Chapter 10: The Unseen Path

The sun had barely risen, and the air was thick with fog. The river, once a comforting sound, now felt distant, almost irrelevant. The sight of the mega tree lingered in my mind like a haunting image, a ghost in the back of my thoughts. Something about it made me feel small, insignificant in its presence. But it wasn't just the sheer size that unsettled me. It was the way it seemed to pulse, alive in ways that were impossible to explain.

I looked around at my companions, each of us trying to process what we had just seen. Alice stood with her bow slung across her back, her expression unreadable, but I could see the doubt in her eyes. Elias, still weak from his injuries, leaned against a rock, watching the tree warily. Even Echo, usually unflappable, was more cautious than usual, his golden eyes fixed on the massive tree with suspicion.

"Well," Alice said after a long silence, her voice low, "that's… not something you see every day."

I couldn't help but agree, though my words came out in a rasp. "You think it's safe?" I asked, half to myself, half to the others.

"I think it's a damn good sign that we're not dead yet," Elias muttered, though the weariness in his voice suggested that he wasn't entirely convinced either. "Whatever that thing is, it didn't stop us from crossing the river."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "You think it's somehow protecting us?"

"It's possible," I said, my voice uncertain. "But I don't think we should stick around and find out."

Elias looked from Alice to me, his face pale and drawn. "So what? We stand here and hope it doesn't eat us? That thing's not going to answer any questions. We need to keep moving."

I sighed, the weight of the decision pressing down on me like a stone in my chest. "We don't have much of a choice, do we?" I glanced over at Alice, her eyes hard with determination but also full of doubt.

"We keep moving," she said softly, but there was a fierceness to her words, like she was trying to convince herself more than me. "We keep moving until we can't anymore. We survive. It's what we do."

"We follow the river," I decided, my voice steady despite the uncertainty that clouded my thoughts. "We keep moving. But we don't go any closer to the tree. We don't tempt fate."

Elias nodded in agreement, though his face was pale and drawn. Alice didn't argue, but her eyes lingered on the tree just a little too long before she turned away. She knew, just as I did, that we were walking into the unknown. But it was better than waiting for whatever horrors the mega tree might unleash on us.

We moved forward, the sound of our footsteps the only noise in the heavy silence that surrounded us. The ground beneath our feet grew uneven, with the riverbank slipping into more treacherous terrain. Thick roots and vines twisted over the path, as though the earth itself had begun to reclaim what was once human-made. The further we walked, the more the land felt… unnatural. The fog thickened, stretching out like fingers, curling around trees and vanishing into the damp air. There was no wind, no birdsong—only silence, pressing against our ears like a heavy weight.

"Stay alert," I said, my hand tightening around my crowbar. My grip was becoming a reflex, a habit born from too many close calls. "We can't afford to get careless now."

Alice and Elias exchanged a glance, and Elias grimaced, though he didn't argue. He was still recovering, but he was strong—strong enough to keep up. We all were, even if it didn't feel like it sometimes. Echo padded ahead, his ears perked, alert to every sound, every movement. Even he seemed uneasy.

The further we walked, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. The air was thick, suffocating almost, and the path ahead grew steeper. The fog swirled around our feet, and I had the constant feeling that something was just beyond the veil, something watching us from the shadows.

Finally, we came to a small clearing, a patch of earth that had once been the site of a crumbling building. The walls were barely standing, the remnants of brick and mortar scattered like bones in the earth. I stopped, glancing around for any signs of movement. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.

"This place feels wrong," Alice muttered. She stood with her bow ready, her stance defensive, eyes scanning every corner. "We're not the only ones here."

"I know," I whispered, feeling the same creeping unease. The air itself seemed charged, as though something was waiting, biding its time.

We moved cautiously through the ruins, Echo sniffing the air with a low growl, his eyes darting from shadow to shadow. I could feel something in my gut, a primal warning that screamed at me to leave this place, to turn back. But we had no choice. This was where the river had led us, and we had to find shelter.

I was just about to speak when I saw it—movement in the distance, just beyond the crumbling remains of a collapsed wall. At first, I thought it was a trick of the fog, a shadow that didn't quite belong. But then I saw it again, closer this time, unmistakable in its shape.

A figure. A human figure, but not quite human.

The thing was tall, unnaturally tall, its silhouette twisted and malformed, like a shadow stretched too thin. It moved with jerky, disjointed steps, its arms swaying unnaturally at its sides. The thing's face was a mask of hollow emptiness.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat.

"Get ready," I muttered, barely above a whisper. "We've got company."

Alice nocked an arrow, her eyes narrowing. Elias gripped his daggers tightly, his knuckles white. Echo growled low, the sound vibrating through the ground beneath us.

The figure stopped just out of reach, tilting its head as if it could sense us, as if it knew we were there. It didn't make a sound—no growl, no scream—just an eerie silence that wrapped around us like a suffocating blanket.

And then, with a sudden, jarring motion, it lunged.

We fought hard, every strike a desperate attempt to keep them at bay. But they were too many, and we were too few. The Wraithborn were relentless, surrounding us, driving us back step by step.

Then, a deafening roar echoed through the air, and the creatures recoiled. The ground trembled beneath us as a blinding light cut through the mist.

I turned, breathless, as we stumbled into a clearing—and there it was.

The Mega Tree.

Its glow was pulsing, vibrant, a force of nature beyond comprehension. The Wraithborn hesitated at its border, their twisted forms writhing as if in pain. They would not step closer.

But something was different this time. The tree's glow wasn't just repelling them—it was reacting to them. The leaves shimmered, and a deep, resonant hum filled the air. It was as if the tree was alive, aware of the creatures that threatened us.

Elias gasped. "It knows."

Alice looked at me, her face pale. "What is this thing?"

I didn't have an answer.

But we were about to find out.