Chapter 2: The Bounty Edge

Silver moonlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting jagged shadows on the path. Mela's breath formed soft puffs of mist in the chilled air, her grip tight around her spiked mace. Each step she took felt heavier, as if the forest itself held its breath in her presence.

After traveling for an hour, the sound of soft footsteps reached her ears, faint but unmistakable. She stopped, her body rigid, she glanced behind, narrowing her eyes as she scanned the empty shadows. Nothing. Only the cold, indifferent night stared back.

Her voice cut through the silence. "Reveal yourself!"

From the trees emerged a figure, pulling down her hood. The woman's choppy hair framed pitch-black eyes that seemed to drink in the darkness around her. A predator's smile curved on her lips.

"I've been following you for a bit, my name is Riven," the woman began, her voice carrying a note of amusement. "Even saw you kill those bandits back in town. The Knights of the Old Order have put a hefty price on your head. A thousand gold coins for the Bloodhound of the Silver Moon."

Mela's body tensed at the mention of the Knights. Memories surged to the surface—a quick flash of brutality. A distant village. The clanking of chains. The cries of children as they were struck down by armored hands. Mela's teeth gritted, her gaze momentarily shifting to the earth below, where the weight of her past lingered.

The woman continued speaking, oblivious to Mela's internal storm. "With that gold, I'll finally be able to—"

In an instant, there was no reaction, no emotion.

Riven's eyes widened with fear, confusion sweeping over her as her head fell from her shoulders. Tears welled in her eyes, and the light faded from them. Her final, trembling words were, "It's the devil..."

As Riven's head hit the ground, her eyes locked onto the darkness, vision fading. The last thing she saw was Mela's wide, gritted grin—an eerie spectacle of glowing sapphire eyes and illuminated white teeth. The darkness around Mela pulsed, casting a chilling glow on her features as she vanished into the night. Mela left behind only the bloodied trail of her mace and the silence of the forest.

The trees stood frozen in the moonlight, their branches heavy with oppressive stillness. Nothing was heard, not even a cricket. The forest seemed to hold its breath, the silence deepening the darkness, a perfect void where the echoes of terror once roamed.

Mela continued her journey through the forest, her senses alert as she navigated the darkened woods. After some time, she emerged from the trees and spotted the distant glow of a town's lights flickering through the night. The distant glow of the town's lights pierced through the dark forest, a faint beacon of civilization against the night's darkness.