The Weight of Survival

"We have to get as far away as possible," Wuxie said, his voice urgent as he scanned the dense forest ahead.

His mind raced with countless possibilities, none of them good. The Paramecia Fruit was now inside him, its power coiling and uncoiling like a restless serpent.

Every instinct screamed at him to keep moving, to outrun the chaos that was surely descending upon Blackthorn Mountain.

Wovi, fluttering beside him, nodded quickly, his small wings beating with nervous energy. "Yeah, and I'd rather not stick around to see what happens when the Empress or the Demon Lord shows up. Let's make ourselves scarce while we still can."

Their breaths were heavy, but the tension thrumming through their bodies made them move faster. The thick carpet of moss muffled their footsteps, but every rustling leaf and snapping twig seemed deafening in the oppressive silence of the forest.