The forest was alive with unnatural sounds , deep growls, the scrape of armored limbs against stone, the wet slither of something massive moving through the underbrush.
Nathan crouched low beneath the tangled roots of an ancient tree, every muscle taut. He could feel the Surnok nearby. Several of them. Their minds were sharp, calculating. No simple ambush would work on them.
Which was why he needed to make them angry.
Nathan drew a dagger from his belt — plain steel, nothing magical — and dragged the blade across his palm, just enough to draw blood. He pressed his hand against the trunk of the tree, smearing it high where the scent would carry. He had attacked their territory.
Blood. Fear. Challenge.
In the world of beasts, it was an invitation.
He retreated fast, boots silent against the damp forest floor. He moved like a shadow, darting between patches of cover, deliberately loud enough to leave a trail for the hunters.
Within minutes, he heard it: a low snarl behind him, growing louder.
Good. Follow me.
He led them deeper into the woods, away from the heart of the nest, threading through narrow passes and broken ravines. It was risky. If he tripped once, or if they circled around him—
A roar split the air — not just a challenge now, but bloodlust.
Nathan spun just in time to see the first Surnok burst through the trees. This one was smaller than the one they had fought before, but no less deadly. Its hide shimmered with a dark, oily gleam, its breath a cloud of molten vapor.
Nathan gritted his teeth and sprinted harder, letting Nova hum faintly in his core, enough to boost his speed without flashing light.
He needed to buy Theo and Veyra at least twenty minutes.
Behind him, more shapes crashed through the undergrowth — two, maybe three more Surnoks.
They were falling for it.
Nathan reached a narrow gorge where a dead tree had fallen across the gap, forming a rough bridge. He sprinted across it without hesitation.
Midway across, he drew a small orb from his pouch — a device from the Order's armory — and slammed it into the trunk.
Boom.
The bridge exploded behind him in a spray of fire and splinters. The Surnoks on the other side howled in fury, scrambling along the crumbling edges.
Nathan allowed himself a small grin.
Phase One: success.
But he didn't stop moving. He veered north, deeper into the ruins they'd scouted earlier — broken towers, half-swallowed by moss and roots.
A better battlefield. Somewhere he could fight smarter, not harder.
He ducked behind a fallen wall and finally let Nova rise higher inside him. A soft glow spread across his arms, enough to ready himself without broadcasting his position.
He heard the snarls closing in.
Nathan set his stance.
Come on, then.
The ground shook with their approach — the Surnoks, the Scarspawn, all chasing a single boy who they thought was prey.
Nathan crouched behind a half-toppled pillar, listening to the Surnoks' heavy footfalls crush the dead forest floor.
They're split up, Nathan realized. Perfect.
The ruins gave him the advantage. Narrow corridors. Blind corners. Crumbling walls he could use to his favor.
Nathan inhaled slowly, letting the Nova magic inside him flicker, just enough to strengthen his limbs without drawing attention. His Threadstone core stayed silent — a deeper well of power, one he dared not touch yet.
The first Scarspawn rounded the corner — a hulking thing with too many limbs and a maw full of barbed teeth.
Nathan moved.
He darted forward in a blur, slashing low. His blade caught the beast's tendons. It shrieked, stumbling, and Nathan drove his dagger into its skull before it could recover.
One down.
No time to celebrate. A second Scarspawn lunged from the shadows, but Nathan was ready. He twisted aside, grabbed a rusted spear from the ground, and jammed it through the creature's eye.
Good. Keep it fast. Keep it quiet.
The Surnok, though — it was another story.
He could feel its presence looming closer, a tide of heat and hunger pressing through the broken stones.
Nathan grabbed a pouch from his belt — flash powder, stolen from the Order's vaults — and crushed it between his hands.
A blaze of white light burst outward as the Surnok barreled into the courtyard.
It shrieked, blinded, thrashing its massive tail through the debris.
Nathan didn't waste a second. He ran up the side of a fallen wall, leapt high, and drove the point of his blade toward the thinner scales at the base of the Surnok's skull.
Almost—
The beast twisted at the last second, and Nathan barely rolled clear of its snapping jaws.
It wasn't stupid. It had fought humans before. It remembered.
Nathan hit the ground hard, the impact jarring up his spine. Pain flared — but worse, he felt the surge of Nova flare too bright, like a beacon.
The Surnok turned toward him, eyes narrowing.
No more tricks, it seemed to say.
Nathan gritted his teeth.If he used Threadstone here, he could end it in an instant. Burn it down to ash.
But if he did…
The demons, the Council, the world itself would know someone like him existed.
And he wasn't ready for that.
Not yet.
From deeper in the ruins, a distant explosion echoed — Theo and Veyra's signal.
They were doing their part.
Nathan had to do his.
The Surnok roared and charged.
Nathan braced himself. He wasn't going to run.
This time, Nathan charged.