"Young lord... are you alright?"
The warrior’s voice held genuine concern.
Ash blinked, his gaze slowly shifting down to the girl pressed tightly against his side. She was trembling violently, her small hands clutching the strange, impossibly soft fabric of his garments.
’They talk as if they’ve known me my entire life. Like I’m supposed to just nod and play along. That old Titan... he did something. This insanity has to be his doing. I knew I shouldn’t have touched that cursed orb.’
The warrior’s voice softened, taking Ash’s silence the wrong way.
"Of course. You’re worried about your sister. I should have considered that first."
He paused, casting a wary glance at the dense, oppressive canopy above.
"Still... I know you asked me not to pry, but why bring her all the way out here? You know how treacherous this part of the High Woods is."
The warrior stooped down, using a blood-stained finger to gently tap the top of her head.
"Young lady. It’s over now. The night spawn is dead. There is no need to be afraid."
The girl’s lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes at last. She looked up at the warrior’s reassuring smile, but then her gaze drifted past his shoulder, toward the hulking mass of the fallen beast, and froze.
The night spawn’s eyes were wide open, two pools of pitch-black tar staring directly at her. It wasn’t dead. It was watching them.
A piercing scream ripped from the girl’s throat as she buried her face back into Ash’s side.
"Big brother! He’s lying! The creature isn’t dead! Altent hasn’t finished it! Tell him... tell him to kill it! I don’t want to be here anymore!"
Altent’s smile vanished. His head snapped toward Ash.
"Young lord, are you truly alright? You should comfort her."
Ash said nothing. His jaw remained locked tight as cold frustration gnawed at him.
’Comfort her? I don’t even know her name.’
The tense silence was broken by a sudden rustle in the brush behind them, followed by snapping twigs and labored breathing.
Altent moved in an instant. With a soft ring of drawn steel, his greatsword came up into a defensive guard, his imposing frame forming an impenetrable wall between the treeline and the children.
A figure stumbled out of the shadows. He was small, yet clearly not a child. He was a dwarf-like man. A fully grown adult packed into a squat, rugged frame, his head barely reached Altent’s hip. His back was permanently hunched beneath the weight of a massive, overstuffed pack, and his sunken eyes were set deep within a weathered face etched with exhaustion. Every step looked like a struggle against his buckling knees.
The small man grunted, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Damn it all. What was that shriek?"
Altent’s shoulders relaxed slightly, though he didn’t lower his blade.
"Earung. Perfect timing. I was beginning to think I’d have to harvest the hearts myself."
He scanned the dark woods behind the small man, his eyes narrowing.
"Wait. Where is Rynne? She didn’t abandon you again, did she?"
Earung waved one stubby arm dismissively.
"No, no. We’re practically inseparable now. She uses me as live bait. I nearly get slaughtered, and she swoops in at the last second to steal the kill. If that isn’t true camaraderie, I don’t know what is."
Altent sighed, rubbing his forehead with his gauntleted hand.
"Right... so where is she?"
"She said it was getting late, so she went off to hunt us some game."
Earung grunted, unbuckling a strap on his pack.
"I think she mentioned something about making camp right here."
"Camp here?"
Altent’s tone turned sharp.
"With the young lord and young lady present? That’s reckless. I won’t risk it."
Before Altent could say anything more... a cool, quiet voice slipped from the shadows to their left.
"Heading back through the pass will be far riskier."
Ash turned toward the sound.
The woman emerging from the treeline could have been Altent’s sister, if she had spent her entire life carved from granite and wrestling mountains for sport. She wore the same golden uniform, but on her, the reinforced fabric stretched taut over dense, functional muscle. Her blond hair was cropped short and practical.
She carried four tusked, pig-like carcasses beneath her massive arms, blood dripping onto the moss. The iron scent of fresh blood followed her into the clearing.
Earung’s jaw dropped.
"Rynne?! That was fast. How did you even track them?"
She barked out a rough laugh.
"Live your whole life in the wilds and it’s second nature. These beasts practically walked into my blade."
She stepped into the clearing, tossing the game aside, then glanced at Earung.
"Did you secure the last one?"
Earung shook his head bitterly.
"Too fast. I lost him in the brush."
Rynne scowled.
"Useless..."
Ignoring Earung’s dark look, she pushed past Altent, who immediately stepped into her path.
"Explain why heading back is too dangerous, Rynne. The young lord needs to reach the kingdom for the Rite. We don’t have time to waste, and you know he’s fallen behind on his training."
Rynne dropped onto the damp earth beside Ash and the child. Leaning back on her elbows, completely unfazed, she looked up at Altent.
"If we move out now, we won’t catch a lift with the giants. They enter deep hibernation at night, and you know traversing the lower cliffs on foot is suicide."
She flicked her chin toward Ash and the girl.
"The young lord and the young lady shine brighter than any campfire. Every monstrosity in these woods would hunt us until there was nothing left but marrow and bone. It’s safer to hold out here. Let the giants wake at dawn, then ride them back. It’s slower, yes... but far safer than wandering into the depths of the High Woods at night."
Her expression darkened slightly.
"Besides... we were ambushed by that scout unit earlier. One of them escaped thanks to Earung here. He’s likely watching us right now. It’s better to stay put, draw him out, and kill him before we make a move."
Her amber eyes drifted toward Ash.
"In the meantime, you can help the boy work on his form. What do you think, young lord? Brilliant strategy, isn’t it?"
Earung raised a stubby hand before Ash could formulate a response.
"She’s right for once. Traveling now is an invitation to die. We find cover and hold the line. With Altent guarding us, no low-tier night spawn will get through."
The dwarf turned his sunken eyes toward Ash.
"So, Tachyros. What’s the call?"
Ash froze.
’Tachyros...?’
The realization hit him like a physical blow.
’Am I someone else entirely...? Was my consciousness thrown into another person’s body?! Is this what that orb did?! Not a prophecy... a total body hijack?!’
"Tachyros?"
Earung pressed, leaning forward.
"Are you listening? Should we push through the night and prepare for the Rite, or hunker down and wait for dawn? It’s your command."
They were all staring at him, four complete strangers acting as if his word was law. Their survival hung on his next words.
Ash exhaled slowly and rose to his feet, gently pulling the trembling girl up with him.
’Whoever this Tachyros was, he can keep the job. I want no part in this sick game of transmigration. I didn’t ask for a new life. I didn’t even want the last one.’
Steeling himself, Ash opened his mouth, ready to shatter the illusion, to tell them he wasn’t their lord, that he was a suicidal stranger from an annihilated world, that... all this was a terrible mistake.
Before a single word could form, a sound shattered the night.
It was a low, guttural growl, so deep and resonant that it vibrated straight through the bedrock. Every head snapped toward the dark treeline as one.
Something moved in the deep gloom, back where the canopy choked out the moonlight.
It didn’t walk so much as unravel with every lurching step. A tall, emaciated horror made of black mist and twisted flesh, its half-formed skeleton visible beneath the surface. Embedded in its sternum was a single, pulsing black gemstone, glowing with a sickly, rhythmic light that mimicked a frantic heartbeat.
As it advanced, its body continuously shredded itself, flinging pieces of its unnatural flesh and splinters of bone onto the earth. The fragments became miniature, skittering abominations that twitched violently before being sucked back into the main, swirling mass. And with every step, it reformed, growing taller, darker, and more grotesque.
Altent’s knuckles turned white around the hilt of his greatsword.
"Shit... A Night Wave Revenant."
Rynne surged to her feet in a fluid motion, instantly stepping in front of Ash and the girl with her daggers drawn.
Ash stood frozen. Not because he was afraid. A cold dread was already settling in his gut, but something about the creature made it difficult to look away. It wasn’t just a beast. It looked wrong. Like something had taken a human body and completely ruined it.
The Revenant charged, and the earth trembled beneath its approach.