In the foggy expanse of Griswold's Hollow, Lorenzo sneezed hard, his breath visible in the damp chill. A faint rustling overhead caught his attention, and before he could glance up, a shadow descended from the gray skies.
With a soft thud, the shadow landed a few paces in front of him, resolving into the figure of Chan. His fiery red hair was tousled from the wind, and faint feathered patterns still shimmered along his arms—a remnant of his transformation. The power of his ring, Wings of Orithis, allowed him to take the form of a bird hybrid, giving him an edge in scouting and mobility.
“Still getting used to these landings,” Chan muttered, brushing ash off his jacket before straightening.
Wanda gave him an exasperated look, though there was a hint of relief in her expression. “Took you long enough. Did you spot anything?”
“Nothing yet,” Chan replied, shaking his head. “No sign of the Artemisian cat, but I did catch movement near the eastern ridge. Could be worth checking out.”
Wanda sighed and adjusted her blue witchy hat. “Great. More hiking.” She glanced at Lorenzo, her expression softening. “Thanks again for agreeing to help us, Lorenzo. You didn’t have to—being a third-year and all—but I’m glad you’re here.”
Lorenzo shrugged, his face impassive. “It’s fine. Better than sitting around doing nothing.”
Chan gave a small nod of agreement. “Yeah, it’s good to have you with us. This place is eerie, and, well… it’s nice knowing someone experienced is here to watch our backs.” His tone was modest, almost reserved, as though he felt the weight of their situation more than he let on.
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Lorenzo said, his eyes scanning the foggy horizon. “You’ve got skills. And that ring of yours? It’s a real asset out here.”
Chan gave a faint smile, though his eyes remained focused. “Thanks. Still, I can’t help but feel like I’m out of my depth sometimes. Missions like this… they make you realize how small you are in the grand scheme of things.”
The three stood in uneasy silence for a moment before Wanda clapped her hands together. “Alright, let’s keep moving. The sooner we find this cat, the sooner we can get out of this creepy forest.”
The oppressive fog wrapped tightly around them, muffling not only their footsteps but also their voices, creating an unsettling cocoon of silence. Despite the lack of leaves on the skeletal trees, the hollow was unusually dark, as if the forest consumed the light itself. Whether it was day or night, the trio couldn’t tell.
“This place is too quiet,” Lorenzo muttered, his voice cutting through the stillness like a blade. His sharp amber eyes darted around the ridge, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade.
Wanda shifted uneasily, brushing ash from her jacket. “Now that you mention it…”
“Quiet’s not always a good thing,” Lorenzo added, lowering his tone as his gaze swept over the twisted trunks of the petrified trees.
A few paces ahead, Chan paused, his usual fiery confidence dulled by the eerie surroundings. “It’s strange, yeah. I flew over the ridge earlier, and it felt like… like something was watching me.”
Wanda stopped in her tracks, frowning. “You didn’t mention that before.”
Chan glanced back at her, his shoulders tense. “I didn’t want to freak anyone out,” he admitted. “But Lorenzo’s right. This place doesn’t feel empty.”
“Well, whatever’s out there,” Wanda muttered, “let’s hope it’s not hungry.”
They pressed on, the dead forest growing darker and more suffocating with every step. When they reached a clearing, the fog began to thin, revealing a silver-lit patch of ground under the pale moonlight, which shone brightly above them. Lorenzo glanced around the eerie space, then spoke up. “We’ll camp here. Better to rest now than wander deeper into this place half-dead from exhaustion.”
The three set up a small fire in the clearing. The silence pressed heavily against them, broken only by the crackle of the flames. Despite the lack of visible life in the forest, all three felt a presence lingering just out of sight.
As they sat around the fire, Wanda broke the silence, her voice quiet but purposeful. “I don’t even care if I fail,” she said suddenly, staring into the flames. “I never wanted to be here in the first place. I only came because my parents asked me to.”
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything, while Chan glanced at her, curious.
“I don’t like fighting,” Wanda continued, her hands tightening around her knees. “I don’t like war. My family, my village—they all expect so much from me, but all I want is to go back and open my bakery.”
Chan smirked, shaking his head. “A bakery? You’re seriously going to give up all this talent for a bakery?” He nodded toward the icy-blue ring on her finger, Winter’s Requiem, which glimmered faintly in the firelight. “That thing’s incredible, Wanda. You’ve got one of the most powerful rings in the academy—you earned the title Ice Witch.”
Wanda scoffed, but her cheeks reddened slightly. “That stupid nickname…”
“It’s not stupid,” Chan said firmly. “It suits you. And it’d be a waste of talent to throw it all away.”
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“Well, not everyone wants to live out your big dreams,” Wanda shot back playfully, though there was no real venom in her words. “What about you? What’s the grand plan, Chan?”
Chan’s fiery-red hair seemed to glow in the firelight as he leaned back, his feathered jacket swaying with the motion. “Me? I can’t afford to go home. I’ve got big dreams, and I’m not stopping until I make them happen. I want to join the Phantom Shadows.”
Wanda whistled softly. “The Phantom Shadows? Aim high, why don’t you?”
He grinned. “What can I say? I’m a dreamer.”
As Wanda chuckled, her gaze drifted toward Lorenzo. Her eyes caught the scars on his forearms before moving to the jagged scar on his forehead. “What about you, Lorenzo?” she asked softly.
Lorenzo stiffened slightly but didn’t meet her gaze. He stared into the fire for a long moment before replying. “I’m here on a mission,” he said, his voice low but firm. “There’s something I have to achieve. No matter what.”
The determination in his ember eyes flickered like the flames between them, silencing any further questions.
Before they could continue, a rustling sound broke the stillness, coming from the dense cluster of trees behind them. The three froze, their gazes snapping toward the source of the noise.
Wanda’s heart raced as she whispered, “Did you hear that?”
Chan was already on his feet, his fists clenched as the shimmering power of his ring began to stir. “Something’s moving out there.”
Another soft rustle, this time accompanied by the faintest sound of a leap. Lorenzo stood slowly, his hand on his blade. His voice was calm but sharp. “Could that be the Artemisian cat?”
The trio held their breath, their eyes fixed on the dark forest beyond the clearing, waiting for whatever was out there to reveal itself.
——
Deep within the shadowy heart of Griswold's Hollow, where sunlight dared not intrude, an ominous gathering took place—an event poised to unleash chaos and devastation upon Elysion. Four titans, beings of colossal strength and ancient intellect, stood in grim unison around a sacrificial altar. The altar, carved from obsidian and etched with pulsating runes, exuded a malevolent energy that seemed to twist the air itself.
Unbeknownst to the trio, their pursuit of the elusive Artemisian cat had led them dangerously close to this dark assembly. The first was a towering greater tree titan, its skeletal mask a grim visage of death. Its twisted branches bore the lifeless remains of creatures it had claimed, swaying like grotesque ornaments in the stale air. This was Yggdrasil, an ancient entity whose roots were said to delve into the underworld itself.
The second was much smaller, cloaked in an ever-shifting shroud of dark smog. Two yellow eyes gleamed like lanterns within the mist. Despite its diminutive form, it spoke in a rasping voice that carried an unsettling clarity. This was Mnemora, the greater cloud titan, a being of deception and forgotten memories.
The third titan loomed with a menacing presence, a rhinoceros beetle of monstrous proportions. While smaller than Yggdrasil, it radiated an aura so dark and suffocating that the air around it seemed to pulse with dread. This was Doloros, the greater insect titan, a relentless harbinger of destruction.
Finally, there was a humanoid figure nearly twice the size of an adult Elysian. Its rugged form gleamed faintly with a golden sheen, its skin cracked and jagged like raw ore. Its shallow, glowing eyes betrayed no emotion. This was Midas, the greater titan of gold, a living embodiment of greed and decay.
The four stood in grim silence, surrounding an ancient altar carved from blackened stone and etched with cryptic runes. Greater titans such as these were rarely seen together, for they were beings that typically ruled alone, commanding hordes of lesser titans. Yet here they stood, equals in purpose.
They communicated in shrieks, growls, and guttural noises, an unearthly language incomprehensible to human ears. Their exchanges grew more frenzied, the atmosphere thick with malice, until finally, a terrible understanding passed between them. One by one, the titans extended their limbs, cutting into their own flesh.
From Yggdrasil’s gnarled branches dripped thick, blackened sap. From Doloros came a dark, viscous ooze that hissed and steamed as it hit the altar. Mnemora’s cloudy form condensed, releasing droplets of tar-like blood. Midas’ golden veins seeped molten ichor, shimmering as it pooled with the others’ offerings.
The mixture swirled unnaturally upon the altar, emitting an ominous glow as if the earth itself recoiled at their unholy pact. The four titans’ eyes ignited with a terrifying brilliance, their forms trembling as the ritual concluded. Their bond was sealed, a dark covenant forged in blood and hatred.
The air grew heavy, the ground quaking as a resonant hum echoed through Griswold Hollow. It was the sound of something ancient and malevolent awakening—an omen of calamity that would soon descend upon Elysion.
——
The chase began with a burst of adrenaline as Chan activated his ring. In a flash, his body transformed into a falcon-like figure, wings sharp and glimmering under the pale moonlight. He soared ahead, weaving effortlessly through the petrified trees in pursuit of the creature. Lorenzo and Wanda followed close behind, their breath visible in the chilling air.
"Chan! Have you spotted it?" Wanda called out, her voice echoing through the eerie silence of Griswold’s Hollow.
"Not yet, but it’s heading left! Try to corner it!" Chan shouted back, his keen eyes darting through the dense fog, tracking the faint movement of the elusive Artemisian cat.
Wanda didn’t hesitate. She raised her wand, her icy-blue ring glowing fiercely. The temperature plummeted as a sharp chill spread through the air. With a graceful yet decisive motion of her hand, a wall of ice erupted from the ground, extending toward the left side of the forest.
But the creature was faster than they had anticipated. It darted to the side, its silvery fur shimmering like moonlight as it avoided the icy barrier. Lorenzo, his patience waning, activated his ring, Shadow Spectres. The shadows around him twisted unnaturally, coiling into dark tendrils that lashed out toward the fleeing feline.
"It won’t get away," Lorenzo growled, his ember eyes focused.
Yet the Artemisian cat was relentless. With a powerful leap, it climbed the gnarled branches of a petrified tree, then sprang back down toward Wanda and Lorenzo. For a split second, they saw it in full clarity—the sleek silvery fur with black patches glimmering under the moonlight.
"That’s it!" Lorenzo hissed.
Chan, still in falcon form, dove from above, wings opening and closing rapidly as he maneuvered through the dense forest canopy. He lunged, talons outstretched, but the creature twisted mid-air, narrowly avoiding him. The chase continued, the trio pushing deeper into the forest.
The surroundings grew darker as they entered a part of the forest cloaked in deeper shadow. The petrified trees loomed taller, and an oppressive silence swallowed the sound of their pursuit. Suddenly, the Artemisian cat’s sharp howl—eerily human-like and piercing—rang through the air, freezing Wanda and Lorenzo in their tracks.
"What the—?" Wanda murmured, her grip tightening on her wand.
Chan, undeterred, lunged forward, his wings slicing through the thick air. But from the shadows, something massive stirred. A monstrous tree trunk swung out of nowhere, slamming into Chan with brutal force. He crashed to the ground, rolling across the ash-laden soil. His falcon form dissolved as he lay sprawled, bruised and gasping, back in human form.
"Chan!" Lorenzo and Wanda shouted in unison, rushing to his side.
The ground beneath them trembled, and a deep, guttural groan echoed through the forest. Emerging from the shadows was a towering figure—a Greater Tree Titan. Its body was a massive amalgamation of bark and roots, with glowing green eyes embedded in its gnarled skeletal mask. From one of its high branches, the limp body of the Artemisian cat dangled, lifeless.
Wanda’s breath hitched, her icy aura faltering as dread took hold. Lorenzo stood protectively in front of her, his shadow tendrils writhing in anticipation of the fight ahead.
Yggdrasil let out a guttural roar, its deep voice reverberating through the hollow. Its branches creaked ominously as it raised one massive limb, pointing toward the trio as if marking them as intruders.
“This is bad,” Lorenzo muttered, his voice low and steady, though his eyes flickered with determination. “Really bad.”
Chan groaned as he pushed himself onto his elbows, wincing. “What… what is that thing?”
“The end of this mission if we’re not careful,” Wanda whispered, gripping her wand tightly. Her icy-blue ring began to glow again, frost spreading across the ground as she prepared for battle.
The Tree Titan loomed closer, its every step shaking the forest floor. The Artemisian cat may have been their target, but now they faced a far more menacing opponent.