Jace’s consciousness gradually awakened. What’s going on? Didn’t I die? I definitely remember jumping off the cliff’s edge.. Am I dead? His eyes abruptly snapped open as he jerked up, but then swiftly collapsed again. A sharp pain came from his lower back, and he felt as though he’d broken half the bones in his body. Groaning, a nauseating sensation came from the back of his throat and he couldn’t hold back the urge to spurt out blood. Heavens, what’s happened to me? Did the thick canopy break my fall? Heh, that’s not all it broke.. From the sun’s position in the sky, he’d been unconscious for around half a day and dusk was only a few hours away.

His stiff limbs sluggishly shifted as his bleary self attempted to stand, but he quickly crumpled down again. After struggling for several minutes, he finally managed to steady himself as he staggered onward, half-walking, half-dragging himself through the thick mud that had stained his shredded clothes. He trudged ahead, teeth gritting in pain, both from the injuries dealt by the fall and the Earth Wyrm. His back muscles flared in agony as he felt the searing wound the tyrannical B class beast had imparted onto him.

After roughly half an hour of trudging through mud, undergrowth and the thicket of the viridian forest around him, he suddenly heard a faint trickling sound. Halting in his steps, he quietened his breathing and the sound slowly grew more distinct. A stream! His parched throat let out grunting sounds as he renewed his efforts and doubled his pace, hurrying and stumbling towards the sound that became ever clearer as he approached.

………………………..

Jace came upon a wide river with rushing waters and roaring splashing sounds. It’s actually a river! And there’s a waterfall too. Maybe I can catch something.. I’m starving. Awkwardly crawling to the river’s edge, he stared at his grizzly reflection. Sunken eyes, scratches and bruises all over his body, gaping wounds and charred hair that had almost been burnt off in an instance earlier when the Earth Wyrm had gotten particularly close to him and let out a breath of singing flames.

Kneeling down, Jace cupped his hands and splashed the river water on his face. He bent down and frantically drank at the racing water, only stopping once he felt almost bloated. Feeling energized, he stripped off his clothes - or the rags that were barely hanging onto his sore body - and jumped into the shallow river. After cleaning himself off, he stilled his movements and focused on the clear river water that flowed in sync with the hymn of the forest breeze. All of a sudden, a reflecting light flashed at the corner of his vision, and he lunged towards it as he made a grabbing motion with his hands. First try! Now all I need is to gather timber and cook this Silverscale Fish before sundown.. Maybe I can find some dry nuts and fruit too. He thought as he dragged his leaden limbs out of the waist-deep river water with his struggling prize tightly clutched by his weathered hands. Carefully setting the Silverscale Fish down betwixt two rocks, he made his way back into the woods while leaving a trail of alabaster white pebbles after him. ……………………….. After a couple hours of searching and gathering, Jace lit a fire near the river bank and set a few branches up in a triangle shape so as to grill the fish he’d caught. As he waited for the fish to cook, he fed on the dried nuts he’d come across while rummaging for wood in the forest earlier. He shivered as the wind blew past his shirtless upper body and shuffled closer to the raging hearth. Several minutes passed and he carefully pried the fish off the branch, unhurriedly eating it while extracting the fishes' cartilage. After eating the fish and kernel he had collected, he disposed of the remains and smothered the blazing flames, following which he clambered up a particularly tall tree and laid on a thick branch. As he shut his eyes, he thought of his little sister, Alyssa, and couldn’t help but wonder how she was doing back home, all alone. I’ll definitely make it back, and with the Nightshade Flower! I promise.. He thought as he slowly lost consciousness, pleasant thoughts flashing past his mind as he shut out the snarls and growls vibrating throughout the still forest of darkness.

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