Second wave

Seth stared at the words, heart still thundering in his chest, sweat and blood mixing on his skin.

"Second wave…?" he muttered under his breath, barely believing it himself.

The message burned in his hand like a curse.

He turned instinctively, eyes scanning the field, the treeline, the skies- anywhere something else could come from. His breathing had just begun to steady, and now it spiked again, body tensing, mind already shifting gears.

His muscles screamed from the first encounter, but there was no time to rest. No time to bandage wounds. No room for doubt.

This was Vince's test- ruthless, unforgiving, and real.

Clenching the arrow and its message in one hand, Seth moved back toward the center of the field, retrieving the blood-slicked dagger from the fallen rat's body and sliding it into its sheath.

The sword was heavier now, not just from the gore, but from the weight of what was to come.

He took a deep breath, eyes narrowed, and steadied his stance once more.

"Bring it," he muttered to the wind, voice low but firm. "I'm not done yet."

The field, now marked with blood and death, would soon host another storm, as the rustling began once more.

*****

His arms trembled as he tightened his grip on the short sword, its once-silver sheen now dulled by dried blood and chipped edges. The dagger at his waist, too, was red to the hilt, its once-foreign weight now feeling like an extension of his own will.

His breaths came in ragged gasps, each inhale burning like fire in his lungs. His body screamed with every movement, his legs barely able to keep him upright, and his vision blurred intermittently, threatening to black out entirely.

Yet, despite it all, Seth stood.

Neither by pride, nor by some unbreakable will to be heroic- but because he had to- He had made a promise, Mira had already lost too much and although Emily's grave rested in a quiet field, he refused to join her yet.

His eyes drifted across the field littered with the fallen dire rats. Twisted bodies, twitching tails, gaping jaws frozen in death. The air was thick with the pungent mix of blood and fur and something foul he couldn't name.

Seth spat out the metallic taste of blood from his mouth and let his blade hang loosely at his side. For now, the forest had grown silent again, but he knew better than to think this was the end.

This test- whatever twisted lesson Vince was trying to carve into him was far from over.

And as much as every part of him screamed to collapse, to just lie down and let the darkness take him…

Seth stayed standing.

Because surviving wasn't just about strength.

It was about refusing to fall.

Even when every piece of you is breaking.

Even when you're already broken.

Seth moved slowly toward the dire rat, which despite the grievous wounds he'd dealt it refused to die. His steps were heavy, and the tip of his shortsword scraped along the ground, carving a faint line in the dirt.

When he reached the twitching creature, he drove the blade into it without hesitation, without mercy.

"Revenant hunting, he said…" Seth muttered to himself. "A test, he said…"

He yanked the weapon free from the corpse and sighed.

"I've lost count. Is this the fourth or the fifth?" he mumbled, his voice thick with exhaustion.

Glancing briefly at his bandaged right arm now soaked with blood and gore- Seth muttered absently, "I really should change this thing…"

And then, to his dismay,

Another arrow sliced through the air- this time landing a few feet away, thudding into the ground.

With a grumble, Seth bent to retrieve it, a flicker of vain optimism creeping in as he unrolled the attached note.

Maybe the test's over.

But reality rarely aligned with hope.

"Get ready. Final wave." the message read.

Letting out a breath, he dropped into a ready stance for what felt like the hundredth time. The shortsword gripped in one hand, the dagger in the other.

At least it's the last one, he thought, eyes sharpening as the all-too-familiar sound of rustling bushes signaled the next threat.

Peering into the underbrush, Seth expected to catch the heat signatures of a few of the foul creatures. But his vision picked up only one.

'Only one.' A flicker of elation crept into his thoughts.

Pushing past the tree line, Seth found what he anticipated- a single dire rat. At a glance, it looked just like the others. But as he studied it more closely, his confidence faltered.

This one was different.

While it shared the grotesque features typical of a dire rat, this creature was nearly twice the size. And running down its back in a jagged, uniform line were bony tusks, protruding like a row of cruel spines all the way to the tip of its tail.

 "Expect the unexpected…" Seth muttered, echoing Vince's words.

"I should have expected this," he added, shaking his head with a weary smirk.

And then, without warning, the creature charged.

'Here it comes!' he readied himself.

The beast lunged.

Seth barely had time to brace before the massive dire rat alpha crashed into him like a battering ram, claws raking across his defenses. He staggered back, barely keeping his footing, sword and dagger flashing in desperate arcs. Sparks flew as steel met bone, the creature's jagged tusks clashing against his blade with brutal force.

'It's faster than the others… smarter too.'

He weaved between its snapping jaws and slashing claws, but it was all he could do to stay on his feet. Every movement was a struggle; the alpha pressed its advantage relentlessly, a blur of rage and muscle. Seth's breathing grew ragged, arms screaming from the strain. He fought like a cornered wolf, but the tide was turning against him.

Lashing with both the sword and dagger in consecutive strikes, blade met bone as his arm recoiled in a loud metallic clangor- sparks flying in the air once more.

'So this is a dire rat alpha…' he realized grimly, 'a pack leader… born and bred to survive every culling.'

A savage swipe caught him across the side as he failed to react to the creature's attack in time, the impact knocking the wind from his lungs. Blood sprayed from the gash. He hit the ground hard, vision swimming. His fingers trembled around the hilt of his sword. The alpha loomed over him now, huffing and snarling, its maw opening wide for the final blow.

Seth's heart pounded.

'Is this it?' his pupils dilated at the sight of the creatures figure over him.

And then—

'You won't lose me too.' His words to Mira, echoed in his mind.

And Emily's final breath, the whisper etched into his soul:

'Live.'

A flicker of heat sparked in his chest- then surged.

His eyes snapped open, no longer the dull violet they once were, but glowing with a fierce, radiant hue. Unseen to him, a surge of force- pure and untamed pulsed through his body. The world slowed, his pain dulled, the fear receded.

Something inside him had awakened.

He raised his hand instinctively, energy coiling around it like a dark mist.

"[Umbra: Repel]," he whispered.

A pulse of darkness exploded from his palm.

The alpha was blasted backward, crashing into a tree with bone-rattling force, stunned and momentarily dazed. Seth climbed to his feet, the glow in his eyes intensifying, blood still trickling from his wound, but his body moving with newfound strength.

"Sorry you over sized rodent, I'm not dying just yet." he stated with a huff.

He took a stance, and his blade gleamed.

"[Blackthorn Basic Technique: Cross Section Slash]," he said softly.

In a blur of motion, he surged forward, crossing his weapons in an X-shaped strike that cut through the creature with decisive, lethal precision. The air hissed as sharpened steel carved through flesh, fur, and bone.

The alpha let out a final, strangled screech- then collapsed.

Seth's final push had won him the battle.

The alpha lay still, its monstrous body joining the mound of slain kin around it. But victory had come at a cost. The wounds tearing across his body burned with fresh pain, and the toll of the fight weighed heavy on every limb. His breathing was ragged, shallow. The strength that had flared to life moments ago was gone, leaving only emptiness in its wake.

He collapsed, the short sword slipping from his grasp as his knees gave out. The world tilted, colors dulling at the edges.

His vision blurred, eyelids growing heavier by the second.

Just before the darkness claimed him, he saw a shadow step into view- a figure standing tall over him, outlined against the dying light filtering through the trees.

With the faintest smirk, Seth mumbled, "Passed your test, you jerk…"

And then, he gave in- falling into the arms of unconsciousness.

A quiet chuckle answered him.

"Yes, you did," Vince said, kneeling beside him, a proud smile on his face. "And splendidly, in fact."