Chapter 19 – Echoes of the Past

The silence that followed felt like a heavy fog, pressing in from all sides. Jin remained still, studying the strangers with an intensity that deepened the tension in the air. The forest around them was eerily quiet, as if even the trees held their breath, waiting for something to happen.

Aria's hand never left her bow, but her grip was tight, her knuckles pale from the pressure. The slight tremble in her fingers wasn't lost on Jin—she was nervous. Aelius shifted uncomfortably, his sword hand twitching near the hilt as if expecting an attack at any moment. Caris, the youngest, had taken a step back, his breath uneven, barely concealing the urge to run.

They were afraid.

Jin saw it in the way their eyes darted around, as if the very trees were watching them. In the stiffness of their postures, the way their bodies betrayed their readiness to bolt or fight. And he didn't blame them.

He had become something foreign, something they couldn't understand.

"Why did you come?" Jin's voice cut through the thick air, his words sharp yet oddly distant. It was a question that had been on his mind since their arrival. He wasn't sure if he even expected an answer. But there was something in the way they had come so deep into the forest that intrigued him. Perhaps they were not just lost. Perhaps they were drawn here.

Aria exchanged a quick glance with Aelius. The hesitation in her eyes was subtle but unmistakable. She was their leader, the one who made the calls. Yet, in that moment, Jin could see doubt creeping into her resolve.

"We're tracking a beast," Aria finally said, her voice steady but guarded. "We didn't mean to come this far. The forest… it's different today. We don't know what we're up against."

Jin could hear what she didn't say. It's not just the beast. It's you.

"The creature you're hunting…" Jin said slowly, his voice trailing off as he stepped forward, his movement like a shadow shifting through the trees. "It's not what you think."

Aelius's grip tightened on his sword. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, his voice low, defensive.

Jin's gaze flicked toward him, noting the way his muscles tensed, ready for conflict. The last thing Jin wanted was to draw blood, but their unease was growing, thickening with each breath.

"The creature is part of the forest," Jin said softly. "Everything here is part of the forest. And when you enter these woods, you don't just hunt. You become part of it." He paused, his eyes darkening. "That's how it draws you in. That's how it keeps you."

Aelius frowned, and Aria's breath hitched slightly. Caris muttered something under his breath, his voice barely a whisper.

Jin studied them carefully. They didn't understand yet. They didn't know the hunger of this place.

"It's too late for me," he murmured under his breath, the words barely loud enough for even him to hear. "But not for you."

Something flickered in Aria's expression—was it sympathy? No, it vanished too quickly. Replaced by the same wariness, the same fear.

Jin sighed.

"The creature you seek is not what you need to fear," he said more clearly this time. "It's the forest itself you should worry about."

Caris took another step back, his boots crunching against the damp earth. "He's messing with us," he mumbled, barely able to look Jin in the eye. "This is some trick. It has to be."

Aelius didn't move, but his jaw clenched. "You talk like the forest is alive."

Jin's lips curled slightly, though it wasn't a smile. "And what if it is?"

Silence.

Aelius inhaled sharply, but he didn't argue. Aria's shoulders stiffened, her bow lowering just an inch—but not enough to be considered trust.

Jin turned away, retreating back toward the shadows of the trees. They won't listen. Not yet.

"What are you?" Aelius suddenly demanded, his voice harsher now, edged with something close to fear. "What have you become?"

The words hit harder than Jin expected.

He wanted to lie. He wanted to tell them he was still human, still the boy who had left the village years ago. But that wasn't true. The forest had changed him. It had twisted him. Molded him. Claimed him.

"I am…" Jin hesitated. "I am what the forest made me."

Aria flinched ever so slightly. The way she studied him now—not as a stranger, but as something dangerous—made Jin's chest tighten.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

Jin exhaled, glancing at the sky through the cracks in the canopy. The forest never lets its prey go easily.

"I don't expect you to," he said quietly, turning back toward the trees. "But you'll learn soon enough."

And with that, he disappeared into the darkness