Each person was held hostage by their thoughts, kicking themselves for every question they didn't ask and every step they now had to make. No one could believe they followed Aster, the youngest member of their group, without a question. It was not like they could make him take the blame since they followed him, but everyone realized that this was an obvious outcome and should have asked more questions. They couldn't help but wonder what they could have done differently, what question they could have asked, or what sign they should have noticed. They had no direction in mind, but they continued forward, hoping that the orphanage would appear out of the background of the foliage.

As the group went through the dense woods, a sense of unease pulsed in the back of their minds. The only sounds that could be heard were the crunching of leaves and twigs underfoot and the faint rustling of branches that seemed as if they were clawing at the group. The darkness around them felt suffocating, as if it was trying to wrap its hand around them, creating an eerie atmosphere. They felt isolated, as if they were the only ones in the world, and the silence of the night only intensified this feeling. Each step they took felt heavy, as if they were afraid of what might happen if they made too much noise. As they walked in silence, their eyes darted around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the orphanage or anything familiar.

Chk chk chk

A faint sound of clicking caught their attention. It was rhythmic, like the sound of clattering teeth. It seemed to be close but was hard to pinpoint. It was hard to tell what was causing it, but the group couldn't shake off the feeling that someone or something was nearby.

Pit froze in his tracks. 'What could have caused Pit to stop so suddenly?' That was the only thought that passed through Casper's mind before he sprang into action! With lightning-fast reflexes, he grabbed hold of Carter and Priya's clothes from behind, prepared to take them away. He knew the others could run while these two would root to the ground, watching everything take place.

As the group stood frozen, they noticed a strange presence. A pair of glowing dark blue eyes, seemingly detached from a body, slowly crept towards them at knee-level height. The eyes were bobbing from side to side, giving off a sinister impression that the head those piercing eyes belonged to was laughing at them. The group couldn't help but feel a shiver run down their spines as the eyes drew closer and closer.

Pit wanted to scream at the others to run, but the words were caught on his dry lips, and his breath seemed to freeze in his throat. He couldn't make a mistake not here, not when he had people behind him. He was the leader. His decisions needed to be perfect. He needed to always be perfect. If he ever wanted to accomplish his dream, if he ever wanted to become a Divine Knight, then his life must be perfect. So, how could he make a perfect decision, a perfect strategy, if he did not even know what was in front of him?

Pit excelled at history and strategy. With his cold and calculating thoughts, he was the opposite of Casper, whose whole being ran on emotions, both men with the same dream but two different approaches. They may be opposites, but they respect each other and know they can depend on the other. Pit put all his trust in Casper and that this rival could defend the others while he found a path to survival. He knew it had to be some beast, but the list was long, and to narrow it down just on the eyes, he needed more, so his thoughts started to run down the list and history.

The Ambrosia village was still considered to be in the wild and uncivilized area of the land under the Alchemic Race. It took almost four hundred years to push the wildlife away and carve what little bit of civilization this small village could be considered. Hundreds of different types of beasts called the surroundings home in the area today; some were as strong as five stars. If Pit had to recall, there were probably thousands more who have been killed off or sent away over the eight hundred years the race had been here. The more he thought about the history, the more questions popped into his head. Was this a beast that was coming back after being chased off, was it a new mutation on a local beast, or was this something new? Pit was moving through the list of beasts as fast as he could. He had marked off hundreds of beasts from the list in just a few seconds, but those were precious seconds, and he still had no answer. The more he marked off, the more terrified he was that it was the last option; if so, how would he approach this problem?

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"PIT!" Casper's scream echoed behind him. When he turned, he saw the two children with dull eyes flying toward him. He caught them as best he could, quickly turning back to check the location of the eyes since he had looked away.

"Gone..." Pit clicked his tongue. He glanced around to see if he could find the eyes, but nothing could be seen, so he turned back to Casper.

Casper stood in silence as his senses became aware of everything: the sound of the light night breeze, the smell of the moist ground, and the subtle movements around him. The seconds that he stared at Pit's back felt like an eternity as he waited for that stealthy sound of footsteps behind him to get closer.

'If they are ambushing us, then these beasts see us as stronger than them.' Casper thought

Casper was nothing like Pit and knew that actions were needed in moments of crisis; thoughts and plans would only delay inevitable actions that must take place. So, he screamed for Pit while throwing the two children. The other three might not have been through training like he and Pit, but they were smart. He could see Aster grab the others' hands, pulling them to Pit.

'That's my brother, only smart when it matters...' Casper thought, but it was cut short as he was tackled to the ground.

Casper found himself pinned to the ground, looking directly into the maw of the beast.

"WHAT IS THIS!" He shouted.

The massive beast's mouth contorted and twisted in every direction, resembling more of an insect's mandibles than the jaws of a creature of its size. Its movements were erratic and unpredictable, and had his arms not been free to push the beast's head away from his own, his head would have likely been torn from his body.

Pit gazed silently at the creature, now in the small amount of light surrounding them.

"Why is that here?" he couldn't help asking himself.

'No, it must be something else... It only looks like them.' he thought to himself.

The creature had a large, lithe body covered in scales, which were dark purple, almost black. Its face resembled a feline but with insect-like maws, and its eyes were a dull, lifeless blue. The creature's most striking feature was its long, thin razor tail, with dark green barbs that went up to the arrow-shaped end of the tail.

There was no mistaking what this beast was. It has the same features it had eight centuries ago when the land was first settled. This creature is a silent killer, a pest that has caused harm to many races across Genisis. It took two hundred years for the Ambrosia Race to destroy the nest near the village and chase them away with the help of so many other races. During that time, numerous lives were lost, but now millions of people live in the small village a stark difference from the thousands that settled the land. If these creatures have created a nest near the village, the residents would have to seek help to chase them away again, but could they afford the price now. However, they need to answer two questions before they can worry about anything.

"Why did the Night Beast return... and can we even survive to let the village know?" Pit mumble his thoughts out loud.