

  with just brute force—I had to guide it with my roots,

  weaving them through the mechanism to adjust the

  trajectory.

  The guardian was already starting to regenerate, only

  seconds away from sealing the core again.

  I breathed in.

  Then I let the bolt fly.

  Impact.

  A thunderous explosion rocked the battlefield, the force

  shattering the guardian’s core.

  The monster froze, its entire body locking up, that eerie

  green light in its eyes flickering. It let out one last

  whimpering roar before its massive frame crumbled,

  dissolving into the earth it once ruled.

  Silence.

  It was over.

  We’d won. The guardian was defeated.