The wind whipped past him as he hovered over the forest canopy, great wings beating the air in heavy, measured strokes. He glared down at the mist-shrouded wilderness that surrounded the area around Lumoria. His thoughts were racing as he weighed the dangers of continuing his pursuit.

The forest surrounding Lumoria was no ordinary wilderness. It was a place that made reality twist, where the pace of erosion was much quicker, and the creatures lingering there were much more dangerous than anything they had faced so far. Even when Lumoria was weakened, thanks to the chaos that was going on due to the Sovereign Court Contest, would anyone dare try to invade this place? No conqueror, no army, and not even the mighty ones would go to it. The beasts here are too strong, too unyielding. He had seen their strength before, great, serpentine beasts that slide through the earth as if it was water, or creatures with eyes that shine like burning coals, twisted limbs that can cleave stone in two.

Those memories shivered his fear, a thing he hadn't felt in years. A single wrong step and loss he would be Howard and Aliga, not to mention everything. Still, they were close, just a little more.

His jaw clenched. He had to make the call, wait for his allies, risk Howard's escape, or dive into the forest himself, facing dangers that even he might not survive.

The mist had wound itself thickly below him, a whisper of warning: time's running out. Yet something primal, something dark, kept nagging at the possibility of losing his prey.

He snarled in frustration. As powerful as he was, even the leader knew when to heed the warning signs of a place like this. But turning back now, letting them escape, felt like a failure. there is a saying that goes a wise man knows when to attack but a wiser man knows when to retreat.

The wind buffeted him about, sending him stumbling as he wavered. Even his enormous wings shuddered. For all his might, he wasn't proof here, not against the darkness of Lumoria.

With a growl, he let the mist swallow him whole again, retreating for now. The forest was alive with dangers worse than any he'd ever fought before.

Howard awoke to the rustling of dying leaves and the quiet whimper of dying animals.

He was met with pain, however, it did not come from his various wounds, it came from his head. A pounding, aching sharpness was pulsing through his skull as if something were trying to drill itself out. He groaned and sat up, feeling every scrape and bruise from their crash landing. His limbs felt heavy, his body stiff. Though, he didn't have time to wallow in pain. Something was wrong.

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Howard scanned the forest around him. A bat lay crumpled against a tree, its breathing shallow and labored. The creature barely lived, its massive form twitching weakly. Aliga was just alongside, lying totally motionless, her mask still in place.

Howard considered just running off from her. She was dead weight. He could hardly move, much less drag someone else through this hellish "land". It would be so much easier just to slip away. To find his own way through the forest.

Howard's eyes darted between the twitching bat and Aliga, whose stillness unnerved him. His instincts screamed that he needed to get out of there and run from this nightmare while he still could, but something kept him there.

It was dead quiet in the forest. Gone, those constant shrieks and rustling sounds of unseen horrors, as if the whole wilderness held its breath. Howard wriggled, trying to shake off the pounding ache from his head. Something wasn't right-not just about the forest but him. There was a sensation deep and gnawing clawing at the edges of his mind. He felt the forest reach inside him, twisting his thoughts.

He struggled to stand, every movement a struggle, his body stiff and bruised from the wreck. He glanced down at Aliga. A stranger, and she had saved him hadn't she? Now, she was just a burden, and in a place like Lumoria, weakness was death. He couldn't possibly carry her with him. Survival instinct spiked - this was his opportunity to get out.

But then, a whisper broke into the silence. It wasn't from the forest. It was a faint murmur from Aliga. Howard's eyes opened wide as he knelt alongside her and her lips barely moved under the mask. Her voice, a soft whisper, even weaker now, drifted toward him like some haunting echo.

"Don't... leave."

Howard looked at her figure with surprise and she was even able to talk.

"Ohh? And why should I do that?" Howard inquire

Even if Aliga had supposedly saved Howard, he still was vigilant of the mere fact that Aliga acted strange throughout the whole trip, which made her more than untrustworthy. She was a wild variable the fact that she left her comrades without thought told Howard more than enough.

"Because…", she finally rasped, her voice weak but deliberate, "you won't survive without me".

Howard's eyes narrowed. Her words hit a nerve, not because they were threatening, but because deep down, he feared they might be true. His survival instincts flared, telling him to run, to escape this cursed place, but there was something in Aliga's voice, something beyond mere desperation.

"You think I need you?" Howard sneered, his tone sharper than he'd intended. He knelt beside her, grasping the edge of her cloak. "You've been holding things back from me all this time. Why should I trust you now?"

Aliga coughed, her body shaking with the effort"Because you know that you can't survive alone without knowing anything and more importantly not knowing where you even are or even where to go"

Hearing this Howard stayed quiet not refusing or conforming to anything said by Aliga.