They entered the forest.
And with every step deeper into its depths, that feeling became increasingly clear.
At a certain point, the sounds around them abruptly faded, as though they had crossed an invisible boundary.
The air grew heavier.
More humid.
Less free.
Even the sunlight filtering through the towering canopy seemed weaker somehow—hesitant to reach the ground below.
“Strange…” Daron muttered.
He scanned his surroundings but saw nothing unusual.
Dense trees on every side.
The ground buried beneath a thick layer of decaying autumn leaves.
Intertwining shadows stretching between trunks.
And yet—
Everything felt different.
“Stop.”
His voice was calm, but firm.
The team froze.
Amy immediately turned toward him.
Nor halted mid-step.
Karl frowned.
“What now?”
Daron didn’t answer right away.
He was concentrating.
Closing his eyes—not to see, but to feel.
To listen with something that had nothing to do with ears.
There.
Something was moving.
Not a body crossing the ground.
Something deeper.
Something earlier.
Like an intention that existed before the action itself.
“Right side…
three.”
He slowly opened his eyes.
A tense moment of silence followed.
Then the wolves appeared.
Exactly where he had indicated.
Three large gray wolves emerged from between the trees with cautious confidence, their yellow eyes gleaming in the dim forest light.
The team’s expressions shifted.
Karl tightened his grip on his sword and glanced at Daron through narrowed eyes.
“Coincidence…”
But his tone lacked conviction.
Gene charged forward.
His massive steel shield transformed him into a moving wall.
The largest wolf slammed into it and bounced back without moving him even a single step.
At the same time, Karl moved elegantly from the side.
His blade flashed once.
A clean strike.
As for Daron—
He didn’t move immediately.
He watched.
Observed.
But not the wolves’ bodies.
Something behind them.
Beyond them.
Something that came first.
The first wolf lunged.
Before a single muscle in Daron’s body reacted—
He felt it.
Not with his eyes.
It was a sensation difficult to describe, as though something gently pushed him toward the correct direction.
His body moved on its own.
A slight shift to the right.
The wolf’s claws passed within an inch of his cheek.
Then he countered.
One direct slash.
The wolf collapsed.
His eyes widened.
“I…
didn’t think.”
The realization came quietly.
It wasn’t a calculated response.
Nor was it blind instinct.
It was something in between.
Something that existed in the gray space between perception and movement.
Another wolf circled behind him from the left.
Once again—
He felt it before he saw it. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
His mind seemed to hear something that made no sound.
He turned.
Raised his sword.
Blocked the attack.
Then thrust.
The wolf fell.
His breathing began to grow heavier.
“This…
isn’t normal.”
He glanced around.
The rest of the team was battling wolves emerging from deeper within the forest.
Steel clashed.
Air rushed.
Bodies moved.
Yet their reactions seemed slower.
Not because they were weak.
Because they waited to see.
They waited for information to reach them through their eyes.
Daron wasn’t waiting.
“Am I…
ahead of them?”
A wolf launched a silent attack from behind his right side.
Before it could reach him—
Daron moved.
He spun at the perfect moment.
A precise half-turn.
His sword rose.
The attack was blocked.
Then cut.
The wolf fell.
Silence filled his thoughts.
“I never saw it.”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“But I knew.”
He stepped back.
His hand trembled slightly.
A dull pulse of pain began throbbing behind his eyes.
“This feeling…”
He pressed a hand against his head.
“It’s like…
a voice.”
But without sound.
A wave without air.
A heartbeat without a heart.
“Daron!”
Amy’s voice cut through his thoughts.
Sharp.
Urgent.
He turned.
A large wolf was charging straight toward him, its head lowered for a direct attack.
But this time—
He didn’t move immediately.
He froze.
Just for an instant.
“Focus…”
He clenched his teeth.
“What exactly am I feeling?”
There.
The surge.
The intention.
The direction.
Before the wolf even took its next step, a decision already existed.
Something that came before movement.
Daron felt it.
And moved.
Confidently.
He dodged.
Then drove his blade forward.
A clean thrust.
The wolf dropped.
Everything inside him went still.
“I understand…”
Not completely.
But it was a beginning.
He returned to the fight.
Stopped trying to analyze.
He simply listened.
Listened to that strange sense.
Every wolf screamed before it attacked.
Not with sound.
With its will.
Its intent.
Its decision.
And Daron had begun hearing that silent scream.
The battle intensified.
More wolves emerged from the trees until their number finally matched the mission requirement.
The forest filled with noise.
Blood stained the thin layer of snow covering the ground.
Everyone’s breath rose as white mist into the cold air.
But for Daron—
Everything became clearer.
A wolf from the right.
He felt it.
Moved.
Dodged.
Countered.
A wolf from behind.
He felt it.
Dropped low.
Struck back.
Two at once.
A moment of confusion.
The pressure in his head intensified.
But he still moved.
One.
Then the second.
His breathing had become noticeably heavy.
“This…
is exhausting.”
Yet he didn’t stop.
“It’s their…
will.”
The word surfaced suddenly, as though it had always been there, waiting.
“I can…
feel their will.”
The battle ended.
Silence returned to the depths of the forest.
Daron stood still.
His body was tired.
His breathing uneven.
He looked down at the ground.
Then at his hands.
“What is this…?”
Slowly, he raised his head.
The team was staring at him.
Each in their own way.
Karl spoke first, unable to completely hide his astonishment.
“That wasn’t…
normal.”
Gene looked equally unconvinced.
“Are you sure you’re a beginner?”
Nor said nothing.
She simply watched.
Quietly.
With gray eyes that seemed to read far more than they ever spoke.
But Daron barely heard them.
His thoughts were elsewhere.
“If this…
feeling…”
He looked deeper into the forest.
“Then what’s beyond it?”
There.
Something stirred in the depths.
He felt it.
Stronger.
Heavier.
As though something much larger was breathing in the darkness.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Calm.
Certain.
“I haven’t even reached the beginning yet.”