The wyvern’s body collapsed with a heavy thud, its wings twitching once before going still.
The forest quieted around them.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
The tension from the battle lingered in the air, mixing with the metallic scent of blood.
Lujum was the first to break.
“…We actually did it.”
Morjor let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.
“Barely.”
Bruknash lowered his weapon, wiping the edge clean against a nearby root.
His eyes moved from the fallen wyvern to Kaizer.
“You didn’t hesitate,” he said.
Kaizer didn’t respond.
His gaze was fixed deeper into the forest, unfocused, as though he were listening for something no one else could hear.
Rujark stepped forward, planting his spear firmly into the ground.
“That’s enough,” he said.
“We head back.”
Lujum immediately groaned.
“Already?
We just got started.”
“You got lucky,” Rujark replied.
“Don’t confuse that with readiness.”
Morjor nodded.
“He’s right.
That thing almost tore your head off.”
“It didn’t,” Lujum shot back.
“It tried.”
“That’s still a win.”
“That’s not how that works.”
Bruknash ignored them and glanced around the group again.
Something about the moment felt off.
The quiet wasn’t just from the aftermath of battle.
It was something else.
He frowned slightly.
“…Wait.”
Morjor turned toward him.
“What?”
Bruknash’s eyes scanned the group again, slower this time.
“…Where’s she?”
The conversation stopped immediately.
Lujum blinked.
“What do you mean?”
Morjor looked around.
“…She was just here.”
Rujark’s expression hardened.
He counted silently, eyes moving from one face to the next.
Then again.
More carefully.
His grip on the spear tightened.
“…She’s missing.”
The weight of those words sank in instantly.
Lujum shook his head.
“No.
That’s not possible.”
“She wouldn’t just wander off,” Morjor said, her voice sharper now.
Bruknash nodded.
“She was right behind us before we engaged the wyvern.”
Rujark didn’t answer right away.
That silence said more than anything else.
Kaizer stood still, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He wasn’t panicking.
He wasn’t confused.
But there was something else in his expression.
Concern.
Quiet, focused concern.
Where could she be?
His thoughts began to turn rapidly.
What is the fastest way to find her?
How can I help?
His hand tightened around the handle of his axe.
We can’t lose her.
He looked toward the deeper parts of the forest.
Where would she go?
Is she hurt?
A faint pressure built in his chest.
What if we’re already too late?
His breathing sharpened slightly.
I need to hurry.
Behind him, Bruknash spoke again.
“We should split up.
Groups of two.
Cover more ground.”
Rujark shook his head immediately.
“No.”
Bruknash frowned.
“We’ll find her faster that way.”
“We’ll lose more people that way,” Rujark replied, his tone firm.
He stepped forward, his voice taking on a commanding edge.
“Listen carefully.
No one separates from the group.”
He pointed back in the direction of the settlement.
“You will all return to the village.
Now.”
Lujum opened his mouth to argue.
Rujark cut him off.
“I will look for her.”
The authority in his voice made it clear this was not up for discussion.
Morjor hesitated, then nodded slowly.
“…Alright.”
Bruknash didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue.
“…Fine.”
Rujark continued.
“You follow the same path we took to get here.
Stay together. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Don’t stop.”
He turned slightly, preparing to move.
Then paused.
Something felt off.
Too quiet.
Too…
He turned back.
Kaizer was gone.
For a brief second, no one reacted.
Then…
“…Kaizer?” Bruknash said.
The only answer was the faint sound of footsteps, already fading into the distance.
Rujark’s expression darkened instantly.
“…Damn it.”
He turned sharply toward the group.
“No one else moves from here.”
His voice dropped, controlled but edged with anger.
“You stay together and head back immediately.”
Lujum swallowed.
“…What about you?”
“I’ll handle it.”
Bruknash stepped forward.
“He’s just a kid…”
“And that is exactly why you are not following him,” Rujark snapped.
The tone shut him down immediately.
Rujark took one last look at the group, making sure they understood.
“Back to the settlement.
No detours.”
He didn’t wait for a response.
The moment he turned— he moved.
The ground barely registered his steps.
He surged forward through the forest, bouncing from tree to tree with explosive force.
Branches snapped under his weight, leaves scattering in his wake.
His speed was not graceful.
It was violent.
Relentless.
Like a wounded beast that refused to stop moving.
Creatures hidden in the forest scattered as he passed.
Birds took flight in bursts.
Smaller animals fled into the undergrowth.
Rujark didn’t slow down.
His eyes scanned the terrain rapidly.
Where did you go, boy… He pushed harder, leaping upward.
For a brief moment, he broke through the canopy.
From above, he saw him.
Kaizer.
Running straight ahead.
No hesitation.
No wandering.
A direct path.
Rujark’s eyes narrowed.
That’s not possible.
This was Kaizer’s first time this deep into the forest.
There was no way he should know where to go.
And yet, he wasn’t guessing.
He wasn’t searching.
He was moving like he already knew.
Rujark dropped back into the forest, landing silently this time.
His pace slowed, controlled, measured.
He kept his distance.
Watching, following, without revealing himself.
Kaizer ran without stopping.
His breathing was steady.
His focus sharp, he didn’t question where he was going.
He didn’t need to.
It felt…
right.
He slowed as the trees began to thin.
A clearing opened ahead.
And at its center, a cave.
Kaizer came to a stop.
His eyes fixed on the entrance.
Something about it felt wrong.
The rock curved inward unnaturally, like it had grown instead of being carved.
The darkness inside didn’t look like ordinary shadow.
It felt deeper.
He stepped closer, the ground near the entrance was damp, the air was thick, moldy.
There was a faint smell of something old.
Something that had been there too long.
Kaizer frowned slightly.
She’s here.
He closed his eyes.
This time, he did it on purpose.
He inhaled deeply.
The world fell away.
Color disappeared.
The forest became a hollow outline of itself.
Grey.
Black.
Empty.
Then he saw it, the same trail that he followed all the way to the front of the cave is now leading inside.
Not clean.
Not solid.
Like smeared paint dragged across reality.
Gold.
It stretched forward into the cave.
Deeper.
Far deeper than the entrance portrayed!
Kaizer’s eyes opened.
“…She’s inside.”
“Stop right there.”
Rujark landed between Kaizer and the cave, the force of it sending dust outward.
His expression was sharp.
Controlled.
But there was clear anger beneath it.
“How did you know to come this way?” Rujark asked.
Kaizer blinked once.
“…I just did.”
“That’s not an answer.” Rujark responded.
Kaizer frowned slightly.
“I can’t really explain it.”
Rujark took a step closer.
Towering over the boy like an absolute immovable object that looms over something less than.
“Boy, you better start explaining while I still have control of my patience.”
Kaizer hesitated for a moment.
Then spoke.
“I was thinking about finding her.”
Rujark didn’t interrupt.
“I kept asking myself what the fastest way was.
How I could help.
Where she could be.”
He glanced toward the cave.
“Then everything else just… faded.”
Rujark narrowed his eyes.
“…When you close your eyes?”
Kaizer nodded.
“…Yeah.”
“What do you see?” Asked Rujark
Kaizer paused.
Trying to find the words.
“The world looks different.”
He gestured slightly.
“Everything is dark.
Grey.
Like shadows.”
Rujark stayed silent.
Listening carefully.
“And the thing I’m looking for…”
Kaizer’s voice lowered slightly.
“…it shows up in a different color.”
“What color?”
“Gold.
Sometimes yellow.” Replied Kaizer
Rujark’s expression shifted.
Concern.
Recognition.
“…I see.”
Kaizer looked at him.
“You’ve seen something like that before?”
Rujark exhaled slowly.
“In a way.” Rujark replied.
He tapped his temple lightly.
“Each member of the tribe has something we call an ability.”
Kaizer blinked.
“…An ability?”
Rujark nodded.
“Something unique to them.
Something that fits how they fight.”
He glanced toward the forest briefly.
“In my case, I can see farther than most.
I notice things others miss.”
Kaizer looked at him with interest.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Most don’t need to.
I call my ability ἐγρήγορος φύλαξ”
Rujark looked back at him.
“…What would you call yours?”
Kaizer froze, he thought.
Hard.
Too hard.
For a moment, it looked like his head might actually hurt from thinking.
Then…
“…Surround sense.”
Rujark raised an eyebrow.
“I can sense everything around me when I focus,” Kaizer said.
“It makes sense.”
Rujark nodded once.
“…Surround sense, then.”
Silence settled between them for a moment.
Rujark looked toward the cave again.
“So that ability led you here?”
“…Yes.”
Another pause.
“…Then we’re going in.”
Kaizer looked at him.
“But you stay close to me,” Rujark added.
His tone sharpened slightly.
“The last thing I need is that fat head Humbaba breathing down my neck about where you disappeared to.”
Kaizer grinned faintly.
“…Of course.”
Rujark turned toward the cave.
“…Stay sharp.”
They stepped inside.
The air within was thick and damp, clinging to every breath.
The ground was uneven beneath their feet.
The darkness stretched deeper than it should have.
And somewhere ahead, that golden trail continued.
Leading them further into the unknown.
In Greek, ἐγρήγορος φύλαξ in English is Egrēgoros Phylax.
Both of which mean watcher.
Put the together and you have a spiritual sentinel watcher