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“Shit, my Analyze won’t touch this creature.” Phoenix cursed under her breath, frustration bubbling up inside her. She glanced at Becca, hoping her friend could get a reading. But when Becca gave a brief shake of her head, Phoenix’s stomach dropped. They were both equally powerless in the face of this unknown entity.

The creature drifted forward slowly, its black cloak billowing out behind it like smoke. Phoenix couldn’t help the shiver that ran down her spine. Is this some kind of Death Eater? The thought flashed through her mind, but the creature’s presence was unlike anything she’d faced before—more primal, more ancient. It stopped right outside the warding stones, just beyond the threshold that should have kept it at bay. The air around it seemed to shift, thickening with an oppressive weight.

It locked eyes with Phoenix, its gaze piercing and unsettling. Phoenix broke from its stare, a cold sweat gathering at the back of her neck. She looked around. No one in the camp had stirred, not even a slight movement from Bento or Lyra. Despite the sheer terror hanging in the air, the rest of their group remained blissfully unaware of the danger.

The creature seemed to follow her gaze, as though reading her thoughts. Its lips parted in a cruel smile, or perhaps it was just a grimace.

“They will not wake. Not until I’ve had my fun with you,” it rasped. Phoenix and Becca exchanged a glance, both of them locking hands in a moment of shared fear.

The creature tilted its head, its gaze narrowing. “Tell me, why do you put up with these masters? Why do you let them torture you?”

The question hung in the air, heavy with venom. Phoenix’s pulse quickened, but she forced her voice to remain steady. “Who are you?” she demanded, stepping forward, her body tensed. She instinctively reached for a weapon that wasn’t there—the bone-handled knife she’d won in the arena, locked away in Bento’s chest. All she had were her fists, and the instincts honed from months of brutal survival.

The creature’s eyes glowed faintly, its form barely discernible in the shifting darkness. It tilted its head again, an eerie gesture that made Phoenix’s skin crawl.

“Names are for those who still believe they control their fate,” it said with a low, guttural voice. “You do not have the luxury of names here. You are trespassers. No different than the others who have fallen to the shadows.”

Phoenix’s mind raced. Fallen to the shadows? She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as she processed the creature’s words. Who else had come here? And how many hadn’t made it out?

She steeled herself. “We’re not leaving without answers,” Phoenix snapped, her tone harder now, frustration bubbling to the surface. “Why don’t you tell us what this place really is? Why does it matter who we are or what we want?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The creature paused, as though considering her words. Phoenix felt its gaze like an invisible weight pressing on her chest. It knows something, she realized, but what?

“You want answers?” The creature’s voice shifted, softer, but the menace beneath its words was unmistakable. “The Grove is the resting place for many. Those who wander here are lost to the world they once knew. Some call it a graveyard. Others call it a sanctuary. But none who come here ever leave the same. Those who survive must confront the shadow within themselves before the Grove will allow them to pass.”

Phoenix's brow furrowed. “You’re saying we have to face… what exactly? Ourselves?” Her voice wavered slightly despite her best effort to sound firm.

The creature’s laugh was low and chilling, reverberating through the stillness of the Grove. “The Grove of Sorrows doesn’t give answers easily. It doesn’t grant you gifts for your ‘bravery,’ and it doesn’t soften your fate for your ‘virtue.’ Here, all are equal. Weakness is revealed. Strength is earned.”

Becca’s eyes sharpened, her stance unwavering. She stepped forward, her voice steady but commanding. “We’re not here to play games with you,” she said. “If you won’t tell us what you’re doing here, why you’ve put our companions to sleep, then we will make you.”

The creature’s lips curled into a grotesque half-snarl. Its form rippled again, dark tendrils emerging like smoke from its body. It raised one long, shadowy finger and pointed toward Becca. “You do not command the shadows, little one. You will learn the truth soon enough—when it is too late to matter.” It turned its gaze back to Phoenix. “You cannot replace her with this one.” It hissed, pointing at Becca while staring straight through Phoenix, the words thick with contempt. It turned again, its focus solely on Becca now. “And you cannot heal yourself from brokenness you broke yourself.”

Phoenix’s blood ran cold. The creature’s words hit too close to home, stirring up something deep inside her—a past she’d worked hard to bury. She had no time to dwell on it. The creature was lunging forward, its form elongating with a fluid, unnatural speed. It ignored the warding stones as if they were nothing but illusions, its body swarming like smoke through the air.

Becca reacted faster than Phoenix expected, slamming her body into Phoenix’s and pushing her backward just in time. Phoenix stumbled, barely catching her balance as the creature’s claws swiped through the space where they had been standing. The force of its strike sent a shockwave through the air, rattling the earth beneath their feet.

Becca grimaced, her fists tightening. “We need to move. Now!”

The creature hissed, its form shifting again, dark tendrils lashing out from it like whips, ripping through the air. “You cannot escape what you are. You’ve already begun to fail, and soon, even the shadows will be more than you can bear.”

Phoenix’s pulse hammered in her throat. Fail? The creature’s cryptic words didn’t make sense, but she couldn’t let them distract her. It was closing in fast. Phoenix’s hands clenched into fists, adrenaline flooding her system.

She couldn’t afford to hesitate.

With a surge of movement, Phoenix sprang into action, charging toward the creature. It was fast—too fast—but Phoenix’s instincts kicked in. She dodged its first strike, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp claws, and grabbed a branch from the ground, swinging it at the creature’s face. The creature hissed, momentarily recoiling, but it quickly reformed, its dark aura growing stronger, pushing Phoenix back.

Becca moved in from the side, using her momentum to strike at the creature’s exposed flank. She hit with precision, but the blow barely seemed to faze it. Phoenix could see the creature’s glowing eyes narrowing, its form rippling with dark energy.

“We can’t keep this up forever,” Phoenix gritted out through clenched teeth, her body beginning to tire. The creature was relentless, and without her weapons or the ability to Analyze, she was running on nothing but raw instinct.

The creature’s smile twisted. “No, little one. The shadows will always find you.”

With that, the creature’s form blurred, disappearing into the night like smoke, leaving only an echo of its voice hanging in the air. The shadows will always find you.

Phoenix stood frozen for a moment, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Becca was beside her, just as winded, but her eyes were sharp, focused.

“What the hell just happened?” Becca asked, her voice low and tense.

Phoenix shook her head. “I don’t know. But whatever it was, we haven’t seen the last of it.” The wind began to pick up, rustling the leaves around them, and the sense of dread lingered, heavy and unshakable.