"We need to move. Fast."
Dirga’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. "If that scout doesn’t return soon, they’ll notice. Worst case—he already reported back."
Saelari, Theryn, and Kaela exchanged nods. No one argued.
The forest around them groaned as if aware of what approached.
"To the castle," Dirga continued. "It’s defensible, high ground. If they’re coming for us, we take the fight there."
No hesitation now. They ran.
A different fire burned on the other side of the forest.
"They’ve gone dark, boss," growled the goblin in blackened plate — the same one with a brutal two-handed sword strapped to his back. His name was Snaggra Red-Tooth, and his voice was thick with frustration.
The oni didn’t flinch.
Massive. Towering. His shield was strapped to one arm, an obsidian blade slung lazily across his shoulder. The metal hissed faintly — too hot, too cursed, to touch bare-handed.
"Let them run," said the oni. "We know their direction. Fan out. Flush them."
He turned his gaze to the twisted goblin mounts. "And bring me the tiger."
Snaggra grinned. "With pleasure."
Dirga’s boots pounded the withered soil. Each breath came steady — measured. His eyes never stopped scanning.
They moved faster now, leaping over roots and ducking through branches. The forest of Dusk clawed at them with black leaves and bone-white thorns, but they didn’t slow.
Dirga’s senses stretched outward. Gravity rippled from him in pulses — a radar webbing through the landscape.
But he didn’t relax. "Keep your senses open," he told the girls. "We’ll know they’re close before we see them."
Theryn nodded. Her golden predator-eyes shimmered.
Saelari tightened the runes laced through her hand.
Kaela glanced upward, silent — always watching the sky.
The treetops seemed to lean inward, like the forest itself was whispering secrets.
A wind crept through the forest, low and bone-chilling. It carried the scent of ash.
The Eye began to shift.
That unnatural orb — red in daylight — now darkened, pulsed, and slowly blinked.
The pupil turned blue.
And with it, the cold returned. The kind of cold that didn’t bite skin — it gnawed on your soul.
Trees cracked in the distance, like something large moving just out of view.
Dirga gritted his teeth. Another wave of gravity sensing. He caught something.
Ten daggers shot through the air — no flourish, no mercy.
Three corpses dropped like meat.
Still, Dirga didn’t feel satisfied.
If the scouts kept coming... they were herding them.
"They’re still tracking us," he said grimly. "No time for rest. We move through the night."
Saelari gave him a tired smile. "Don’t worry. We have stamina to burn."
Theryn and Kaela nodded silently, eyes sharp.
The night would be long.
The castle loomed ahead.
But the hunt had only just begun.
The hours passed in silence.
The Eye in the sky — that haunting, godless pupil — fully opened with its deep blue glow.
Dirga caught two more scouts, dispatching them quickly. But the unease in his gut only grew. The forest was too quiet now — like it was holding its breath.
A dead squirrel hung from a branch, bloodless and stiff, as if drained of life mid-sprint. Even the wildlife was abandoning this place.
Steel screamed against the Crimson Core.
His instincts had already shifted the Core into a shield — just in time to intercept the spinning blade.
The sword bounced off, snapping back through the air...
Returning to its owner.
From the shadows stepped a monster.
Twisted crimson skin. Horns curled like a crown of violence.
A massive shield strapped to his left arm — too small for his size, yet wielded like an extension of his flesh.
A two-handed greatsword hung lazily at his side, but in his grip, it might as well have been a dagger.
His armor was etched in scars — not from battles lost, but from victories that had left nothing living behind.
And beneat him... a mount.
A saber-toothed tiger the size of a van. Muscles rippled beneath fur like molten iron. Its golden eyes glowed like ancient suns.
To his left, another emerged — not a goblin, not anymore.
Snaggra. A hobgoblin in full blackened plate, towering and brutal, with a greatsword slung over his back like a slab of death.
The oni’s voice rumbled the air.
"So that’s the rat," he said, eyes fixed on Dirga. "Give me back the girl."
Behind Dirga, the three women stiffened.
Saelari’s breath caught.
Theryn didn’t flinch — but her fingers twitched toward her side, where living vines wrapped around her wrist like a waiting spell.
Dirga didn’t wait. "GO!" he barked, voice sharp.
He gave them the signal — a sharp gesture, a flare of gravity that pushed the air behind them like a burst of wind.
Saelari reacted first, channeling her rune magic in a blink. With a pulse of light, she grabbed both Theryn and Kaela and vanished into the shadows, her form darting through the trees like a blue comet.
From the dark, lesser goblins poured forward in pursuit.
But the oni and Snaggra didn’t move.
The oni simply watched.
"Let me introduce myself," the creature said, his voice deep and hollow. "Oru’Zek. The Crimson One."
He drew his blade, dragging it once along the ground. Sparks flew.
Beside him, Snaggra cracked his neck. "I’ll be your first boss."
Dirga’s eyes narrowed. "No one’s leaving."
With a flex of his will, Dirga pulsed gravity beneath Snaggra’s feet — locking him in place.
Snaggra grunted, surprised.
Dirga exhaled. "You both fight me. Here. Now."
The Crimson Core shimmered — reshaping with a sound like cracking bone and folding steel.
Twin blades extended from his hands, humming with kinetic tension.
And the forest prepared to witness blood.