The next morning, the group woke before dawn.
As the first hints of sunlight appeared beyond the treetops, Zyon quietly left camp and settled in a small clearing overlooking the jungle. Crossing his legs, he closed his eyes and faced the horizon while the rising sun gradually climbed into view.
Over the past week, this had become his ritual. He welcomed the warmth against his skin, letting it flow through him while he sank deeper into meditation.
Sometimes his eyes remained closed.
Other times, with growing confidence, he stared directly into the brilliant light for a few moments, feeling as though something within him responded to it.
Nearby, Lorenzo meditated beneath a tree while Hound sat sharpening a knife and keeping watch over both boys.
When the session ended, they gathered their belongings and strapped on their Ironback backpacks. Lorenzo nearly disappeared beneath his shell, making him look like a turtle standing upright, though years of training allowed him to carry it without much effort.
"You know," Lorenzo said while adjusting the straps, "if things go badly, I could probably hide inside this thing."
Shaking his head, Hound shouldered his own pack and looked north. "Shallow Cross is still six to eight weeks away. Maybe less, maybe more. The jungle gets a vote too."
His expression hardened slightly. "Our priorities remain the same. We grow stronger, gather Ether-cores, and improve our equipment. We avoid anything above Level 3 whenever possible, and if I tell you to run..."
"We run," Zyon and Lorenzo answered together.
They gathered their things and then pressed deeper into the jungle.
The farther they traveled from the waterfall, the thicker the vegetation became. Massive roots twisted across the forest floor while hanging vines formed natural walls between ancient trees. Sunlight struggled to reach the ground beneath the dense canopy, forcing them to rely on their weapons rather than waste Heka cutting through every obstacle.
The air grew heavy and humid, sticking to their clothes and turning even a simple walk into a workout.
Hours passed before the jungle suddenly opened up.
Trees stood farther apart here, allowing pale shafts of sunlight to spill across the clearing. Yet instead of feeling welcoming, the place felt wrong.
Too quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
No movement.
Hound stopped so abruptly that Lorenzo nearly walked into him. "We're being watched."
The words came out barely above a whisper.
Immediately, all three scanned the surrounding forest.
Nothing.
The silence stretched, and a faint crack echoed from somewhere overhead.
Lorenzo looked up first. "Above us!" he yelled.
The canopy exploded.
Hundreds of monkey-like creatures dropped from the treetops at once, smashing through branches and crashing toward them in a tide of red-black fur, claws, and screeching mouths.
-"LIGHT DOME!" Hound shouted.
Radiant white solidified-light erupted around them moments before the first Congas hit.
The impact shook the barrier. Then another followed.
Dozens of creatures threw themselves against the glowing dome with reckless fury, clawing and biting without any regard for their own safety.
Their lean bodies were covered in matted red-black fur while oversized fangs protruded from snarling mouths.
What stood out most, however, were the glowing crimson backsides that flashed everywhere throughout the swarm.
Lorenzo stared.
"They look ridiculous. Are these actually Congas, Master?"
One of the monkeys immediately slammed face-first into the barrier hard enough to crack several teeth.
"You are completely right, Lorenzo. These are Congas, probably Level 1 and 2," Hound said while studying the swarm pressing against the dome. "Normally a small group isn't much of a threat, but a gathering this large means there's a stronger leader controlling them."
Zyon frowned as another wave crashed into the barrier. "I thought stronger Ethereals hunted alone."
"Most do, but now is not the time for questions," Hound replied with gritted teeth. "Listen, we have two options: run and likely get caught in their domain, or try to kill the leader. Both are risky." The way Hound emphasized the word made both boys uneasy.
The barrier continued absorbing hit after hit while thin cracks slowly spread across parts of its surface.
As Lorenzo watched the dome strain beneath the constant assault, a lesson from training suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Call out your attacks."
"Your allies need to know what's coming."
His eyes widened. Then he grinned. "Okay."
Hound glanced toward him. "That smile worries me."
"I have a plan," Lorenzo spoke.
Now Zyon also looked over to Lorenzo. "A good plan, I hope?"
"A Lorenzo plan," he said with a devilish smile. "Let's run! You guys have to trust me. Follow my lead!"
The barrier cracked again.
Hound sighed. "That's what I was afraid of."
The dome shattered.
Lorenzo clapped his hands together with perfect timing.
"-FLASHBANG!"
Light exploded across the clearing.
Hound synchronized perfectly with him. All three immediately shut their eyes while thin layers of solidified light formed around their ears.
A violent burst of sound followed, sending nearby Congas tumbling through the dirt as they screamed and clutched at their heads.
The opening lasted only seconds.
They ran.
Lorenzo sprinted ahead while throwing both hands outward, creating a swarm of distorted light clones that scattered through the forest. Some had stretched faces. Others were missing limbs. One looked strangely potato-shaped.
Despite their terrible quality, the Congas hesitated.
Hound grinned proudly at his student and joined in. He immediately built upon the confusion, creating near-perfect illusions of all three travelers and sending them racing in different directions. The jungle became a maze of false targets, and for a brief moment it looked like the plan might actually work.
Then the forest trembled.
A deafening crash echoed through the trees ahead, followed by another.
Every Conga froze.
Even the injured ones.
Even the confused ones.
Something was coming...
As dusk deepened beneath the canopy, a massive crimson shape slowly emerged from between the trees.
Lorenzo came to a stop a few steps behind Zyon and Hound and was the first to notice the massive shape standing ahead of them. At first, all he saw was crimson fur and an enormous backside blocking part of the path. The creature was facing away from them, its broad back rising above the surrounding trees while thick muscles shifted beneath its matted coat.
Lorenzo blinked.
Then blinked again. "...Is that a giant bootey? Please don't make it clap."
Neither Hound nor Zyon corrected him.
As the creature towered above every Conga in sight and turned its head a bit to the side, chewing on a mushroom.
Thick muscles rolled beneath crimson fur while enormous fangs protruded from its mouth like ivory daggers.
Blood-red eyes burned with intelligence and rage, and arms longer than a grown man ended in massive claws capable of tearing through tree trunks.
Hound's face tightened instantly. "That's a high Level 4."
The boys looked toward him. "Maybe higher."
Lorenzo swallowed.
"Let's go back to running."
Nobody disagreed.
Hound raised a finger and slowly began backing away.
The boys copied him.
No sudden movements.
No provoking it.
Just leaving quietly.
Then hundreds of screeches erupted around them.
Congas poured out from every direction.
Within seconds, a ring of red-black fur completely surrounded them.
Lorenzo looked around.
Then at Hound.
Then back around. "...The running plan appears to have been cancelled."
"There goes our escape route," Zyon muttered.
The Conga King rose onto its hind legs and released a roar so powerful it shook the clearing.
Its chest expanded unnaturally, doubling in size almost as it inhaled, drawing nearby leaves and loose dirt toward it.
Then yellow smoke began leaking from its nostrils and mouth.
The mist churned with sickly green sparks that danced through the cloud like trapped lightning.
Hound's eyes widened. "No matter what happens, don't touch that smoke."
-"LIGHT DOME!"
A reinforced Light Dome immediately formed around them.
The Conga King dropped to all fours and exhaled.
The yellow cloud shot forward like a cannon blast.
When it struck the barrier, the outer layer began to hiss and dissolve. Behind the group, several lesser Congas wandered into the toxic mist by accident.
They immediately collapsed.
Twitching.
Paralyzed.
Hound's expression hardened.
"We have no choice now. The leader dies first. If we kill it, the rest should scatter."
The lesser apes wouldn't dare to get into their leader's way, as the Conga King was a beast with pride.
Then the King charged.
Zyon stepped out of the dissolving barrier.
Golden gauntlets erupted around his fists just before the massive arm came sweeping toward them. He met the attack head-on and drove his glowing fist into the beast's palm before its claws could reach them.
The impact created a shockwave.
The King barely noticed, but the impact sent Zyon flying.
He crashed through a bush and slammed into a tree hard enough to crack the bark.
Pain exploded through his ribs.
Still, he forced himself upright. "I'm... not done yet."
Nearby, Lorenzo clapped his hands.
"FLASHBANG INCOMING!"
Another burst of light erupted in the King's face while Hound launched razor-sharp lances of light at its joints.
The battle dissolved into chaos.
The King tore through trees with his claws, cutting them cleanly.
Illusions sprinted everywhere.
Yellow spores filled the air.
The jungle itself seemed to shake beneath the violence.
Despite their teamwork, the battle slowly turned against them.
Zyon's golden constructs flickered.
Lorenzo's clones struggled to hold their form.
Even Hound's breathing grew heavier.
Then Hound saw something and called out. "Lorenzo...!"
The boy immediately looked over.
"Maximum flashbang on my mark!" the master demanded.
The seriousness in Hound's voice erased every trace of humor.
Then the older man turned toward Zyon. "Charge the strongest light-blade you can make."
Understanding flashed in both boys' eyes.
The King roared and locked eyes with the group before charging in violently.
Hound raised his hand. "NOW!"
Lorenzo emptied every drop of Heka he had left.
"-FLASHBANG!"
The Flashbang illuminated the entire jungle.
At the same moment, Hound slammed both hands against Zyon's back, pouring every remaining ounce of his own Heka into him.
Power surged through Zyon's body as golden light erupted from every part of him. The energy gathered around his hands, condensing into a blade that grew longer, brighter, and denser with each passing second until a massive sword of molten sunlight rested in his grip.
"Zyon, hit the belly!" Hound's voice echoed behind him.
"Finish it!"
With a roar, Zyon launched himself forward.
The Conga King charged to meet him.
The golden blade punched straight into the beast's exposed underbelly, driving deep enough for steam to erupt from the wound.
The King's death scream shook the entire clearing.
Its arm started moving toward Zyon one final time.
"Zyon, dodge!" Lorenzo shouted.
The strike never landed.
The Conga King's body shuddered violently around the glowing blade lodged in its underbelly before its massive legs finally gave out. It collapsed with a thunderous crash that shook the clearing and sent tremors through the ground, while an uneasy silence slowly settled over the battlefield.
For several heartbeats, nobody moved.
Then panic spread through the swarm.
The lesser Congas stared at their fallen leader before crying out loud, then turning and fleeing into the jungle, abandoning the battlefield entirely.
Within seconds, they were gone.
Zyon dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as the golden light faded from his hands.
Lorenzo rushed over immediately while Hound remained watchful, scanning the surrounding jungle for any remaining threats.
"You actually did it," Lorenzo whispered.
Hound stepped beside them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
A proud smile appeared beneath his beard. "No."
His gaze moved between both boys.
"No! We did it."