The wraith’s rained down on them like a storm. The guardian opened its mouth to the sky like it was popping candy into its mouth. Tsugi severed their cervical spinal cord with precision and accuracy, dropping them to the ground like flies.

Tsugi grinned dancing with her chained daggers as they flew around her beautifully – the dance she loved. The more she killed, the more powerful she felt – the more excitement flowed through her veins.

Was this what Yahni meant about killing to get stronger?

Tsugi began to laugh, relishing in the brutality of slicing the creatures and watching them pile up endlessly on the ground around her. Her fingers tingle with the rush of power that she felt – the power she held within her hands.

The guardian whirled through the air, snatching up the souls like a merciless starving dragon.

Something pulled onto Tsugi’s foot and she was knee deep into the ground like it was quicksand. It tugged again and Tsugi disappeared into the earth, being dragged around like a giant mole had gotten a hold of her. She emerged out of the ground and was tossed high into the air – high above the treetops.

In the moment of her floating in the air, she looked around her and she could see the edge of the forest. She had been so close all along – so very close and yet it seemed so damned far. The whole forest was covered in a thick fog reflecting off the moonlight above her – the fog that she would be forever lost in.

Falling back onto earth, she flipped herself over and landed gracefully on her feet, launching herself at the wraiths before her. Spinning through the air, she beheads them and watches as their heads roll on to the ground, still screaming and cursing her.

She scalps some of them as the peeled skin flaps in the wind, revealing the tissues and vein underneath. The wraith just laughed menacingly, its eyes wide with amusement and its tongue hung down to its throat.

She was only able to wound them as they struggled and waited for the guardian to engulf them. She jumped up into the air and spun down raining explosive attacks on the wraiths that kicked up earth shattering dirt into the air.

A sharp pain in her gut, stopped her in midair.

There was a long tree root that went straight through her stomach and another through her thigh. Right as she felt the tree pull itself out, she severed them before they could move any further. Leaving the roots inside of her so she wouldn’t bleed out, she sliced through the dirt in which they came and ran up the tree root. The tree unlodged itself out of the ground and swung its enormous branch at her like a powerful bat, creating a giant explosive crater in the ground.

Dodging the swinging branches, she made her way to the tree and sliced it right up the middle, as easy as slicing through cheese. Lodging both her blades into the middle of the tree, she wrapped the chain around the other side of the tree and pulled as hard as she could. Straining, her veins popped out of her arms and neck, feeling like they would burst inside of her.

The tree swung a branch toward her, wanting to turn her into squash right where she stood.

She kicked off the ground and jumped over it. Using it as leverage, she propelled off of it, pulling as hard as she could on her chains. The branch impacted the trunk of the tree and added the force needed to split the tree in half, like splitting a log.

Blood poured out of the tree, pooling onto the ground like a wave of the sea crashing onto land.

The guardian scooped up the rest of the wraiths and slithered over, engulfing the tree like a phagocytic cell.

Tsugi collapsed to her hands and knees, coughing up blood and fighting to stay conscious. Her vision was turning yellow and she was feeling cold – so very cold. “Keep…your promise.” She hissed.

“I did say, if you didn’t die.” The guardian grinned, prowling over to Tsugi.

She pointed her daggers at it. “I’m not dead yet.” She hissed, coughing up more blood onto the blood soaked ground. “Now, get me out of here.”

“A deal is a deal.” The guardian nodded its head and turned around to consume the woman it emerged from, like a snake that had gone mad. Biting itself off, it turned back to Tsugi. “Hop on, the only way you’ll make it there is if you stay on top of me. If you fall off, you’ll be lost forever.”

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“Why the hell did you do that?” She spat blood onto the ground.

“Human bodies are such a hindrance.” It drawled.

Tsugi limped over and climbed onto the stubbed end of it, which already grew out a tail like a lizard. “I saw the edge of the woods.” Tsugi mumbled. “We’re not too far from it.”

“Yes, it may look that way, but if you go on foot, you’ll never make it.” It lurched forward and Tsugi grasped onto the slimy leathery skin, holding on for dear life. “This forest will never let you leave at night. It will turn you around in circles till you are lost for eternity. That is how most people die.”

“This is your forest, couldn’t you do something about that?”

“It’s my job to prevent the wraiths from leaving. If you don’t want to die, don’t get stuck here at night.”

Tsugi panted, taking in heaving breaths to try her best to hold on for as long as she could. She could feel herself losing consciousness – waning away as her vision turned in and out. A breeze blew into her face and a bewildering smell brought a smile to her face allowing her to fight for a little bit longer.

Lugo.

How long has it been? And yet his scent still lingered here.

She smiled and took another deep breath. She wasn’t sure if she was smelling him because he was near, or if she was so close to death that she could smell him. Either way, she couldn’t die, not here – not yet. She couldn’t let the guardian eat her. She shook her head and blinked herself back into the dark forest.

The guardian slowed to a stop. “This is as far as I go.” It moved its tail in front of its face. “It was a pleasure to meet you child. We will meet again one day.” It nodded its hideous head at her.

She slid off it, the branches still pierced inside of her.

“You can’t see it, but turn around and keep walking in that direction. No matter what you hear, don’t answer, and do not turn back. The forest will not want you to leave and will do what it can to make you stay. Ignore everything you hear, until you smell water and the tree line is behind you.”

“What’s your name?” She muttered.

“I have no name. I am all things death.”

“You – are death?”

“A form of it, yes. There is still a path for you to follow, but I will see you again one day – Tsugi.” The guardian turned into black smoke and dispersed into thin air, vanishing into the shadows all around her.

She was face to face with death. Was that how it knew her name?

Tsugi staggered on her feet and turned around, stumbling as she limped forward.

“Tsugi!” Aylin called from behind her.

She was about to turn around but the guardian's warning echoed in her mind – and so she continued forward.

“Come back Tsugi! I’m stuck!” Aylin called. “I need your help! Hurry! They’re coming for me!” She cried.

Tsugi clenched her eyes and continued to limp forward.

“Help!” Lugo screamed, and Tsugi paused in her step. “Tsugi?! Help! I’m scared!” He cried. “I can’t see! I’m scared! It’s so dark and I can’t see anything! Please Tsugi!” Her chin quivered and she wanted to cover her ears, but she was holding the branches in place. “Tsugi.” His voice cracked. “Don’t you love me?”

Tears streamed down her face and she bit her trembling lips, forcing her reluctant legs forward.

“My sweet girl.” A soft voice called out. It sounded distantly familiar, but she couldn’t recall a face. “Are you just going to leave your mother behind?”

Her eyes widened. Was that truly the voice of her mother? Would she remember the voice of a mother she had never met?

“I’m right here my sweet, sweet girl. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Just turn around and look at me, so you’ll remember me. Look so that you will never forget me again.”

Tsugi clenched her teeth and limped forward as fast as she could.

“Are you really just going to leave us here?” Lugo cried.

Ruzo howled behind her and her eyes flew open wide.

She clenched her eyes.

She clasped her hand around the stone and she could feel Ruzo’s presence within it.

It’s all a trick. It’s just all a trick.

“And what if we’re not?” Lugo said as if he could read her thoughts. “You’re really going to take that risk and leave us behind?”

Tsugi chuckled and her chuckle turned into a loud thundering laughter making her cough painfully. She knew that Lugo wouldn’t be that stupid to stay behind. He would definitely find a way out. And if he really was behind her, he would just follow her out anyway.

She steeled her heart as much as she could and continued through the darkness as the voices continued to badger and weep behind her. Even the sound of a familiar child came chasing after her. The child babbled unintelligent sounds as it echoed through her mind like a long forgotten memory.

She squinted at the blinding light of the moon. She could smell fresh water carried in the wind with a waft of Lugo that came along with it. She stepped beyond the treeline and the voices behind her disappeared. She stepped onto the lush green grass and collapsed to the ground.

Is she outside? Did she finally escape? Or is this another trick?