I kept running deeper into the woods, the darkness nearly blinding at times. But then the canopy would open up, scattering the moonlight that pushed through.

My blood ran hot, and I yearned to act, to do something.

I gotta keep moving; I need to find the source.

Rattling hounded my steps, like something heavy knocking aside branches. It kept up, matching my speed, and then gained on me.

The smell hit me, the heavy scent rich with sweat and dirt.

The creature approached, and I raised my axe, aiming to deliver a finishing blow without slowing down-- I had to keep moving, and this beast blocked my path.

It barreled through the trees, a muscular, hulking beast with two arm-length tusks.

Eliminate, must kill!

When I came within striking distance, I chopped at its head, aiming for its neck. The grey-skinned boar met my blade with its tusk and knocked my arm away.

This time, I did fall, my head rolling across the stream.

Water dripped down my face, and I moved to the side as the beast tried to gore me. I swung again, managing to slice into its flank, but I could feel the shallow wound I inflicted. The blade sank an inch.

It put all its weight onto its front legs and back-kicked me, aimed at my chest. I rolled out of the way and felt my summon leave my shadow. I tried to stand up. My foot slipped on the mud.

My shadow wolf attacked, sinking its jaws into the boar's leg, but the boar used its tusks to hook underneath the summon and fling it away. The boar snorted and pawed at the ground. Its hoof created a divot in the dirt, and it stared at me with beady black eyes.

Carefully, I moved my feet under me and waited. It huffed and kicked off. I rolled to the left, my legs clearing its charge. It swerved and boomeranged around, attacking once more.

My summon sank into the shadows after being launched, so I knew what to expect. When the boar came within twenty feet, my wolf rose from the nearest shadow cast by a lone tree. His teeth pulled at its back leg, causing the boar to fall flat and slide, dragging my wolf along.

Now!

I leaped forward as it sprayed dirt in its slide. A small rock grazed my ear, but I continued. When I approached, its head shook from side to side.

I chopped downward. My axe tore into its toughened hide. The boar was so thick that I barely did any damage.

The thing began pushing itself off the ground and knocked its head to the side, cutting a deep red line into my pants. I shouted and fell. It tried to get up again, but my wolf yanked on its leg, forcing it down.

It squealed as it played tug-o-war with my summon. "Reeegh!"

I crawled away, my leg throbbing.

I have to kill, but I can't get close.

Only one thing came to mind. My axe wasn't good for fighting something that could spear me with a casual turn of its head. I had to move. I needed to survive. And to do this, I needed to win.

I lifted my injured arm—the one still healing. Blood oozed through the bandages, staining the once-white fabric a dark brown-red. My mana surged from my chest. I felt my heart pound, each pulse sending a stream down my arm.

Fire. Conjure the flame.

The spark erupted, and I tried to create the runes. I nearly completed the first line when another squeal took me out of concentration. The boar used its tusk to cover me in a spray of dirt and stones.

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I throw my axe at its eye, the blade tumbling through the air. Instead of embedding in with a nice thunk, the handle hit above its brow, forcing its head back without damaging it.

Damnit!

My brain recreated the spark, connecting the magma in my chest to the flame.

Burn bright, blaze with heat. Bathe the void in light.

The spark grew, and the boar crashed to the ground, sending vibrations up my legs. I ignored it, created the first line, then two, and then made the rune. The spark became a bonfire, and I screamed the words.

“Heita'k á hyrupp heiðarloga; um mér at orna!”

My hand sizzled as fire erupted from my palm and shot out like a cannonball. My wolf released the boar's leg and sunk into the shadows before impact. I heard the flame ball whistle through the air and turned away as the bright orange flames created spots in my vision.

The boar met the incoming projectile with renewed fury, smashing its tusk into the flame. Except the flame was only semi-physical. The fireball exploded point-blank, the flames erupting into a blinding nova. The beast squealed, but heat jettisoned down its throat, suffocating the beast's lungs, flash-frying the soft meat within.

I watched the fire expand like a raging tide, engulfing the beast as it crawled into every open orifice. The force of the explosion pushed me to the ground, but I felt invigorated.

It scrambled to move but collapsed into a charred heap.

Now it's dead.

I felt the cold press of the shadow wolf's nose. It nuzzled into my neck and licked my skin. I reached with my good hand to pet it and stared at my smoking right hand.

The black streaks had expanded down my wrist, and I could feel the bleeding cracks shifting around with each twitch. I expected the damage, but the sight of it disturbed me.

Yet the heat that flowed through my veins continued to burn.

I needed to get up; there could be more beasts coming.

I used my summon to help me stand. My legs shook, forcing me to limp with the grazed leg. I had more injuries and continuous pain, but that didn't stop me.

"Grab my axe, please," I asked.

After reclaiming my weapon with the help of my summon, I began moving forward. I had to stick to the trees as leverage, but my legs kept moving. Each step hurt, and the pain refreshed with every vibration. It didn't matter. Get to the destination and wait for Devon; that's all I needed to do.

Whatever mystical force the creature used to command the forest was thankfully absent as I managed to stumble deeper into the woods, unmolested by further attacks.

Heh, so much for the no-blood-left-behind rule.

The sticky substance coated my leg.

My hand wasn't in good condition, but Astra assured me we could heal most of the damage. It was one of the greatest perks of being a Grimm, after all.

I'm putting more than one point in Constitution next level. I can't keep getting crippled.

The concept of leveling my body like some videogame character refused to normalize in my mind. But then again, I stumbled inside a haunted, probably cursed forest after crippling myself fighting a mind-controlled boar.

Normal was a made-up word at the moment.

Eventually, the moonlight started lightening the area as more and more trees gave way. It felt like I crawled toward the light one unsure footstep at a time.

I heard a flap of wings from up ahead and groaned. This time, I saw the bird coming at me, the beastie not even trying to ambush me.

It got near and swerved behind my head. I waved my axe to fend it off, but it felt like swatting at a fly. It was a medium-sized bird, but its wings were weirdly shaped, and it kept out of reach, barely avoiding being hit.

It landed a taloned foot around the shaft, pushed down, bent forward, and pecked at my thumb. It hurt, but that's okay. I slid my finger around the foot as it tried to release my weapon and pull back.

My shadow wolf jumped up and snatched it out of the air. It shook the bird like a chew toy. Feathers flew everywhere. After five seconds, it released the lifeless avian and let it drop to the ground.

"Wuulf!" my summon howled.

"Thank you. Let's go. We're almost there."

By now, moonlight bathed the forest in an ethereal blue glow.

That's not … right. Why is it blue?

Something stirred in my gut, but I was nearly there. Whatever energy still thrumming in my veins that demanded I reach the destination would have to settle with getting past the treeline. I felt ready to collapse, and the moment I stopped, I wouldn't be able to keep going.

My feet crossed the line, past the shadowed forest and into the glowing light. I could hear the stream now, the bubbling sound of water filling my ears.

It took me a couple of steps to see, but the stream widened drastically until it continued past a large rock jutting out of the ground. Water splashed against the shallow ditch past the rock and opened into a pool. Further streams trailed deeper into the forest.

I limped past the rock and scanned the surroundings. The light made everything easier to see, and the blue glow intensified, except as I accidentally kicked a pebble into the water. I watched as it created a small splash.

The water droplets that hit the mud around it glowed a bright azure, sending up a stream of light particles that drifted into the air.

The strange blue tones made sense now. I found it odd that the moonlight didn't create a purple hue, thanks to the coloured leaves. Whether the water was actually water, I didn't know. It reminded me of the water inside the secret room in the Warren.

I shelved the discovery for later and pushed on. As I got near, the cloud of blue particles that hung in the air dispersed, and I finally found what was at the end of the stream.